Forgiveness is Hard

This is my planned communion meditation for this Sunday.

God is a forgiving God. Early in the Hebrew Scriptures we learn, "The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression" (Numbers 14:18). It's a part of his nature to forgive. It's a part of who he is.

However, forgiveness is not easy for God. He has gone through a great deal of pain in order to forgive our sins.

This is the way Luke described Jesus' emotional state as he prepared to go to the cross in order to secure our forgiveness: "(Jesus) withdrew from (the disciples) about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.' And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:41-44).

Christ was in agony even before he was tortured, beaten, mocked, and crucified. He loved us and was extending grace to us when he died in our place, but he did not find it easy to provide us with forgiveness and grace. It cost his life.

As we remember Christ's death and resurrection during the communion today, let's remember that God forgave us at a high price.

The Courage of the Christ

This is my planned communion meditation for this Sunday:

A few years ago, a friend came to me with a problem.

She had recently become a Christian. She wanted to live in a manner that honored her Savior, but her live-in boyfriend was not interested in her new found faith. Every time she would ask him if he ever thought about marrying her, he would get angry.

She asked me, "Why do you think he won't marry me?"

Assuming that we were brainstorming, I answered, "Maybe he doesn't love you."

Unfortunately, as I later learned, my answer didn't go over too well. My friend did not care much for my blunt response.

However, she went home and told her boyfriend about our conversation. Over the next weekend, they were married. (Today, I always tease her by taking credit for their marriage.)

I thought about my blunt answer to my friend this week as I read Luke 11.

In that chapter, Jesus was eating dinner with a few Pharisees and lawyers. When the host became astonished that Jesus did not go through the traditional ceremonial washing before eating, Jesus started going through a list of sins committed by the Pharisees.

In verse 45, Jesus is interrupted. "One of the lawyers answered him, 'Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.'"

Then comes my favorite part of the story, the part that shows the courage of the Christ: "And he said, 'Woe to you lawyers also!'" (11:46) Rather than weakly apologize for telling the truth, Jesus turns his attention to listing the sins of the experts in the law. He would never be intimidated into silence simply because his message was unpopular at the moment.

Now I'm not saying that I was acting like Jesus when I was blunt with my friend. In fact, I did not know that I was offending her. I thought we were simply brainstorming...coming up with possible reasons for her boyfriend's lack of action. If I had known what I was doing, I probably would have apologized for offending her.

But Jesus was different. He knew that he was offending the Pharisees and lawyers, but he also knew that they needed to be offended. No one ever told them about their sins, because they were too intimidating. Who would be able to accuse the most upright and educated men in their community? Christ knew that they were blind to their sins and were incapable of repenting because of their spiritual blindness. He cared too much to be silent.

It was that kind of courage that we see in Jesus as he faced the cross. He knew our condition, even though we were blind to it. He knew that we stood condemned and hopeless. And he cared too much to let us face eternity without the hope of forgiveness and reconciliation with God. In going to the cross, he showed the courage to do the right thing despite the discomfort and pain. In doing so, he saved us.

Propitiation

This is my planned communion meditation for this Sunday:

You may have heard it on an afternoon talk show, read it in a popular Christian novel, or even been taught it by a well-meaning Bible teacher. It goes something like this: God is not a God of anger. He is not mad at you. He has never been mad at you. It's just not who he is.

But somehow, you have never really bought into it. You have considered your sins, and you have realized that you have done some ugly things with some horribly bad motives. You know that you have been unbelievably selfish and arrogant.

You have also read enough of the Bible to know that God hates sin. He has more than sufficient reasons to be mad at a sinner like you. You believe that he would be completely just if he were to strike you down and condemn you forever.

The truth is your gut instincts are right. But there is more to the story and more about the character of God that needs to be remembered as we think about the crucifixion of Christ.

In Romans 1:18, we read, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." For the rest of the chapter, the apostle Paul details our unrighteousness: idolatry, homosexual activity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, gossip, slander, disobedience to parents, and several other actions and attitudes.

Then, in chapter two, he attacks those of us who believe we may have escaped the first chapter's list of sins. He tells us that judgmentalism and hypocrisy are just as bad. God is not pleased.

Finally, in chapter three of Romans, Paul hits us with these words, "(A)s it is written, 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10-12, 23).

But then, a dramatic turn occurs in the next verse. We learn that we Christians "are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25).

Christ became a propitiation. That's not a word we use much these days, but it's an important word. A propitiation is a sacrifice designed to take away the wrath of God. In Christ's sacrifice, he took away the wrath of God. He became our Savior.

It's true that our sins have caused our God to become angry at us. But even in his anger, he has loved us and provided us with Jesus as a sacrifice to take away both our sins and his wrath.

