Hope

The Cross is Enough

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:25 ESV

When Jesus rose from the dead, things were confusing, and the world seemed to turn upside down, but everybody knew one thing for sure – The tomb was empty! When the men guarding the tomb saw an angel, they passed out cold! Later, that morning when the women came, they saw that the was stone rolled away and they ran as fast as they could to tell the disciples! By the time Peter and John arrived, all they could find was the empty burial cloths. Can you imagine what kind of questions filled their minds? Finally, the answer came as Mary Magdalene stood weeping outside the tomb, Jesus came close to talk with her, and He wants to talk with you and me today.

Just as all of these people found something far better than what they were looking for: God wants you to find that same something today. He knew that we needed hard evidence because the grip of past failures in our lives could only be broken by a victory stronger than any failure or sin. That something is our resurrected Lord! His life is proof positive that God forgives our guilt, and His resurrection tells us that the cross was enough to wash away our sins. No matter who we are, there is good news, because all the selfish choices of our past have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, not just for us to celebrate on Easter, but so that every day, when we face our failures, we can remember that the cross was enough. The empty tomb is proof positive God has forgiven and set us free to serve Him forever!

Stop and Think About It

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
"To the choirmaster, of the sons of Korah, according to Alamoth, a song. 
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 ESV

We don’t know what kind of trouble David faced when he wrote Psalm 46, but it is interesting that instead of trying to figure out his own solution, he decides to write a song. In the first line of his lyrics, he starts to remind himself of who God is and how He always comes through to help.

The intriguing feature of David’s song is that he divides it into three parts, and at the end of each one he writes the word, “Selah”, which can be roughly translated, “Stop and think about that for a moment.” David wants us to remember that when we face dangers and difficulties, instead of panicking, and running away, or running to the wrong place for help, we need to stop and think about God’s faithfulness, power and love. Now, we don’t necessarily need to write ourselves a song like David did to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness, though that’s not a bad idea. Just begin singing the words of Psalm 46 in your heart. God doesn’t care what melody you use. Then, no matter what happens, remember that we can always trust in Jesus. So stop what you’re doing and think about that!