He looked at you from the cross

Think about this.... Yeshua, Jesu Christo, Jesus of Nazareth looked down from the cross upon which He willingly was nailed... He remained upon a wooden cross made from a tree His Father God created, nailed with spikes through His wrists and feet that He could have melted with only the slightest command...

He remained - don't let this escape your mind and soul - because He looked down from that undeserved cross to see your face, my face... Our sins, and perhaps He may have thought, "Yes, they are worth the pain, the death, the separation from God... Yes." and He closed His eyes and said, "It IS Finished."

He suffered so and yet we twist and writhe in life-pain because we still do not trust Him.

We are our own torturer. Let it stop. Trust Him fully now, today.

Sorrow in Truth

What then shall we say when we are in such great sorrow, such loss, such torment from horrid events un-preceded by the qualifier, the validating word "seemingly?" What then shall we say to those whose tears flow unceasingly from their chins that torrents of angst crash wave upon wave as those torrents find their way to the soil beneath their feet making mud of a day in the life not to be forgotten?

Shall we say, "I am so sorry... is there anything I can do?" Should silence be our comfort, present yet quiet in the presence of such gripping and paralyzing pain that our normally chatty mouths fall silent, in requiem of thought words fail us... Comfort in the time of such pain, such utterly unjust suffering is conspicuously absent.

Yeshua! Yeshua Abi Ad! Unknown roads to we simple souls ambling about the dirt of Earth know nothing of Jesus' sacrifice for us, me and you. We know nothing of it because we cannot imagine the prayer of Yeshua in the Garden of Gethsemene, pleading with His Father to take this cup from His shoulders, it is is His Will. IF, in this case is plead through hematidrosis, or sweating literal blood. The "wait" of the world of sin rested upon His, Yeshua's shoulders while a madding crowd clammored for His crucifixion... Innocent yet condemned. The world waited for hope while yet they murdered He who bore their weight, our burden of sin.

What held Him to the post while He was being whipped mercilessly by the Roman Guards? What held Him to the cross as He walked, fell, and slid hundreds of yards with a petibulum upon His torn and shredded back? He, Yeshua did not deserve this because He was innocent of sin, it was me, ME who deserved the weight upon my pitiful shoulders because it is I, my sin. My wrongs for which He went willingly to the torture and death, nailed to a cross He didn't deserve, in my place, in MY place. What could it have been to keep Him upon the cross? Was it the nails?

No, the nails did not keep Him upon the cross. What could have driven Him to suffer so unjust a punishment? What drove His steps to the foot of the cross when His steps were yet perfect and just? What kept Jesus of Nazareth on the cross, the nails?

No, it was Love - perfect Love of which we truly do not fully comprehend.

What keeps us nailed to our "crosses?" Those self-imposed crosses that we cannot quite escape yet we consistently plod toward our habits that haunt us, decisions that we fear, choices we must make and yet we concede we cannot make the decision because the weight of the world, or our family rests upon our shoulders to make the right choice... What keeps us standing in the gap for our family, going to work when it seems we are swimming up stream in a deadly current of challenge? What keeps us on task? Love.

What kept Jesus on the cross? The nails? No, it was Love, perfect Love for you and I that we may never truly understand until upon His face we stare, amazed, in awe, in person with the One who gave all for us, because He loves us. No, the nails, nor the guards, nor the crooked High Priests, nor the angry crowd, not even Satan Himself kept Jesus on the cross because they could not. He could have upon the whisper of His voice been raised above the cross in glory and power, the suffering and humiliation to end.... Not even God, His very Father kept Jesus upon the cross.... It was, it is, Jesus' Love for us.

Whatever your decision, whatever your sorrow, whatever seems insurmountable in your life know this.... Jesus is merely a prayer away. He is our wise Counselor, or Friend, our Guide, our Comforter, our Provider.

Some of you are paralyzed by this economy and you sleep in fear every night awaiting the next reel of bad news... some of you cannot sleep. Fear grips you. Indecision paralyzes you. Know this and do not forget; that same Jesus Christ who willingly went to the cross to die an unjust and horrific death did not stay on the cross, nor did He stay dead... He lives today and He loves you.

It is time you had a chat with Jesus, and listened to what He has to say. Sometimes He will direct us to do what hurts us for awhile.... Giving up a job, a habit or habits... giving up an affair you think no one knows about, anger you think no one notices, greed you think is highly appropriate among your peers..... There is much sorrow in Truth sometimes.

However; the Truth doesn't always have to hurt....

The Path not taken

Are you traveling a path of fear as you drive home tonight? Are you weighed heavy with worry? Are there decisions that appear to be too great to properly decide? If one were to watch the news with any regularity it would seem the news cannot get anymore negative, and yet it gets worse anyway.

What does our Messiah have to say about the path we are on versus the Path we are to take?

Luke 21:25-36 (NASB)
25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 "Then they will see The Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
36 "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Have you "recognized" yet? Are you "On guard?" Are your hearts "weighed down dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life?"

