God Should Not Be Our Priority!

I was reading a book at lunch today called The Shack by William Young. Many people have asked me about my opinion on this best-seller and the theology it teaches, and once I'm finished with the book, I will post my view. But I ran across a very interesting and insightful paragraph today that I want to share with you. I have changed the names a little so this will make better sense to those who have not read the book and thus don't know the characters...

"The trouble with living by priorities," [the Holy Spirit] spoke, "is that it sees everything as a hierarchy, a pyramid, and you and I have already had that discussion. If you put God at the top, what does that really mean and how much is enough? How much time do you give me before you can go on about the rest of your day, the part that interests you so much more?" [God the Father] interrupted. "You see, Mackenzie, I don't just want a piece of you and a piece of your life. Even if you were able, which you are not, to give me the biggest piece, that is not what I want. I want all of you and all of every part of you and your day." Jesus now spoke again. "Mack, I don't want to be first among a list of values; I want to be the center of everything. When I live in you, then together we can live through everything that happens to you. Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile, where everything in your life--your friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities-- is connected to me but moves with the wind, in and out and back and forth, in an incredible dance of being."

The phrase that most caught my attention was, "I don't want to be first among a list of values; I want to be the center of everything."

The real question is not, "How big a part of your life will you give to the Lord?" It isn't even, "What priority is God going to take in your life?" The real question is whether or not your focus stays on Him in everything you do... job... family... hobbies... ministry... and so on...

Pastor Noel

Was Sunday A Good Day?

Twenty-two people from nine families joined our church...

Two people made public their surrender to full time missions work in Africa...

Pastor Noel

Stausz's Commit To Kenya

Exciting News!

Greg and Lisa Strausz, a young couple in our church, made public today in church their decision to sell everything they have and move to Kenya to work with our partner church there and the unreached people group with whom we have started a new work.

I believe this is one of the greatest days in the history of our church. I am amazed how fast God has worked from a conversation over my dinner table with Pastor Fredrick about a year ago about this unreached people group to today where we have an ongoing ministry to that group of Muslims, we are sending a large number of their orphaned children to a Christian school, and now we have this couple going over to help with the work! Wow!

Please pray for Greg and Lisa. This is a great commitment (a bigger commitment than most of us will ever make). Thank God for their willingness to sacrifice and go (a level of sacrifice that few of us will ever make).

What a great day!

Pastor Noel Dear

It Has Begun...

The daily devotion blog (MyMornings.blogspot.com) officially started this morning. Make sure you read the blog post entitled "Introduction -- Part III" before you begin.

Pastor Noel

My Mornings -- Part II

If you haven't read the 'My Mornings' blog post then you should stop and read that first.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your daily devotions or quiet times...

• Read the Bible -- This may seem obvious, but many people lean to much on devotional books. Those may be helpful, but it is important that we read God's Word and not just what someone says about God's Word. I suggest you use a Bible that is easy for you to read, especially if you are just getting started in your quiet times.
  

• Use a Notebook & Pen -- You should write down the things you learn during your devotional time. When you go to an important meeting with your boss you write down what he or she says, why not treat your meeting with the Lord each morning with the same seriousness.

• Mark in your Bible -- If your Bible has large enough margins, jot notes about what you discover. These will be very useful to you through the years. Develop a system that uses colored pens or pencils. I write things I learn and new insights I discover in black ink. I use blue ink to write things I learn that I should begin to do... action lessons. When I find things I should be thankful for or things that I should praise God for, I mark them with red ink. If your Bible doesn't have wide enough margins for this, you can put little numbers next to the passages you want to jot a note about and then write the corresponding number in your notebook and record your thoughts there.

• Find a good place -- It is best to have a certain time and place where you have your daily devotions. This should be a place free of distractions.
  

• Focus on Faithfulness -- Your faithfulness is much more important than the length of time you spend each day. While you don't want to rush through this, and spending more time will certainly be better, the most important thing is that this is a DAILY habit.

