• Stop nailing yourself and others to the Cross.

 
As a Christian Pastor for over forty years, it amazes me how so many professing Christians believe in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ but live their lives continually crucifying themselves and others repeatedly.
 
Sadly, many believers in Jesus, for some non-biblical reasons, hold on to sin that was nailed to Christ’s Cross.
 
Our scripture for this week makes me want to jump out of my chair and shout Hallelujah! as loud and as far as I can.
 
“And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all of our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14
 
Paul says that when we were “dead” in our sins, unable to pay their debt and redeem ourselves, God made us “alive together with Him” (Jesus). You and I moved from death to life. How? Through forgiveness of sins.
 
How did Jesus pull that off? The not so favorable (“hostile to us”) certificate of debt, the list of our sins, was canceled. Negated. Torn up. Jesus, when He became sin for us, bearing our sins in His body on the Cross, nailed your and my sins to the Cross where His precious blood covered them. What we owed was paid in full!
 

• Jesus was nailed to the Cross with our sins so you and me would not have to be crucified.

 
 II Corinthians 5:21 states “He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
 

• Christians have right standing and a personal relationship with God because Jesus took our sin upon Himself to pay the ransom for our freedom. Now you can shout Hallelujah!

 
BOTTOM LINE: OUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN. FORGOTTEN. TO BE REMEMBERED NO MORE. NAILED TO AN OLD RUGGED CROSS. NOT JUST SOME CROSS. THE CROSS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST~.
 

• So, what does this Good News mean for us? It means that we can stop beating up on ourselves for our sins. We can stop tearing others apart by nailing them to crosses. We can stop being so uptight with life and start enjoying the freedom and joy that forgiveness in Christ has provided. We can start loving a whole lot more and hating a whole lot less.

 
Considering this incredible truth, I have some questions we need to answer.
 
Serious Questions That Need Answered
 
Ø  Why do we keep dragging up old lists of our sins and drawing up new lists of sin?
Ø  Why do we put up with people who point fingers at us and shame us with past sins?
Ø  Why do we think that nailing people and their sins to the cross makes us superior in some way?
Ø  Why do we drive nails into our hearts when Jesus took the nails for us?
Ø  Why do we rehearse and nurse past sins that have been washed away?
Ø  Why do we pin others and try to exact a pound or two of flesh from them when Jesus’ flesh was ripped apart for all of us?
Ø  Who do we think we are when we hold people’s sins against them when Jesus doesn’t?
Ø  Do we really think it is all right to crucify people who do not agree with us, offend us, or make life difficult for us?
           
Take a minute to chew on these important questions.
 
Was His sacrifice not good enough? Was Christ’s blood not holy enough? Not pure and strong enough to wash us clean? Does sin somehow have more power than forgiveness? Oh my, we are on extremely dangerous ground if we believe we must overrule or override His crucifixion in some way. How could the holy blood of God’s only Son not be enough? The nailing is done. The blood was shed. It is finished. Forgiveness is complete.
           

• When we crucify ourselves and others, we crucify Jesus all over again. Why would we want to do that? Oh God. Please forgive us for cheapening the supreme price your Son paid for our sin.

 
Please listen to me for a moment. If you confess Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, put your hammer and nails down. Stop making sin lists. Stop crucifying yourself. Stop crucifying others. Jesus Christ was crucified once and for all for all of us.
 

• Set yourself and others free by realizing that Christ’s death on the Cross means sin is forgiven for time and eternity!

 
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”                           I Peter 1:18-19
 
A Word For Your Week: Christ’s death on the cross means we can stop nailing ourselves and others to a c

One of the many things I love about Jesus Christ is how the truth He taught in the Bible makes the Kingdom of God and salvation simple.
Simple enough for a thick-headed, self-centered, questioning, stubborn guy like me. It is too easy to make walking by faith difficult, to overthink belief, to complicate what is simple, to try and figure out why God does what He does.
I wonder if our heavenly Father sits on His throne and shakes His head in bewilderment as to why His followers make living for Christ difficult. Just a thought!
For instance, what about prayer? You and I can be tempted to turn praying into a spiritual ritual, a dogmatic exercise, a complicated dialogue of do’s and don’ts when conversing with the Lord.
Jesus cuts through the proverbial mustard regarding prayer in Matthew 7:7-11.
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be opened.
Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to them that ask Him?”  
Wow! Prayer and God’s response is profoundly simple.

1. Jesus declared that if we ask, seek and knock we will receive, find and things will open up. Receiving, finding and things opening from God happens when everyone (including you and me) asks, seeks and knocks. Profoundly simple!
2. Jesus said no man will give his son a rock when he asks for bread or a snake when he asks for a fish. You and I as earthly fathers would never give our sons or daughters a rock or snake when they asked for bread and fish.
3. Jesus made it clear that if we give good gifts to our children when we are “evil” (sinful, imperfect beings), “how much more” will God give good things to all who ask Him.
4. The key to this passage: ASK God for good gifts. “How much more” is the flipside of asking.

