I give thanks to the LORD for 40 years. Life goes by oh so fast. Here are 40 things I’ve learned so far:

1. JESUS- In him I have found true life, hope, and purpose. He is more glorious than I have words for. He is faithful and true and His Kingdom will not be shaken.
2. Scripture is daily water to my soul. I was in a remote village across the world a couple weeks ago. A young man asked me “Who wrote the Bible?” My response to him was, “Read these words and you will see the One who wrote these words. All scripture is God breathed. You must not read with your own understanding but as you humbly seek the Lord bringing your questions to Him, you will find Him.”
3. The way up is down.
4. The Holy Spirit must not tried to be contained by your own understanding.
5. Trust the LORD. His ways are far better.
6. Be slower to speak/post and quick to listen.
7. Run from gossip.
8. The church is beautiful yet flawed. Every follower of Jesus needs to be a part of gospel centered church. Don’t give up on the church.
9. Your strengths can be areas of great pride in your life and areas the enemy wants to target that you must ask the LORD to keep you humble in.
10. Just do the best you can with eating healthy and eat protein at every meal.
11. Pray not to get things from God but to know him more. You can bring your requests to him without hesitation big and small and rest in Him.
12. Don’t trust the news.
13. You must always be your own health advocate. I used to always tell my patients “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
14. Desert seasons are purposeful.
15. Prayer is the best gift you can give someone.
16. Obedience to God’s commands is your best theology course. As you obey you will grow in your faith seeing God move in ways that you can’t begin to imagine.
17. Give lots and lots of grace to people.
18. Consider others better than yourself. This was a hard one for me to learn and I’m still learning.
19. Buy the good coffee to make at home. Matt reminds me of this every time I buy the cheaper kind.
20. The safest place to be is in obedience to the Lord.
21. You can not expect people to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord without the Spirit. Only the follower of Jesus has the Holy Spirit. Do not participate in fleshly quarrels but follower of Jesus walk in step with the Spirit.
22. The gospel is the power of God. Do not be ashamed of it. Mediate on it. Speak it. Share it. Treasure it. Christian, preach it to yourself daily.
23. I’ve never regretted going on the run/ walk and always feel better afterwards.
24. Live today as the day God has given you. Don’t always be planning for what’s next. If you do that you’ll be planning the rest of your life your entire life and miss it.
25. Always get the good cake. I’m sorry this is not the grocery store kind. Either bake it at home or get it from a bakery.
26. Always test every book/author you read with scripture. Don’t put any author/person on a pedestal.
27. God is doing millions of things around you. Don’t miss it because you are too busy.
28. It’s easy for people to complain. Give thanks instead.
29. God uses your weakness much more than your strengths.
30. Shorter emails are always better than long ones. Whew- I’ve sent people long emails in the past and I look back and realize those would have been better to have as conversations. Sorry if you’ve received a long email from me before. 🙂
31. Social media will eat your soul. Take long breaks from it and ask God to help you.
32. Learn peoples stories. Don’t put people in a box. Every person you meet is an image bearer of God.
33. Worshipping Jesus with people from different nations is a taste of eternity for the believer.
34. Study scripture well. Do it with others. Do it alone. Learn to do a deep dive into it. Whatever you do just do it…If you need a suggestion for how or where to start let me know.
35. God can change an angry heart. He has and is changing mine. Glory to God!
36. Christian ask other Christians what your blind spots are.
37. God provides for the work He calls you to in his way not yours. Again trust him.
38. In this broken world, Jesus is what makes sense to me.
39. Followers of Jesus will be misunderstood in the church and by those closest to you at times. Let your response be love.
40. Life is much better when you aren’t the center but Jesus is.

Afganistan.

Covid.

The war on vax vs. unvax.

Left vs. Right.

Racism.

Abortion.

Persecution.

Death.

Cancer.

The brokenness is overwhelming. We all want out of this brokenness. We all want to fix it. The sorrow of the brokenness no one can carry. We want to blame someone else. We want to numb it and everyone tries to do this in a different way. We have all gone astray.