• Keep a Prayer Journal -- Whether it is in your Bible Study notebook or in a separate journal, you should write down the things you want to pray for. A simple list is better than nothing, but the more specific you record this, the more helpful it will be to you.

• Have a CHAT with the Lord -- The best way I know to outline your prayers is to use the acronym C-H-A-T. C stands for Confession. H stands for Honor. A stands for Asking. T stands for Thanksgiving. I use this daily to guide my morning prayers.

Well, we will get started tomorrow. Don't forget to check out MyMornings.blogspot.com. (This is a duplicate post with the one on the other blog. The actual quiet time posts will only be found on the MyMornings blog.)

Pastor Noel

My Mornings

Last Sunday morning I was preaching on the Parable of the Soils from Mark 4. One of the points I was emphasizing was the importance of getting God's Word into your life. Many people expose themselves to God's Word by casually attending a church service from time to time or by flipping through their Bibles when they feel like it. Others will occasionally read Christian books or magazines. But none of these activities really qualifies as getting the Word of God into your life as the Parable of Soils pictures for us.

Sunday I compared our 'exposure' to God's Word to a hot, tired, athlete who is about to die of thirst being splashed with water from a hose. Initially the splash might seem refreshing, but it will not be satisfying. No! The hot, tired, thirsty athlete does not need to be splashed with water, he needs to drink the water. The only way he can be satisfied and renewed is to take the water in his body!

In the message I shared several ways a person can take God's Word into his or her life. One of the most important ways is through a daily time of Bible Study and Prayer. Often we call this a 'Quiet Time.' It consists of sitting down each morning with a Bible, a notebook, and a pen, and then spending time the Lord. I believe this practice is invaluable and essential in the Christian life.

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. --- Psalms 143:8 NKJ

Every time I speak about having these 'quiet times', many people have questions about how to get started, how to be consistent, how to make it more effective, and so on...

If you have questions like that, I want to be helpful in a couple of ways. First, we are starting a series of Saturday morning discipleship seminars beginning in September. One of these seminars is specifically designed to answer these 'quiet time' questions. But more on that later.

The second help I want to give is to share my 'quiet time' routine with you each morning. For some, this might be a good example that you can learn from and then adapt it to your own 'quiet time' routine. Others may want to follow along with me and use this as a primitive devotional guide for a time.

I'm not sure how long I will do this (your level of interest will determine that), but at least for the next couple of months, after my morning quiet times, I will post a blog with the Scripture that I have studied, the insights that God has shown me in that Scripture passage, along with some added comments that might guide you in your own quiet time experience. Most mornings I can have this post done early. Fridays and Saturdays may be the exception, but I should still get them posted before nine o'clock.

I will start this quiet time blog posting this Thursday (8/14). My QT (Quiet Time) will begin in 1 Corinthians that morning.

The blog will not be posted here, but rather on a new blog address...

MyMornings.blogspot.com

I hope you will check it out. If you decide to use this in anyway with your quiet time routine, let me know and keep me posted with how it is going.

If this seems helpful to you at all, pass the word!

Pastor Noel

Back to Kenya

Well, we had another team leave today to work with our mission church and school in Kenya. It broke my heart that I wasn't going with them. They will have an incredible experience.

As many of you know, the Lord has given our church an open door to begin to share the Gospel with a previously unreached people group, some of whom live near our partner church in the Chafisi area of Kenya. I can't name this group of Muslims online, but those of you who attend our services regularly know them well.

We are currently sending nearly fifty orphans, many of whom are from this unreached group, to our Christian school each day. We are also providing them with some clothing and basic nutrition. And thanks to many of you, that number is going up every month.

One problem, though, has been that we are running out of room in the present school buildings. The school already had a large number of students before we started bringing in students from this Muslim community.

