Life

Dead Things

/ The Pastor

The following is my article for the Buffalo Center Tribune that was published yesterday. To God be the glory.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5)


The women, in the post-resurrection verse above, were looking for a dead body, Jesus. They were there to perform an act of love by anointing his body per Jewish custom, but their hearts were breaking. Their Lord, teacher, friend was dead. All hope was lost, even though they should have expected the scene they found. But as it is, they are looking for a corpse as they were mourning. For you see, they were looking for hope and thought they found him. They were looking for life and thought Jesus was it. He was supposed to establish his kingdom, but now he’s dead, nothing more than a rotting shell. What a seemingly tragic end on that “bad” Friday. And now, they are at a tomb looking for his dead body. This was not how it was supposed to be. But it is not the end. Jesus had told them, three times, that he was going to die and then rise on the third day. And so, the angles blow them out of the water with their rhetorical question – Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told all of this, that he was going to die and then rise? And then it began to click. You see, this is not admonishment. The angles are not condemning the women for their unbelief, but rather proclaiming good news, THE Good News. They were proclaiming the “It is finished” that Jesus uttered before he died. He is not dead. Jesus is alive.


I think about this scene, and also see it as a commentary on our own lives. Whether we admit it or not we are looking for the living among dead things. In the act of sinning, we are looking for that which makes us feel alive, happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. And when we do not find what we are looking for or when the good feelings fade, you keep on sinning; keep on looking; and keep on finding “dead things”.


No life. No happiness. No fulfillment. The seeking continues.


But in Jesus there is life. In Jesus there is joy. In Jesus there is a future. In Jesus there is hope, for through his death and resurrection your sins are forgiven. And so…
In what “dead things” are you looking for life?
In what “dead things” are you looking for happiness?
In what “dead things” are you looking for fulfillment?


Look to Jesus and see your life unfold. Seek him in scripture. Seek him in prayer. Seek him in worship. Seek him with your whole life. But as you seek, know that you seek not because Jesus is hiding but you seek him as a way of turning away from the “dead things” of this world that can only promise death. When you seek Jesus, you will find him. Seek Jesus for he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the very one for whom you are looking. Seek THE Living One. Jesus. To God be all glory, honor, praise and worship, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sacrifice

/ The Pastor

Freedom, grace, mercy, peace.
They are not free.
They are costly.
Many have given their lives.
Many have sacrificed much.
Oh so much.
But too many forget –
taking for granted,
simply enjoying a “long weekend”,
a peaceful life.
But what is peace?
Are you really at peace?
Many have died that we my ask this question.
One has died that true peace may be had.
Let us not forget the many,
and do not forget the One.
Freedom, grace, mercy, peace.
Given through the sacrifice of many – For now.
Given through the grace of One – Forever.
Remember now
Know forever.

Life

/ The Pastor

Life is fragile and delicate.
Life is valuable and precious.
Only You, Lord, can be entrusted with it.
Only Your mighty and gentle hands can handle it.
But even though these fragile shells – shells that we call a body – will eventually crack, it doesn’t mean that You are careless.
These bodies are precious, from the moment we are conceived, but there is something even more precious, that which Jesus died to save –
my soul.
That’s what’s in Your hands forever.
I hate to see shells
crack,
die
and decay
but I praise You that which is inside is perfectly safe and sound in Your mighty and gentle hands.
My life is precious.
My life is saved.
All praise be to You through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Amen.

Praying the Psalms ~ Psalm 121

/ The Pastor

Psalm 121 is favorite for many. It is a great reminder to me that God is the only true Helper in this life. Yet, we all too often look to other things and people of this world for help, but they will all let us down. God, though, never rests. He never tires. He never takes time off. God will always stand guard over you. God will never fail. Let us give Him thanks and praise for being our Helper…

________________________________________________________________________

My Helper, oh my Helper,
the defender and Keeper of my life,
my eyes often scan the horizon of this life,
Looking,
Searching,
Seeking,
Trying to find anything and anyone to make things right.
But You, oh my Helper, my Lord and my God, I give You thanks for,
You are always here.
You are never distant.
You are never oblivious to my needs.
So why, oh why would I look elsewhere?
After all, You are the maker of everything.
You are the giver of life.
You are the great I Am.
You, oh my God and Helper,
You never get tired.
You are never distracted.
You never take time off to recuperate,
for You are the sovereign God,
and I am Yours,
thus nothing will ever strike me.
Evil,
Death,
Satan,
Nothing! Nothing, will ever strike me with You by my side,
for my life is hidden with Jesus Christ in You.
As my eyes rise to see the horizon of my life,
may they see You as my Helper, Lord and God.
In all that I do,
In everywhere I go,
Now and forevermore,
You are my God.
Amen.

