Freedom in Christ

The United States champions the cause of freedom around the world but are we really free?

Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. If the son has set you free, you shall be free indeed." John 8:32,36 True freedom can only be found in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christianity is centered upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 6, the Apostle Paul shows us how important the bodily resurrection of Jesus is for us to live in obedience to God. Look at verses 1-5: Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. "United with" means we are intertwined with Him. When Jesus died He took on our sin, His death became our death. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, He baptized us into His body with His Holy Spirit, identified us with His death on the cross, and then identified us with His resurrected life.

It also means that we are now living in a brand new realm than we’ve ever been in before. When we died with Christ, we are raised with Him to walk in newness of life. The power of God to resurrect Christ from the dead is the same power that now lives in us. He gives us the power to say no to sin and to say yes unto God. We are in Christ and Christ is now in us! How could we go back and think about living like we used to live? We’ve been completely transformed!

In verses 6-11 we read, "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus."

When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, all of our sin was placed upon Him. When He rose from the dead, His relationship to that sin was totally changed. He didn't have a relationship with sin like we do but He took our sin upon Himself. After the cross, He was in a brand new relationship with the Father. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father ever to make intercession for us. In the same way, when we died with Him, everything that we used to be was nailed to the cross with Him, and the same power that brought Jesus back to life is the same power that put new life into us! We are brand new creatures.

Verses 12-15 say, "Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!"

This passage shows the power we now have of choosing against sin and choosing to obey Christ. Sin is no longer a lifestyle to us. Sin is a choice once we have experienced the resurrection power of God. We can do what God tells us to do because He has given us His resurrection power.

Look at verse 16: "Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living." Choosing to obey Christ is the testimony of every believer. God has taken us out of the domain of darkness. He has placed us into His kingdom. We’re different now! The Holy Spirit lives in us to give us the power to live differently.

Verse 17 says, "Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you." What teaching? -- the teaching that Jesus is Lord of our lives. That truth is indelibly imprinted upon every believer at your conversion. Your whole testimony rests on the fact that your choice is to obey the Lord Jesus."

Read verse 18: "Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living." Whatever you choose to serve becomes your master, and there are going to be consequences to that choice. In verse 19 we see the result that obedience to Christ brings the believer. "Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy." The holiness that man tries to come up with is so superficial. Holiness is not following a list of rules and regulations. It’s learning to walk in the resurrected power of Christ, being obedient to God’s word from a heart of gratitude not out of compulsion.

Who is your master? The resurrected power of Jesus has given us the power to choose. Jesus is our Lord. Why would we choose to participate in something that is going to drag us down the path of death and destruction when we have the power within us to pursue a life of holiness and righteousness? Sin is like a cancer. It aggressively reproduces itself until the whole person is destroyed. You don’t want to go back and serve sin again. The Spirit of God lives in you now, and the resurrection power of God is there to cause you to live differently.

Consider verse 20: "When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right." Paul is pointing them back and showing them how bad it used to be. Back then when you were living in sin, there was no accountability in your life. You lived any old way you wanted to live." He reminds them how fruitless those days were. Verse 21 says, "And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom." Paul is saying, "Your life was worthless when you were living as a slave of unrighteousness? You were ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated and discouraged. So, at some point we have to learn to make the right choices and then we will reap the consequences of right choices.

Here is the good news in verses 22 and 23, "But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

The power of sin has been broken in the life of a Christian. Choose to say "No" to sin and "Yes" to God and the result will be a life of holiness. Let's honor God with our lives. When you walk in the Spirit you won't carry out the deeds of the flesh!

Metamorphosis

Having spent 9 formative years in Philadelphia parochial schools, I had a good head knowledge about God. From 5 years of age I studied and memorized the catechism which gave me a factual knowledge of the Almighty. Laboring under the assumption that I could work my way to heaven, I became an altar boy, learned to recite the Mass in Latin and willingly served at church at every opportunity. Even as a child I wanted to please God. Saturdays would give me the opportunity to confess my sins to the priest but all my religious duty never satisfied my conscience. Bible reading was discouraged. During his homily one Sunday, I remember the priest saying from the pulpit, "You don't need to read the Bible, that's what we're here for." All of this was a formula for failure.

