40 years later

April the 24th is always a special day for me; this year is extra special because it’s a milestone year.  It was 40 years ago today when my life was snatched away from death.  To state it briefly, as an infant, I had a horrible disease.  For several months, it gave me seizures.  One day, on a routine trip to the hospital, I flat-lined; I was dead for three minutes.  But, then a miracle occurred: my heart began beating again; my life returned.  And that horrible disease and the seizures?  They were gone, never to return again!  As I said, this is the 40th anniversary of that event.

In Joshua 3, the Lord does an incredible miracle for the Israelites; in chapter 4, God tells the people to take 12 stones as a tangible reminder of what He had done.  Verse 24, of Joshua 4, is a key verse: it states they were to remember this forever: “that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” 

There are several other metaphorical stones of remembrance in my life.  It’s not just some event that happened 40 years ago, that’s just the beginning.  I could describe how, as a boy, I attended a Billy Graham crusade; I left a new creation in Christ.  I could mention how God walked with me so closely as I endured the passing of my dad.  Or how God gave me a fine job, and most recently, He led me to my new car.  But my first remembrance stone was a special healing.  I bring this healing up because I want to highlight the mighty hand of God!

Furthermore, I celebrate God’s faithfulness to me, both in the mountaintop experiences, and in the low valleys.  To be transparent with you, I haven’t always been faithful to Him.  Don’t get me wrong, I earnestly desire to grow in Christ-likeness and holiness, but I still mess up.  But the Bible says even if we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). 

In conclusion, I love the song by Chris Renzema titled “Just as good”.  Here’s a sampling: “You’re still just as good as when I met You.  You’re still just as kind, don’t let me forget that You’re still the same God that led me through the fire; You’re still the same God that separates the waters.”  In another stanza in the song, it states, “My faith will surely falter, but that don’t change what You’ve done.  Cause every Ebenezer points to where my help comes from.”  An “Ebenezer” is basically another name in the Bible for what I brought up earlier: a stone of remembrance to never forget what God had done.

Kevin  

Part 4 of 4 - Easter afterglow

Recently, the Lord reminded me of something I hadn’t thought about since I was child.  This memory shaped much of what I want to write today.  As a boy, I used to listen to a cassette tape (there’s a dated reference; does anyone remember those?); it was on the book of Psalms.  It was basically a dialogue between two characters: a guy named Bill, who was trying to attach a song to each of the 150 Psalms in the Bible.  Bill’s friend, Sue, was listening to the songs he had so far, and was offering her reactions.

Near the end of the tape, Bill commented on something regarding Sue’s faith (although I don’t recall this detail), but whatever it was, it prompted a strong reaction in her.  “What do you mean?”  Sue cried out.  “I go to church.  I read my Bible.  I just happen to be a Christian.”  “Well, you don’t “just happen” to be a Christian,” Bill replied, calmly.  “It’s like getting married.  You don’t “just happen” to get married.  You have to say “I do””.  “Are you proposing to me?”  Sue asked. 

Earlier this month, I had to say goodbye to my faithful Dodge Neon.  It had been so helpful in getting me from point A to point B for many years, but I made the decision that it wasn’t worth trying to repair it; instead it was time to begin looking for a new car.  For a little over a week, I was car-less.  But ultimately, I was finally able to drive home a used (but new to me) Toyota Corolla – on Good Friday of all days. 

I had to come to the place where I was not going to “shop around” anymore.  I could have chosen other options.  I could have opted to just take the bus everywhere from now on.  I could have chosen to keep looking at other available cars.  But there came a time where I had to make a commitment, “yes, this car is the one for me.”  I bring this up as an illustration of what Bill from the cassette was getting at.

In a sense, becoming a Christian is like getting married; Bill was right.  Because you make an irrevocable commitment, a wholehearted surrender to the God of the universe, whose name is Jesus.  I once heard a guest preacher declare that when he came to Christ in faith, he did so with the attitude of, “Lord Jesus, if you’re not the way to Heaven, then I’m not going, because I trust in You completely.”

Furthermore, I can’t gloss over Sue’s description of what it means to be Christian.  She thought it was about doing good things.  But notice she never mentioned putting her faith and trust in the Christ of Christianity.  It’s not about checking off religious boxes.  It’s not about going to church on Easter and Christmas; it’s not about giving a portion of your money away to charitable causes; it’s not about reading a chapter a day in the Bible. 

As good as all of those things are, the first step is to believe in Jesus.  The Bible says, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).  I wonder if someone reading this has realized that you’ve never made the decision to say “I do” if you will, to Jesus.  If that’s the case, I pray you would do it today.