Michael George, our Kenya liason leader, called me about three weeks ago while I was on vacation and said we really needed to provide more space for the school. He said it would cost a minimum of $10,000. I told him we weren't really in a place where we could make any kind of big appeal for funds since so many people in our church were currently sponsoring the orphans. We decided we would just pray, share the prayer request and see what happened.

Well, within five days someone came around and asked if $5,000 would help. We were off to a good start, but $5,000 wouldn't build the structure that is needed. So Sunday I briefly mentioned it to the church as a prayer request. By the end of the day we had collected another $6,000!

So the Kenya team is taking some very good news to Chafisi Baptist church and school!

I am so thankful for our church and our willingness to put the needs of lost people on the other side of the world ahead of the things we could do here that would only benefit ourselves. This year our church will invest over $70,000 in our mission in Kenya. People, including some very hard to reach Muslims, are coming to Christ because of the sacrifice that is being made.

Be in prayer for our mission team as they travel. They left the church this afternoon around 1:30 and will arrive in Chafisi around 5:00 a.m. on Friday. It is a long trip. Pray for their strength and patience.

Pastor Noel

Thanks to all of you who sacrifice every month to sponsor one of these kids. Thanks to those who have given to make sure this new school building gets built quickly.

What Would You Do With More Time?

Bear with me as I just ponder out loud for a few minutes...

What would you do if you had an extra two hours per day? What if you had an extra day a week with no extra responsibilities? No new burdens... no extra work... just an extra day. What if you had an extra month a year? What if you had two months? A month or two of vacation from work, household chores, other responsibilities... a guilt free 30-60 days to do whatever you wanted?

What would you do?

• Spend more time with your family...
• Finish your basement...
• Start a new ministry...
• Read some books you've always wanted to read...
• Garden...
• Learn a craft...
• Get caught up for the first time in your life...
• Learn to play a musical instrument...
• Take some online classes...
• Write a book...
• Exercise...
• Learn to paint...
• Go cycling...
• Volunteer...
• Get a Bible degree...
• Build a deck on your house...
• Learn a new language...

It wouldn't be hard to come up with a pretty good list. What would be on your list? I know the three or four things that would be on my list. Wow. What I wouldn't give to be able to do those things... to have the TIME to do those things!

So, think about this. Don't judge your appetite for something like this just yet, just do the math. This may not be for you and I'm not even suggesting it. I just want you to go through the computations that I went through while driving back from Columbus yesterday.

How many hours a week do you spend watching television? Really? Most people underestimate this number so think it through. You're not telling anyone your number, so be honest. How many hours on a typical Sunday? Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? Saturday? Add the days together.

Hang in there. I'm not saying television is a bad thing or you are bad if your number is high. I just want you to do the comparison that I did yesterday.

I'm not a big television person, but when I thought about it, my number was higher than I expected.

O.K. Now let's do some more math. There are 24 hours in a day. Subtract the number of hours you are in bed each day. Now subtract the time you spend getting ready in the morning. Make sure you include everything in your morning routine (shower, shave, make-up, quiet time, devotions, morning newspaper, snooze time, the time you spend sitting with a blank stare trying to get going, etc.). What is that number? Now subtract the time you spend on a typical day preparing and eating meals. I know this varies from day to day, but get a good average. Now subtract that number from the last number. Are you lost yet? Our formula is: 24 - (time in bed) - (morning routine) - (preparing and eating meals).

Whatever that number is, it reflects the number of 'available' hours you have in a day. I'll tell you my number. It is 13. Some things are pretty standard in my life. Everyday I have 24 hours. Everyday I sleep. Everyday I have my morning routine. Everyday I prepare and eat meals. After all of that, I have 13 hours a day to work, serve, spend time with family, enjoy entertainment, and so on. If God made the days two hours longer, I would still only have 11 hours of sleep, morning routine, and meals. Everything else is somewhat discretionary.

Now compare the number of 'daily available hours' to the number of hours per week you watch television. Now, I'm not saying watching TV is bad, just stick with me.

