But this weekend we celebrate the fact that God took all of the weight of our burdens and nailed them to a Roman cross two-thousand years ago.

When Jesus died on that cross He declared that it was finished. His Word says that there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. He already paid the full price and nailed all of our unmet expectations to a cross that has long since disenegrated.

You can come to Him today and lay all of your sins at His feet, rest and trust in His finished work for your forgiveness, give Him control of the life you weren’t able to manage on your own, and experience His righteousness, renewed rellationahip with Him, and eternal life through His resurrection.

Good Friday is horrible because we killed our Creator, but so good because He He allowed us to do so- for the joy set before Him.

It’s not just a holiday weekend, it’s a time of rememberance and reflection. It’s a time of renewed commitment. It’s a time of new life and resurrection.

There’s nothing we can do to ‘not sin’. We can wear all sorts of masks to make it look like we’ve got everything figured out and put together, but behind the mask we’re still just a sinner bound for an eternal hell.

We can join a religion, work hard, read good books, and do lots of good things but those things will never forgive us of our sins or change the fact that we are sinners.

Our only hope in being acquitted is the just judge who created us and set the rules to begin with. But because He is just, there must be punishment for sin. Because He is holy and blameless those who are sinners cannot dwell in His presence.

So out of His great love for us He sent His Son to live the sinless life that we could never live and to take on the punishment that we deserved to be given: the wrath of God poured out on Him for all the sins of man.

Because Jesus, His Son, took our punishment, we stand forgiven of our sins if we claim and trust in His finished work on our behalf. We no longer are seen as sinners by God. When we have been saved by Jesus. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ because that’s what we have been given.

So without Jesus, we go to hell for what we DO. But with Jesus we go to heaven (to eternal relationship with God) for what He DID.

We never go to heaven because of what we do or do not do, it will always be because of what Jesus already did for us.

As a Christian, throughout my life I’ve been taught from time to time (directly or implied) that even if you have been saved, that if you die while in the act of sinning, that you will go to hell. For example, a Christian hits his thumb with a hammer and mutters “dam it” under His breath. Then at that exact moment he has a heart attack and dies, because of saying a ‘cuss word’ at the time of his death he will ‘go to hell’.

This is silly because just as there’s nothing we can DO to get into heaven, because Jesus already DID all that needs to be done, once we trust in His finished work and submit our lives to Him, there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven.

That being said, as Christians, we don’t have the liberty to sin against God whenever we want because there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven. Because one who sins whenever and however they feel like it with no concern for Christ’s work on the cross, does not understand the sacrifice and grace of Christ, has not had their life changed by Christ, and according to the ‘fruit’ of their life is not saved by Jesus from hell to begin with!

The purpose of all these seemingly random thoughts? You can’t save yourself! Being a nice guy, loving your family, and believing in God will not save you- ever. The only thing that can save you from the punishment and consequence of what you have done is Jesus Christ’s sinless life, His death for your sins, and His resurrection from the dead. So stop talking about what a good guy you or someone else is because it’s just not true. You are a sinner whose every intention is evil and who is bound for hell without the grace, love, and hope of Jesus!

You must turn from your evil ways and turn to Jesus as the author and the perfector of your faith. And once you have recieved the free gift of salvation from Christ He will change you and you will not want to take advantage of His grace by continually sinning against Him.

Will you still stumble and fail as a Christian? Yes because you still reside in a body ravished by sin. But if you deliberately live a continual lifestyle of sin as if Christ never died for you, you don’t have a sin problem, you have a salvation problem.

2. What you do in life impacts others and changes the world.
You make a difference in the lives of those around you, for the good or the bad. Your choices impact everyone, especially those closest to you. If you think you’re only hurting yourself when you do stupid things, you’re wrong. Because of your birth, the world will never be the same. And because of your death, the world will never be the same.

3. When we cry and mourn at a funeral, we’re not only feeling bad for the one who died and their family, we’re also coming to grips with our own mortality and the mortality of those closest to us. That causes us to mourn even more, and for people (including ourselves) who haven’t even died yet.

4. It can and does happen to you.
Often when thinking of tragedy, people think or say things like,” that could never happen to me.” The death of a friend or a loved one shows that it will. You’re terminal. Surprise! You’re going to die!

5. You could die one second after reading this post.
We, and those we love, are never promised tomorrow. We have to live this day as if it was our last.

6. Without Jesus, you’re going to hell!
Whether you want to believe this or not, I think everyone comes to understand this in some rudimentary way while going through the death of a loved one.

7. Times of tragedy, adversity, and great sadness bring frineds and family close together, but if not intentionally managed can drive families apart after the event.