Kevin

Thoughts on Holy Week (Part 3 - Easter)

I’ll never forget the description a worship leader once gave Easter; he called it “Super Bowl Sunday”.  I love that designation because, as much as I love the Super Bowl and football, this day is so much bigger than any game.  As my pastor said today, this day is “the most important event in history” and then he added, “This day is the most important event in your history.” 

The Bible says that it’s impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18), so when Jesus claimed on multiple occasions that He was going to die, but that He would then rise from the grave (Matthew 20:18-19 is just one example of this), it had to play out that way, or Jesus, the one claimed to be the truth (John 14:6) wouldn’t be the savior of anyone.  But because of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, I can be assured that He is exactly who He claimed to be – the God of the universe.

The legendary contemporary Christian Artist Carman (who, for a little over a year now, has been enjoying his reward in Heaven), once recorded a song that has been stuck in my head for days.  “They thought that He would be gone forever.  They thought that He would be gone for sure.  They thought that He would be gone forever, and would not come back anymore.  They put Him deep in the grave and left Him.  They put Him deep in the grave and went…they never thought they would see Him again, never would see Him again.

[Chorus] Then just like He said, He would rise from the dead, He’s alive, in glory forever…Yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe it.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is true.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe it…just like He said He would do, He would do, just like He said He would do” (from his album “Heart of a Champion”; track titled “Just like He said”). 

I think it’s easy to lose the wonder of this.  For example, if Kevin Bauer predicted he was going to die on a specific day, that would be crazy.  I would lose all credibility.  But imagine if I were to go on and say that not only would I die, I would soon rise from my own grave.  I would never make such a ridiculous prediction.  But Jesus did!  Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, accurately predicted both His death and subsequent resurrection.

It was back in 1992 that a comic book was released that was massively popular; it was titled “The Death of Superman”.  In it, the Man of Steel gave his life to save Metropolis, and the world, from a monstrous enemy known only as Doomsday.  It was emotionally gripping to see Superman die to save the world – and it harkens us to the events of Good Friday.  But the story didn’t end there, not in the comic book, and not with Jesus.  The conclusion to this story arc was a comic book titled “The Return of Superman”.  To try to articulate the details of this epic story is a blog for another day, but for now it’s sufficient to state that he who was dead and buried, arose from the grave, and ultimately defeated the evil that had emerged.  It sounds like a clear picture of Jesus to me.

Kevin

Thoughts on Holy Week (Part 2 - Good Friday)

After the events of Palm Sunday, things began to take a dramatic turn in the life of Jesus.  At least from an onlooker’s point of view.  But nothing caught Jesus by surprise; the gospels are emphatic on that point.  Time after time, Christ predicted that He was going to be arrested, beaten, murdered, but then He would ultimately rise from the dead.  For example, in Matthew’s gospel, just before the Triumphal Entry in Matthew 21, Jesus states this in chapter 20:

“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.  They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.  On the third day He will be raised to life” (verses 18-19)!  Even though the disciples never comprehended what He was saying to them, everything began to transpire just as Jesus had predicted it would.  

On Thursday night, Jesus remarked to His disciples, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38).  He agonized in prayer in a place called the Garden of Gethsemane; He submitted His will to His Heavenly Father.  Then Judas entered the scene with a mob, he betrayed Jesus; he chose to sell Him out to be arrested, just for 30 pieces of silver.  Ultimately, after being subjected to several mock trials, Jesus was condemned to execution, even though He had done nothing wrong. Humanly speaking, this was a momentous example of injustice.  But, as I stated last time, this was all part of God’s divine plan.

Scott Bayles, in his excellent book, “Holy Heroes” devotes a chapter to the character of Black Widow A.K.A. Natasha Romanov (it may seem like I’m going in a completely new direction here, but just stay with me).  Natasha’s case study is fascinating to consider.  Bayles writes:

“After years of working as a mercenary and paid assassin, Black Widow was well aware of her moral faults and failures.  In a revealing scene from Marvel’s The Avengers, Black Widow is sent to interrogate Thor’s mischievous brother, Loki.  Baiting Loki to let his guard down, Widow confesses, “I’ve got red in my ledger.  I’d like to wipe it out.”  With a malicious tone, Loki replies, “Can you?  Can you wipe out that much red?””  Later in the same chapter, Bayles writes, “We each have red in our ledgers, and left to ourselves, not one of us is able to wipe it out.  We need to look elsewhere for our salvation.” 