For almost everyone, the number of TV hours per week approaches the number of available hours per day. (And for many people the number of TV hours per week is twice the number of available hours per day.) If your two numbers are nearly the same, then you are spending one whole day a week watching television. If your two numbers are nearly the same, then you are spending over 50 full days a year watching TV. (That is seven weeks... almost two months.) If your TV hours per week is more than your available hours per day, then you are spending much more then one day a week with the TV and much more than two months a year channel surfing.

Is watching TV that much a bad thing? Maybe so, maybe not. That isn't my point.

Why do we watch so much television? Entertainment? Relaxation? Information?

I enjoy watching what I watch; it does relax me sometimes; and I love learning new things watching the History Channel and Fox News.

But here is the question... This is the question that has dominated my thoughts the last couple of days... This is the question that only you can answer for you...

Am I getting more satisfaction from watching television a day a week and almost two months a year than I would get if I could actually accomplish the three or four things I would do if I had an extra day a week and an extra couple months a year?

Don't get me wrong. I love to sit with my wife and watch a movie or a crime drama. I actually enjoy listening to the talking heads on the news. As strange as it sounds I got lost this week watching Modern Marvels on the History channel as they spent a whole hour on the science of pigs.

But when I think of the things I have a heart and passion to do in my life that have gone undone because I don't have the time, I wonder if I'm getting the short end of the stick.

Maybe not. Maybe TV is such an important part of my life, maybe it is so wonderful, that it is better than the three or four things I thought I might do if I had more time.

I have got to know!

I can't continue to sacrifice some of my hopes and dreams so I can sit in front of the TV a few more hours until I know TV is really better than my dreams!

What if we took a month or two and just let the TV go. I don't mean we get legalistic about it and not let others in our families watch, or refuse to occasionally turn it on to see a special news story, or refuse sit down once every few weeks to watch a movie with our husband or wife. But what if, as a general rule, we just didn't watch TV for a while and spent all of those extra hours working on something we are passionate about. I wonder what would happen? I wonder what we would accomplish? I wonder what we would learn?

What do we have to lose? We can always turn the TV back on if it turns out that CSI and SURVIVOR are better than real life.

Something to think about.

Pastor Noel

A Must Read

I read a book last night that every teenager and parent of a teenager should immediately stop what they are doing and read!

It is titled: Do Hard Things -- A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, written by Alex & Brett Harris, two teenagers, who are the younger brothers of Joshua Harris who has written a number of popular books the most well known being, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye".

In their book, Alex & Brett tell the story of some of the things they have been challenged to do as teenagers and some of the success they have experienced. They also do a great job of showing the biblical view of adolescence, which is something every preacher and teacher of God's Word should know and understand.

The highlight of the book is their explanation of how the expectations for teens have changed over the last 200 years and what the result of that has been. What it means to be a responsible sixteen year old today is vastly different from what it meant to be a responsible sixteen year old 200 years ago. For all of the advancements of culture and science, teenagers have gone steadily backwards now for generations. Whose fault is this?

The teenage authors put the blame for this regression squarely on the teenagers, and it would be difficult to disagree with anything they say. But as a parent of a soon-to-be-teen, this book opened my eyes to the responsibility that parents (and church youth workers) have to foster this responsibility in the hearts and minds of teens. My children will likely rise to my level of expectations. If I have a modern view of adolescence and normal 21st century American expectations for my children, I will be doing them a great disservice. I need to understand what the Bible teaches about the purpose of the 'teen years' and I need to adjust my expectations of my girls accordingly. That is what they need from their mom and dad!

Who should read this book?

If you are a parent and have a son or daughter between the ages of 11 and 18, you should read this book TODAY. I could not more strongly recommend a book to parents of teenagers.

Teens should read this book too. In fact, it is not written to or for parents. It is written to and for teenagers. Every teen should read this book this week.

