Cross

Family Reunion

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

It’s one thing to prepare for a family reunion and quite another to have them move in permanently. For a week or maybe even a month we can tolerate a certain amount of disorder to our daily schedule. Though we do love sharing a part of our lives we also look forward to realigning our things and our routine to what we were used to doing.

Jesus is inviting us to more than just a visit. He wants us as members of His own family. He opens wide the door to His Father’s house but He makes very clear from the beginning that this is not a temporary stay. His offer is not just for more life the way we are accustomed to. We are freely invited to join with the understanding that this family reunion is not a one and done experience. We don’t just get to come for a while and return home unchanged.

If we are to follow Jesus as a family member He wants us to know that we will only reach our destination by taking our cross every day.

But do not be afraid because the wonderful secret is that in the moment we accept His invitation we will discover His shoulder is already under the beam carrying the weight.

…My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:30 ESV

Wallpaper Removal and A New Creation

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Recently my wife and I tackled a small project in our bathroom. The wallpaper having been around since the Reagan presidency had earned a well deserved retirement. My past experiences with wallpaper involved buckets of vinegar and water followed by hours of frustration and scraping. In this modern age I was advised of new and better things.

Reality set in after carefully following all directions to perforate the paper spray and wait 5 minutes. Hmmm well other than smelling differently than vinegar and costing 10 times as much the results were about the same. One hour in with 10% of our tiny bathroom finished I called Home Depot asking if they didn’t have anything stronger. A steamer is what you need for old wallpaper I was told. I wasn’t sure why anyone would remove new wall paper but I shelled out another $50 figuring this would do the trick. Weeeeeell not so much! Another 7 hours of steaming and scraping brought us to the brilliant conclusion that we should have just ripped out the wall and put in new sheet rock!

That’s exactly what Jesus has in mind for our life in Christ. No amount of steaming and scraping of our outsides has any impact on our hearts. Only on the cross as Jesus spilled His blood could an entirely new life be given us. God decided to completely remove all our past by the death of His Son so He could begin again with a brand new creation!