salvation

Just Outside the Empty Tomb!

/ pastorpete51 / 10 Comments 
When morning came, all the chief priest and the elders f the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. And they bound Him and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. Matthew 27:1-2 ESV

That day, which we now day “Good Friday,” began for Jesus, one morning in 33 A.D. The night before He had been betrayed and then unlawfully arrested by the religious leaders. It was still very early when they brought Him to Pontius Pilate. Then began for Him an agonizing day, during which He was beaten, crowned with thorns, spit upon and finally crucified between two thieves.

One thousand, nine hundred and forty-eight years later, I began Good Friday morning in entirely different circumstances. I was just nineteen years old, and still very confused about life. I had followed my dreams to California and discovered that no dreams were there for me. So, with just a few dollars in my pocket, an old guitar, and a sleeping bag, I began hitchhiking back East, hoping my grandparents would take me in. Standing so close to the Pacific Ocean, that I could hear the waves lapping the sands, I stood holding a cardboard sign on which I had playfully written my destination: Connecticut!

For Jesus, at the end of the day, He hung limp, bloody and very dead on that cross. A few friends begged permission to have Him buried before nightfall. Having gotten Pilate’s approval, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea hurriedly took Jesus down, wrapped Him in a cloth, laid Him in a sepulchre carved in the side of a hill and rolled a stone over the entrance.

Having had some luck with rides out of the metro area, my night ended near a highway exit one hundred and thirty-six away from my starting point, curled in a sleeping bag on the side of the road. Fortunately for me, no rattlesnakes or scorpions seemed to have any interest in taking up residence with me that night. On Holy Saturday, Jesus’s journey ended in Heaven, while mine simply brought me to a rest area somewhere outside of Phoenix Arizona. I still recall stretching my sleeping bag out on the top of a picnic table, and then looking up at the stars, wondering where I belonged. But Jesus had a plan for me that no one seeing me could have imagined in their wildest dreams.

The next morning, just outside of Jerusalem, there was a commotion, when the Mary Magdalene and some of her friends came and found the tomb empty. The guards had fled the stone over the entrance had been rolled back. Inside, sat two angels with the news, “He is not here, He has risen!” While the other women ran to tell the disciples, Mary remained, still weeping. Then a man that looked a bit like the gardener walked by and asked her, “Why are you weeping? Who are you seeking”

Astonished at first she said to Him, “Sir, if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have laid Him.” Jesus answer was only one word, “Mary!” At hearing Him speak her name, she fell at His feet.

 “But for me, my morning began quite ordinary. I used the rest area washroom to shave the best I could with cold water. After drying off, I met some young people, and asked them for a ride. What had happened on Easter morning outside Jerusalem was the miracle that has changed the course of His-story. But what happened on my morning was the miracle that changed the course of my-story. At that rest area, I met a carload of young people headed to church, and with their promise of a free meal after the service, I eagerly accepted, still entirely unaware that it was Easter. Now, looking back after fifty-five years, I am amazed at both God’s grace, and His love that reached me, as that night I gave myself to Jesus. Today, Jesus is still reaching lost teens living on the road, as well as elderly folks sitting in wealthy suburban living rooms. On every continent and with all different kinds of people, Jesus is still showing up and asking the same questions, “Why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?” Then just as Mary did, we can meet Him, just outside the empty tomb!

Rock of Ages

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Ironically this hymn, which could be called our declaration of independence from sin and death was first published in England in 1776, the year we in America declared our independence from Great Britain. Also, noteworthy, “Rock of Ages” was the last and greatest work of August Toplady, who died just two years later at the age of thirty-eight. Last Sunday, the residents at Discovery Villages. joined in quite heartedly. Though they come from a variety of denominations, as we sing these words, we are united by our faith in Jesus Christ, who is the rock of our salvation and our hope for eternal life. I pray you might be blessed as you listen and even better as you join in.

All Kinds of Folks at the Cross

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34 ESV

If we were to wind the clock back to that dark day, we would discover that, just like today, there were many different kinds of people huddled around the cross. The loudest, though by no means the largest group were the mockers. These were the high priests, their political cohorts, and the brutal interrogators of Jesus. They beat Him, spit on Him, whipped Him and then sent Him on His way up the hill called “The Skull.” These were delighted to see Jesus ripped from the safety of his circle of followers, and the crowds who loved listening to His teaching. This teacher who had put in jeopardy their grasp on power was now reduced to a mass of welts and wounds and on His way to a humiliating execution.

The second and perhaps largest group around the cross were the ignorers. They passed by in curiosity, perhaps shuddering for a moment, and then went on their way. Though some were a bit more respectable than the drunken soldiers gambling for the clothing of Jesus, they were no more interested in His death than any other event of that day.

But one small group, including the mother of Jesus, a few friends and one disciple, stood watching and seeping while Jesus suffered those six long hours that fateful afternoon. One would imagine that in His suffering Jesus would have responded with indignation, or anger. He had come so far from the day He left Heaven and come to that humble manger in Bethlehem. Since the night of His birth Herod and others had looked for ways to snuff Him. There at the cross they were sure they had finally succeeded, and yet the words from the lips of our Savior were nothing as anyone could imagine. Instead of anger, He had forgiveness, and in place of despair, He gave the promise of paradise to a thief by His side. Though He was wearing the crown of thorns, He was not to be denied the crown of Life He would soon wear in Heaven. Though the soldiers had stripped Him naked and gambled for His earthly clothing, His Father had a robe that shone like the sun, for Him to wear when He came home. And for those who wept He gave the promise that their sorrow would soon be turned to joy. Today Jesus still cries “Father forgive them.” His merciful invitation is for mockers and mourners alike. The forgiveness Jesus offers is for disciples and drunken soldiers, thieves, and trusted friends, and best of all for you and for me. Come to the cross. Open your heart for Him to forgive you and make you His very own!