“How much more” is based on God’s great love for us!
I am a father and grandfather. I love to and thoroughly enjoy giving good things to my offspring when they ask. Warms my Doodah heart to bless them. Of course, I would never give them a rock when they asked for a Ding Dong! Or a snake if they asked me for some salmon.
You and I are sinful, imperfect human beings. Certainly not very godlike at times. But we still give good things to our kids. Why? Because we love them.
“How much more” does God love us who are His sons and daughters through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

• GOD IS A GOD OF MORE, NOT LESS.

Worth thinking about.
If you and I would give good things to our children, why is it hard for you and me to believe that God wants to give you and me good things even more than you would to your kids? God is not stingy with His love and goodness. He lavishes, pours His everlasting love, mercy, grace and abundant goodness upon those He loves and those who ask. I like that! I hope you do too!
Today there is a trending phrase that goes like this. “I love you. I love you more!” Nice. Guess what? As God’s kids we love Him, and you guessed it, He responds I love you more.
Out of His “I love you more” flows “How much more.”
How is your prayer life? Are you asking, seeking and knocking? Jesus said to ask. Put your faith in action to ask God for the good things He promises in His word.
Keep prayer simple. Believe God has your best interest at heart and will give good things to you because you ask!
My friend, I challenge you this week to ask, then receive “how much more” God has planned for you. Amen and Amen!
“You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:4
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in all things, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” II Corinthians 9:8
A Word For Your Week:

​Believing then acting on our belief is something you and I do.
Luke 17:11-19 records the amazing, inspiring, healing miracle of ten people with leprosy.
Scenario.
Jesus and His disciples were traveling to Jerusalem. Entering a “certain village” along the way, ten people with leprosy “stood at a distance from Him.”    
Leprosy was and is a horribly debilitating, disfiguring disease. A person with leprosy in Jesus’ day was socially isolated, ex-communicated from the community. A leper had to announce they were “unclean, unclean” whenever they were in public.

1. THE LEPERS HAD A SERIOUS NEED. (Verses 12-13) Though unclean outcasts, they were not embarrassed. The leprous men were desperately determined to ask for healing. From a distance they raised their voices. Loudly so Jesus could hear.
2. THEY ASKED JESUS TO HAVE MERCY ON THEM. (Verse 13). The Jewish Law and societal expectations showed them no mercy. In concert, the ten called on the “Master” to show them mercy. It was obvious to everyone observing that the mercy they sought was cleansing, healing, relief from leprosy. The ten needed a miracle.
3. THEY OBEYED WHAT JESUS TOLD THEM TO DO. (Verse 14a). They did not debate. No questions. No hesitation. They went to the Temple to report to the priests according to Jesus’ instructions. They did what Jesus told them to do.
4. AS THEY WENT, THEY WERE CLEANSED! (Verse 14b). Imagine! You are one of the lepers. Having suffered with leprosy most of your life. As you are walking to the Temple you gaze upon your flesh. The leprous skin is gone! Disappeared. In an instance. Ten lifelong lepers…unclean to clean! A healing miracle happened!!!
5. ONE OF THE TEN RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD AND THANKING JESUS. (Verse15-16). He was a Samaritan. The Jews looked down on the Samaritans. Not Jesus. His heart was stirred with compassion as ten leprous men cried out for mercy. With His word, mercy is granted. Go. See the priests. Show them your miracle.
   •  I wonder what the priests thought when they heard the lepers story. Probably had not seen this before in their priestly duties.

 

• One healed guy came back to Jesus. One. Only one. Where were the other nine? Cleansed and shamefully ungrateful.

 

1. JESUS TOLD THE GRATEGUL, FORMER LEPER: “RISE, GO YOUR WAY, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.” (Verse 19). I can only imagine how thankful and joyful the one healed leper was. I can see him leaping, dancing and praising God! Jesus said to him “Your faith has made you well.” Go your way as a former leper who has a testimony of God’s miraculous, healing power!

Note: Jesus told the ten to go to the priests. Now He tells the one thankful man to go his way as a healed man. FAITH GOES!
TRUTH: Healing was in the going because going was an act of faith in Jesus.

• Faith is active. It believes. Confesses. Obeys God’s directions. Cleansing, healing and miracles happen in the going to do what Jesus directs us to do. Then gratefully and joyously returns to give God glory and Jesus thanks for the received miracle.