Reality is the brokenness is not just out there. The brokenness is in each of us. When God tears the vail from our sin, stained eyes and Truth is seen the brokenness becomes overwhelming. The brokenness I’m talking about is not out there it’s the deep sin inside each one of us. Jesus reveals the depths upon depths of sin in the soul. When the disciple Peter saw him all he could do was cry out “Depart from me for I am a sinner.” Peter saw it. Righteousness and unrighteousness do not mix. Isaiah saw it too. “Woe is me I come undone, for I am a man of unclean lips.” In God’s abundant love I have seen too.

The broken are just that. Broken. They know they can not work to be made right with God. They know they are not good. They know they should be thrown out. The broken see the problem is not them it’s me.

Enter GOOD NEWS!!!

Oh how incredible, the depths and riches of the mercy of God!
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ). Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and raised to life on the third day! “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus Christ is the living God who came to seek and save the lost.

He invites the broken to receive mercy and grace upon grace. He invites the broken and dead sinner to receive life. He invites the broken to repent and receive Him.

God I cry out have mercy on your creation. Break your people. Give eyes to see. Tear the vail. Let Truth be seen. Let every tribe and tongue see the beauty of the Risen Lamb who was slain.

The words that are truly the talk of the world wide web right now are those of Amanda Gormon, the youngest inaugural poet. Please hear my heart, this post has no political intention and is in no way to bash her but to rub some of her words against the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and see if what was shared today lines up with what is found in God’s Word regarding Light.

If you would like to dig into this a little please continue.

The words in Gormon’s poem that are being most quoted I see is, “The new dawn balloons as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” These words however could not be more contrary to the gospel.

Now before you go throwing rocks at me, will you listen to a story I heard a barefooted, very ill boy share on the other side of the world? This story I watched change his entire household. This story brought this young boys father to deep tears of joy. This story brought a real hope. This story has also changed my life. This story is the gospel.

I will never forget as the boy stood, holding onto his father’s hand to keep his small diseased body up and shared the same story that has also changed my life. Let all who has ears hear what he shared. God is light! Man is a dark sinner and can not go near God who is Light. Light came down to man. Jesus died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for mans sin. Jesus rose from the dead and is alive today. Jesus is the light and He is the way for dark man to have life with God forever.

It’s simple but its profound and it’s the gospel. Oh friends, I invite you to test the words, are we brave enough to be the light as was quoted in the inaugural quote today? Does the light come from within each of us? Or does the light come from somewhere/someone else? Let’s look at scripture.

Years ago Isaiah prophesied about this Light that would come, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” As we read on we read who this Light is “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.”

Jesus’ disciple John also wrote about this same Light. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John(he is referring here to John the Baptist). He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him, Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will but born of God.” John 1:6-13

I’m not sharing all this to throw scripture at you, but to give you rest and give good news. You don’t have to be brave and try to find the light from within. Do you try hard and find that you are never good enough? Truly you won’t ever find the light within yourself. You can try and try and try to muster up all the good. The pharisees loved doing this one!!! I loved doing this one for a long time myself. The gospel comes with a little bad news that may sting. You are not the hero of the story nor ever could be. Satan’s greatest disguise is one of angel masquerading as light but he is not the true light nor are you. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world….” The gospel says we could never ever, ever be light ourselves. For we have all fallen short of the glory of God and evil is deep within all our hearts. Just as the little boy I met on the other side of the world proclaimed, “Man is dark.” The gospel is greater than yourself, as any good story is. The gospel is about the glory of another. The gospel is Jesus. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world….” The world would not recognize him. The world would hate him. The world would crucify him. Jesus hung on a wooden cross enduring the wrath you and I both deserve for the darkness we have committed in all our thoughts, all our words, all our deeds. Sin must be punished and Jesus took the punishment we each deserve so one could receive forgiveness and come into glorious eternal fellowship with him being reconciled to a Holy God. Jesus gives the invitation, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Jesus invites you to turn to Him and have the light of life!!!!!

Friend, there are many other scriptures I could share with you on light and darkness. I encourage you to spend sometime digging into the scriptures yourself and dig for some gold and test and see for yourself if all above is true! A simple google search on scriptures with “Light” you may find helpful.

