salvation

Sown in Weakness

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 1 Corinthians 15:43 KJV

The year was 33 AD and the place; a barren hilltop outside of Jerusalem. Some of the crowd pressed in to watch the terrible details while Mary, John and Mary Magdalene stood further back shuddering to think of His suffering. Hands that once held bread to bless were now helplessly nailed to a wood beam. Feet that had walked on waves now painfully pressed down against the cross to lift Him just enough to take His next breath.

Even those who had sung His praises were now silent for fear of the Roman soldiers and  their spears. Others who had privately hated him now cursed Jesus openly as they watched His weak body writhing in pain on the cross. Finally at His very lowest moment He cried out, “Why have you forsaken me?”

black and white cemetery christ church

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Often we think of our own weakness and struggle as if at that moment we are also farthest from God. But when Jesus was being sown in dishonor and darkness, there was being accomplished in Heaven the glory of our salvation. As in weakness He tasted the vinegar and took His last breath the power of sin was broken for anyone who came to Him. We must never accept that there is no purpose to our weakness; only that God’s purpose has not been yet seen. No matter that our friends fall silent or that our worst enemies seem to have the upper hand. At our weakest we are joined with our Lord and one day at the time of His choosing we will understand when we see His face in glory.

In the Garden With Jesus

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.   Genesis 2:8 KJV

Without a doubt one of the most loved hymns that we sing at our local nursing home is; In the Garden. This week voices that have sung those words for nearly a century joined in on the chorus; And He walks with me and He talks with me.” Then we talked about gardens. A garden was the first place that God made for man. The garden was the place where Adam and Eve could walk with God. In chapter three it says that, God came and walked through the garden in the cool of the day. He called their name and yet because they had sinned they hid.

bloom blooming blossom blur

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Then for thousands of years man could no longer walk innocently with God until something happened in another garden: the garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus went to pray and He asked His Father to spare Him from the agony of the cross and yet if there was no other way; Jesus would still drink the cup so that we could be restored.

Just three days later in a third garden Mary came to His tomb. The Bible tells us that it was so early that it was still dark. Like the words from the hymn, “The dew was still on the roses.” Jesus came as the gardener and called Mary by name. There God again came in the cool of the day. There He began to call your name and mine to come and walk with Him and talk with Him because at Calvary He made us His own!

In the Garden  

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling

Charles Miles  1913

Buying the Hat

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.             1 Peter 1: 18-19 ESV

While shopping at Walmart with my wife we happened to pass by a display of hats that caught my eye. So for a just a moment I paused to try a few on. First I glanced in the mirror and after I discovered one I liked I asked Nancy what she thought. But no matter how much she or I liked that hat, it still didn’t belong to me until it was paid for

My browsing the hat section is a lot like people treat the church. They like what they hear and maybe even try the Christian hat on for size; but then they put it back on the shelf, walk out the door. What is missing is that a transaction has never occurred. In order for salvation, to become ours someone must pay at the register. That someone is Jesus Christ. He stands waiting by the door for us to come to him so that our transaction can be completed. Today is the day to do more than try on the Christian hat for size. This is our time to meet with Jesus Christ and know for certain that everything we will ever need has been paid for in full with the precious blood of Jesus Christ!