I squandered my tumultuous teen years on drugs, sex and alcohol. One Friday evening while driving home from work, I stopped into a Christian book store out of curiosity. There were no other patrons in the store, so the owner turned his attention to me. Realizing I had no idea what I was looking for, the owner engaged me in a brief conversation but before I left he invited me to church. Disillusionment had brought my church attendance to a halt many years prior. Reluctantly I accepted his offer to attend because at this point I just wanted to leave. Two days later I decided to visit this church, which was a simple storefront building next to his bookstore. What a huge difference from the ornate architecture and stained glass windows of my childhood church! On a hot, humid August afternoon in Williamstown, NJ in that simple storefront, I heard a simple message that would change my life forever.

Granted, I already knew I was a sinner, you didn't have to convince me of that. I already believed in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and knew that He died for the sins of the world, but on that morning God opened my eyes to see that He died for me. "to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12 I also learned that good works would not warrant my entrance into heaven. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9 My life was a jumbled mess and in response to the sermon I cried out to God that morning for help. I willingly gave up control of my life and turned it over to Jesus, believing He would change me from the inside out. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." Romans 10:9,10

Fan the Flame

In 2 Timothy 2:15 the Apostle Paul encourages his protege Timothy to "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Can you rightly divide the word of truth? Do you study the Word of God? Some Christians never read the bible, let alone study it. When you become a Christian you enter into a relationship with the living LORD Jesus Christ. Relationships require time. How much time do you spend with Him each day? Consider how much time you spend watching TV or a movie, a ball game, fishing, hunting, playing. God has miraculously preserved his Word for us for thousands of years, so that we can grow in our knowledge of him, and learn how to live holy lives. What good is it if we don't spend any time reading it? Do you only open your Bible when the preacher is preaching?. You can't learn what it says just by having it in your house. Don't just rely on devotionals. Crack open your Bible and spend some time in it. You need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it.

Consider when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to turn stones into bread. He replied that "...man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Do you have enough of the Word in you to resist the enemy? You will be tempted sooner or later.

2 Timothy 3:16,17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." If God went through the trouble of humbling Himself and becoming a man, and was obedient to the point of death on a cross, and then wrote about it in a book and preserved it for thousands of years so we could know all about Him and how He wants us to live, don't you think He wants us to read it...to know what it says?

Most Christians don't see their need for personal Bible study because they say, “I go to church every week. Why do I need to study the Bible for myself? The pastor does that for me and then tells me what it says.”

So, why study the Bible? The Bible shows us who God is and who we are... and thus our deep need for Him. The entire Bible was written so that we could see and be saved by the glorious God of the universe and truly know Him through faith in Christ.

Our need for the gospel isn’t limited to just being “saved”. God also gave us the Bible so that we would study it and be sanctified, constantly being changed to be more like Jesus Christ. We constantly need to be immersed in the Bible. As Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” The only way to do that is through Bible study. The result is that I am being “transformed by the renewing of my mind” into what God desires(Romans 12:2).

We also need to study the Bible to increase our faith in God as we go through both good and bad times in life. The Holy Spirit works through the Scriptures to build our faith in God. Reading and knowing the promises of God increases our faith. Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

Bible study fans the flames of my faith. It is the way that we are saved, sanctified, and walk by faith. God is so gracious to have given us such a wonderful treasure, His word, to help us treasure The Word, our Lord Jesus Christ!

The Brass Serpent

Once again we find the Israelites complaining about their lack of water and about the manna ("...this miserable food!"). Manna was a sweet wafer-like substance that was provided by God...literally bread from heaven. This manna represented Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Consider these New testament references...Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:32-35

Now back to the wilderness wanderings...

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. Numbers 21:4-9

It's easy to read these passages and think, "these Israelites never learn their lesson...they're always grumbling, murmuring and complaining." We must remember that these things were written down for our learning. Many times we've been guilty of complaining about God's provision or what we consider a lack thereof. The danger is that Satan can use our complaints as an opportunity to sin.

The fiery serpents represent sin and all mankind has been injected with its poison. The brass serpent on the pole was a picture of Jesus Christ who came in the form of man and took our sin upon Himself when He gave His life on the cross.