I will leave you with these words God led the apostle Paul to write to a group of believers in Corinth that are for the believer today. “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all – surpassing power is from God and NOT from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

And then brother and sister in Christ you are to let your light shine who is Christ the Lord!

Keep your eyes on the eternal,

Lane

When will the Messiah come? Did God really say? Can God be trusted? God seems so distant. I can just imagine the thoughts of the Jewish people as they endured years of long suffering in waiting for their promised Messiah to come.

Then close to 2,000 years ago a young girl pledged to be married receives Word, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” God didn’t break open the heavens and come down in glory. God came in the hidden place from the eye. God came in the womb of a woman. Jesus shared in every part of our humanity in each stage of our life from embryo to fetus to infant to toddler to child to adolescent to adult. We read in Hebrews 2 that Jesus had to be made like Abraham’s descendants “fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Read that last part again…He did this so that He might make atonement for the sins of his people.

Wait but what about this promised King prophesied about in Isaiah who was going to rule with righteousness and justice and give peace? Wouldn’t the Messiah set up his Kingdom now? Wouldn’t He punish the wicked? The crowds gathered as their King rode on a donkey’s colt that had never been ridden, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel.”

People missed it then and I believe many are missing it now too. The crowds praised Jesus as their king had come! He had healed the sick, he had calmed the storms, he had raised the dead, and he had cast out the demonic. This must be the King who was going to make everything better for them right now! Hosanna, the King has come! You can imagine the thoughts of the people of God, our long suffering is finished. Hosanna, He is finally here. However, right after Jesus rode into Jerusalem as king he talked about his death. Crowds spoke up and asked ,”We have learned from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man.”

Oh How much higher are the thoughts of God than of man! His ways are not our ways!

The people were looking for a King to make all their circumstances better! However when Jesus given over to Pilate he told him something different, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But my kingdom is not from this world.” (John 18:36) Jesus came to first set up His Kingdom not on what is visible on the outside as people thought. He came to set up His Kingdom first in the hidden places. Jesus came to set up his Kingdom first in the heart of people.

Hang with me here and let’s take a look back in Genesis.

God gave the first man and woman he created a choice to submit to him as Lord trusting him in his rule and reign. The woman and the man doubted God’s authority and his goodness and broke the one law God had given them. God gave them this restriction in love in the garden not to harm them but to invite them into a deep trusting relationship. When the man and woman broke the law they rejected God’s rule and reign. Outside of God there can be no life and the man and woman chose to go their own way as we all have. The wages of sin is death. We can not earn our way back into God’s Kingdom. We are all born shut out with no way to get back in.

BUT God…. 2,000 years ago the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. When Jesus started his public ministry he proclaimed, “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” He was able to say this because Jesus , himself is the promised king. The king himself had come down from heaven however it wasn’t to establish his rule and reign in the earth like all had thought he had come to do at first. Jesus did not just come to teach people how to live. Jesus proclaimed, “I have come that them may have life and have it to the full.” How did he do this though? The week after Jesus was praised riding into Jerusalem he willingly hung on a cross giving his life as a ransom for many all for the glory of God. Jesus paid the price for the sinner drinking the just wrath we each deserve with his blood freeing all who will seek refuge in him from the sting of death raising again on the third day. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Jesus stands at the door of the heart and knocks. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

Jesus Christ first sets up his kingdom(his rule and reign) in the hearts of broken sinners who will repent trusting in him receiving His righteousness. It is then out of an overflow of the heart one then walks daily this side of eternity telling others about King Jesus and the life he gives!

Jesus promises trouble for the follower of him in this world but to take heart that he has overcome the world. Christ will come again to this earth and establish his kingdom in full. Next time he comes his coming will be very visible! He is coming soon and “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever! ” (Isaiah 9:7) Outside of his Kingdom Jesus warns, “The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

Let all who has ears hear.

I leave you with a song that has been such a gift to me in good times and in hard over these last 5 years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6_BLuhr0HQ I invite you to listen to it and really meditate on the words.

May Jesus be the King of your heart and then out of the overflow of your heart may you spread the aroma of him wherever you go for his glory and renown in all the earth.

