“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in words alone, but in every leaf of springtime.” - Martin Luther
“In the resurrection, Christ has turned all of our sunsets into dawns.” …………………….. – St. Clement of Alexandria
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” …………………….. – The Gospel of St. Matthew 28:1-5
Adapted from “Continual Repentance” The Valley of Vision p. 76 (my paraphrase)
O God of Grace,
You have counted my sin to my Substitute
You have counted His righteousness to me
You have Clothed me with a Bridegroom’s Robe
You have Decked me with the Jewels of Holiness.
But in my Flesh – I am still in Rags
My best prayers, stained with sin;
My best tears, filled with impurity
My confessions of wrong, aggravated with pride
My receiving of the Spirit, subverted with selfishness
When I came across the painting above I had to chuckle at the notion that Kingdom of Darkness prevails. Sadly, there seems to be a lot Christians who operate as if this painting were an accurate reflection of the conflict.
(Please note that the graphic to the left is in high resolution so be sure to click on it to get a closer view.)
In the scriptures we are taught that there are two kingdoms that are presently in conflict – the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Christ. Unfortunately, at best, we often see this conflict as a cosmic, “dualistic” battle between good and evil – like we see in Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or Dante’s Inferno. At worst, we view the Kingdom of Christ as puny in comparison to the Kingdom of Darkness, which we imagine as the preeminent imposing power on the earth, while satan, along with his demonic cronies, is seen as the supreme ruler of our present age. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Read the rest of this entry »
Last evening at Surfside Pres we had a wonderful communion service. We focused on “The Seven Sayings of Christ from the Cross.” After each saying was read, a pastor reflected on the meaning of the phrase, then that thought was closed with the leader saying, “We adore you O Christ and bless you.” The congregation responded, “By your cross, you have redeemed the world.” I especially focused on the fourth saying of Christ found in Matthew 27:45-46. This is where Christ screams out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”
My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
At about the ninth hour, Jesus cried these words from the cross. In the recorded history of Christ that we have in the gospels, the most common way that Jesus made reference to God was Father. He called him Abba. Dada. Papa. The first words of a little child calling out to their Father. Of his Father, Jesus said things like: Read the rest of this entry »
“Christ as our propitiation is a precious thought because it means that the wrath of God that we deserved was removed. Christ absorbed it, and took it away. He became the curse for us and took away the judgment of God. God was propitiated by God.”
- John Piper in his sermon, “The Greatest Thing in the World”
Jesus died for me. What a thought. When I meditate upon that thought, I scarce can take it in. It is almost too terrible, too wonderful, too scandalous. In the scriptures, there are two kinds of death described – physical and spiritual. Certainly, when we say that – “Jesus died for me” – we are not simply saying that Christ died a physical death in our place, for we all, like everyone who has lived before us, will die a physical death. Don’t misunderstand me. The physical death of Christ was certainly necessary, for our propitiation, but it was not enough. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are a Christian and you ever feel the idol of “Facebook Righteousness” rising up in your heart, and you start loading your pistol and looking for “law breakers”, I offer these thoughts…
a. Cultural/Personal Variation - It might be considered that Christians come in many shapes and sizes. Some Christians feel comfortable using strong language. Some do not. Some feel comfortable drinking a beer. Some do not. This may or may not be a matter of sin. What defines a swear word for you or I, may not be defined as a swear word by others. Paul spoke of this plainly in 1 Corinthians 10 when he talked about the issue of meat sacrificed to idols. We must realize that areas of cultural variation in certain areas of ethical and moral behavior exists among gospel believing Christians. We simply have to live with that. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently I read a post on Facebook from a friend (yes, I have those) who was bemoaning the fact that many of her Christian friends do not meet her expectation of how to behave on the social network. She said that she was “saddened to see so much vulgarity come out of the mouths of people on Facebook who call themselves believers.” As my friend was shocked at the Vulgarity among Christians, I must admit that I am often disheartened by something else: the Self-righteousness among Christians. Sometimes the self-righteousness and anger that is displayed on Facebook in the name of Christ can be very discouraging indeed. It seems to me that the judgmentalism and self-goodness that is expressed on FB does the gospel far more harm than the vulgarity ever could. It can also be a bit disconcerting to see the resistance to self analysis that exists in believers whose most empirically, self-evidential claim is the fact of our depravity. Doesn’t most every Christian who asserts the Gospel of Christ begin with the fact that we are big, fat, sinners? Yet, on that theological truth, how forgetful we are. I include myself in this. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a poem written by my daughter – Callie Melton. She calls it “Made to Fly”. Whenever I read it, it makes me think of heaven. My heart yearns to dwell in that place where earth and sky are one, where the curse has been removed, where our doubts no longer master us,…where our faith has become sight and we dwell together with our God in the garden that he has prepared for us.
From Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Chapter titled “The Great Sin” – p. 108 in Collier
I now come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. Read the rest of this entry »
