Lenten Thoughts - Week 5

Awesified!

Now that we created a new word this past Sunday, are you awesified with the Gospel? Are you awesified that Jesus has come to liberate you from your sins, your fears, and your doubts? He has come to set you free from your burdens and temptations. All Jesus’ mighty works of teaching, healing, and casting out demons are to remind and affirm to us that he has come to set us free from the evil influences of this world and to live as God intended—to love God and our neighbor with our new heart. Because of Jesus being and acting as the Messiah, Savior and Redeemer of our souls and community, we are free not to judge others, we are free to fight sexual sins, we are free to forgive others who have hurt us, we are free to take care of God’s world, we are free not to “keep up with the Jones”, we are free to care for the poor, the sick and the lame, we are free to honestly confess our struggles with others, we are free to put others interest before ourselves, we are free to be thankful and not complain, we are free from anger and resentment, we are free from bitterness and gossip, we are free to do good to those who hate us, and we are free to serve our community in mercy and justice. I could go on and you have probably thought other things that Jesus has freed us from. Be awesified that Jesus has come to set and make us free!!

His perfect life, his mighty works, his sacrificial death, his supernatural resurrection, and his kingly ascension remind us to be awesified. But they also remind us that He is awesified with us. He did all these things not just to wow us but so that we believe that He is wowed with us. He is and acts because He loves us and wants a deep and intimate relationship with us. Read again Luke 4 and be awesified but also read it knowing that he had you in mind and Jesus is awesified with you. Scripture says that He rejoices over us (Isaiah 62:5).

Here what Henri Nouwen encourages, “God rejoices. Not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end, nor because thousands of people have been converted and are now praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found. What I am called to is to enter into that joy. It is God’s joy, not the joy that the world offers. It is the joy that comes from seeing a child walk home amid all the destruction, devastation, and anguish of the world.”

And this one reason why Jesus has come— for us to experience this Father/child relationship so that we can be set free to live as his sons and daughters and reflect Him and His character even in the midst of all the brokenness we experience in this world. May it be so!

Warmly,

Pastor Jeff

Lenten Thoughts - Week 4

Family,

As I was reading through the book of Joshua this morning I was struck again by how jolting the story of Israel’s conquest of Jericho and the subsequent sin of Achan is for us. The Lord commanded Joshua to tell Israel that everything in the city was devoted to destruction. This meant men and women, young and old, sheep, and donkeys (Jos. 6:21). Only the silver, gold, and bronze vessels were to be kept for the treasury of the Lord (Jos. 6:19). Israel did as they were commanded and killed every living thing, human and animal. But Achan saw, coveted, and took what was forbidden (just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; Gen. 3:6; Jos. 7:20-21). When he was found out he and all that belonged to him, his stolen goods, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, even his tent became devoted to destruction. He and his family were stoned to death and the everything was burned with fire (Jos. 7:24-26).

We need not deny or ignore how troubling texts like these are to our sensibilities. How is it that the God of all creation, who is love, could approve of, even command, such brutal acts of war? Surely this is out of character for a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6-7).

I don’t think that God is surprised that texts like these offend us. He wants to shock us out of our ho-hum approach to sin. He puts on display for us his absolute and holy justice so that we will be absolutely clear on the proper penalty for sin against a holy God. It is precisely this justly deserved penalty of judgment, condemnation, and destruction that Jesus Christ saves us from. A proper understanding of God’s justice does not allow us (as Pastor Jeff reminded us on Sunday) to think we’re OK, not that bad.

While the display of God’s justice is meant to shock us out of our ho-hum approach to our sin and the sin around us, so also the display of God’s great mercy towards us in the portrayal of Jesus Christ on the cross (Gal. 3:1), taking the immeasurable weight and pain of our judgment upon himself, is meant to drive us to our knees in repentance, thanksgiving, praise, faith, and commitment to him.

“Jesus I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art.” Are you resting in him today?

In Christ,

Irwyn Ince
Pastor