You are loved.

Words. Are there any adequate right now? There’s really not.

The only word adequate is the Word of God himself who is Christ the Lord. It’s him alone I hope you see if you chose to read further.

Take a good deep breath before you continue to read further.

Did you enjoy your breath?

Breath. This was something that George Floyd cried out for as a knee was held to his neck. “I can’t breathe” he cried as the demonic roots of racism had him by the neck.

Breath. David Dorn, a retired police captain, took his last breath as he was shot to his death by people looting in St. Louis as many fill the streets with sin.

Breath. 376,000 people world wide no longer have breath in their lungs and blood pumping through their heart due to COVID-19.

Breath. 28 people lost their breath to the smoke and flames of the fires that swept the continent of Australia earlier this year.

Breath. The world stood still in silent shock as news spread that Kobe Bryant, America’s basketball star, along with his daughter and seven other people took their last breath as a helicopter crashed on a foggy California day.

What is becoming clearer and clearer in this year of perfect vision, 2020,  is our days are limited and our breath can stop suddenly.  Although we have breath in our lungs the heaviness of the breath of this broken, cursed world is overwhelming.

BUT There is good news Loved one and I pray Jesus gives you breath.

Let’s take a look back at the very first breath given.

In Genesis 2 we read “The Lord formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.” Man became a living being when God filled him with his breath. This is good news. God did not make a robot. In love God made a living being that has a soul that can taste, see and choose. God made man to live!

 However, we don’t have to read very much further to find in Genesis 3 the reality of the curse of death we are in today all around us. Oh how heavy is the breath of the curse! We are breathing the effects of it all around us. The breaths of the living cry out for justice, righteousness and peace. It is overwhelming but read on there is hope.

When God spoke to the first man He gave him one restriction, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Any parent reading this knows that we give our children restrictions of love and protection. God gave this to protect the man! However, the moment the first man and woman turned away from God in wickedness their bodies became broken along with everything in the world and the curse would now follow them for all generations to us now. “For dust you are and dust you will return.”

Let’s  look back again at Genesis 2. It was only when God touched the dust with his breath that man became a living being and in Genesis 3 we see the curse promises that man will return to dust. Man would no longer have breath. All people will now return lifeless to the dust. For man to have life again God would have to breathe life somehow into man again.

In John 3 we read a conversation Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus about this very thing. Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Nicodemus questions Jesus in how this could be, “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answers him,  “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirt gives birth to spirt. You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again.”

Still how could this even happen?

The only answer would be for God to breathe life again having mercy and that is just what we read God offers. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” The Son breathes life to those who will take refuge in him. “Kiss his Son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm:12). Can you hear the good news? Can you see Jesus? We are all conceived dead in sin here. We are born gasping for life. We are all born gasping for Jesus.  Oh how man shall not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God! Jesus is the Word that gives us life! Jesus once said to a woman named Martha who was grieving the death of her brother, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”(John 11:25-26).

Oh friends. The mysteries of the gospel of Jesus Christ are too great to fathom!

The very one who breathed into the first mans nostrils came down to his cursed creation and took the curse upon himself. However, his blood couldn’t be held by the curse as He never sinned as the first Adam did.  Jesus stands at the door of the heart of the dead and offers his righteousness. He offers life and he will not turn any away who come to him. It is with our mouth we confess and with our heart we believe Jesus is Lord. We breathe out me and receive Christ. Jesus becomes your very life.

I’ll end with this scripture from Ezekiel (emphasis mine). Let God breathe into your soul.

“The hand of the Lord was on me and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’ The he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them ‘Dry bones , hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones. I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”

Let Jesus give you breath. Let Jesus give you life. Then go breathe life into the hurting, broken image bearers of God all around you that they may get a taste of the only One who can give them life and hope and turn to Him.

 

 

Our children are watching and by now the coronavirus is in most of their vocabularies.

My three year old and three year old niece were having their not so typical conversation the other day. At first they were fighting over sharing Pringles which was typical.  Then my son told my niece she had to share because we couldn’t go to the store to get him more because they would catch the coronavirus. Even at three this virus has entered his world.

