Power of the Cross

October 20th 2016
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 (NIV)

Power of the Cross

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.'"

Paul here is writing to the Church of Corinth, and he wants to remind them of something that is hard to understand by means of "worldly wisdom". He talks of how Jews would often look for "signs" from God, and the Greeks would see through the lens of wisdom. But the idea of Jesus crucified must have frustrated both Jew and Greek, for the "sign" of establishing an earthly Kingdom of God was seemingly misplaced, and there was seemingly no wisdom in following a cause that led to such a brutal death.

Yet, the message of the cross is the power of God to those who are being saved!

I have recently read the article online of the 12 Christians who were martyred for their faith by the Islamic State of ISIS outside of Syria in late August this year. It has really burdened me to hear of the horrifying details of the unspeakable acts done to these twelve brave souls. It got me thinking about if I were in the same situation, I would be consumed with nothing but hate for the people of ISIS who have no regard for human life and who feel their actions are justified by their religious law.

But that is not what the eye-witnesses observed about the 12 Christians who were martyred that day. It was said that some of the Christians were praying the Lord's Prayer, while some were commending their spirits to Jesus (similar to the Stoning of Stephen in the Book of Acts). They would not recant their belief in Jesus to their dying breath, and not a hand of violent retaliation was raised. To the world this seems foolish. If you were going to die, wouldn't you want to go out fighting? Wouldn't you want to take revenge on those who brought such suffering to you and your loved ones? 

Yet, the message of the cross is the power of God to those who are being saved!

The blood of the martyrs has not squelched the movement of Christianity in the Middle East as ISIS would hope, but rather has been seed to multiply followers of the same commitment and faith in Jesus. This is not a new story. Think of the Underground Church movement in China, or the Missionary movement among the tribes in Africa, or even way back to the early church when Rome tried to crush Christianity for good. Yet Christ remains to this very day. None can stop Him, and those who try only fan the flame even bigger than it was before. 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

"Lord Jesus, I thank You for those who went before us bravely taking on the ultimate sacrifice for Your name. I know they did not suffer in vain, for their story lives on, and they are richly rewarded in Heaven. Help me to have the same faith that is willing to give my everything, for You gave Yours for me on the cross. Amen."

Culture Snares

June 8 2016
Scripture: Psalm 106:34-36 (ESV)

Culture Snares

"They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them."

The Psalmist gives an overarching view of the history of Israel, from leaving Egypt to entering the Promised Land. The Lord commanded that they should destroy all the inhabitants of the land, but they failed to do so and mixed cultures. They adopted the idols of Canaan and started to worship as they did with horrible sinful acts. They would sacrifice their children to these idols by throwing their first born into the mouth of a furnace, believing they would somehow be blessed for doing so. The innocent's blood poured out over the land. 

When culture demands me to compromise in areas of my faith, it becomes a snare that limits the freedom I can have in Christ. Maybe culture isn't asking me to sacrifice my children to a statue of a god. Yet, look again, hundreds of thousands of children die by the will of their parents every year due to abortion. If we were abhorred at these ancient people for killing their own children, what about today? It's genocide. 

We must unlearn what culture has deemed acceptable, and free ourselves from the snares we hold onto as normal. God's word gives us true insight and exposes culture's snares. He has mapped out the best way to live in this life and the next.

"Lord Jesus, please free me from any snares that make me stumble. I know true freedom is found in the Name of Jesus. Amen." 

Joint Custody

April 11 2016
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:4 (ESV)

Joint Custody

"For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does."

Being married now for over a year and a half, I begin to understand the meaning of this verse. I never thought my patterns of life would need to change once I got married. Yet, my bacheloristic lifestyle was far from the perfect way a family should live. So what if I fling my socks across the room after a long day, or fold my laundry a certain way I like, or play a video game to relax my mind?  

The truth is, I didn't really know how selfish I could be until I had to share my bathroom, my free time, and my bed etc. But even so, I don't consider any of this a loss, because by the power of Christ, I love my wife more than I love myself. Though I had to change and give up some things along the way, I would gladly surrender my rights for her, because my love for her conquers my selfishness for me. 