When is the last long time you prayed with and to God to lift your heart, your mission, your eyes to the Heaven to come? Have you ever asked God to allow you a momentary glimpse of Heaven, while here on Earth? Have you so hungered and thirsted after God that this world seemed to momentarily disappear? A moment of Heaven is a moment shared with God, waiting, in happy anticipation of what He is bringing for those who seek Him, those whose knees are raw in repentance and acknowledgment of just What God is.

When Jesus Christ returns every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that He is the Christ, the crucified and Risen One... and we will be taken up with Him.. It will be so fast you won't have time to rethink your current path. All those who do not confess His Name and His place will condemn themselves to another path for all of eternity.

For that path there is no government bail out plan.

Forlorn

Are you forlorn? What exactly is "Forlorn?" How does one get forlorn? Is one person more likely to become forlorn than another? Is it hereditary? Can you marry into forlornity? Can your kids make you forlorn? How about your neighbor?

Here is the dictionary definition:

Hopeless, miserable.

Are you a GM or Ford, or Chrysler employee? You might feel nearly hopeless, or forlorn. Are you a bank employee? You might feel nearly hopeless, or forlorn. Do you have a mortgage that the rate just went up? You might feel hopeless, or forlorn. If you are like many people these days, you're afraid of what today will bring, and you are likely more afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

You get my drift. There are a lot of people who at this moment, feel forlorn.

NASB) Lk 21:25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 "Then they will see The Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Things here on Earth are tough, that is true. Things were tough in the 20's. 30's. 40's. 50's. 60's. And so on... 1820's. 1830's. 1840's... and so on.

Things were tough in the 1920's, 30's, 40's and on until now, 2008. They will be tough in 2009, 2010, 2011, and so on... That is what it is, life. What makes us forlorn is the amount of hopelessness we allow ourselves to feel and internalize. Much of what we internalize, we externalize through our speech, to our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors. When we externalize we give food to the feeling, whether the feeling is an accurate rendering of reality or not.

As Christians, or followers of Yeshua, Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior of those that acknowledge and accept Him as the ressurrected Savior; we are told in this verse of Jesus' Words - Stop worrying because there will be weather troubles, nation troubles, and floods but the Son of Man (Jesus) will come back for us in a cloud with power and great glory. What are we to do at that time (which could be this time)?

We are to straighten up, lift our heads up, because that same Savior is coming for us, and all will be well. Really, our worries are for nothing since we know how this story ends and we are going to live it...

Who SHOULD worry? Those that should worry are those that have never acknowledged Jesus Christ as the One who God sent to live sinless here on this difficult Earth for 33 years, be unjustly tried for crimes He did not commit, and die on a wooden cross only to gain victory over the grave as our Savior.... Those who have never repented of their sins, their wrongs, their "junk." It is hard to not worry in light of tremendous pressure on us from every side... However; we do have hope...

This Hope is more than just a catchy political slogan... This Hope is well-placed in Jesus Christ... Have you had a conversation with Jesus lately? Don't be forlorn, have that talk today...

"Betting" on God

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

God is a God Who is not subjected to "the odds" of man. The economy, the election, your relationships, your finances, your fears, your unanswered questions - God is not moved by those in and of themselves. God IS moved by how those issues effect your faith in Him, how you serve and glorify Him, how you represent Him.

Wow, hard to swallow?

I know, and in my life I have had to recognize the error(s) in my ways and realize there is a price for choosing to do wrong, or even by not choosing to do the right thing. There are things we are responsible for, and God doesn't tell us He will intervene in those areas. What He tells us is that He will act in those areas that are supernaturally outside of our control of influence.

Bottom-lining it:
*If we are lazy at our jobs, we might get fired.
*If we steal from our jobs, we might get fired.
*If we are late to work a lot of days, we might get fired.
*If we buy more things than the money we have, we can't pay our bills, bill collectors come take our stuff away, and our credit, as well as our reputations are tarnished.
*If we buy more house than we know we can afford - I am not talking about how much your realtor, your mortgage broker, or even your bank tells you you can afford. I am talking about how much YOU know you can afford - we will fall behind in our payments, we will eventually be foreclosed upon, and we will be out on the street or living in one of our friends or family's basements.
* If we don't brush our teeth, they will rot and fall out... not right away, but over time. In the meantime, your friends and family might not let your stinky breath up in their house when you lose your house, even in their basements! So, brush your teeth!
* If we don't wash our bodies, we will stink. Some take longer for the stink to set in than others... Wash your body! Remember, if you lose your home, your friends won't let you in if you stink. By the way, if you are married, or ever hope to be married - you better re-read the last several points if you don't do so well in that category...
* If we don't read books, study life and living, we will eventually get, or remain stupid, and we won't get or keep our jobs, and we will lose our jobs, and we will lose our house, and so on... Plus, if you are married, or ever hope to be married, you better educate yourself... dinner conversations will be awfully short and boring if we are dumb.
* If we don't study the Bible - God's Word to us, and we don't pray - God's Words for us and with us, we will grow lonely and without His leadership and correction and encouragement, we will be so poor it won't matter what kind of house or job we have.
* If you are banking on the odds that "bad things won't happen to you, that your health will always be good, the company you work for won't one day close, or you might not ever suffer an injury that keeps you from working, or even that the results of the election has terrible impact on your life.... Let it go, those are odds and God doesn't deal with odds.