My six year old was excited like I’ve never seen him before about playing his first soccer game of the season last weekend which of course ended up being cancelled.  Later conversations were about our church gathering being cancelled, his Bible study and his school. He’s been asking me some good, thought provoking questions. Today we sat down and just talked about how he was doing with all this.

I’m sure anyone reading this that has a child of school age has faced similar things.

So what can we tell our children?  Now my 3 year old is on a whole different level of thinking than my almost 7 year old but what they both needed to hear was the Gospel.

Mama reading its what you need to hear too.

We can tell our children:

1. God is good.
2. We live in a broken world where diseases like this coronavirus happen and other sad things.
3. There was a time when this wasn’t the case because the first two people God created lived in a beautiful garden and enjoyed Gods creation and spending time with God.
4. BUT this didn’t last. The people looked for goodness and joy in other places outside of God and turned away from him. This we know is called sin and sin separates us from God. This is why we see hard, sad things in our world. We all like the first two people have run away from God looking for joy in other things. On our own we could never run back to God because our sin.
5. However, God ran to us!!!! God came down to the earth not because we are good but because he is. Jesus came to seek and save the lost!!! We are all lost and Jesus came to save us! Jesus died on a cross taking the punishment that we all deserve but because he never sinned He rose from the dead.
6. Jesus is alive today and he is coming back to earth one day and is making all the bad things go away. There will be no more sad things or people getting sick. All the people who love Jesus will be with Him forever. People from every nation who love Jesus will be filled with Joy forever!

Friends its not a script we tell our children and each other. It’s the truth and truth is a person. Jesus says He is the way, the truth and the life! It’s ok when you can’t answer all your children’s questions. I can’t answer some of the ones that come out of my boys mouths but we can always point them to the TRUTH, who is Christ the Lord. You can lean hard on him during this time.

Since many are home looking for things to do with your little ones here are some amazing Easter resources and activities that you may enjoy doing together. https://www.risenmotherhood.com/easter

Grace and Peace in Christ,

Lane

 

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing you can make me clean. Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing he said, “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.”~Mark 1:40

A couple of days ago I wrote a post you can read here regarding the coronavirus. I would first read that post before you continue.

The last post looked at verse 41 and with this one let’s take a deeper look at verse 40. “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” I love how beautiful and active God’s Word is. A couple of days ago I was so amazed at verse 41 that I read right over verse 40.

I think about this man who was suffering with leprosy. Unlike many diseases leprosy is one you can’t really hide because of the lumps and spots all over the skin and so his physical sickness was visible for all to see.  I’m amazed by this mans boldness in coming to Jesus. “He came to Jesus and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” This man was desperate for help. He knew he couldn’t make himself clean that he went so far as to get on his knees and beg Jesus.

I was just in this scripture with friends in my neighborhood and one friend pointed out the statement he said to Jesus, “If you are willing YOU CAN make me clean.” I think about the bold faith of this man who was an outcast. He came to Jesus in his sickness acknowledging he wasn’t clean knowing Jesus was the one he needed. The man probably was not expecting what Jesus did next in actually reaching out in compassion and physically touching him, a man with leprosy who no one would be near.

The picture of the man with the leprosy is really a picture of all of our hearts. Isaiah 64:6 reads, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Read that again. We are all unclean. There is nothing the government can do to help. There is no doctor who can help or vaccine around the corner that will help. There is no good deed we can do for all our righteous acts are like filthy rags as we are all stained with sin. Sin works its ugly way way into every thing we do as we are stained by it.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS.

There is one who is willing. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world has come. Though our sins are like scarlet he washes the one who turns to him as white as snow.  Just like this man with leprosy we have to see that we ourselves are on the outside and our souls are sick. Isaiah 59:2 reads “Your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you.”  We see Jesus did not turn the man away in his sickness he did the unthinkable he reached out and touched him with compassion. That is the same that he does for the sinner that repents and comes to him. Jesus provides purification for all sins. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. It’s this kindess of God that leads us to repentance.