(I know what you are thinking right now... "Fat chance a teen is going to pick up a 200+ page book called "Do Hard Things" that isn't required reading for school and sit down and really read it." I am tempted to think the same thing. Our tendency to think like this is a sign of how badly we need to know what this book teaches. Shame on us that we don't have higher expectations of the teens we know.)

Pastor Noel


P.S.

I purchased my book through Amazon.com. The book can also be purchased directly from the authors at www.Rebelution.com. I imagine you could also pick it up in any Christian bookstore.

We Are Changing...

It is amazing how the Lord puts things together...

A couple years ago, God put a thought/desire in my heart that we as a church (and I as a Christian) should begin to take seriously the command to take the Gospel to Jerusalem (home area), Judea (region), Samaria (cross-culturally), and the ends of the earth (every where else).

Our church has done a fair job of taking the gospel to Jerusalem (our home area). We see people saved and baptized the majority of Sundays in our church (We had at least one make a profession of faith last Sunday. He was a guest a man in our church had invited to come and hear the gospel.) We can see examples all around us of people whose lives have really been changed by the gospel. We share the gospel with hundreds if not thousands of people each year through Upward Basketball and AWANA. We have a youth ministry that reaches 'un-churched' kids weekly. We are seeing young adults and young families come into our church, many of whom have never had any sort of church background. Just this past Thursday, Pastor Wally led a 85+ year old lady to Christ during the day. (She had been coming to our support class for depression and also to our Monday night meal for the underprivileged.)

God has blessed, but of course there are many, many more people to reach.

So God struck me with this truth a couple years ago: The Great Commission does not say first go to Jerusalem, then when you are finished, go to Judea, then when that is done go to Samaria, then when there is no one else to share with, go to the ends of the earth. No! It says we should go to all of those places... now!

But God did not just put that thought in my mind. He began to do the same thing in the hearts and minds of many in our church.

Two years have passed now... and it is obvious that our church and our people are changing.

... in the church office last week as we were preparing for a service in an upcoming missions celebration, we were thinking through all of the people from our church who have gone on mission trips in the last year and it was overwhelming:

--- We've had multiple mission trips to rebuild churches in Mississippi and Louisiana...
--- We sent a missions team to Maine...
--- We sent a missions team to Kentucky a couple weeks ago...
--- We have had several families go down to work with Wycliffe Bible Translators this past Winter (and one family move there to serve full time)...
--- We sent a missions team to Kenya, Africa...
--- We sent our youth on a mission trip to some impoverished areas of Kentucky...
--- We've had people go on missions to the Dominican Republic...
--- And I'm sure I'm leaving some people and trips out...

... not only have we had people go on mission trips out of the area, but I think about all of the people who have helped with our soup kitchen/dental clinic in inner-city Columbus, our Monday night community meals, our daily food pantry and benevolence ministries, Christmas with the kids.

... and then I think of all of the missions efforts we have not gone on but have supported financially. Some are officially supported through the church and others through some generous above and beyond gifts from our members...

--- Stowe Center, our sister church in inner-city Columbus...
--- New Life, our church plant in Thornville...
--- Jeff Moore's new church plant in Zanesville...
--- Our church sponsorship in the Ukraine...
--- Heartbeats Outreach to troubled women...
--- Churches in Kenya...
--- Chafisi Orphan Outreach...
--- David and Amy Mozombite starting their new work in Peru...
--- And probably a dozen more...

... and things are just getting started. The Kenya team met this past Saturday to put together the organizational parts of the Chafisi Orphan Outreach. This will make our church the only group of Christians in the world with an open door to share the gospel with the unreached people group that we have adopted. (As you know, we can't mention the name of the group on the internet for security reasons.)

... I had a late night meal at Olive Garden last night with someone with a heart to go to Kenya with our team in July. We spent two hours talking about what has happened and what could happen there.

... There is talk of an upcoming trip back to the Ukraine.

