A Wonderfully Forgiven Birthday

Many of you know some of my favorite programs on my favorite radio station, there's even a few links on the side to help you locate them on the web.  I was thrilled when I heard that WCTS would be airing a new, in-house Bible study.  (It's hard to believe that it's been almost 2 years since they started broadcasting!)  What a joy it was to hear today's study in I John.  Today Rebecca, Sarah, & Crystal delve back into verses 9-12 of chapter 5.

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

This delights my soul so much because of a decision I made 20 years ago yesterday, a decision that I would like to tell you about....

Having been born at Christmastime, and with a name that means "Christmas child," it's natural to be thinking about birthdays and presents during the Christmas season.  My parents did a rather good job at not letting my birthday get swallowed up in the midst of all the festivities, too, which couldn't have been easy.  I also had the privilege of growing up in a Christian family and in a church dedicated to preaching God's Word as it ought to.  Of course, this means that from the time I was just a little tot, I knew that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, God's very own Son, on this earth.  I learned early on that He came for one reason, and that was to save His creation from their sins, and that it was available to anyone who would come to Him

So, with my birthday being just one night's sleep away, I'm sure I was thinking of Christmas and birthdays and presents as we were getting ready for church one evening so many years ago.  My train of thought might have even been that I receive presents on my birthday and His birthday, that He deserves so much more... and what could I give Him?  I don't really recall that, but I know I went up to my mom and said that I wanted "to give Jesus a birthday present.  I want to give Him my heart."

All preparations ceased at that point, and in my mom's presence, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and save me from my sins and told Him I loved Him.

... And I still do.  He's done so much for me, and I want the world to know what He can do for them, too.  He showed His love for us those many, many years ago for us when He left heaven's glory and came down to this sin-cursed, imperfect world.  Then He lived a perfect life for us, never once falling to the temptations His human body felt, which is so important because an imperfection can't redeem imperfection.  He went on to show those around Him who He was by the things He said and the miracles He did, never ceasing when people believed not.  Instead, when their unbelief caused them to falsely accuse Him and sentence Him to the capital punishment of the day, He willingly went to the cross for us because our redemption required His blood to be spilled.  The greatest agony He went through was when God the Father had to turn His back upon God His Son because the sin of the world was upon His shoulders.  He died, but three days later He conquered death and hell with His resurrection.  Now, He's seated at the right hand of God, making intercession for those who call upon His name.  Because of His life, because of His death, because of His risen life, we can be saved from sin, from eternal death, from hell if we will humble ourselves, admit we can't do anything to redeem ourselves, and call upon Him.  I have done that, and I'll never regret it.

It thrills my soul to think of all that He has done for me.  As much as it actually hurts to think of all He went through, I'm so thankful He came.  I'm also thankful that this is something I can reflect upon during this special time of year.  And maybe, or rather more than likely, this is why one of my favorite childhood Christmas songs was and still is Happy Birthday, Jesus.

How about you?  Have you also trusted Him to be your Saviour?  If not, why not?  There's no better time than the present, and it's a very special time of year indeed.

The Resurrection and the Life

We read a beautiful promise in John 11:25-26. While the passage it is in is of Mary and Martha's grief over their brother's death, Jesus' response addressed the physical issue at hand and the spiritual life of those who believe in Him. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

We can claim that promise because of what we commemorate today: Jesus' resurrection. What a wondrous thought that God would provide our salvation through Himself! He had to come to earth as a man (one hundred percent man, yet still one hundred percent God!) to provide that Way, the only Way. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Paying the price for our sins came at a high cost: He had to give His own life for us on the cross. A painful death, the death of a criminal with the shameful sentence of capital punishment. Not only that, but because my holy God can't look upon sin, and because Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, God the Father had to turn His back upon God the Son until it was finished by Jesus' death. Then Jesus was buried. For 3 days and 3 nights He was in the sealed tomb, and by the time Mary Magdalene came with spices at the dawn of 4th morning, He had risen just as He had said. Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead was the completion of His work on the cross, and by it He conquered death and hell.

Because of Jesus' triumph, those who place their personal, permanent trust in Him may say, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Corinthians 15:55, 57) Death has no sting, the grave has no victory over us because Jesus has redeemed and justified our lives, and even when our lives on earth shall end, we shall be with Him for the rest of eternity. Our Redeemer lives, and so shall we. And that's a promise for forever.

Happy Resurrection Day!