8. No one grieves the same- period. Don’t judge people according to their emotions or actions shown while grieving.

9. Sharing (publically at a funeral) is just as much about you and the people there as it is the person who died.

10. The physical is temporary.
While looking at a loved one’s dead body, it becomes immediately obvious that (the body) is not the person you knew so well- that the thing (the person’s body) we associated with that person most of all, was only a shell for the living being they truley are. You realize that death is not the end, or the beginning, just a part of life.

I went to be there for this family. I had no words to say. All I had was the Holy Spirit living within me. That’s always more than enough.

It is a wretched horrible things to witness the tradgedy of death as a family mourns their loved one.

It is inconcievable for man to have to bury his own child. It is not the way things should be.

I was strong. I don’t let things like this effect me too much when interacting with survivors.

But it is draining emotinally, physically, and spiritually beyond belief. And I’m just a distant freind. The family goes through a warzone as they grieve and mourn their loss.

When I returned home, I lifted my son out of his sleep and held him tightly as if he belonged to me and that I could protect him from the evils of this world. And I prayed.

But as I awoke this morning I realized that I did not want to wake at all. It was pouring down rain outside. The sky was dark. And the world’s darkness showed us ugly face the night before. I did not want to face this world.

Today was running day- Uuugh!

My body ached and told me not to go, that it wasn’t worth it. But as an act of reluctant worship to my body’s Creator, I did it. And it hurt!

Never has a run been so hard for me. Joints that never hurt every other day as I run this same path were throbbing in pain. The rain and the wind seemed to curse down on me especially hard.

Oh my hip! Something was wrong. Every ounce of my being screamed at me to STOP!

That’s what death will do to you, tell you to give up and to throw in the towel.

But deep down within my soul, the Spirit of God reminded me that this life is not about death, pain, and destruction. He reminded me that I have been called to be light in dark places on His behalf. He reminded me that life was a gift and that I needed to live it.

So as my hip grabbed and lunged at my mind I screamed, out loud, “I WILL NOT STOP!”

I didn’t care who heard me. This wasn’t about me choosing not to stop a rum. This was about me choosing to live and to ‘be right here, right now, present in this time and place.”

I was literally running and death wanted me to stop. But this is a race. And at the finish line is such a glorious prize for my Savior and I.

You see, “Stopping…is NOT an option.”

But the Lord is the One Who gives.
The Lord is the One Who Takes away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

And at the end of the day, we have fallen short.
This is how it will end for almost every last one of us.
We all take a last breath.
We all experience one final beat of the heart.
We all have one last synapse fire through our brain.
We are all returned to the ground.
We all know death all to well because it lives right next door.
And someday were moving into that house.

But death is not the end.
The One who took is from the dust and returned us to it will enact justice on all.
So don’t tell me that life is not fair because all die for our transgressions.

Life is better than fair because the One who took us from the dust became dust Himself.
He did not turn away from the Master plan.
He became our sin.
He bore all of the justice and wrath on Himself.
He returned to dust.
The dust could not hold Him down because what happened to Him was not fair.

He rose from the dust a second time.
If we trust in Him,
That He has everything in control,
That His death made us right with Him,
That through His resurrection we can live again-
Forever.

Because Death is Not the End.

One day you will slip fatefully into the dark.
It will be fair, righteous, and just…
…Even though it feels like anything but.

Today is the day of salvation.
Have you called upon the Name of the Lord?

An interesting week to be sure as icons of the twentieth century begin to fade into the sunset. First, Ed McMahon, a from the Golden Age of Television and a pioneer and late night comedy and talk shows. Then two days later, Farrah Fawcett, a sex-icon of the latter twentieth century, a talented actress and a determined fighter of cancer. And on the same day as Fawcett, today, Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson was a musical genius who wrote and performed brilliant songs that changed the world. He was dancing prodigy who inspired new and creative ways for performers to express themselves with their bodies for centuries to come.

Michael emerged as a star performing with his four brothers throughout the 1960′s and 70′s, but became a megastar as a solo artist in the late 1970′s and early 80′s.

Jackson apparently had a horrificly abusive father growing up which unfortunately, but not shockingly led him to VERY bizzare behavior as an adult.

Michael was almost daily crucified by the media and was driven to extreme plastic surgery, prescription drug addiction, manic depression, eating disorders, and alienation.

For nearly two decades Jackson has fought off extreme and convincing allegations of child sexual abuse on many fronts, but never has been convicted of doing so- although large settlements have been paid to the accusers families from Jackson.

He was a man who could not cope with living in the harsh realities of this world and tried to escape it all by living the life of a child for most of his life.

As mentioned before, Michael will be remembered as a musical and dance genius who, along with Elvis Presley, contributed more to his field than any other person to walk this earth. He will also be remembered as a business man, an entreprenuer, and philanthropist (giving away tens of millions throughout his lifetime to charities in need).

