Archive for April, 2025
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
John 16:33, CSB
Jesus’ body is not in the tomb, so we know that He can overcome all this world can do. Have peace knowing the Savior who defeats sin, death, and the problems of this world.
This Sunday at Church I want to encourage you to do the following: Meditate on Luke 9:31 and Christ’s Resurrection.
This Sunday: Meditate on Luke 9:31 and Christ’s Resurrection
So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee“
Luke 24:5-6, CSB
Christ is risen. He was dead and buried, but He is not there anymore. Our God and Savior lives.
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13, CSB
Christ has freed us, and He has freed us from sin by His own blood and from the terror of God by calling us friends.
One of the funniest moments of the 2003 film “Elf” was Buddy the Elf seeing a feral raccoon, spreading out his arms, and asking, “Does someone need a hug?” (It did not go well.)
Something I like to tell people is that on January 9, 2000, Jesus hugged me in welcome to His Family. On July 26, 2000, I finally returned the hug.
It is nice to think about receiving a comforting hug when life feels overwhelming, things are generally crazy, or having just gone through a horrible situation.
It is also nice to look back through the Bible and see how God has been there for His people:
In the Exodus, God said He rescued Israel with a mighty hand and outstretched arm (Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34, 5:15, 7:19; Psalm 136:12).
Within Israel and their Exile, God welcomes those who come to Him humbly and for His glory (1 Kings 8:41-43; 2 Chronicles 6:32-33; Ezekiel 20:34).
We can see how God has been taking care of His people, yes even under judgment at times.
What is the most comforting is that God came to us to take the punishment we deserve for disobedience. He promised to do this when He spoke with Abraham 4,000 years ago (Genesis 15), and there are so many places that it is laid out in the Hebrew Scriptures (such as Genesis 22, Psalm 22, and Daniel 9:26).
Good Friday is good, because we see the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who saw all the sinfulness of this world, come to us in the midst of our fear, pain, and anxiety. The one who stretched out His arm with His might hands came to comfort us with those strong arms and hands.
So, on that terrible Friday 2,000 years ago, Jesus opened His arms for us. We are the feral raccoons, rooting around in garbage and attacking the God who loves us. He took the punishment we deserved, holding back God’s wrath for those of us who will believe.
Yet this same God who took on His own wrath, with those same strong, mighty, scarred arms, reaches out to us to hold us and comfort us.
When we look at the cross, we see God opening His arms to us.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 26:28, NIV
Christ has freed us from sin by His sacrifice. He has saved us from God’s wrath and freed us to live for Him.
What Kind of Soil Are You? Mark 4:1-20 Again He began to teach by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them […]
What Kind of Soil Are You? Expository Preaching Outline Table of Contents
So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.
John 13:4-5, CSB
Christ has freed us, including from focusing on ourselves so that we can love others better, to love like Jesus loves us.
He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”
Matthew 21:13, CSB
Christ has freed us from sin and man-made religion, giving us the will and desire to seek God over personal gain and to love others with the love of Jesus.
Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
Matthew 21:19-20, CSB
Christ has freed us, most importantly from the curse of sin and death. Nothing we do matters if we are not living in obedient faith in Jesus.
a simple man of God 