How great is our God

I'm sorry for not writing the blog on today's reading, but I thought I share what I learned from our small group last night.
We watched a video of Pastor Louie Giglio's sermon about the universe and how every particle in the universe has been created by God's breath alone. He went into extensive detail on how small earth is compare to some of the stars that are out there. He went onto saying that the earth is only a very tiny particle compared to all the things that God created and we are only very tiny part of earth. In conclusion, he said that God cares deeply about every one of us and we are created in God's image, fearfully and wonderfully made. We are very special in God's eyes despite our lack of knowledge of God's scale or no matter how strongly we believe God doesn't care or how insurmountable our problem may seem God is holding us together and is helping us every second, every step of the way.

His Cry of Dereliction

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ..."My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45-46

Most people know the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross but in today's reflection, Stott's emphasis on the silence of Jesus really stood out for me.

As I sit and try to imagine the silence of Jesus on the cross for the three LONG hours and the unexplainable darkness that fell over the land, I shudder at the magnitude of Christ's suffering, the abandonment he felt, the significance of the crime that had been committed and the sacrifice that had been made.

Words cannot properly express this incredible act of love and sacrifice as he undeservedly bore our sins in silence.

I think about how I claim to "love" my family, friends, church family, and neighbors but its so hard to sacrifice myself for someone that I claim to love...much less bear it in silence. But I suppose that is how we should be.

Jesus not only saved us from our sins that day on Calvary but in his death he teaches us not only to love (from P. James' reflection yesterday) but also how to sacrifice for one another as well.

The Third Words of Jesus on the Cross

Jesus said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son" and to his disciple (John), "here is your mother."

We are all familiar (or at least should be familiar) with the 7 words of Christ on the cross. Each of these words of Jesus indicates something very important about the nature of his death. Here, the third words of Christ is teaching us that his death now bring about a new relationship among believer in him. Jesus was more than just saying to John, 'take care of my mother since I won't be around.' Rather he was telling his mother and telling John (and we can include ourselves as well) that his death will change their relationship to each other. Isn't that wonderful! Believers in Christ, are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters to one another. The blood that was shed by Jesus now binds us together as a spiritual family. It doesn't break the tie of relationship we have with our human physical family although sometimes we will be forced to do that. This Christ-centered family is now more important than any earthly family.

The implications for this is so staggering! We all value our earthly family. Most of us see that as our "real" family. But what does the life of Christ teach us? What does the lives of the apostles teach us? It teaches us that the relationship we have with one another in Christ is more important and even more primary. Why do I say that? Because, some people, in fact, many people in the world are forced to choose betwen following Christ and joining the church, or choosing to reject Christ for fear of family rejection. I remember, Steve Cohen, a Jewish believer in Christ. He lost his entire family, father, mother, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters. No one in his family would accept his conversion from Judaism to Christianity. He lost his earthly family but gain an eternal family in Christ. I hope that in our church, we can think more like this and experience a deeper spiritual bond with one another. Let's all pray for that!

Posted by Pastor James

Christ suffered for me, and even wants to suffer with me.

I'm sure most people have heard the term, wallowing-as in wallowing in pain or wallowing in sorrow. Today, I have been convicted of wallowing in comfort. It's not just laziness or procrastination but a sense of having peace and comfort in the midst of trials but instead of continuing on to climb higher, I found myself wanting to bask in God's comfort a little longer. The last time I got off my knees, I felt comforted, encouraged and refreshed. I know I should return daily to that place of seeking God and seeking His guidance but I found myself taking my new found strength and applying it else where. Though I felt some nagging in the back of my head, I told myself, "I'm OK, I'm walking with the Lord and He is in control. God loves me ta la la la la. As if I shouldn't have to keep bothering myself and Him with my issues. Then it hit me. Oops I forgot it's my turn to do the blog! As I read today's reading on Christ's suffering, I was reminded that while Christians are called to suffer for many reasons, I can relate to suffering on how it keeps me depending on God. It keeps me looking to Jesus as my shepherd. I am thankful to Jesus for leading me closer to Him. However, I am also convicted from wanting to remain in the place of comfort and peace. I am reluctant to bring up all the things within me that are uncertain, burdensome, or painful and lay them down at His feet on a daily basis. I feel great that God has answered some of my prayers but instead of being satisfied, I feel Christ giving me a nudge to say "let's keep working".

I am humbled to realize that Christ suffered so much to accomplish God's will on earth. Not only that, He is willing to suffer with me until God's will is finished in me. He has patience I don't even have for myself. He is willing to accept the burdens that I am reluctant to lift up to Him. For this I am less afraid of being in a place of suffering because I know Christ is with me.

The New Temple

How does it feel to be the Lord of all the Universe who came in love to redeem the world, suffered the pain of betrayal, saw all His friends desert him, undergo the injustice of a sham trial, endure the agony of the most torturous death devised by the Romans, and then see those who orchestrated it all to insult you as you died?

No one but God could shoulder such a burden and offer the opportunity of redemption to mankind- even those that plotted against his death.

When I read today's reading, I was really encouraged. Jesus is the new temple who exists as a way for all of us to become closer to God. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the whole redemptive process is one that really leaves me in awe.

Who could have figured that Jesus would be the "focus of the new messianic community." If He was the new temple, then the claim would also be that He is also God Himself. Imagine the outrage and shock from the established socio-religious community at the time.

Yet Jesus did not come to merely shake things up for the sake of being a radical. His actions and words are often referred to as radical only because He actually showed how humans were meant to live without sin, love others, and glorify God. He showed us our creation purpose before the great fall.

Jesus came because he loved us and to save us. He came to become the new temple so that we could draw nearer to him. Even though we may have heard it a thousand times, it should never get old whenever we do. Instead, the opposite should happen. It should renew us every time and help us draw closer in communion to Jesus.

The Crucifixion

I remembered the sermon that pastor Redford preached last month. He described us how the people surrounded the Cross where Jesus was hang looked to him in different ways. He mentioned about soldiers gambling on Jesus' garment, the priests and lawyers mocking and ridiculing, and the angry criminal cursing Jesus as he was slowly dying.
However, there were family and disciples of Jesus watching Jesus dying helplessly and perheps wishing God would release Jesus from such inconceivable pain,suffering, and death. If I were there at Glgotha as a spectator, I probably wish the same thing.
Nevertheless another criminal next to Jesus truly saw him as his Messiah and Savior and asked Jesus to remmember him when He enters into His kingdom (Luke 23:42).
"In order to save them he must remain on the cross and die." (Stott)
In order for Jesus to promise the criminal,"...today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43, Jesus had to die in our place.
Do people know such a sacrifice that Jesus made for them?
For some,cross around their necks means nothing but the fashion statement.
But for those who were agonizing over Christ's broken body and suffering in replace of mine but filled with gratitude of his deliverance and redemption, we can join with Paul saying," May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord," (Gal 6:14)

Simon of Cyrene

We always hear about the analogy of a guilty felon standing before a judge and Jesus coming in to pay our debt. I don't claim to understand the meaning behind the atonement, but for me, the scene from the movie Jesus of Nazareth where a grungy Barabbas stands opposite a tortured Jesus facing a violent crowd screaming for blood rings closer to the truth in conveying the gravity of the sacrifice that was made.

Whether Stott's observation or something that I just totally missed before, I really admire the comparison of our experience with these three individuals, i.e. Judas, Barabbas, and Simon. I never appreciated till now how the account of Simon is more than an interesting story but a direct invitation for us to live in the reality of what was done on our behalf.