how's your pulse?

(unmarked Bible references today are from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, & John 19-20)

when Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, He was dead. DEAD dead. no life. no pulse. no breath. He was dead before the soldiers came by to make sure He was dead by spearing His side, as they did at every crucifixion.
it was a dark day, literally, when God died. He had been hanging in agony on the cross for 6 hours (i can barely manage the first 3 seconds when i accidentally smash my finger!), finishing His work of bringing God's message and then paying the punishment for what we do. the sky was black, the curtain in the Jewish temple spontaneously tore in half, and dead people rose from the grave all over town!
this was no ordinary death!
His disciples went into hiding. they were devastated. the guy they thought was going to save them all from the Roman occupation, the guy who was supposed to be the reigning Messiah, the guy they'd followed in spite of ridicule and opposition, the guy they'd hung all their hope on.... was dead. and on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath rest (which probably wasn't too restful for most), they were huddled in a room, probably feeling utterly alone in the world.
some women disciples set out around sunrise to visit the tomb. the Romans had put guards around the tomb; i wonder if any of the guards contemplated Jesus' claim of rising again as he stood there all night...
but when the women arrived, the guards were nowhere to be found. they had been shocked by an earthquake as a hugely imposing, brilliant-as-lightning angel of the Lord came from heaven and singlehandedly rolled away the stone from the entrance, then sat on it. in short, the burly Roman guards fainted, then ran away.
instead, the women found the angel, who apparently looked a little more normal, because they weren't quite convinced by him telling them Jesus had risen. after she had fetched Peter and John and they all looked at the curiously empty tomb, Jesus Himself appeared to her and she believed.
this was no ordinary gravesite!
Jesus was ALIVE! after all the agony, after dying till He was dead on the cross for all to see, He was alive again! and He was alive by His own power! it's one thing when Jesus raised others from the dead; it's a completely different story when He raises His own dead self from the grave! He had breath. He had a pulse. He had scars from the cross to prove He was who He said He was. and He stuck around proving Himself and continuing His teaching for 40 days... then one day, as His followers looked on, He rose Himself right into the sky, finally disappearing behind a cloud! Acts 1:9
this was no ordinary guy!
after He left, His followers gathered together, praying, and as they did, the Spirit of God came into their room like a blast of wind, leaving little tongues of fire on their heads, and enabling them to speak the gospel to foreigners in those foreign languages. Acts 2:1-12
there was a new Life living in the followers of Jesus. it was His life. they didn't serve a man who was just a good guy who then died; they had chosen to follow the Man who had created the universe, then left His lofty home to become a Man who brought salvation from their stubborn sinful nature, then went back to heaven to rule as King and sent His Spirit, His very Life, to live in them.
they were given a whole new breath of life from God Himself as they believed, called the Holy Spirit. back in Genesis, God breathed into Adam to make him alive. now in the New Testament, God breathes into us to give us eternal life!
this is no ordinary religion!

are you alive? are you born again, breathed-into again? Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:3

John later wrote:
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Everyone born of God overcomes the world... Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 
1 John 5:1a, 4a, 5

how is your pulse today?
are you still dead? you were given the breath of life by God when you arrived on the earth as a baby, but have you accepted the new, eternal life of Jesus? if not, you're a dead man walking. you are destined for eternal separation from God. PLEASE don't stay on that path! be one of the 'few' who find the small gate and walk the narrow path of following Jesus! Matthew 7:13-14

are you barely breathing? did you accept Jesus' life, but now you're living farther and farther apart from Him? are you in danger of rejecting Him all over again? Hebrews 10:26-27 says this: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." don't fall for the idea that you can just say some little 'prayer' that makes everything better; Jesus is to be King of your life.
or are you someone who believes but keeps falling for Satan's temptation, struggling and losing? or maybe you are being careless with how you choose your life path? do you choose t.v. over spending time with God (i struggle with that all the time)? do you get so busy with life that you neglect to read His word? do you fail to go to Him for advice? 1 Corinthians 3:15 says this about building your life with careless, inferior materials: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
don't you want to be triumphant, not just making it by the skin of your teeth? it will be your loss. your life could have been abundant and full, but if you're barely breathing, it's like you're choosing to walk around everywhere with a big oxygen tank strapped on when you could take it off and breathe freely!

or hopefully, are you fully alive?? have you accepted Jesus as your King and now live as His child, accepting His purification, choosing to love Him daily, remembering His sacrifice? are you breathing His Spirit?
Jesus wants this for you; that's what He came for. He said in John 10:10b, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." and He is the author of life; it is His to give. it comes from putting yourself aside each day and choosing God. it comes from listening to His words and following them. it's not always happy-clappy, as my pastor used to say. hardships will come. but God sustains, and that is what a full life is all about.

