Mission Accomplished

By Cheri Cowell –

Friends have watched loved ones pass away, some succumbing to horrible diseases. I was there as my mother-in-law took her last breath. The experience has been described as a reverse childbirth, one in which we are re-birthed into our eternal existence. The act of dying in the physical is not a pretty event. But just at the moment of release into the arms of God, for those who call on Him, peace comes. My cousin described the passing of my grandmother as the most peaceful thing she has ever witnessed. My grandmother knew where she was going and she was ready. Jesus knew where He was going, and He was ready, but before He could go He had a mission to accomplish. His mission allows us to go to our death with certainty that He is with us and will be on the other side waiting for us. See for yourself in today’s scripture verse.

In Luke 23:44 we read of darkness that has covered the earth for three hours. Scholars have argued as to whether this was a literal darkness or a symbolic means for Luke to describe the spiritual darkness covering the earth. Either way, it is clear that Jesus suffered for many hours as He literally asphyxiated on the cross, no longer able to pull himself up by nailed hands and feet to catch a breath. The temple curtain separated the people from the Holy of Holies, or the place where God’s presence dwelt. The only time a human had access to this room was twice a year during the sacrifices when the blood of a pure lamb was spilt upon the altar in payment for the sins of the people. The tearing of the curtain can be interpreted two ways. 1. That we now have full access to the presence of God because the dividing wall has been removed, and 2. Because of Jesus’ blood, which was the final sacrifice needed to pay for our sins, the barrier has been removed and God now has communion with us. Jesus then said in a loud voice, “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus completed His mission and was saying to His Father, “I’m ready to come home.”

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things” (Luke 23:44-49 NIV).

PRAYER: I praise you, Almighty God, for Your willingness to suffer such an awful death so those I love and I can one day spend Easter with you in paradise. Help me to accept the mission to which You’ve called me, to bring others into Your presence, so that when my day comes I will be able to say, “My mission is completed, and I am ready to come home.”

The Clothes Make the Man?

By Rhonda Rhea –

Glass half full person. Glass half empty person. I tend to be more of a dribble-whatever’s- in- the- glass- down- my- shirt person. It’s always best if I try to coordinate whatever I’m wearing with the meal of the moment. That’s one big reason I so want a chocolate suit.

My husband? We should always buy him shirts made of ink. Spots under the pocket wouldn’t be spots. They would just be, well, more shirt. They say the clothes make the man. If that’s true, Richie’s clothes make him…INK MAN. Yet you should know (and I’m not saying this with even a hint of sarcasm), “Ink Man” will always be my hero. He has a special “spot” in my heart.

In a spiritual battle, I choose to team up with those who are well-armed. The villains waging war against us in this life are heavier on the evil than any you’ll find in your average super hero movie. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:1-12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (ESV).

“Cosmic powers over this present darkness”? Nothing in the comics compares. Then again, nothing—imaginary or real—compares with the strength we find in the armor of God. We’re able to stand against evil as we put on that armor. If Tony Stark came strutting up to some giant super villain without his suit, not only would he look ridiculous, but he would also be toast. I can just imagine him trying to shoot power beams out of his hands. Nothing. Or maybe jumping up to fly off, getting nowhere. As a super hero, Tony is nakedly nothing without the suit.

Even worse, he’s defenseless. It would be the ultimate in foolishness for him to even think of going into a battle with an evil nemesis without his shields up.

For us spiritually, we are armed and battle-ready when we take off anything fleshly—all traces of self-sufficiency and those prideful thoughts that seek to deceive us into thinking we have any kind of power of our own we can carry into the fray. Verse 10 in that Ephesians 6 passage makes it clear where our battle-readiness should come from: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” His strength. His might. Because it’s His battle. And the next verse tells us we should put on the whole armor “of God.” Not of self. Not of man. Not of any of our own ideas of how super-hero strength should operate. His armor.

No power on this planet or any other can prevail against us when we’re armored up. His truth enables us, His righteousness empowers us, His Gospel of peace emboldens us and the faith He gives us fortifies us. No need for any glass half-full kind of thinking here. We can’t lose.

Battles fought in His strength? I’m happy to tell you in the most positive way that we’re “well-suited” for each and every one.

Who? Me? Courageous?

By Carin LeRoy –

Has someone ever said you were gifted at something? Maybe after speaking they said, “You are a wonderful teacher.” Perhaps, “You’re a visionary”, or “God has given you wisdom and discernment.” Many times others see in us what we can’t see in ourselves, but God has given each of us specific gifting.

In Judges 6, we read about the Israelites’ oppression under the dominating rule of the Midians. We find Gideon threshing wheat while hiding in a winepress—normally used for pressing grapes to make wine. He worked alone away from the watchful eyes of the Midianites—probably afraid they would take his wheat for their own use. Their tyranny had left the nation impoverished. While he was working, an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior.”

Gideon probably thought, “Who? Me? A courageous warrior? I’m just trying to eke out a living to feed my family.”

“But sir,” he said, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”

God said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midians. Have I not sent you?”

Gideon voiced several areas of concern: 1) “How can I deliver Israel?” 2) “My clan is the weakest in Israel.” 3) “I am the youngest in my family.”