But I wonder how history will reflect on him in the long run.Elvis had all sorts of skeletons in his closet, but for the most part it’s not those parts of his life that are remembered collectively by the public. When people tend to think about Elvis, they think about the young Elvis who was in the prime of his artistry and carrer. Iis that how people will remember Michae; Jackson- a pop superstar from the early 1980′s who wow’ed the world with songs like ‘Bad’, ‘Beat It’, and the all time classic ‘Thriller’? Or will people remember ‘Wacko Jacko’ who was obsessed with the unusual, who lived as if he was Peter Pan, who radically changed his appearance to something almost unhuman, and who was accused of so many sexual atroscities against children?

Either way, the world has lost a man who has influenced American culture-no- world culture on a level that only a few dozen people can claim throughout the history of mankind.

Rest in peace Michael. I hope you found it through Christ so you can escape the hell that was your life.

Man is created in the Image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). After God created man, He said that everything He created was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

God clearly gave man one simple command upon his creation;” You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Man disobeyed God’s command, thus sinning against Him (Genesis 3). The consequences of sinning against God were: 1.] Losing direct fellowship with God (1 John 4:18; Psalm 5:3-5; Exodus 33:20; Matthew 27:46). 2.] Death (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:19; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:27). 3.] Losing fellowship with fellow man and the rest of creation (Genesis 3:7; Genesis 3:12; Genesis 3:16-19; Genesis 3:21; Genesis 9:2-3; Romans 8:22). 4.] And Experiencing eternal life apart from God in Hell (Psalm 55:15; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 13:50; Revelation 20:14).

Because of man’s original sin (Genesis 3); all men have a sinful nature (Genesis 6:5; Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10-18; Romans 8:7-8), sin (Proverbs 20:9; Hosea 6:7; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8) , and suffer the consequences of sin (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 1 Corinthians 15:45-50; and see Scripture  references in paragraph above for ‘the consequences of sinning’ ).

Man is totally depraved (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10-18; Romans 8:7-8) and completely unable to save himself from sin or its consequences (Ephesians 2:1-3; Ephesians 2:12).

Jesus is God the Father’s one and only begotten -or unique-Son (John 3:16) and is equal and One with God the Father (John 1:1-3) and with God the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), thus existing forever and possessing all of the attributes of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus became man without ceasing to be God (John 1:14-18; 1 Corinthians 1:27-29; Hebrews 2:8-10), was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20), and born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25) to save mankind from their sins (John 3:16-17).

In order for Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for man’s sin (Romans 3:24-26); He sympathized with our weakness’’, was tempted in every way just as we are (Hebrews 4:15), and carried our burdens (Galatians 6:2) all without sinning against God the Father (Hebrews 4:15). He truly lived the life that we could not live (Romans 3:23).

Jesus revealed Himself to man with miracles (John 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26) and revolutionary teaching (Matthew 5). He invited people to be a part of the Kingdom He was establishing on earth (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 12:28) by following Him (Matthew 4:18-20).

Jesus secured our redemption from sin and death by dying an undeserved death (Luke 23:15)- that we deserved to die (Romans 6:23)- on a cross (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19; Romans 5).

Once again; He lived a perfect human life, but when He willingly took on our punishment of death (Hebrews 12:2) on the cross, the Bible says that Jesus literally became sin –our sin- so that He could impart to us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Those sins that we are responsible for, and the laws we are not able to keep were nailed to the cross with Christ (Colossians 2:13-15).

Theologians call this act The Great Exchange; meaning ‘my sin for His righteousness’. In the Bible this is called justification (Romans 3:24; Romans 5:9). Justification is: to be legally acquitted from wrongdoing. Justification is God forgiving us of our sins through Jesus, so when we put our faith in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross for us (more on that later in Salvation), God would see us as righteous just as Jesus was righteous in His living, because He took upon Himself the punishment for our sins.

Jesus legally took on our punishment so that we would not have to face it ourselves. The particular act of Jesus taking on our punishment is also known as propitiation (Romans 3:25). To propitiate is to conciliate (an offended power); or to appease. This means that the just wrath of God toward our sin and the punishment thereof was poured out, not on us, but on Jesus (Isaiah 53:10).

These acts: Jesus becoming sin; and Him becoming a propitiation for our sins were so horrible that most theologians believe- as do I-  that God the Father actually had to turn His face away from Jesus while He suffered on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

Jesus was buried in a tomb (Matthew 27:60) and resurrected from the dead three days after His death (Matthew 28:1-15). By raising from dead: Jesus proved that he was the promised Messiah (Psalm 16:10; Acts13:33-35), fulfilled promises that He had made (Matthew 12:38-40; John 2:18-22), proved that he was without sin (Acts 2:23-25), and conquered sin and death for eternity (Romans 5; Romans 6:10; Romans 8:2; Hebrews 2-14; James 5:20; 1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus’ death and resurrection assures those who are saved (more on that to come in Salvation) that they will spend eternity with God and will one day be physically resurrected from the dead to live forever(Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:7-9; Mark 12:25-26; Luke 20:36; John 11:24-26; Acts 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, etc…).