We need to do our part and help ourselves by making smart decisions, being conservative with our money, working hard at our jobs - whether we like them or not, and we need to help others who deserve our help... I have been helped by a dear friend when my health slammed me with financial needs that I could not meet... God bless that friend!

* Nobody gets out of this world alive... You better find your faith, find God, find your work ethic, find your friendliness, find your "normal" - people don't like to be around people who freak them out!
* Find your "Fight" and find your love.... Sometimes we have to fight for our resolve... Our resolve to continue in a job that pays our bills, but that we hate. A job that we know we won't do forever, but in which we spend more time forwarding chain emails than we do in getting better and doing better at our jobs... A job that isn't glamorous, but is what it is, and we must Fight to keep our attitude in check and positive... Resolve to speak with God more... Resolve to read His Word more... Resolve to be more positive and cheerful. Trust me, no one likes to be around someone who is always down, always negative, always toxic... If you know God, act like it!
* Now I know some of my subscribers - if they have gotten this far in the post - will say, "But you don't know how bad it is for me!!!! But, Butt, Buttttt!" How long are you going to say that in your life? The odds are, a loooooong time. Resolve.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
This post dedicated to the great Sussex County philosopher CFB.

Buzzards are pretty too, from a distance...

It has been awhile since I wrote on my blog as some of you have reminded me lately. I promised I wouldn't write unless God inspired me to write. Today I was inspired.

Beauty can be deceptive. Sometimes what we think is beautiful, isn't. Sometimes what we think is good, isn't. Sometimes we know it isn't beautiful the closer we get, but we close our eyes, so as to not see the danger. We plod ahead because we want to, and then, when we finally open our eyes, what we thought was beautiful is actually ugly, very ugly.

Beauty can be trickery, and sometimes beauty can be a trap into sin. Think of David, the king on the roof of his palace, looking down upon Bathsheba, the wife of one of his trusted soldiers. She was bathing, she was beautiful, and she was married.

2 Samuel 11:2-5 (NASB) 2Sa 11:2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, "I am pregnant." (emphasis mine.)

Have you ever seen buzzards flying afar off? High in the sky? They are truly beautiful and skilled flyers. They look like beautiful hawks from a distance and when they are aflight surfing the thermals as experts of the sky they are beautiful indeed. Then, when you see a buzzard on the ground, up close, the beauty is gone and we are often repulsed by their appearance and their duty - to eat the dead bodies that accumulate in the wild before they rot. What the buzzards do is beneficial, they are "good birds!" But you don't know how ugly they are from a distance, only when you get closer do we truly and accurately see enough to be repulsed.

That is the way temptation and sin is... from a distance it always appears "beautiful," but then we get close enough to burn ourselves, our family, our reputations, our image before God. In my ministry and counseling practice I see people give it all up, lose it all due to a choice to do the wrong thing before God, their family, their community, and themselves. Then, when it is all gone we look to God and say we made a "mistake."

A famous politician just did this and after years of subtrefuge and outright lying he partially "came clean." The half-truth will not set you free and in the end that politician will have to answer to God and trust me, with God, there are no half-truths.

God looks beyond our ugly sin and loves us just the same, but He is most interested in our repentance and obedience to Him and of His Law. We CAN come to Christ "just as we are" but if we truly come to Christ we cannot help but to be changed. Sometimes we have to come to Jesus daily to confess our sins, I know I do... Remember this; keep short accounts with God. Study God's Word. Talk with God, daily...

Trust me on this, your eyesight will be better because He will help you to see, buzzards are pretty too, from a distance.

The Prayer of "We."

Have you ever read Daniel Chapter 9? I mean REEEEALLY read it? Well then, you are in luck! I will paste it here and place a brief comment at the bottom. Happy reading!

Daniel 9:3-19 (NASB) Da 9:3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 "Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 "To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 "Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 "As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14 "Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. 15 "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Now, THAT is prayer! Now THAT is repentence! Did you happen to notice the number of "we's" in Daniel's prayer. Was he guilty of disobedience? No. Was he guilty of idolatry? No. Was He guilty of unfaithfulness? No. Yet he prayed as one who sinned. This prayer is intense and so too was the immediacy of the answer below.

Daniel 9:20-22 (NASB) Da 9:20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

Perhaps our prayers lack answer because they lack praying, rather than saying... There is power in the prayer of "we." Jesus Christ accepted the punishment for guilt that was not His own. Daniel self-ascribed blame while face-forward pleading to the Living God, and immediately an Angel appeared giving insight and understanding. As it is in all cases regardless of our obedience or understanding, God is God and if we are to be forgiven, we must be sincere in our repentence or perhaps our whispered, politically correct prayers will go unheard by the God of Wonders and God of Might.

"Oh LORD my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy Hands have done..."