Luke 23:32, 39-43

 Christ on the Cross. Between two criminals. One spews hate, one repents of his sins and believes in the Lordship of Jesus. He is given the hope of life as Jesus says, "today you will be with me in paradise."

Repentance and faith in Christ and what He has done. This startling simplicity is sometimes too much to bear. Yet it is oh, so true.

The beautiful words of the hymn, In Christ Alone, wrap this up in such a way. Attached is the song, take time or this to be your prayer today. We serve the true and mighty King. 

In Christ Alone

Luke 23: 27-31

 Sinclair Ferguson ends with this question, "There  is a huge difference between a sentimental view of the cross-which stirs up a self gratifying feeling of sadness-and a serious view of it-which focuses somberly on Christ. Which view are you?"

If you were to pause and think through your response to the cross and Christ, where would you land. I am sure at first its easy to say, oh the later, of course! But really pause and think through. Do you see Christ and His righteousness as the greatest gift you have ever received, or a trinket that has been given. 

As Jesus addresses the women he tells them to weep not for him but for themselves. It is easy to look upon the crucifixion scene and be sad, but it may lead to a misunderstanding. Jesus was paying a debt we could not. He was willingly, He was sent, He drank the cup of wrath intended for us. So often the story of ourselves gets so interwoven that we become co-leads with Jesus. We try to teach of who God is and what His Son has done by starting with "me." Our testimonies are a great celebration of the mercies of God and the truth that we are robbed in His righteousness is remarkable. But, if we, don't understand what that means, we cannot clearly articulate the good news of the gospel to a lost and dying world. 

In the sermon attached the pastor quotes a gentleman who says we have 'domesticated' the cross. That resonated deeply. It is true. We have tried to lighten the load of our sins. We have tried to take away its heinousness. But we shouldn't. We should not fear it, it was as the Lord would have it. He could have called 10 thousand angels, but he did not. He drank every last drop and died a comfortless death; as the great comforter poured out His wrath to its full extent. And then, He rose again. The perfect propitiation. The spotless Lamb. The Son of the Great I AM.

May the understanding of the Cross help you reflect on the goodness of our Savior.

The Innocent for the Guilty

Holy Week begins. Luke 23:6-12

 And so it begins. What is by all measures ordinary; holy week has begun. The week that we see the Lord go to the Cross and then conquer the grave. This week I will simply be attaching different resources from men who have faithfully preached the Word. May our week be ushered in with somber observance and finished with joy!

The Trial Between Heaven and Earth 

Man of Sorrows

Luke 22:47-53,63-65

 I struggle every single time I get to this portion of the gospels. In both my personal study and each year in our Lent study. I want to look away. I want to skip the ugly part. It is so hard for me to process that this was done on my behalf. I break every time. It is humbling and horrible and gloriously beautiful all at once.

Today the church in America likes to skip the hard parts. We edit out or water down the parts of the Bible that do not fit the normative. Because of that, we have become feeble, confused and half hearted. We do not see the depths of our sin so we struggle to understand the incredible moment when Jesus dies the perfect death, the sacrificial lamb. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Luke 22:7-23

 Today's passage made me think a lot about my knowledge of who Jesus is and what he has done. I felt very challenged to think through my attitude towards communion and my understanding of it. I will share with you the questions I am asking myself today:

1) Can I articulate what is happening in this passage?

2) Can I explain communion to someone else in a biblical manner?

3) Do I recognize the importance of this means of grace?

Luke 20:46-21:4

 Admittedly, I did not enjoy the reading today in our book. It had nothing to do with the primary lesson which I think is very valuable and important, it had to do with the speculation. Even the best teachers and preachers are still men, and we do not always have to hang on to their every word. In this instance, and as on occasion in this book, I do not enjoy thinking about if voices were raised or how the woman looked putting in her money. I simply and always want to be in the Word and think on the word spoken by Jesus and written for us to know. I find a danger in imaginative story telling. We can so easily fantastically rewrite things (as we see is the current trend in Christianity right now) and set it on par with the Bible itself.

The premise of our study today, as we encounter the rich man and the widowed woman is their hearts. How they give, out of abundance and out of everything. 

There was a book written in the early 2000's and a chapter was titled, "Serving leftovers to a Holy God." and that sentence has always stuck with me. How do I live my life? How do I come to the Lord? Do I give my leftovers or do I give to Him my best? We see this as a problem since the beginning. I think immediately of Cain and Abel and the way they brought their offering before the Lord. 

Where do we find ourselves this weekend? How will we serve and give? What is our motivation? Prayfully, it will be for the joy of the Lord. What is man's primary purpose? Westminster Question 1 says, "To glorify the Lord and enjoy Him forever." May that be our prayer and our praise today.

Luke 20:1-8

 Often we encounter people questioning our beliefs and motives. It is natural to want to defend ourselves. Yet time and again this is not the pattern of the Lord. He typically questions the questioner. He gets to the root of the matter and the state of their heart. 

We could learn well from this, listening to what is being asked, not ready to pounce with a defense or a rebuttal. Why is this person questioning me? Is their concern out of hurt, rebuke or malice? 

Unfortunately due in part to social media we don't have to listen anymore. Nor do we have to care about the person offering the statement. We can get brave behind our keyboards and spout off "spiritual poison," to prove our christianness, point or position. We have been trained to not care about those who are reading the response nor about the person behind the writing. May we break these habits. May we know the Word so well that our hearts and lives are seasoned with wisdom and understanding. May we learn when to speak and when to be silent. May we learn to walk in the shadow of the Almighty.