Friends. Sometimes when we need cleansing, or healing or some miracle from Jesus, we sit when the Lord tells us to get up. Get off your spiritual fanny (my words, not Jesus’), do what I direct you to do. Go with faith. Believe then receive what you have asked for.
Worth Thinking About

• Are you telling Jesus specifically what you need?
• Are you obeying without questioning what Jesus tells you to do?
• Are you giving God the glory for what He has done?
• Are you thanking Jesus for what He has done?
• Are you rejoicing that your faith in Christ has made you well?
• Are you sharing with others what Jesus did for you as you were going?

Personal note: the more I walk by faith with Jesus, the more I realize faith is demonstrated by obedience to the Lord’s directions. Saying I believe is proven by taking action on that belief. To say I have faith and not act on it borders on unbelief in my book.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST, DO YOU NEED JESUS TO HEAL YOU? RESTORE YOU? FORGIVE YOU? PROVIDE FOR YOU? PROTECT YOU? IF SO, GET UP. GET GOING TO HIM. GET GOING TO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO.
Mary, mother of Jesus “Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5
A Word For Your Week: With faith-filled obedience to Jesus, RECEIVE YOUR MIRACLE AS YOU GO.
 

I do know this about His whereabouts. The Almighty One, your and my Creator and Redeemer is not hiding out in some galaxy far, far away. According to His Word, through His Son Jesus Christ, He is right here. Right now.
 
Almighty God makes His home in the hearts of Christians through the Holy Spirit.
 
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price’ therefore, glorify God in your body.”                       I Corinthians 6:19-20
 
Think with me for a moment. If as a Christian, my body is God’s temple where He resides, then why have I heard some Christians use phrases like “When God shows up”
” I am waiting for the Lord to show up.” “God hasn’t shown up yet.” “I sure hope God shows up soon.” I even heard a preacher say from the pulpit in a message recently that “God finally showed up.”
 
Sounds like God has a showing up problem, doesn’t it? I am sorry. This does not line up with scripture.
           
Our verse for this week tells us that God, speaking through Moses, assured Israel that they need not fear the opposing Canaanites in the Promised Land.
 
“You shall not dread them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.”  Deuteronomy 7:21
 
Hey, My people, listen up. No reason to fear anyone or anything. Why? Because their Lord and God, who is a “great and awesome God” would be in their midst. “In your midst” means with you. Right in the middle of things. Not somewhere out there, out of touch with your life. But right here with you every step of the way.
           
God would show up for Israel because He was there with them. Israel did not have to look for God to show up. The show was in town. God was the main attraction. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God is the God who always showed (shows)up.
 
The way I read God’s Word, the God of the Bible is a sovereign God who does show up. Because He is God who does not have to check in with anybody else before He acts, God can show up in any way He wants to.
 
 How God shows up is up to Him, not me!
 
Well-meaning, sincere people of faith can become frustrated when God does not seem to be working on their behalf. It is hard for all of us at times to wait for the Lord to work. Isaiah 64: 5 states “When You didst awesome things which we did not expect, You did come down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides You, WHO ACTS ON BEHALF OF THE ONE WHO WAITS FOR HIM.”
 
Could it be that God shows up on our behalf when we show up to wait on Him?
 
Maybe, just maybe this showing up thing is more about me, than God. What about daily fellowship with the God who is with us? How about worship, prayer, Bible reading, meditation, listening for God’s voice, obedience to His direction and fellowship with fellow believers in Jesus?
 
 I have a feeling if I show up to meet with Him, He will show up because He waits for me to show up!
 
Truth: God does not need to show up. I do.
 
Why We Sometimes Think God Has Not Shown Up
 

• We do not feel God’s presence. We think we must “feel” God.
• God did not show up the way we thought He should show up.
• God did not show up the way He did the last time He showed up.
• God did not show up for me the way He did for another person.
• God did not manifest Himself in some spectacular, miraculous way.
• Our theology regarding a sovereign, merciful God is messed up.
• We have erroneously followed some teaching that you must wait for God to show up.
• We do not know our Bibles well enough to know that God always shows up!!!

 
God cannot not show up. It is not possible for the God who is with us to not show up.
 
 God shows up because He has already shown up! God came to earth as Jesus. Jesus Christ is Immanuel which means “God with us.” God shows up through Jesus in our lives.
 
I have a word for any of you, who like me, like to sense God’s presence every moment of the day. I have learned and continue to learn that the Lord Jesus is with me every moment of everyday. His Word says so. Faith does not have to feel God’s presence. Faith trusts in the promise of God’s presence, especially when we do not feel like He is near.
 
Be encouraged my fellow Christian. No matter what you may be facing at this moment, God is here and near to help you victoriously overcome your challenges.
 
 GOD IS WITH YOU. HE IS FOR YOU. HE IS WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF THIS VERY MOMENT.
 