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus himself even would concur with this assessment..."Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." John 3:14,15

Christ is the Rock

We erroneously think that the Old Testament is just full of interesting stories from which we can derive moral lessons. However, the entire Bible points to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Here is just one example...in Exodus chapter 17, God used Moses to deliver the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. They had witnessed the miraculous plagues that God brought on the Egyptians and the miracle of a lifetime when the Red Sea parted and they crossed on dry land. Yet they continually doubted God's provision for them. By the time they arrived at Rephidim they were thirsty and complained about their lack of water. They were ready to stone Moses to death. They demanded that he give them water to drink! God instructed Moses to strike a particular rock with his staff and water would gush out for all to drink. This rock prophesied Jesus Christ who would willingly give his life as a ransom for many and provide living water. Just as Moses would strike the rock, Jesus would be beaten, suffer and die to provide spiritual refreshment for us, through Him the Holy Spirit (living water) would flow to mankind.

Consider what Jesus said about the life giving water that He provides,

"...those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." John 4:13

"Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) John 7:38-39

The Apostle Paul plainly states the truth about this analogy...

"I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

In a similar instance the Israelites were camped at Kadesh and are in need of water again. God desires to expand on the "Rock" analogy but Moses obviously failed to understand the point, so his frustration and anger somewhat destroy the illustration.

God spoke to Moses: "Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that's right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink." Moses took the staff away from God's presence, as commanded. He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: "Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?" With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock—once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank. God said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me, didn't treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren't going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them." Numbers 20:7-12

Moses was told to speak to the rock this time and water would flow. Jesus has already suffered to pay the penalty for our sins, all we have to do is speak to the Rock of our salvation, ask for forgiveness and confess that He is Lord to enjoy spiritual refreshment. Moses acted as though he had the power to provide water from the rock. He disobeyed God's clear instructions, invoking God's anger and was denied entrance into the Promised Land. Yet even in the midst of this God's grace provided water to drink for His rebellious fledgling nation. Although we rebel against God, He proved His love by sending Jesus Christ to die in our place. From beginning to end, the Bible is all about Jesus. God invites you to receive His gift of living water today. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." Romans 10:9, 10

The Rebellion of Korah

I'm currently reading through the Old Testament and found an interesting story in the book of Numbers chapter 16. The Israelites were camped out in the wilderness and not permitted to enter the Promised Land because of their lack of faith in God. Obviously they were frustrated and disappointed and tempers began to flare. One man named Korah had incited a group of 250 men to rebel against Moses, God's appointed leader. They didn't like the idea that Moses was running the whole show. They complained about the fact that Moses had lead them out of Egypt and not delivered on his promise of taking them to the land of milk and honey. They failed to realize that their lack of faith kept them out of Canaan. When confronted with the rebellion Moses threw himself on the ground and prayed for wisdom. Here's how it played out...

Then he (Moses) addressed Korah and his gang: "In the morning God will make clear who is on his side, who is holy. God will take his stand with the one he chooses. Now, Korah, here's what I want you, you and your gang, to do: Tomorrow, take censers. In the presence of God, put fire in them and then incense. Then we'll see who is holy, see whom God chooses. Sons of Levi, you've overstepped yourselves!"

Moses said to Korah, "Bring your people before God tomorrow. Appear there with them and Aaron. Have each man bring his censer filled with incense and present it to God—all 250 censers. And you and Aaron do the same, bring your censers."

So they all did it. They brought their censers filled with fire and incense and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron did the same. It was Korah and his gang against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The entire community could see the Glory of God. God said to Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I can finish them off and be done with them." They threw themselves on their faces and said, "O God, God of everything living, when one man sins are you going to take it out on the whole community?" God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the community. Tell them, Back off from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of Israel followed him. He then spoke to the community: "Back off from the tents of these bad men; don't touch a thing that belongs to them lest you be carried off on the flood of their sins." So they all backed away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

... Moses continued to address the community: "This is how you'll know that it was God who sent me to do all these things and that it wasn't anything I cooked up on my own. If these men die a natural death like all the rest of us, you'll know that it wasn't God who sent me. But if God does something unprecedented—if the ground opens up and swallows the lot of them and they are pitched alive into Sheol—then you'll know that these men have been insolent with God." The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Earth split open. Earth opened its mouth and in one gulp swallowed them down, the men and their families, all the human beings connected with Korah, along with everything they owned. And that was the end of them, pitched alive into Sheol. The Earth closed up over them and that was the last the community heard of them.