... I think we have at least one family in our church that will leave job, home, and the comfort of life in America and go full time on the mission field this year.

... When I chat with people in the hallways at church, many people are talking about missions. How can I get involved? What can I do? How can I give?

So I say all that to tell you this: I was taking a break from studying this morning and I ran across a music video from one of my favorite singers, Sara Groves. The video shows pictures from her recent mission trip to Rwanda.

The video brought back lots of memories... and a few tears...

I think God is changing me.

I think God is changing our church.

I don't want to go back to the way I was...

I don't want our church to go back either...

------------

Want to see the video?




Pastor Noel

My Easter Preparation - Sunday

Happy Resurrection Day!

If you are looking for this morning’s quiet time guide, I have two suggestions...

First, if you didn’t use yesterday’s (Saturday’s) guide, then use it for today. It will really help you get focused for Easter.

Secondly, read and meditate on Luke 24:1-53. This is the story of the resurrection and a couple of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus.

If you are one of my Ohio readers... I’ll see you at church!

Pastor Noel

My Easter Preparation - Saturday

What happened after the crucifixion? Friday night, Saturday, even Sunday morning... What were the disciples and the other followers of Jesus doing? Not much, so far as we can tell. About the only thing Scripture records is that some of the ladies prepared some spices for the dead body of Jesus.

Read Mark 16:1-3 and Luke 24:1-4.

It seems like the followers of Jesus were in shock. It seems like they thought it was all over. "Our hero, our leader, our Messiah is dead."

Were they expecting the resurrection? Were they waiting anxiously for His return? Were they eager to go out into the world to proclaim the victory of Christ on the cross? No. It was over.

Sure, Jesus was a great teacher, but there have been other great teachers. Not as great, but great none-the-less. And yes, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, but He was not the first (or the last) to make such a claim. And Jesus died a violent and terrible death, that He seemed to have predicted, but what real meaning does that have now? He is dead.

But you know the rest of the story... Something happens and the disciples perk up and live the rest of their lives proclaiming the greatness of Christ and imploring people to give up everything to follow Him. What was the difference? What changed the disciples from disappointed mourners to bold crusaders?

The resurrection!

I think most Christians lose sight of the importance of the resurrection. That is what I want you to focus on today.

We do not follow Jesus because of His teachings... (even though His teachings are always correct and helpful)

We do not follow Jesus because of His love... (even though He has loved more than any other)

We do not follow Jesus because of His perfect life... (even though He is the only person live a sinless life)

We do not follow Jesus because of His death on the cross... (even though it is through that death that our sins may be forgiven)

WE FOLLOW JESUS BECAUSE THREE DAYS LATER HE ROSE FROM THE GRAVE!

You might ask, 'Noel, why do you follow Jesus? Why not Buddha, why not Mohammed or Allah, why not New Age, why not Scientology, why not Sun-Myung-Moon?

At the risk of oversimplifying things let me give you a straight, honest answer...

I follow Christ not primarily because of His teachings, wisdom, lifestyle, or death, but I follow Christ because He said He would die and three days later come back to life, and then He did it!

I follow Christ (and His teachings, wisdom, lifestyle, and death) because of His resurrection. And I believe that is the very same answer you would have gotten from any of the disciples.

After seeing Christ live, after hearing Him teach, after watching Him die, they were about ready to quit. But when He rose from the grave, that changed everything!

You can read how the apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-26.

After reading through those verses once, go back and focus on these one at a time.

1 Corinthians 15:14 NKJ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

1 Corinthians 15:17 NKJ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

So what does Paul say our faith hinges upon? The resurrection.

And when Paul is trying to prove the validity of Christianity, what does he appeal to? Re-read these next verses...

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NKJ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

Paul didn't try to prove Jesus was the Messiah based on His teachings, wisdom, lifestyle, or death. No, Paul offered one thing as proof that Jesus was the Messiah: All of these people saw Him resurrected!