So what is to be our response? In Luke 17 we read an account of where Jesus healed 10 people with leprosy. However, only one of them returned to him praising him with thanksgiving. We see here this is the only right response. It’s a response of thanksgiving and praise for all of our days for all eternity to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings who with his blood reconciled a people from every tribe and language and people and nation.

May God use CVOID-19 to open the hearts of many nations that hope can not be found in wealth, health, government, our works etc. Hope is available though. Hope is not a thing you do but a person you come too. He has a name, Jesus Christ and He is willing to cleanse the soul of the one who calls upon his name.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands , you sinners and purify your hearts, you double minded.” James 4:8

 

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be Clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. Mark 1:40-42

Along with many of you, Matt and I  keep watching news updates on the coronavirus. Currently if people have even been near where the coronavirus is they are asked to self quarantine. Healthcare workers have to dress head to toe in infectious disease gear. People are fearful about this disease. People are hurting. People are dying.

As I see videos and images of healthcare workers with their isolation gear on and patients being isolated I keep thinking about the above scripture where Jesus had an encounter with a man with leprosy. In particular I keep thinking about verse 41. “Jesus was indignant. He reached out and touched the man.” Jesus being full of compassion for this man did the UNTHINKABLE. He reached out and touched the man. The man was in isolation and sick.

Here we see a glimpse at so much about Jesus. Jesus has authority over every cell in our body. Jesus has compassion for the sick. Jesus meets the heart needs. Imagine a man who society outcasts and isolates and Jesus reaches out and touches him. Imagine the greater heart need of loneliness that Jesus met here!

Let me flip this now. Imagine someone willingly reaching out and touching someone with the coronavirus and doing so while not wearing protective medical gear and then not running and washing their hands afterwards. No, one would do such a thing willingly. We know that we may indeed catch the virus ourself and spread it to others if we were to do that.  I am all about the hand sanitizer and elbow bumps right now! People wash your hands!

Stay with me. Let’s take this further. Imagine someone not just touching someone with the coronavirus, imagine someone actually stepping in and touching death for someone else in their place. This someone has a name and His name is Jesus. Jesus, the eternal Son of God who has always existed with the Father in glory, came down to His creation and put on skin becoming fully man so he could touch death for all. He walked in skin going through everything that you and I do. His body was subject to weakness just like our bodies are in every way. He was tempted by the enemy in every way that you and I are but Jesus was without any sin. Let these words from Hebrews chapter 2 sink in.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

Here we see Jesus had to touch our human nature so he could die to make atonement for sin for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Jesus did the unthinkable.

Currently the death rate they are saying for those with the coronavirus is somewhere around 3%. There are many unknowns about this disease still so they aren’t sure yet what it really is and it has us all in a panic! However, there is a death rate that we do know the percentage rate of and that is the death rate of being a human being. It is at 100% right now. We all know that there is nothing that we can do to outrun death. We can try but  at some point death takes us all.

BUT. THERE IS HOPE. HIS NAME IS JESUS. Jesus put on a body sharing in our humanity so he could touch death and He defeated it. Death has been swallowed up in victory and has no sting. This Easter season and everyday look to Jesus Christ the Risen Lord and King.  Jesus came for the sick sinner and has made the way for all to be healed from every tribe, nation, and tongue.  For one to be healed though they have to hear about the cure to death and turn to Him for help!

I’ll end with the words of Jesus:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

 

Kobe Bryant’s death is stopping many in their tracks. As an old gym rat who grew up watching Kobe play against my beloved Utah Jazz my first response like many was one of disbelief. My husband and I have watched with tears countless testimonies from many of the impact Kobe had on their life. NBA teams started games this past week by taking 24 second clock violations to honor number 24, moments of silence in so many gatherings, crowds gathered chanting Kobe outside the arena where he played for 20 years, and LAX and Madison Square Garden  lit up the sky with purple and gold.

The University of Alabama has a slogan that says, “Where legends never die.” However, it struck me the title of one of the specials that aired the night of Kobe’s death titled,”The death of a legend.” You see legends do die and this past week we were all reminded of this. Kobe made an impact for the ages on the game of basketball and was just in the start it seemed of pouring into the lives of many young athletes. It hurts for many that a man so full of life is gone. In this world we walk through grief as ones we love die. We see in our grief that we long to live for eternity and to live for eternity with all those we love. In our grief you see how broken things are. We see the curse and sting of death that  was promised by God in Genesis for the price of disobedience.