After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead He spent forty days on earth; appearing to many people (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6), then ascended into heaven to the right hand of God the Father  (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9-10) as our High Priest  (the entire book of Hebrews);who acts as our intercessor, representative, and advocate (Romans 8:34;  and, once again, the entire book of Hebrews).

Jesus will return imminently (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21:10-36; Revelation 22:12 and 20) to the earth to judge the living and the dead (Romans 14:9; 1 Peter 4:5; 1 Timothy 4:1). He will then reign as King forever and ever (1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:14-16; Revelations 15:3; Revelations 19:16).

So today was a weird ministry day.

I spent the first part of the day visiting with an ex-boss from 7 years ago who also happens to be my insurance agent- he’s a great guy.

He is originally from Jordan, but has been in the US for a long time. Religion and Spirituality have always been kind of an off-limits topic for the both of us. I was never sure if he was Muslim or not. That would not have any bearing on our friendship if he was or was not. I just wanted to know. It turns out, after our conversation today, that he is not a Muslim.

He considers himself irreligous. After a great conversation involving global cultures and religions I learned that he was a Relativist: The epitomy of the Post-Modern World. Basically he believes that all religions have some good and some bad in them, but ultimately; whatever you believe is good and true- is good and true to you.

It’s hard to talk with someone like this about Christ, if you don’t have a steady relationship with this person. Drive-by approaches to evangelism where you show the ‘plan of salvation’ and are in a race to get the person to say the ‘sinner’s prayer’ do not usually work towards the Post-Modern Relativist. It takes The Holy Spirit, lots of love, lots of discernment, lots of prayer, lots of Biblical knowledge, and lots of time (although I do acknowledge that this COULD be a instantaneous conversion, but it’s highly unlikely).

Everytime you try to share your faith in Jesus with a Relativist, they appreciate your ‘views’ because they are ‘true to you’, but to get them to commit to any one particular belief system or faith themself is difficult.

Good thing that Truth is not relative and that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I pray that those who are lost in relativism would come to see that no one can come before the Father, but through Jesus Christ.

Note: I cannot determine the eternal salvation and judgement of anyone. Only Christ can. But I can examine lives and beliefs according to Scripture, use discernment, and see fruit (or the lack of it) of the Spirit present in a true- there’s that word again- Believer’s life. It’s not my job to judge ‘non-Christians’, only to spread the seeds of the kingdom of God wherever I go.

The second part of my day was spent visiting a dear friend and parishoner who I have known for 15 years. I CAN see the fruits of the Spirit and the Grace of God very active in this man’s life. This wonderful man has sadly struggled severely with bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia  for over 30 years. And to make things worse, he has been in the hospital and in rehab facillities for over a year struggling with pancreatitis, being near death multiple times. He has not eaten solid foods in over 1 year and has drank hardly any water. Most of his nutrients and fluid come intravenously and his bowels have been completely blocked for over 3 months.

My dear friend is in horrible shape and I do honestly not know why the Lord has kept him alive or has allowed him to suffer this way. It seems unfair and everytime I visit him I reassure him that this illness is not because of him, that it could happen to anyone: the rain falls on the just and the unjust afterall.

So I went to visit him at a rehab facillity in Portland. Rehab Centers and ICU’s in hospitals are terrible places. I am not superstitious, but I do acknowledge the sickening reality of evil and even demonic spirits and manifestations. The reason I mention this is because, when I visit ICUs and Rehab Centers, I can literally feel death. It’s almost as if there is an actual death precense walking with me through the horrible cooridors of these facillities.

These are the places Americans go to die. Lions send aging and dying members from their prides to roam the wilderness alone until death takes them home. But, people, not lions, send their aging and their dying into nursing homes and rehab centers…to die.

Some cultures around the world, in particular Asian and Latin cultures, take care of their aging and their dying. They invite them into their homes to feed them, bathe them, care for their healthcare needs, and love them. Americans? We send them off to death factories so we can live ‘The American Dream’.

The halls of this place todday were no exception. I saw horrible things. I saw the walking dead: Grown middle aged men lying in a beds wearing nothing but diapers; Hansome men in their 60′s and 70′s having earthquake like tremors while trying watch their favorite baseball team; countless dying bodies lying on beds with their faces caved in and their souls no where to be found; old grandmothers caring for their closest loved one with tender gentleness and love: stuffed toy animals; mindless elderly human drones sitting in wheelchairs looking right through those who walk by and babbling some unintelligible language…these places really are horrible and are filled with the walking dead.

Grace and peace to those who once contributed to building our nation and who are now locked up in death factories to wander the halls until their time is up.

Grace and peace to those who devote their time to caring for those suffering and close to death.

Grace and peace to my friend Earl.