We don't believe He is resurrected because of His teachings. Rather we believe His teachings because He is resurrected.

It is difficult to really teach this principle in the short space of this blog, but pray and ask God to help you see the importance of the resurrection and then join us tomorrow as we worship Him for the 'power of the resurrection.

Pastor Noel

My Easter Preparation - Friday

Today... the crucifixion.

We saw yesterday that Jesus was so sorrowful that He almost died. As He looked forward to today, the day of torture, the day of crucifixion, the day of separation from God, the day of agonizing death, how terrible and dreadful this day must have been.

But as I sit here this morning and consider what that day must have been like and Scriptures I've read and studied through the years comes into my mind, the emotion I think of is not misery or dread, or even sorrow. The emotion I think of is joy. I've never really thought about this before, but I believe Jesus was focused on joy. I don't mean to say that the day was joyful. No, it was a horrible day, but I believe Jesus was focused on joy. Let me show you the verses that God reminded me of this morning.

First, we must read of the details of the crucifixion. Read these verses very slowly and carefully. Ask the Lord to help you imagine what this must have been like.

Read Luke 23:33-47.

One thing that stands out to me in these verses is the first thing Jesus said as they began to crucify Him. Read Luke 23:34 again. Something that can be seen in the original language of this verse that cannot be seen in English is that the tense of the verb, 'said,' is such that we know that Jesus didn't just say this once, but He said it repeatedly. I imagine that every time the hammer came down on the nail, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them." Each time they pierced through His skin and flesh He said, "Father, forgive them." When they raised the cross in the air and His muscles began to tear against the nails He said, "Father, forgive them." Never once did He lash out at those who were crucifying Him. (And He could have.) No wonder we read in Luke 23:47 that even the leader of the soldiers was praising Jesus by the time the crucifixion was complete.

Let's read a partial description of the crucifixion in the book of Psalms.

Read Psalms 22:14-18.

It was a terrible day. So where is the joy? As I walked downstairs to my study this morning wondering what crucifixion verses I would focus on for my quiet time today, what came to mind was Hebrews 12:2.

Hebrews 12:2 NKJ looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let's really focus on this verse for a while.

First, notice it is a verse about the crucifixion. It speaks of the cross as something that had to be endured. It mentions the shame that Jesus experienced in the crucifixion. This shame could have been several things (and it was probably a little of all of them). It could refer to the shame of hanging unclothed and vulnerable on a wooden cross. It could refer to the shame of being condemned to die with common thieves. It could refer to the shame of being exposed to the world during such a terrible and painful time. It most likely refers to the shame before God of bearing the reproach of all of the sin of the world, past, present, and future.

But notice what Jesus was focusing on. What was His motivation? What was set before Him? JOY!

What was this joy? Was it the joy of sitting at the right hand of the Father? No. That was Jesus' rightful place. He did not have to die on a cross to do that. If that were His goal, He could have skipped the crucifixion. No, the crucifixion was not about Jesus gaining the right or privilege of sitting at the right hand of the Father. Jesus has always had that right and privilege and had He refused to be crucified, He would still have that right and privilege.

So, what was it? What joy?

It was the joy of providing forgiveness to you and me. It was the joy of providing a way for us to be saved. It was the joy of being able to restore fellowship with us! Jesus loves me so much, that He endured the cross, despising the shame, and thought, "This terrible crucifixion is worth it for the joy of being able to bless and have fellowship with Noel Dear."

The more I think about that, the more it overwhelms me. Jesus didn't go to the cross because He had to. He didn't go because it was 'the right thing to do.' He didn't die that terrible death because it was required of Him. No, He did it because of the joy of being able to save me. He did it because He wanted to. He did it because He thought I was worth it. He did it!

Think about that a while. Meditate on Hebrews 12:2. Go beyond just focusing on the pain and agony of the crucifixion. Ask God to help you see the joy that Jesus focused on.

