As most of Christendom teaches that this is Easter Sunday, it might worth our while to think about the preceding hours leading up to Jesus’s death and final resurrection. 

Since all things were known by Him, He knew his days on this earth would be only 33 years.  The concept of His death must have always been on the back of His mind.

Those last hours when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane must have been dreadful, knowing that death on the cross awaited Him within the next few hours.  He wrestled with God.

                                   Others also wrestled with God

Remember the story of Jacob and the night he wrestled with God, or an angel (Gen 12) Jacob cried. “I have seen the face of God.”   God wanted to prove him worthy to be the father of the children of Israel.  He proved worthy, for he defeated the angel, although left with a reminder by receiving his bad hip.  Not only did Jacob acquire a bad hip but a new name.  Now he was to be called Israel, “One in whom God rules.”

Are we ready to confess who we really are?  Inside.  Not the person we appear to be.  This involves some introspection on our part.  Are we the dedicated Christian that we pretend?  How do we feel knowing that we are not really in control of our life?  Do we still wrestle with our old “man” the real me?

Sometimes we struggle to find God or even know Him.  He is distant and aloof and doesn’t seem to care about my life or my problems. 

We wrestle with our feelings of being forsaken.  We are not receiving answers to prayers.  We feel deserted.  We feel alone in our struggles of wrestling with God for some meaning in problems that  we face each day. 

If you are wrestling with God; If you ask but do not receive, then abide with Him during your struggles.

Wrestling with faith provided Jesus with the strength to endure the cross.  

Wrestling with God provides us with endurance for the race!  It transforms us to be a person after God’s own heart!

We sit smugly in our church pews, in our Bible studies or even in our homes.  We never think or imagine that we would face death threats, persecution or afraid of answering the knock on our doors.  We feel safe and secure.  This is America and our faith in Jesus is easy.   In fact……….too easy.

What if we were Believers, living in Iran, Syria, Pakistan.  Being a Christian there would mean living in fear of losing your life.

Would you and I be able to remain faithful?  Would we be afraid of being discovered? 

Facing persecution is not in our thoughts.  We might think about what we will wear on Sunday or where to lunch after worship. Thinking about our team winning the big game.   

I have been reading stories of Christians living in Iran.  It is dangerous for Believers.   There are very few church buildings in the capital of Tehran.  In addition, the government constantly watches the people in those churches, limits attendance and controls what is preached.  Iranian Believers are also subject to periodic arrests and constant questioning.  Thus, promoting the development of small house churches. 

Believers who gather must always be fearful.  They close their shutters on the windows.  They walk carefully and are aware of being followed. They sing songs in a whisper. 

However, the more persecution, the greater is the faith.  Under persecution more converts are attracted to Jesus and His teachings. 

House churches are a viable and Biblical solution for us as well as those living under the threat of persecution. 

We pay enormous sums for the upkeep of these large buildings.  Preachers, secretaries, maintenance, etc.  The list goes on.  Does this mean that Christianity is growing?  I fear not!

A house church model primarily requires a group of willing Believers with capable leadership and sound teaching. 

People who do not or will not attend a church with a name above the door will more likely attend a small intimate gathering.  They listen to sound bible teaching but can ask questions and grow in the Faith.  The teacher/preacher might have a real job in the outside world where he can be of service in his discipleship as well as being a leader in a small house church. 

During the second and third centuries, Believers faced increasing persecution but gathered in homes for worship.  The Christian faith continued to grow.

 What was beneficial for Believers in the first few centuries might be valuable for Believers in the 21^st century. 

Are you and I willing to be ridiculed, chastised, rejected because of holding fast to the teachings as we read in Scripture and not some church theology? Would you be willing to face the same persecution as those living in Iraq? 

Is your faith just showing up on Sunday and leaving quickly to get on with what you rather be doing? Are you a faithful disciple of the Jewish Jesus?

                                      Can you be a 1^st Century Christian?

Can’t draw a straight line?  No color sense?  Can’t feel the vibes in your creative spark? 