Kobe lived the picture of a successful life winning the hearts of so many. However, in 2000 years will it matter? In 2000 years will anyone remember? Probably not. It all seems so meaningless if we are to just live well and love well and then all die. We see Solomon write about this in Ecclesiastes. Solomon had all the worldly wealth and was so wise that kings from across the lands came to see about him. However, he writes that truly all the worldly success is all meaningless in the end! What is the point if we are all just going to die? If that’s the case alone we might as well eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.

Often we hear people say something along the lines of they are seeking to find their true selves. My answer is I hope you do, because when you really find why you exist you see it’s not about you at all. Human beings are not just some random bunch of cells that came together out of nothing. Our mind, will, and emotions prove this.  We were made with purpose. Our very DNA when looked at under a microscope is in the shape of the cross pointing to the one our souls long for. We were made by the One true Living God in whom we live and move and find our being.  “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment-to bring unity to all things in heaven and earth under Christ.” Ephesians 1:5-10

After getting over the initial news that Kobe had died in a helicopter crash my next question was did Kobe follow Jesus? I rushed to the internet trying to find this out. Truly this is all that matters. “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their souls,” Mark 8:26.

Dreams and legacies end but Christ remains. We can live to make a name for ourselves and our own kin or live to make known the name above all names, Jesus Christ whom every person in each tribe, nation and tongue will give an account and bow down too. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven give to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

In love,

Lane

 

I believe good question asking is a gift. I have several friends that model this so beautifully to me. A good question does not bring ones own bias to the table but really seeks to understand. A good question doesn’t bring the answer to the table but in humility listens. However, so often we can have a tendency to bring our own answers to questions. We ask not really seeking to know the true answer but wanting to hear an answer that we think is best.

I tell people often that asking questions about God is a very good thing. My story of coming to Christ actually started with a simple question about God. For the very first time I read my Bible seeking to know truth not bringing my own understanding or answer to God but asking Him to show me and in His mercy the Lord let me see the answer I was looking for…Jesus. We must not bring our own answers to the table when we are seeking to know the Lord. His ways are not our ways. Oh how much greater are his thoughts than ours! There is no one like the Lord.

An example of a question I hear people ask about God often is “How could a loving God send people to hell?” It’s a very common question and one you may have yourself. Often this question can be asked with people bringing their own biased thinking to the table that it is not right and good for God to send people to an eternity of hell. Asked in this way this is not a good question because one is bringing their own answer to the table thinking it can’t be right and good for God to do this.  Do you see how one can bring their own opinion here?

I would suggest change the “How” to a “Who” in this question to really asking who is this loving God that must punish sin. Once you see the WHO in this question the question about the how becomes perfectly clear.

In Isaiah 6 we see Isaiah saw a glimpse at the holiness of the Lord and his response was “Woe to me!! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” Isaiah did not have to ask God why would you send sinners to hell. He understood!!! He realized this is all he was worthy of, all that he deserved. You see when you see the WHO in the question it all makes sense that God is perfect in justice to pour out his wrath.

But praise the Lord he does not give us what we deserve!! Instead of condemnation he gives life for all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus. In Christ, God gives us the invitation to come into his very presence and dwell in his house for all eternity. When you see the WHO in the question you see that you deserve the very fire of God’s wrath for all eternity. BUT you also see His mercy that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”   (2 Corinthians 2:21). Our own righteousness is like filthy rags before a Holy God but all who turn to Christ are dressed in His righteousness! The sinner can now come before a holy God as they’ve been washed white as snow in the blood of Jesus.

Wherever you are today and whatever questions you have turn to the Lord and ask him and you will hear Him on the pages of your Bible. BUT ask him a good question not bringing your own bias and understanding. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Seek the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and you will find him(Deuteronomy 4:29). Ask, seek, and knock. “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthews 7:8)

In Christ,

Lane