(re-published from archive)
THE WORLD IS ALWAYS WRONG
Zephaniah 3:1-2
How terrible it will be for rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime.
It proudly refuses to listen even to the voice of the LORD. No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the LORD or draw near to its God.
The world is wrong. Jesus is Lord. The lost need Christ. Without Jesus things are not going to work out all right.
Sometimes I forget just how simple the Christian life is. Jesus is my plumb line. As I live my life day to day, I can check with Him to keep my balance. He will provide the answers to my questions. He will bring sanity to chaotic situations.
For the Christian life to be simple, I must do my part. Time with God is required. Reading His Word is the basic key to simplicity. Thinking about what His Word says equips me to face the unknown.
How do I come to grips with the rebellion and chaos of the world? Love the Lord God with all my heart and all my soul and with everything that is in me. And love my neighbor as myself.
The World is Wrong
Fellowship was His aim in creating me.
Equipping me was His goal.
I chose my own way. It broke His heart.
But still He loved me and walked beside me.
My heart and mind were foolishly distracted.
The world has ways of leading us along.
I fought the fight of riches and desire.
My heart ached and bled within my soul.
Finally all I saw was death and destruction.
Help me Lord I was wrong.
He was waiting for me to see Him standing there.
I love you He said walk with me.
THE CROSS
Mt. 27:35-37
After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there. A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
It was another day at the office following orders. The Jews were a rowdy group. They never got along with anyone. Now the soldiers had to wrestle their way through the crowd to put another Jew on the cross.
Life changing events can happen at the most unusual times. On the edge of the Roman Empire the Lord came. He lived and died in a backwater place called Israel. The Romans thought very little of the event.
The big event the Romans missed was the resurrection. He shed his blood and died for me but he didn’t stay in the tomb. The cruel cross was defeated by the power of God.
It took the blood of Christ to forgive my sin. The power of God gives me life. The blood of martyrs conquered the Roman Empire. What has Christ called you to do? It will take personal sacrifice and surrender to beat back the enemy.
THE CROSS
Evil, wicked, barren wood pointing at the sky.
Speaking out to all the world, “see who’s in control.”
Not unlike the life I’ve lived, planned and quickly paced.
Often thinking that it was me running all the race.
But just for me he walked from jail to hang upon the cross.
Hanging there for all to see God’s plan was best of all.
The soldiers nailed his hands and feet it was just a job.
The leader ordered the cross in place
He turned and looked my way.
I saw his face and it was me.
There was victory on that tree.
He lifted me from death to life.
THE ROOM
John 20:19-20
That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!
I was trained as an accountant to look at the facts. The fact is that a lot of different people witnessed the resurrected Christ.
I have a decision to make. Am I going to go it alone or chance it with Jesus? I’ve walked down dark alleys. The fear would be so heavy on my heart that I could barely breathe. When I got to the light it was as if the fears of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.
Jesus’ presence lifted the excruciating weight of the future off the disciples shoulder. Now they knew, He was alive.
The Room
Fear makes me do the things I said I wouldn’t do.
I twist and twirl and do the hoo-chi-coo.
It causes me to fabricate a face that isn’t there.
I also treat you badly cause I don’t think you care.
But Jesus knows my heart and all my hopes down deep.
He sees the things that make me crazy.
He reaches down inside of me and sets a captive free.
The things that made me twist and twirl are dead.
Now when I see you I can be a friend.
I don’t have to focus on who will win.
Christ has assured me that I count.
He is all and in all and lives inside my heart.
I am important and you are too.
No longer just competing I belong.
Unknown tomorrows create Savior’s song.
Jesus paid it all that I might have peace with God.
THE TOMB
Mt. 28:1
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb.
He wasn’t in the tomb. He had risen. The two Mary’s would be the first to know. His resurrection from the grave changed everything.
For many of us life was never easy. No one was there to teach the Godly how-tos of a successful life. I committed myself to learning the mechanics of life. I wanted to have all the good things that life offers. My ethics, activities and responses were based on a world system that is dead in its trespasses and sin.
I struggled on my own for a long time. Finally one day the Lord spoke to me. He pledged to show me how to live. He forgave me, He saved me and grafted me into His family.
His salvation put the power of the resurrection in me. Nearly 2000 years later He saved me by grace. Once I was a weak sinner focused on my own wants and needs. Now I am a child of God and a member of the Royal family.
I wasn’t looking for God He came looking for me. I praise Him that He did. Thank you Lord for saving me.
THE TOMB
Two came to outfit Him for rotting and decay.
They found a barren rock and a folded cloth.
Their minds were numbed with disappointment.
Who had taken Him? Where was His body.
I must confess that I too often want to fix things for God.
I see evil people that need to be corrected.
I want to get in their face and tell them what’s what.
I can always see their problems clearly.
Like Mary and Mary discovered, things aren’t always what we think.
My death cures their ills. Surrender heals their blindness.
The world comes into focus much better from my knees.
I can see clearly when I kneel on the rock.