Things written in the Old Testament were written for our learning. Only Joshua and Caleb and those who demonstrated faith in God to subdue and deliver the Promised Land into the hands of the Israelites actually entered the land. Likewise those who demonstrate lack of faith in Jesus Christ to deliver us from destruction will never enter into the Promised Land (new heaven and new earth). We also see the danger in slandering God's appointed leader. Too many people grumble and complain about their pastor instead of submitting to his God-given leadership position. Here's what the Apostle Paul had to say about it....

Never speak harshly to an elder, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others. I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone. 1 Timothy 5:1, 17, 19 - 21

Resurrection Day

One of the things I love about this time of year is how various colors emerge as nature resurrects from its winter death sentence. This is also the time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. With remarkable accuracy, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testaments prophecies concerning his life, death, burial and resurrection. Here's the account from the Gospel of John...

Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. John 20 11-20

Not only did Jesus appear to his immediate disciples after His resurrection but He also appeared to over 500 of his disciples! At the time the apostle Paul wrote about this fact many of the witnesses were still alive who would corroborate his story. Paul himself persecuted Christians until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, years after His ascension to heaven. Here is how Paul describes the good news about Jesus death, burial and resurrection...

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 1 Corinthians 15:3-9

I believe these things by faith, but still there are many skeptics today. However many agnostics and atheists like Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell took the initiative to actually study the claims of Christ. The overwhelming evidence lead them to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Even Josephus the 1st century historian attests to evidence of Jesus' resurrection...

" ... About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and as a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared." Josephus' Testimonium Flavianum, from Antiquities of the Jews 18:63-64

The Gospel of John closes with the reason for his writing. It's so that you will be presented with the factual truth about Jesus and hopefully come to believe his claims. We who believe in Him have hope beyond the grave... because He rose from the dead, so shall we!

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31

Good Friday

I stand amazed at the great lengths God would go to just to save us. You might say, "Why do I need to be saved? What am I being saved from?" It all goes back to the Garden of Eden. The story is found in the Book of Genesis. God created Adam and Eve and gave them simple instructions which ultimately they disobeyed. God had warned them that their disobedience would result in death. They chose to listen to the temptation of Satan rather than the clear command of God. The result was their banishment from the Garden, eventual physical death and separation from God. However God promised that he would provide a way of reconciliation for them. Since we all descended from Adam and Eve, the same curse is upon us, we're born, we die and without God's intervention we would be eternally separated from him in a place of torment...fire and brimstone.
God says we are all born as sinners. Some will readily admit to being sinners but others believe we are basically good. The problem is that we have the wrong standard. We think we're good because we're not as bad as others who may be drunks, murderers or thieves. God is the one who sets the standard and His standard is nothing short of perfection. "...For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood." Romans 3:23-25
I don't understand why God loves mankind but I'm just glad that He does. He loves us so much that He provided a way of escape from eternal punishment. If we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and allow Him to have control of our lives, we can become righteous in God's eyes. "...When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:6-8
This morning I read The Gospel of John, chapters 18 and 19 to my wife before we prayed. I think it's good to be reminded of the price that Jesus paid to redeem us from the penalty of our sin. The cross can be minimalized to jewelry or clothing adornment but it was the most brutal form of execution ever known to man. But God decided this would be the method by which Jesus would willingly give up His life. "... Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face." "...So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull. There they nailed him to the cross." John 19:1-3,17
That's what makes Good Friday "good". Jesus suffered the ignominious death on the cross but it was "good" for us because He became the substitute to appease a holy God on our behalf. I don't have to understand it, I just need to believe it and accept it by faith. "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Humble Radio Beginnings

Since my childhood I have always loved radio. Growing up in Philly in the 60's I heard some of the best music with some of the best disc jockeys of that era. They influenced me to dabble in college radio but I never dreamed that I would ever be as good. In 1972, I graduated from Overbrook Regional High School in Pine Hill, NJ and left home within 2 months. I packed my belongings and at 17 years old, I took a 17 hour Greyhound Bus ride to Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN. That bus trip changed my life completely.