I don't want to turn this into another Sunday sermon, but after you have thoroughly thought and prayed through Hebrews 12:2 a few times, think through these questions and comments...

- Does Jesus value His fellowship with me more than I value my fellowship with Him?

- Jesus did so much so He could have fellowship with me, yet I let the smallest inconveniences keep me from spending time with Him.

- Jesus focused on the joy of fellowshiping with me during the awful crucifixion. What is my attitude when I serve Him? What is my attitude when I am called on to make sacrifices for Him?

- Why would saving me be such a joy for Jesus? Why was that worth it?


Pastor Noel

My Easter Preparation - Thursday

Thursday is the day of the Easter week that we traditionally focus on the Lord's Supper and the events of the Garden of Gethsemane. This was a very important day in Jesus' life.

First read the account of part of the day in Luke 22:1-53.

That is a lot to happen in one day, and we didn't even read about six trials that started that night and carried through to the next morning.

Let us put our focus on what happened at the Garden of Gethsemane. Re-read Luke 22:39-46. Now turn to Matthew and slowly read 26:36-46.

Going back through the account we read in Matthew, let's spend some time thinking and praying through the parts of the event. Let us carefully answer some questions. Let this become a conversation and pray between you and the Lord...

• (26:36) These are the last hours before Jesus is arrested and crucified. He decides to spend them in prayer. Why do you think He did that? How would you choose to spend your last hours? How do you prepare for a difficult or dreaded event? Do you prepare with prayer? What did you do the last time you new you were about to face a very difficult time?
• (26:37) Who would you choose to come pray with you if you faced such a difficult time? Do you have regular prayer partners? Are there people you feel comfortable asking to really pray for you? When was the last time you asked someone to pray for a personal situation? Have you thanked those people? Have you thanked God for those prayer partners?
• (26:38) What do you think made Him so sorrowful that He almost died? Was it a thought about the physical punishment he would take in the next 24 hours? Or do you think it was a thought about the sin for which he would bear the reproach? Many scholars believe that it was at that time that the Father showed Him a glimpse, a reminder, of the sin He would be dying for. Do we have that same kind of hatred for sin? Are there some sins we like? Think about your present sins in the light of the price Jesus had to pay for their forgiveness...
• (26:39) What was Jesus saying to the Father? Did Jesus want to die? Was this going to be easy? Jesus was committed to doing whatever was necessary for our salvation. That is why He said, "Not as my will, but your will." Have you thanked and honored Jesus for His willingness and His sacrifice? Jesus ultimately decided that you and I were worth dying for. Now we must decide if He is worth living for. Have you made that decision? How does it show in your life?
• (26:40) How faithful are you in praying?
• (26:41) According to the words of Christ in this verse, what is the key to not falling into temptation?
• (26:46) Jesus woke the disciples up and said, it is time. Pray that the next four days that God will keep your focus on the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ...

Pastor Noel

My Easter Preparation - Wednesday

Yesterday I said that between the triumphal entry and the crucifixion that Jesus did at least one miracle and gave several teachings. We looked at the miracle yesterday. Today, let us focus on the teachings.

This is a lot to read, but let's read all of His teachings that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday as they are recorded in the book of Mark.

Read Mark 11:20 - 13:37.

Now re-read the parable that Jesus gives in Mark 12:1-12.

This is an unusual parable, one that people don't preach and teach on very much. The purpose of this parable is to show us something about the nature and character of God. When we see that in this teaching it gives us a deeper understanding and appreciation of the crucifixion and the resurrection.

This exercise will require some extra focus, but go through the parable one verse at a time and jot down what we can learn about our Heavenly Father and His character and nature. (I will include my list as a comment to this blog. You will get more out of this if you do yours before you read mine.)

After you have made your list, use that as a guide to praise, thank, and honor God in your prayer today. Use my list along with yours if that will help.

Pastor Noel