To Live

/ The Pastor

Inspired by Philippians 1:21 (ESV) ~ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for me I will abstain,
For my life is so very frail,
So fraught with weakness it will fail.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in fear I will refrain,
For this world does not win the day,
For this world only has today.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for Him I can’t complain,
For God does love me this is sure,
And from Satan He did secure.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in Him I’ll be sustained,
For Jesus lives and I will too,
For in his life I am renewed.

Life Giving God

/ The Pastor

Communion prayer…

It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times
and in all places
give thanks and praise to you,
oh God,
the creator and sustainer of life.
You breathed breath into us that we could live.
You gave your Son, Jesus Christ, that we could have hope.
You give Your Holy Spirit that we could be sustained.
You are an awesome; life giving God.
And it is for that reason that we join with the Church on earth
and the hosts of heaven
in signing Your unending praise…

The Pastor -|—

Prayer for the Unborn

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

This prayer comes from a grieving heart. There’s more that can be prayed and more that should be prayed and more that should/needs to be done, but this is a start. Let us not forget the innocent and may we never cease to fight…

Holy God,
Author of life,
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of life;
You are Holy and Awesome,
and greatly to be worshiped.

Oh God,
I am grieved,
as I reflect and mourn the slaughter of the innocent.
How can this be?
How can anyone conceive of such an evil?
How can anyone savagely kill?
I am grieved and horrified.
Oh God, help us…

May we remember the unborn;
precious children known, woven together and formed by You.
It pains me, oh God, that many take these children for granted;
saying they don’t matter.
Some contend that they have no rights;
that life is something that is in the hands of man.
But You are clear in scripture that life is of You;
that You know us from the moment of conception;
and that life is precious to You.
Oh God, may You convict such people,
who think and believe otherwise,
and lead them to repentance.

For the women who feel that their only choice is to end the life of their child, please reveal to them the preciousness of the one they carry.
Help them to see that all life is valuable,
and if they aren’t called to parent their child,
lead them to adoption resources
so another couple may parent this precious life.
Oh God, have mercy and reveal Yourself.

For those who choose silence over action;
give them a voice.
Give them courage and boldness.
Raise up in them a holy desire to speak and make noise.
Lead them via Your Holy Spirit and proclaim Your love.
Guide them in ways of justice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

For those who feel helpless;
overwhelm them with Your presence.
Overwhelm them, so much so, that they may not feel alone.
May they know You as their Fortress,
and thus not be afraid;
choosing action over silence and complacency;
choosing life over death.

And finally,
Father God,
if I may be permitted to speak just one more time on this matter:
Have mercy on this land;
a country that slaughters the innocent.
But if it is Your judgment to punish this land,
(and I could hardly blame You),
I beg that You may save the faithful remnant as You did Lot and his family, but not before You give people one more chance to repent.

Have mercy, oh God, and heal this land.
May we not sacrifice our children on the altar of Satan.
May we not take them for granted.
May we see life precious and valuable.
May we stop the slaughter of the innocent.
May the little ones be allowed to live.
May we choose action over complacency.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

Share and pass this on as you feel so move. To God be the glory.

The Pastor -|—

Jesus Lives, AMEN

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Death is the great equalizer,
for no one is immune,
and death is the great divider,
for some are not attuned.
For Jesus conquered this enemy
and shattered its mighty power,
therefore some will be on his right,
and others will be left to cower.

Death still runs wild,
threatening to devour.
Death still strikes blows,
trying to exert it’s power.
But Jesus lives and reigns,
thus I will live too.
So take your best shot, Death,
for you will be left the fool.

So when Death comes a knocking,
to claim another life,
just shrug him off with a smirk,
knowing that he is not right.
For my Lord has won the victory,
thus I will live again.
Death can have its moment now,
but Jesus lives, AMEN!

The Pastor -|—

Sermon thoughts ~ John 11:1-41

/ The Pastor

In John chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He hears that Lazarus is sick and then waits four days. Had he left earlier, Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from dying, but Jesus waits that God may be glorified. Upon arriving, Jesus meets Martha and then Mary ~ “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Upon asking where they have laid him, they say, “Come and see”. At this we have one of the most famous verses in the Bible, probably because of it’s brevity.

“Jesus wept”

Question: Why did Jesus weep?

Jesus is the Son of God
Jesus can raise the dead
Jesus seemed to know that his delay would end in the dead of Lazarus
Jesus knows what he can do

So, why did Jesus weep?

I contend that Jesus is not weeping over the death of Lazarus but rather over the hopeless weeping that the others are doing. Do Mary and Martha not know Jesus well enough to know that he can raise Lazarus?

So Jesus raises Lazarus. He walks out of the tomb and he tells the people to unbind him. Word then begins to spread, much to the chagrin of the religious leaders. When you see people in hopeless despair, how do you show them Jesus? How do you show them that there is hope? How do you help people move from tears of despair to tears of Joy?

Just some thoughts. What say you?

The Pastor -|—