So where do we look?  I submit that we look to Jesus the Christ, who gave His life on the cross as an atonement for sin.  This is the truth of Good Friday!  Bayles puts it so well when in this same chapter, he declares: “All our faults, failures, and foibles went with Jesus to the cross, the selfishness of the glutton, the bitterness of the angry, the shame of the adulterer.  Jesus took it all…After six hours of agony upon the cross, Jesus whispered, “It is finished!”  (John 19:30).  What makes these words so meaningful is that the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.”  When Jesus uttered those words, he wiped out all the red in my ledger and yours.  He paid the debt that we could never pay.”  I add an “amen” at this point!

Incidentally, someone may think putting their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation from sin is the finish line, but it’s actually just the beginning.  After being put in right relationship with the Lord, out of gratitude for what He has done, we work and serve.  This is illustrated so well by Natasha Romanov.  Once again, as described by Scott Bayles in his book “Holy Heroes”: Natasha’s life was forever changed when she met Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.  He would wipe her criminal past clean if she would join S.H.I.E.L.D.  “Given a fresh start and a clean slate,” says Bayles, “Natasha put her combat and espionage to use for the greater good…Natasha’s story resonates with those whose lives are changed dramatically by an encounter with Jesus Christ.” 

Kevin

Thoughts on Holy Week (Part 1 - Palm Sunday)

Today begins what is referred to as Holy Week or Passion Week.  It begins with an event that has been come to be known as Palm Sunday, and it ends with Easter, when gloriously, Jesus conquered death itself. 

So, to begin for today, what’s this event, Palm Sunday, all about?  First of all, the term Palm Sunday is a bit misleading, a better term is the Triumphal Entry.  I will explain why I believe this later on.  It was on this day that Jesus Christ entered into Jerusalem with the crowd shouting “Hosanna”; the gospel of John records that the branches were from palm trees (John 12:12-13).

One of the most striking elements of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is His mode of transportation.  Pastor Rick Ferguson (who will be in Heaven a whopping 20 years this July), captures the big moment in his fantastic book “The Servant Principle”:

“Jesus showed his attitude about status in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  The people… were singing his name in praise as they welcomed their King, their Messiah…He is making the grandest entrance of his life, and he’s riding a donkey…Most people wouldn’t associate a donkey with a ride for royalty…It was like showing up at an inaugural ball in a Ford Pinto.  It was like riding to the prom on an old bicycle with your date balancing dangerously on the handlebars.  Jesus should have ridden in a shiny, bullet-proof stretch limousine with a Jacuzzi on the back…But a donkey?  Jesus wasn’t hung up on status.”

Furthermore, Jesus’ ride of choice fulfilled a prediction from centuries earlier.  In Zechariah 9, we read, “Rejoice, greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey” (verse 9).  “This prophecy was fulfilled in every particular,” states a helpful article from got questions.org, “and it was indeed a time of rejoicing as Jerusalem welcomed their King.  Unfortunately, the celebration was not to last.  The crowds looked for a Messiah who would rescue them politically and free them nationally, but Jesus had come to save them spiritually.”  

(From https://www.gotquestions.org/Palm-Sunday.html)

This is why I prefer the term Triumphal Entry to Palm Sunday.  The people who had cut branches from a palm tree were evidently rather fickle.  Tragically, they had misunderstood the point of Jesus’ life and ministry.  In fact, if you fast-forward a few days later, the same crowd who welcomed Jesus with shouts of praise on Sunday were chanting “Crucify Him” on Friday (Matthew 27:22).  Furthermore, Luke records that as Jesus was riding into Jerusalem, He wasn’t jovially high-fiving people; He was actually crying (Luke 19:41). 

In the foreword of the book “No Cape Required” Jefferson Bethke has a helpful word here:

“Everyone in their particular context was looking for an earthly political or military rebel to rise up and take down the pagan empire of Rome…they expected a hero.  What they got did not meet their expectations.  He didn’t look the part.  He didn’t do what they thought a messiah should…They wanted Superman, but it looked like they got Clark Kent instead.  In that last sentence, though, lies the beauty and mystery of this Jesus from Nazareth.  The beauty of Clark Kent is that he is Superman.  And while people might have called Clark names…he was also the one truly saving the day and bringing salvation to Metropolis even though he didn’t get the credit as Clark.  In fact, most people thought Jesus lost at the cross, but looking back we see that was the moment of his ultimate victory.”

In conclusion, 1 Peter says we weren’t redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold, but “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (verse 19).  Then the next verse reads, “He was chosen before the foundation of the world.”  The crowd missed it on the Triumphal Entry.  Jesus was born to die.  It wasn’t an accident that He died on the cross; it was the plan before the foundation of the world.  Why?  Because, as God in human flesh, Jesus was the only one qualified to pay the penalty of humanity’s sin.

Kevin