You loved drawing as a kid but since adulthood, nothing seems to be happening in any way that is creative.  You love museums and seeing a Van Gough or even a Picasso, but God simply left you out with the gift of painting.

                                           But what else? 

When reading the Hebrew Scriptures, the newly liberated slaves were told to make a tent for God where He would communicate with the priests.  He gave certain men the ability to make this dwelling a perfect place for them to be in tune with God. (See Exodus 35-40)

Artists and craftsmen today have a creative spark in them.  They have their way of seeing things that influence the outcome of their work.

All of us were gifted with a creative spark inside.  It might not be drawing or painting, but, like artisans of old, we each are blessed with our own  dispositions, and God’s creative energy. 

Perhaps your way of doing something is that creative spark within you.  It could be cooking, painting, writing. 

But God’s creative energy within you might be something else entirely.

You are gifted with the ability to make friends, to right a wrong, to get involved with others.  You and I are to be representatives of that creative spark which can be seen by others.  We are to use our gift of creativity to make our world a better place. Our own little sphere of influence.

It might be your ability of encouragement; to sit silently with the grieving friend; babysitting for a young Mother; making cookies for an elderly friend; visiting a sick friend.  You might not call that creativity, but you are being creative by using your ability as a Christian to find ways that God can use you! 

In your daily prayer, ask God to present you with an opportunity to use your creative spark. 

Give it a try.  Each creative endeavor will be a blessing.  It will build and grow.  Each creative effort will be in keeping you as a disciple. 

                         Use your creative spark! It’s God’s gift to you.

                       How do you and I want to be remembered? 
This is not a question that we often stop to consider in the hustle of daily life.  Yet it’s the thread that weaves together the story of who we are, etched in the hearts of others. 

                                                What will they say?

I hope to be remembered as someone with the courage to be authentic, the boldness to live with a faith that can be demonstrated, and the strength to choose the freedom to be courageous despite what I see happening around me.

 Social media bombards us with polished versions of success, happiness, and beauty……… tempting us to measure our worth against what we see on TV or tempting us to conform to pressures of a corrupt society. 

Being authentic isn’t always easy, especially when we feel like we’re not quite good enough. Are we putting on another persona instead of who we really are, inside?  Do you and I have a faith that makes us better people, or do  we play let’s pretend?

Faith doesn’t come with guarantees of success here and now.   Are we surprised when tragedy hits us despite our firm commitment to being a Christian?  Do we find that the door we expected to open is locked?  What we thought God wanted of us, just isn’t working out?

Faith is about stepping into the unknown.  It’s about trust….. believing that you will land on your feet no matter what happened.  It means that you and I are not always rewarded for being faithful.  That is, in this life.

Often, we are disappointed in someone.  He/She was thought to be our best friend.  We expect someone to be a certain way, act a certain way, or love and support us the way we need. When they don’t we lose faith in that person. 

Expecting people to be someone they are not is  like expecting them to carry the entire ocean when they ‘re only capable of holding a thimbleful of water! 

Perhaps they feel the same about me!  I haven’t lived up to their expectations of me!  They felt disappointed in me and what I am capable of doing.

However, this doesn’t mean that you and I cannot strive to be the best person we can be.  We want to be remembered as someone who gives of themselves; who shares willingly; who makes commitments and keeps promises; who is a true disciple of our Lord. 

                                  How will you be remembered?

One cannot turn on the TV or radio or podcasts without hearing the problems in society, and the social issues that we are witnessing.

Black or white or all colors in between, at some point God in His wisdom is Creator of us.  Our understanding of the first five chapters of Genesis makes us one people under authority of a Divine entity we call God. 

Without understanding the creation account in Genesis, we are missing the big picture. 

How many of us really believe that Genesis 1-5 isn’t just a cute kids’ story?  Or perhaps an analogy of some sort?  The Creation story itself really doesn’t address social issues of the day, or does it?  Is God our Creator or does He use millions of years of death and decay to bring forth man in His image. Why should we care?