i personally find that i fluctuate at barely breathing with some awesome gasps of full Spirit life. i yearn to be fully alive with God's Spirit speaking to me constantly, but i get in the way. i'm busy. i'm bored reading the Bible. i fall asleep when i try to pray. i'm distracted by life and it's worries. i'm clinging to life here on earth when i should be living with my eyes on Christ. i get scared of physical pain... the list goes on. do you have a list like that?
i pray that you will join me on the journey to full shining life in Christ. if you haven't accepted Jesus as your King yet, this Easter season is an appropriate time to do it! Jesus didn't stay dead!!! and you won't either if you accept Him! take on His life, accept His Spirit to live in your heart. and join me on the narrow road, striving for full life with no oxygen tanks!

the importance of an ear

on the real Maundy Thursday, right after spending a solemn dinner with his closest friends and followers, Jesus was arrested. the evening was dimming to night, and they had gathered to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, an ancient garden of olive trees. when a crowd led by Judas the betrayer arrived, Peter panicked, pulled out his sword, and chopped off one of the arresters' ears. the guy now missing his ear and in excruciating pain was Malchus, a servant of the high priest.
as the Roman soldiers tried to figure out which guy was Jesus in the midst of all the din and rustle, and as Malchus stood there probably screaming in pain and trying to get someone to come to his defense, Jesus didn't run off into the trees, as i would have wanted to do. instead, Jesus calmly rebuked his disciples for being so rash, approached Malchus, and touched his' bleeding head, healing his ear! (Luke 22:47-51)
why did Jesus do this? and why was it included in the Bible?
it strikes me as amazing that it was the ear that was cut off. and that Jesus took the time in the midst of His own arrest to heal that ear. it brings to my mind the times when Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear!" Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:11, 29;  Matthew 13:9 - reiterated in Mark 4:9 & Luke 8:8. He would say it after a parable or after instruction, and He meant more than just physically hearing with your ears. He meant UNDERSTANDING.
God wants so badly for everyone to understand and accept His message! 

He pleads with us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." Psalm 95:7-8 and Hebrews 3:7
we humans, on the other hand, want to keep doing what we're doing, disregarding God, and pushing Him away. in Acts 28:27, reminding us of the Israelites in the Old Testament, He describes how we humans choose our own way, closing our minds to God:

"For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears, 
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts 
and turn, and I would heal them."

we refuse to hear because we want to do what WE want to do. we don't want to be under authority, even if it means HEALING!! In 2 Timothy 4:3, we see a prophecy that is coming true right NOW:

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

doesn't that sound eerily familiar??
notice these things in that passage:
1) it is by CHOICE that we turn from truth. when we use the phrase 'i won't put up with that,' we usually think we're turning away from something that is bad, but in this case we are rejecting sound doctrine, the thing that is RIGHT!
2) we pick and choose who we listen to, according to what we want to hear.
3) we gather 'teachers' who say what we want to hear - this means people in authority who supposedly "know what they're talking about." but they're telling total lies! (Americans, for one, like to think they are listening to 'authorities on the subject,' but BEWARE, some of these 'authorities' are telling lies! just because a 'scientist' says the earth is millions of years old doesn't mean he has any science to back it up. just because a newscaster makes pro-lifers sound unreasonable doesn't mean abortion is ok. just because a teacher in school says you can't speak the truth that homosexuality is a sin doesn't mean you shouldn't. just because a pastor ignores or belittles uncomfortable topics like immodesty and sex before marriage doesn't mean those things aren't wrong.
4) we are turning aside to myths. you know what a myth is, right? it's a phony story that needs to be debunked. are you falling for the myths that make you feel comfortable living the lifestyle you live?

i wonder if Jesus healed that man's ear to communicate to Malchus how 'deaf' he was, and how Jesus wanted him to be on His side that night, instead of with Judas.
which side are you on today? as we start thinking about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified, where are you standing? are you with Judas - betraying and rejecting Jesus? or are you on Jesus' side, purified and listening to the truth?
do you want to really hear God and know His voice? you must belong to Him.
Jesus said, "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47
turn away from the myths. turn away from false teachers and scientists and politicians who teach what they teach for their own selfish gain. turn to the truth, which is God's truth.
Jesus wants YOU!

"My sheep listen to My voice; 

I know them, and they follow Me. 