As Romans 5:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

That's something worth remembering as we take the Lord's Supper today.

Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, and the Dream

This is my planned communion meditation for the Contact Church on Sunday, January 17, 2010.

Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood...

"I have a dream that one day...in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ spoke these words:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:18-19).

When Christ told his apostles to "make disciples of all nations," he was instructing them to welcome people from all ethnic groups into his band of disciples. In fact, the original Greek word for nations could be translated ethnic groups.

Before his death and resurrection, Jesus had said, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). He knew that his death on the cross would bring all kinds of people--Jewish people and Gentile people-- to his side.

Jesus Christ had a dream of bringing together people from a variety of ethnic groups as brothers and sisters in his Father's family.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the memory of Dr. King, the man who changed America with his message of racial harmony and justice.

But today, as we observe the Lord's Supper, we can look around and see the impact that Jesus Christ has had on our lives. As black people, white people, Latinos, Creeks, and Cherokees, we celebrate the memory of the man who died and was resurrected in order to reconcile us to God and to each other.

Losing a Son for the Benefit of Others

This is my communion meditation for tomorrow at the Contact Church.

A few years ago, Tony Dungy was coaching the Indianapolis Colts through another successful football season. Without warning, he received a call informing him that his oldest son Jamie had taken his life while attending college in Florida. Jamie Dungy's death shocked the family. Jamie had been a very good and compassionate young man, the type of son who would make any father proud.

After Jamie's death, Coach Dungy and his wife Lauren were uncertain about what to do. He wrote in Quiet Strength, "In an effort to bring some good out of this, I have tried to assist others...We began by donating Jamie's organs. Today two people can see, thanks to his corneas. A businessman wrote me after the funeral to tell me he's working less in order to spend more time with his son. A young girl wrote a letter to us, saying that although she's always attended church, she dedicated her life to Christ after watching our family at Jamie's homegoing service" (page 262).

In a radio interview a couple of years later, Coach Dungy told his interviewers about how the death of Jamie led to two people receiving their eye sight back, to families becoming closer, and to people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. But, he added, if the Lord had revealed to him that Jamie's death would have helped so many people in so many ways, he still would have asked the Lord to spare his son.

I thought about Tony Dungy's words while reading about the time when Joseph and Mary presented their baby Jesus at the temple for his circumcision. While at the temple, the small family came across a prophet named Simeon who immediately recognized their baby as the long-expected Messiah. After informing Mary that her Son would be a great man in Israel and would face strong opposition, he warned her, "(A)nd a sword will pierce through your own soul also" (Luke 2:35, English Standard Version).

The prophet Simeon foresaw the anguish in Mary's soul as she would watch her Son being executed on a Roman cross three decades into the future. Mary was cryptically warned that her Son would die for the benefit of others.

I'm not sure how much Mary understood the message, but I know that she suffered terribly as she watched her Son die for not only herself, but for people like us too.

Today, as we take part in the communion, we pause to appreciate the pain. Through the pain of the cross, we benefited. Mary lost a Son (for a few days) so that we could be saved forever.

The Eucharist

This is my devotional presentation for tomorrow's communion service at the Contact Church.

Since we observe communion every week at the Contact Church, sometimes Easter does not seem like a big deal to some of us. A few years ago, Bob Logsdon was on the stage asking the children, "What's special about Easter?" Our son Christopher responded, "It's when the Easter Bunny comes!" Our son had no idea that people associated Easter with a special Sunday each year on which we remember the resurrection of Jesus. After all, we make a point of remembering the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ during Sunday morning assemblies each week. Easter Sunday did not seem any different to him, except for hunting Easter eggs after lunch.

A few days ago, Americans observed Thanksgiving Day. We devoted some time on that day to thanking God for our blessings.

In some ways, the communion service is as much like Easter Sunday as Thanksgiving Day. In fact by the second century of the church, many Greek-speaking Christians were referring to the Lord's Supper as the Eucharist (a Greek word meaning thanksgiving). During the communion (or Eucharist), believers take the time to thank God for his goodness and his grace toward us. He has been good and gracious toward us in what he has done through his Son, Jesus Christ. Our Savior has experienced our humanity and our temptations. He has suffered for our sins. He has died in our place. He has felt the wrath of God for us. He has been raised from the dead, has ascended into heaven to rejoin his Father, and has promised to return for us so that we can enjoy eternal life with him, free from our sins and their consequences.

When we remember what Christ has done for us, the Lord's Supper truly becomes the Eucharist, an occasion for thanksgiving. As the angels proclaimed in Revelation 7:12, "Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen" (English Standard Version).