Our world faces enormous problems of violence, war, domestic crimes, economic collapse and natural disasters.  The family structure itself is under attack.  We are witnessing a general decline in Christian values worldwide. Our own country, which was founded on Christian principles, is rapidly losing its Christian base.  We are becoming a pagan nation. How can this be?

If we lose sight of man as a special creation, based on God’s grand design, then we are no more than those of the animal world.  We are not required to be a civilized society.  We do not answer for our behavior.  Sin has no consequences.

The social issues we face are symptomatic of an underlying root cause.  The loss of biblical authority stemming from attacks on the Creation account.  If those first chapters of Genesis aren’t true, how can you believe the rest of the Bible?

Our values make sense in the light of God’s word written in Genesis.  That we, you and I, are created in God’s image. 

The sanctity of life, of marriage, human freedom, laws about justice….. all have their origins in the historical understanding of Genesis.

The understanding of Adam’s and Eve’s sin of defying God, gives rise to the remainder of scripture!  Man’s fall and decline.  Our inability to save ourselves.

Man’s failure has always been to define ourselves…….omitting our Divine origins.

      Without our understanding of man’s first sin, why do we need a Savior? 

God doesn’t seem to be listening to me.  He isn’t answering my persistent prayers.  

Is something wrong with my prayer?  Is there some special sin in my life that prevents His answer?  Or is God just capricious? Is He sitting on His big white throne passing judgements on who gets help and who doesn’t? 

We all have prayed for a special answer and there is no answer!

There are seasons in our lives when we are confronted with silence.

Does that mean that God is ignoring us?  Why do we do go through times when we feel like God has placed us in a season of isolation? This is not abandonment.  It is not punishment. 

                                              It’s a divine process. 

David was a shepherd in the wilderness with only his sheep.  He was alone.  Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery.  He spent years in prison. Even Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness alone. 

These moments of isolation are not times of despair, but sacred seasons in which God refines, teaches and prepares us for a greater purpose.

When we experience dark days of the soul, somehow God uses these times… this opportunity for us to trust God and know He is orchestrating something better for us.  God refines our heart, chisels away our pride and builds perseverance for the journey ahead.

The quiet often brings clarity and loneliness brings dependence. The waiting cultivates our trust.  As we learn to trust God in the darkness we gain a deeper knowledge of Him.

“Now all discipline seems painful at this moment and not joyful.  But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:11)

May we all crave the peaceful fruit of His righteousness as we walk through the valley.  

                                  Trust God in His Stillness

Our country is founded on basic principles of justice for all.  All people are equal under the laws of our Constitution.  We pride ourselves on freedom of the individual.  No one is above the law or beneath it. We have abolished human slavery.  All for the betterment of mankind.

                                                But wait! 

                  Slavery is not simply old news.  In fact, we are all slaves.

The Bible says it. And Bob Dylan sang it years ago.  “It might be the Devil or it might the Lord. But you gotta serve somebody.”

Chances are we don’t like that idea, in fact, human experience continually proves that we find this idea offensive and intrusive. 

But Dylan was right, our choice is a  binary one:  The Devil or the Lord, life or death. 

Our way through this is lit by a paradox: it is by serving as a slave of God that we find our deepest freedom!!  Various Christian philosophers have commented that the path of slavery is the road to freedom.  How can this be?

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul writes.” The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves, for you were bought at a price. So, use your bodies to glorify God.” 

Notice, Paul is not calling us to be servants of God.  Servants receive a wage.  He calls us to become slaves of God, because we were bought with a price. 

When God calls us to Himself, He calls us to live as His slaves.

Being called slaves rankles our contemporary sensibilities, it tweaks the sin principle living in us.  But Yeshua told us that the only choice we have is to whom we will be enslaved: “Yes, indeed: I tell you that everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin, so if the Son frees you, you will really be free.”
(John 8: 34,36)

 Jesus sets us free to become slaves of God.  We are now free to become the real person that God intends for us, but only if we become His slave!  We long to do His will in our lives. 