From the moment I said, "I Do", I no longer possess full custody over Luke Wilson. As a loving husband, I must learn to live by the principle that I am not my own. This doesn't mean that I must never have things to myself, like hobbies, goals, or dreams, for God made me an individual person apart from my wife. But what this does mean is that I must be willing to put myself and my agenda down on the line for the love of my marriage. When she needs me, I must not deny her physically, or deny her my service, or deny her my attention, or my affection. Likewise she does the same for me because true love conquers selfishness. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You for blessing me with an amazing godly wife. I pray that I will continually become less selfish as I love her the rest of my life. Let me be reminded that I am not my own, but Yours and her's. Help me to always be ready to show my love to her when she needs me, even when I don't feel like it. Amen."

Sacrifice Saves

March 25 2016
Scripture: Luke 22:19-20 (ESV)

Sacrifice Saves

"And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'"

On the evening of the Passover Feast Jesus shared the table with His disciples for one last meal. On this night it was traditional for Jews to kill and eat a lamb, spreading the blood on the doorpost of their house in remembrance of when the Israelites left the land of Egypt, no longer slaves, but a free people. In their culture sacrifice saves. They would kill many animals to atone for their unholiness and rebuild relationship with the Holy God. But Jesus set in place a new celebration and a new covenant. Later that evening, He would become the lamb to be killed, His body broken, His blood poured out on the cross. Sacrifice Saves. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, He was able to liberate us from sin and death, and bring us into God's kingdom a free people, through His rising again to life on the third day. So He tells his disciples, and all Christians, to eat bread and drink remembering our day of freedom, our spiritual Independence Day!

In my life, that celebration is not always what it should be. I'm very much guilty of eating dry bread and drinking grape juice without really remembering the lamb who made my freedom possible. In Canada Remembrance Day is BIG. It is a little bit like the USA Veterans Day, but the whole nation, town by town, takes this day to remember those who died to protect their freedom. They take a time to celebrate with a solemn and sweet atmosphere remembering, "sacrifice saves". If I would take the time to honor the people who died for me, how much more should I celebrate the God who died for me? I will approach the table of Communion with a humble gratitude for the act that saved me not just in this life, but the heavenly life to come.

"Lord Jesus, thank You for being the sacrifice that saves us. Help me to live remembering and celebrating what You did. Thank You for letting Your body be broken and Your blood spilled out that I might have a relationship with the God who created me and loves me. I will remember. Amen."

Give It Up

March 23 2016
Scripture: Luke 18:29-30 (ESV)

Give It Up

"And He said to them, 'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers and sisters or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.'"

Jesus had just asked a rich man to give away his earthly wealth and follow Him, but he went away sad because he did not want to part with the many things he had. Jesus then states how nearly impossible it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. His eager disciple Peter chimes in saying, "We gave up our homes and followed you." At first, the next verses looks like an oxymoron that Jesus promises more wealth in this life and the next. Many of Jesus' followers were dirt poor. They suffered beatings, ridicule, imprisonment, and some endured deaths similar to Christ. This doesn't look like, "many times more in this time", but Jesus' words are true nonetheless. Jesus was talking about heavenly treasures, not earthly, like the rich man's stuff. Outwardly, you may have the least, but when you leave behind earthly things for Christ, inwardly you experience the best thing there is: God's presence. So leaving behind the comfort of home and family can be sad, and you may miss it, like Peter, but that's okay, because you will be blessed for what you give up.

If I want to see eternal treasures grow in my life, I must be willing to give up my riches and comfort so that God's kingdom can greater impact my life. It is okay for me to miss the people I left behind, but God will surely bless me for it. A great way to view my possessions is that they were never mine to begin with. "Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). My stuff is God's stuff and if He wants to use it for something else, then that's okay with me, because it's all His anyways.

"Lord Jesus, thank you that whenever I give up something good for You, You will bless me for it. Help me to view my stuff as Your stuff, because I know You gave it to me. Though I may never have millions in this life, I know I am rich in You! Amen."