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; 

no one can snatch them out of my hand."

John 10:28

don't you want to belong to the Good Shepherd?

NO EXCUSE: the world is a picture of God

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities 

-- His eternal power and divine nature -- 

have been clearly seen, 

being understood from what has been made, 

so that men are without excuse."

Romans 1:21

i love how God created the universe so that we could find Him. the more i look around at nature, the more i realize who God is and how the spiritual world works. He made it with infinite detail and meaning. then He plonked us right in the midst of it, with at least 5 senses to take it all in.

the more we learn about ourselves and the world we live in, the more we are without excuse when we stand in front of God. 

the Trinity

today is st patrick's day. it's a bit of a sketchy holiday for me, seeing as i don't approve of getting mad drunk and taking part in the sexual immorality of half-naked dancing and the co-ed 'sleep-overs' that ensue. 

i also don't agree with revering regular humans as 'saints.' according to the Bible, every Christian is a saint, and there is not to be any praying to or through particular people, or using them as some sort of amulet or charm to make life go well. 

on the plus side, however, my favorite color, green, is celebrated today. and that is partly thanks to the original guy named patrick, who lived back in the 300-400s AD. he was a Christian missionary to Ireland who is sometimes credited with one of my favorite illustrations of the Trinity: the shamrock. 

this plant is basically clover, with skinny little stalks holding up striking green leaves, each with 3 distinct lobes. and that leaf is where the illustration comes in. 

it's really hard for us humans to figure out how the Biblical Trinity makes any sense. how can 3 separate persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, be contained in a single person, God? makes no sense. but the shamrock gives us a picture of how to see it. each part of the leaf is separate and basically whole by itself. but they grow together and are one leaf.

so if you are like me, and feel a little distressed by all the ungodliness going on during st patrick's day, remember the shamrock, a wonderful little piece of God's creation that reminds us of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

another part of God's creation that helps me make sense of the Trinity is water. water has 3 forms: solid, liquid, and gas. they are totally distinct from each other; you would not look at an ice cube and say, 'hey, there's some steam!' but they are still forms of the same molecule.

same with the Trinity. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have totally separate characteristics and functions, but are one God. i do not worship multiple gods, but simply 3 forms of the same God. it is like trying to separate 'solid,' 'liquid,' or 'gas' from 'water'... they ARE water so it's not possible. in the same way that i can't look at an ice cube and call it 'steam,' i also cannot look at the ice cube and say that it has nothing to do with steam; it is the same molecule!

so who is this God who has 3 entities?! i will close with some of what the Bible has to say about Him (there is so much more than what i have here! look for yourself in God's word):

GOD THE FATHER:

CREATOR: Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (vs.1)

ETERNAL: Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born... from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

PERFECT and JUST: Deuteronomy 32:6 "He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just."

RESCUER and REFUGE: Psalm 68:5 "A Father to the fatherless, defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling."

ALL-POWERFUL: Job 38-39 (God speaking) "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?... Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place... Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (38:4, 12, 16)

KING: Psalm 47:7 "For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise."

GATHERER of Jesus-followers: John 6:44 (Jesus speaking) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."

LOVING PROVIDER: Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

ULTIMATE JUDGE: Acts 17:31 "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."

GOD THE SON:

SAVIOR: 1 John 4:14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world."

FULLY HUMAN & FULLY GOD: Philippians 2:5-8 "Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God... made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness..."

COMPASSIONATE: Matthew 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." 

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:34 "Christ Jesus who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

ETERNAL: John 8:28 (Jesus speaking) "I tell you the truth... before Abraham was born, I am!"

PRINCE: Acts 5:31 "God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel."

PERFECT: Hebrews 7:26-27 "... holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day... He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself."

THE ONLY PRIEST: 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.."

LORD: 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:26-27 "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." 

CONVICTER: John 16:8 "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."

TRUTH-BRINGER: John 15:13 "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth."

POWERFUL: Acts 1:8 "But you will will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."

KNOWS GOD'S THOUGHTS: 1 Corinthians 2:11 "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

GIVES UNDERSTANDING OF GOD: 1 Corinthians 2:12 "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

GUIDE of Christians: Romans 8:9, 14 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you... those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

LIVES in Christians: 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God?"

SANCTIFIER: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "...God chose you to be saved throug the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."

FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT TOGETHER:

1 John 4:12-16 "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God."

John 3:34-36 "For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

John 14:26 (Jesus speaking) "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Matthew 3:16-17 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.'"

Acts 5:30-32 "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead -- whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."