If we would know the freedom to which God calls us, we must remember we are not hired, we are owned.  We have been bought by the kindest of Masters with the most precious of prices…….. the blood of His Only Begotten Son. 

                                  So, who are you gonna serve?

“It might be the Devil, and it might be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody.”

Adam’s responsibilities in the Garden included: reflect God’s image, take care of and protect the garden, name the animals, rule over all creatures, refrain from eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and dominate the earth.

Initially, Adam was alone. Even with Eve’s help, these jobs are “mundane” compared to what we typically think of as noble and lofty tasks.

We may find that our own garden is full of thorns and thistles, not productive.  We are often discouraged that our small patch of earth isn’t worth much, but God has shown us, that it doesn’t take a Garden of Eden for us to be productive. 

We each have our own “gardens” to take care of and protect; we have our homes, workplaces, families, friends, communities, and countries. Only humans that were created in God’s image can connect the physical with the spiritual. There is glory to be shared in everything we say and do, even the most mundane of tasks.

Care for your spiritual garden.  It is God’s gift to you.  How can you do this? 

Be in touch with Him.  Study to show yourself approved, as Paul writes to Timothy.  (2 Timothy 2:15)

Your Garden will bloom and bear fruit.  Your good works will be your gift to our Creator. 

                        Yes, you can be God’s Gardener!

You found a bargain.  It’s just what you have been searching for and there it was.  A big sale.  You grabbed one.  Yeah!!  That’s Joy. 

But unfortunately, that joy only lasts for a short while and then it’s something else that we need, wanted, desire, crave…..etc etc. 

Joy can be a smile from someone in the grocery store; a letter from a distant friend; a Happy Meal for the grandkids; everyone loves your spaghetti! That first cup in the morning.

However, these bring temporary joy.  Real joy is found only in the realization that God is our Father and loves us.

He also gives joy in simple everyday living. Things we often take for granted.  The birds singing their song; the little squirrel on the fence unafraid of being with us. 

As I write this, I look out my window and see a blanket of snow on everything.  I know that spring is coming.  God planned it that way.  We have seasons, we have times, we have blessings.

 Despite the pain in my left knee; the aching back; the often-sleepless nights.  I know that there is more than this life.     

 Be filled with a sense of awe.  Joy can be found in kindness, honesty and in the acceptance that you are a special creation.  You are unique!

Everyone reading this has problems in life.  You have yours, I have mine. But take heart.  God knows.  It will work out.  Perhaps not in the ways you expect.  Joy comes in knowing that He is able. 

                                     Just perhaps you are looking for joy.

                                                Real Joy will find you!!

                               “Thou shalt not Steal;” Genesis 20:15

                                                              That’s It?

God didn’t elaborate on just what He meant.  Just what is stealing anyway?  You would say. “Taking something that doesn’t belong to you.”  Sounds so simple.   Could there be a deeper meaning that we are missing?  No wonder the rabbis spend a lifetime contemplating this command. 

I certainly haven’t spent much time thinking about this commandment.   We all feel safe.  We have never stolen anything.  We aren’t thieves.  We didn’t rob houses.  We never took a shirt from Walmart!

God might just have something else in mind when he told Moses to write this down.

Perhaps God meant not taking from Him.  How can we take anything from God?  He is the Giver, and we receive. 

Every good and perfect gift is from Him.  But we also could be stealing from Him. 

We steal time!  We take the time he has allotted to us and spend our minutes/ hours doing for ourselves.  Time stealing is a major problem for all of us.

Stealing is an active verb.  Stealing involves action.   Stealing time from God can be subtle but still active.    We spend wasted time on caring for ourselves.  Not all bad.  We do need our down time. However, time is a precious commodity.

 Just perhaps we are stealing time from God.  Doing good works, helping others,  study, worship.  These are good uses of our precious time.  These are active uses our time. 

Could you give up that TV show for worship?  Could you stay an extra hour helping and listening to a friend who needs you?  Could you visit the sick friend in a hospital.  Just being there. 

We show our love to God by how we care for the time given us. 

                                                Let us not steal from God. 

                                                 We can be reformed thieves!