Just a thought: you and I need to rethink this “showing up” thing.
 

• Could it be that you and I are the ones that need to show up, not God? Pretty good thought huh?

 
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
 

• If you struggle with God showing up, confess that what you think is not true. It is not biblical. Give it up. Once and for all. Immerse yourself in the Word, studying scriptures that reveal God’s omni-presence in the lives of those who choose to believe in Him.

 
My brothers and sisters in Christ have a great day because GOD IS WITH YOU!!!!!!  
                
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20b
 
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”    Joshua 1:9
 
“For He Himself has said,” I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”                                                                                                                           Hebrews 13:5
 
A Word For Your Week: When looking for God to show up, you show up first.

​Last weekend, all over the world, Christians joyously celebrated Christ’s powerful, glorious resurrection from the dead. My heart was stirred deeply once again as I focused on the Cross and empty tomb. What a Savior!
What is incredible to me, as a follower of Christ, is that the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead resides in little old me. See Romans 8:9-11.
 Resurrection life and power is mine. Glory to God!
As I reflect on Easter 2024, I am pondering what resurrection life means for me and what my responsibility is to share my life in Christ with people who do not know Him.
I would like to share some personal thoughts about my Christian witness to America.
I love my country. I am a citizen patriot who proudly flies the Stars and Stripe at my home every day. I served as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy during the Viet Nam War.
 I firmly believe in the foundational principles of our nation that our forefathers, most who believed in God and His Word the Bible, established in our Constitution and Bill of Rights almost two hundred and fifty years ago.
Without question, the world has never known a country like ours. America has been an exceptionally great nation, a beacon of light, life and hope, bringing untold blessing to the world when it has adhered to its Judeo-Christian roots. But sadly, our spiritual/moral light has dimmed, our hope is waning, and life, the way our Maker designed it, is slowly but surely slipping into an abyss of death.
America is fast becoming a culture of death.
A spirit of darkness and Satanic evil hovers over our nation. If you do not believe me, what about the thousands of babies’ lives we terminate in their mother’s wombs every single day? What about the fact that the United States has one of, if not the highest, murder rates per capita of civilized nations? How “civilized” is that?
What about the multitudes of Americans who die agonizing, horrible deaths from drug overdoses? What about our embarrassingly high divorce rate, in our “enlightened” society? A divorce decree delivers death to family relationships. Walking out on loved ones, instead working out issues is far too commonplace.
Do I need to tell you about violent home invasions? Terrorism in our churches, malls, schools, hospitals, places of employment. Foul, filthy, profane language, which is becoming the norm, demeans people and speaks death into the lives of all of us made in the image of a Holy God.
Domestic violence, perversion of sexual relationships, sexual abuse and assault, corruption of power, disrespect for lawful authority, ambushing and killing of police officers, evil-based blockbuster movies and entertainment venues, anti-Christian talk shows, pop culture music, and video games focus on death, not life.
What troubles my heart most is that so many people, who have bought into the deceptive, death producing lies of the evil one, participate in the above. What is really disturbing, and grieves my spirit, is that some “professing” Christians behave no differently. This should not be.

• The root of a death culture is sin.

Yes, sin. Plain old defiance of God. See Romans 3:10-18, 23.  Individually and corporately shaking our arrogant fists in His holy face, willfully choosing to reject His standards for our lives. Rebellion against our Creator and defiance of His Word, instead of reverence and respect, distances men and women from life.
Death and dying is the new normal in America. Breaks my heart. What can be done?
The Bible, God’s Word, has the answer. Jesus removed the distance between death and life when He sacrificed Himself on a cruel Roman cross for our sins.
Before His death and resurrection, Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died. Standing at the foot of Lazarus’s tomb, weeping with his sisters Mary and Martha, Jesus declared to Martha “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
What a word for grieving, hurting hearts. Death is not the end. Life is. Resurrection life. It comes through believing in Jesus who said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6). Jesus paved the way to eternal life through His resurrection.
My friends, all of us must answer Jesus’ pivotal question to Martha “Do you believe this?”

• Steve Roll believes this. How about you?

If you are alive in Him, do not hide or hoard it. Boldly, unashamedly, unapologetically declare it. Lovingly share your faith in Jesus Christ. People are dying in the darkness. Headed for hell. Folks for whom Jesus died need to see His light in you and me because the Lord said you and I are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14-16).
May the resurrection life of Christ in you and me shed bright, redeeming light into the hearts of precious people who, though they are stumbling in the darkness and confusion, are searching for lasting answers in these evil days.
Truth is: You and me are Christ’s Goof News ambassadors sharing eternal life through faith in God’s Son.
May we be found faithful in these challenging days.
 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11
A Word For Your Week: Share resurrection life in Christ with those who have lost their way.