Full of uncertainty, he wondered if he was the right man for such a job. Maybe he thought God would accept those excuses and ask someone else. But God chose him. After the Lord’s gentle coaching, Gideon set out to obey. The result? “The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for 40 years during Gideon’s time,” (Judges 8: 28 NET). God gave Gideon the power to accomplish His purpose. Gideon progressed from doubt in his ability to trusting God and walking in obedience to Him. As a result, a nation was freed from oppression by one man’s faith in God.

Transitioning from doubt to faith takes courage. It takes trust in God’s word. Just as Gideon, we also have God’s assurance of “I will be with you.”

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that You equip us with gifts to accomplish Your purposes. Help me not to doubt. Give me confidence to believe and trust in Your power. Help me have faith to step out, like Gideon, and trust You.

QUOTE: “I believe that the happiest of all Christians and the truest of Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but take His Word simply as it stands, believe it, and ask no questions, just feeling assured that if God has said it, it will be so.” C.H. Spurgeon.

Snips and Snails and Poopy Tales

By Jane Thornton –

The Armpit Extended Hold.

Every person who has spent any time around infants or toddlers learns this vital protection strategy. Adult fingers wedged firmly in the hollows under the child’s shoulders, elbows locked to maximize distance and stability, caretakers allow the kid to dangle harmlessly a half yard from their own vulnerable clothing and sensitive nostrils.

When the nursery attendant interrupted my soulful rendition of “Sweet Hour of Prayer” with Matthew so suspended at arm’s length, I cannot say I set aside my praise time to face my motherly duty with any alacrity. The tricky transfer from her grip to mine was accompanied by empathetic chuckles from neighboring congregants. I tried to focus on the benefit of bicep development as I trekked to the ladies’ room with my aromatic toddler. Matt’s blue eyes twinkled with unwarranted innocence for the creator of the extensive mess I would discover.

We passed through the empty lounge area with its seventies shag and leatherette sofa to the cramped cubicle. A bountiful space for individual needs had seemingly shrunk when occupied by both my son and me and his diaper filled to quadruple its capacity. Without sharing too many gory details, let me say that if he’d been wearing anything but the precious corduroy, flannel-lined jumper, handmade by his loving aunt, the entire outfit would have been dumped in the trash. Luckily, my diaper bag held an entire box of wipes, which I used liberally.

After disrobing, wiping down, and disinfecting my little blessing, I set him outside the stall with instructions to stay put. I hiked my dress and hit my knees, not to pray, but to restore order for future occupants. All done, I heaved a sigh, made my fiftieth trip to the sink for a final scouring of my hands and forearms.

I did a double take. Surely not.

What were those brown tracks on the linoleum tile? I snatched Matt up for inspection and sniffed at his stained heel, hoping for mud. No such luck.

Upon further inspection, I determined that we must have dripped on our way into the room, and one sample landed just inside the doorway—in the lovely shag carpet.

With devilish timing, the benediction tolled over the PA system. I knelt in the shadow of the door and scrubbed one-handed, using the other to try to ward off the rush of elderly ladies who flooded the restroom at the end of every service.

When all was as clean as I could get it and I had resolved to call the janitor with a warning and request for rug sterilization, we ventured into the lobby and searched for my husband, planning a quick getaway. I almost gave Matt away to the second grandmother who patted his little bare back and told me I needed to put some clothes on the poor child.

My petty mind tried to blame the fiasco on indulgent grandparents who fed Matt an entire bunch of grapes the night before, but reason intervened and reminded me that such debacles are part of the reality of parenting. Part of life.

Living is messy. In His wisdom, God made it that way. Huge proportions of our humor and bonding stem from sharing our messes with each other. And Jesus, “too shared in [our] humanity…he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God . . . Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able t help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:14,17b-18 NIV).

Comment prompt: Any funny, yucky stories from other comrades in arms?

Looking Beyond The Cross

By Pat Hodges –

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

There comes a time in every believer’s life when there is a “cross” before us that we don’t want anything to do with. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “. . . O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me . . .” I can think back over the times in my life when I’ve faced various “crosses,” begging God to eradicate the “cross” or somehow just bypass it all tog-ether. The truth of the matter is God allows us to face these crosses and to experience them from time to time. Some are short lived, while others can last for extensive periods of time. Now I don’t subscribe to the notion that every bad situation is put in our lives by God as a cross. The Word plainly states the enemy comes to us steal, kill, and destroy. There is a marked difference between a cross and the enemy just coming in to wreak devastation and chaos in our lives.

The purpose of the cross is specifically allowed to give us the opportunity to overcome and to conquer a given obstacle. The purpose is not to destroy us. There are times when God delivers us from situations and circumstances and other times He delivers us through situations and circumstances. The delivering through part is what we often seek to avoid.

I want to encourage you to start seeing what lies beyond the cross you may be facing. It makes it a whole lot easier when we can see what is beyond a cross. Your cross may be a relationship that’s going through a fiery test, or it may be a character flaw within yourself that God has allowed to remain to gain victory over or something else entirely.

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