Halloween Hell

This is my planned communion meditation for this coming Sunday at the Contact Church.

When I was a teenager, I would go to the latest scary movies with my friends during this time of year. You could always count on being scared by movies like Friday the 13th or The Nightmare on Elm Street during the Halloween season.

In recent years, Guts Church in east Tulsa has sponsored a Hell House in the weeks leading up to Halloween. When people visit their haunted house, they see a depiction of the horrible consequences of living and dying without Christ in their lives. They get a glimpse of hell.

When you think about it, nothing is more frightening than the prospect of facing an all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely holy God with unforgiven sin in our lives. The Bible warns us, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Jesus warns us, "I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after killing the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him" (Luke 12:5). God warns us that sinners face "the fiery lake of burning sulfur" (Revelation 21:8).

As we remember Christ's sacrifice on our behalf when we take the Lord's Supper today, we remember that we were heading toward hell at one time in our lives. As Paul wrote to Titus, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:3-7).

Since Jesus died and rose again for us, those of us who have believed the message of the cross and have been changed by it do not need to dread hell. We can now look forward to the day Christ returns to usher in "a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13), a time and a place in which we can live forever in a state of peace with God and each other.

The Silence of the Orphans

This is my planned communion meditation for this coming Sunday at the Contact Church.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a radio interview of a man who traveled with his wife to Russia in order to adopt a couple of young boys in an orphanage.

When the couple arrived, they were shocked at what they saw: a rundown and windowless building needing numerous repairs and fresh paint, packed with young children and a sparse staff. They were most surprised by the sounds of the orphanage...actually, by the lack of sounds in the institution. Despite the large number of children, there were no cries.

You see, the orphanage was so understaffed that the employees did not have time to pay attention to crying infants. Eventually, the babies had learned that no one would pay attention to their needs. So they stopped crying. They suffered in silence, growing accustomed to feeling ignored and unloved.

After spending a few days at the orphanage with the two boys they were working to adopt, the couple noticed something both surprising and refreshing as they prepared to leave. The boys started reaching out for them and crying. "At that point," the father said, "we knew that we had connected with the boys. They had felt our love. They had become our boys."

The Bible describes Christians as adopted children of God who have learned to cry out to our Father in heaven. We have learned that our Father hears our cries and meets our needs, just like those Russian orphans had learned that their new parents cared about them. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:15, "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (English Standard Version).

How do we know that God loves us, his adopted children? Because a few sentences later, Paul wrote, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32, English Standard Version).

He saw our greatest need, our need for salvation, and he met it. As we take the Lord's Supper today, we remember how Christ heard our silent cries and met our greatest need.

A Church of Heroes

This is my planned communion meditation for this coming Sunday.

I'm not sure that I've ever mentioned it to you, but I consider the Contact Church to be a church full of heroes. Over the years, I've noticed you make heroic choices.

I have noticed when
...you have moved from homeless to homeowner.
...you have opened your homes to others who were homeless.
...you have provided rides for those who did not have vehicles.
...you have given up drugs and alcohol.
...you have not given up after a failure or a sin.
...you have moved from living in isolation to living in friendship.
...you have moved from living in the county jail to bringing spiritual freedom to others.
...you have gone from never opening a Bible to teaching the Bible.

You have become heroes because you have become followers of the ultimate hero, Jesus Christ. You have allowed yourselves to be led by the Spirit of Christ.

As we prepare to take the Lord's Supper, we remember the most heroic act in human history. We remember that "when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). He saved us by dying in our place. He overcame death in his resurrection. He changed us and gave us the hope we needed.

Let's remember Jesus' heroism as we take the bread and the cup in his memory.

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

This is my planned communion meditation for tomorrow.

Have you ever thought about what you would like your funeral to look like? Would you like a slide show? What photographs would you want people to see? What kind of music would best represent your life as people watch the slide show?

Have you thought about your obituary or eulogy? What do you want people to remember about you? Do you want us to remember your personality? Your sense of humor? Your accomplishments? Your faith? Your kindness? Your character?

As Jesus faced his death, he was eating a meal with his closest friends.

The Bible describes the scene in Luke 22:

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'

"In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'"

Christ wanted to be remembered for his sacrifice on behalf of his followers. He wanted them to know how much he loved them. He wanted them to remember that he was taking on their punishment in his death. He wanted them to know that in his death, he was making a new covenant between them and God, a covenant in blood that would not be broken, a covenant that would bind them to their God forever. He wanted them to remember that he was going through a process of saving them from their sins and the eternal consequences of their sins.

Today, nearly 2000 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, we gather as a group of Jesus' friends in the Contact Church to remember our Savior as he wanted to be remembered until he returns for us.