More than a Life Jacket

Some of my fondest memories are of times when I was out fishing with my father and grandfather. With today being Father's Day, I thought I'd share one of those fishing memories, a rather recent one of last summer with my dad.

It was the first time we were taking my littlest siblings out in the boat. When Kevin and I were young, Dad and Grandpa instilled in us safety precautions that all fishermen need to know, and the laws too in just the right way so little minds can grasp them. Now, it was time we do the same with 6-year-old Chelsea and 3-year-old Garrett. So as we were getting them settled in, we went over the dos and don'ts, the how to and not to behave. One of the things on the list was "don't jump in the lake." We already had made sure they had their life jackets on, all strapped and secured - not only as a safety measure, but because it's the law. It kind of has a double importance you could say. So Garrett says in his matter of fact way, "But if we fall in, our life jackets will save us." I had the privilege of explaining to him that, yes, it will save you, but you still don't want to fall in. Or at least we didn't want him to fall in; he probably would have liked it, after he got over the initial shock and surprise, that is.

We had a wonderful time on the lake. We quickly arrived at our little fishing spot, with Garrett persistently cajoling us to "go faster", and Chelsea enjoying our cruising along, too. My siblings were catching fish with almost every cast, so much so that I set my own pole aside to devote my time to taking the fishes off their hooks! As we Minnesotans are prone to do, not only did we take note of who caught the largest fish, but also the smallest. Kev was awarded with the largest as he pulled in both a northern pike and a bass just as we were packing up to go. Chelsea and Garrett both managed to "beat" my tiny little sunny that I had brought in early on, so I didn't get to claim that "accomplishment." Many were kept and others released (including our three record-breakingly small sunnies), and "the keepers" made a nice dinner the next day. We made our way inland under a beautiful sunset, with Garrett now trying to persuade us to go slower and slower, and Chelsea also not seeming all that eager to get off the water, either. It indeed was a lovely time, and thankfully no one took an unexpected dive.

Kids really do have a way of saying things, don't they? "If we fall in, our life jackets will save us." As I was explaining the life jackets to Garrett, it didn't escape my mind how valid his point was, the simple trust he had, and the lesson that can be learned.

A life jacket can indeed save you from drowning. However, just having one won't save you, of course; you have to be wearing it. You can't just throw it aside when you don't need it; you have to store it right when it is not in use. Not to mention, you have to have the right size, too. And if you follow these specifications, it will save you. You know it will be there for you when you need it, not needing to worry about the "what ifs", just having the trust that it won't fail.

I went on to think of how Jesus Christ is like our spiritual life jacket. You see, we all sin. "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:10-12, 23) Our sin deserves to be punished, and that punishment is death. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Yet God loves us, anyway, in spite of our sin. And He loved us so much that He did something about it. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (Romans 5:8, I Corinthians 15:4) All who place their trust in Him have passed from death unto life. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9-10, 13)

Because we sin, it's as if we're already in the lake, and we're drowning, fast. Compared to eternity our life is just a small vapor, not even a drop in the bucket. We need something - Someone - to rescue us, and that Someone is Jesus Christ. Like the flotation device we had on while fishing, we have to do things the right way for Christ to save us. I don't mean "good works"; I mean doing things God's way: You have to admit that you sin and you need a Saviour because you can't do anything to save yourself. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Believe that Christ's work on the cross is sufficient and He alone can save you. It takes the simple trust likened unto that of a child, and when you go to Him with a humble, contrite heart and ask Him to save you, He will. The forgiveness and grace He offers will always be "the proper fit." It's as big as you need it, and it is renewed every day. He will be there for you through life's calm and through life's tempests, and He will be there for you when you leave this world behind and pass into eternity.

But a "life jacket" isn't quite the all-encompassing analogy, there's so much more to it. A life jacket is something you fall back on, something you hope you won't really need, and something that can still leave you stranded - floating, but not necessarily able to reach dry land. Jesus Christ is even more than that, He's our Saviour. He's not Someone we only need at certain times or troubling moments; we need Him always, even after our initial saving from an eternal demise. Nor does He only provide us with just the ability to stay afloat, He plucks us out of the water and gives us a safety we've never had before. That doesn't mean we'll never pass through a storm, but that we will never have to go through it alone or without any hope of escape because He'll be there with us and we'll be in the boat which cannot sink. And someday we will reach the final Shore, our beautiful eternal home, with Him, the One who loves us so much, there face-to-face and by our side.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! Thank you for being the godly example you should be and for teaching me in the wisdom & knowledge and admonition of our Lord - not only in my growing up years, but even now. I love you!