Tennessee was a totally different world. I spent the first 14 years of my life in Philly, a city known for fast paced, hard living. That world was all concrete, asphalt, brick and mortar. Moving to Tennessee was like stepping back in time. The pace was slow and easy, people were friendly and the mountains were beautiful. Tusculum College recruited heavily in the Northeast so I was surprised to meet so many students with similar backgrounds. There was a campus radio station WTCR, a one watt, carrier current, student run station in the basement of the Student Union building. The signal was only strong enought to cover the campus. I had only been on campus for a month before asking "Norton", the student manager for a radio shift. Without any prior knowledge or radio experience he was willing to put me on the air. He showed me how to cue records and work the antique audio mixing board and then he turned me loose. Every evening I would bring my collection of rock albums and play my favorites for all my friends to hear. This was the humble beginning of a great radio career.

Fast forward to 1979 -1980. I was unemployed and attending church in Kingsport, TN. One particular Sunday I shared with a friend about my lack of work and he asked about my experience. When I mentioned my college radio experience, he ramarked that his friend might be interested in me. Turns out his friend was John Frye, the manager of Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation. At that time this company owned WKPT AM, FM and TV. After the interview they trained me, and gave me a weekend shift on both of their radio stations. WKPT FM was one of the old "Beautiful Music" formatted stations (sleepy elevator music) but WKPT-AM (14KPT) was their Top 40 station. It was quite a learning experience because I had to operate both radio stations on my shift. The FM basically consisted of a room sized computer than played music sequentially off 10 inch reels from a set of six Revox tape recorders. Every hour I would play a 5 minute song on the AM station, run down the hall to the production room, record my news and weather on "carts" (which looked like 8 track tapes), then run down to the FM station and load them into this massive computer system, affectionately known as "Otto" (short for automation) then run back to the AM studio before my song ended. On the AM station, I developed the personality known as "Jay Christian", a name that represented my faith in Christ. During the week I was working for a company that made solar panels but on the weekends I honed my skills on the popular music of the day. All of the music was on carts which meant we didn't have to cue records anymore. We played a mix of music from the 60's, 70's and the top 40 hits. I felt like I belonged on the air, I was comfortable, I had a natural feel for the music (being a musician) and I had a lot of top 40 DJ inside of me just waiting to come out...

Weekend to Remember

Several weeks ago we enjoyed beautiful vibrant sunrises as we would drive from Plains to Meade each morning. Then came daylight savings time and we were driving to work in the dark. Well...as the season progresses we're once again seeing spectacular sunrises as we drive in to work. I guess has something to do with the earth's rotation but now we see the sunrise on the North side of the road rather than the South side. Nonetheless it's a beautiful sight to behold and my mind recalls the verse that says..."The heavens declare the glory of God."

This weekend we attended the Family Life "Weekend to Remember" marriage conference at the beautiful Wichita Hyatt hotel. Through the generosity of our radio station we attended this conference free of charge. We listened to some insightful speakers and participated in projects designed to develop and strengthen communication. We learned much about each other and now comes the hard part...application! Learning truth is wonderful but it's only through application that transformation comes...that is the goal. We had a wonderful date Saturday night at the Mediterranean Grill. It was undoubtedly the best Middle Eastern food we've ever eaten!

We planned on returning from Wichita Sunday afternoon but our worship leader just had surgery, so we agreed to cut our trip short and return in time to lead worship. We got a 4:30 wake up call from the front desk and after a hot shower and some weak coffee we hit the road. Upon leaving Wichita we encountered rain and as we drove further West the rain changed to snow and ice accompanied by 50 mph winds. Every now and then I would release my death grip on the steering wheel just to get some blood circulating in my hands again. Ironically when we finally returned to Meade County we had sunshine (albeit with 50 mph winds). We arrived home about 8:15 and got to church at 8:35 just in time for worship team rehearsal. I was very tired and wired from such a hectic morning. Many of the teens were tired too from staying up all night after the prom. But by the grace of God we had a wonderful service (including the worship music).

The Blizzard of 2009

Well after two weeks of spring weather, winter is back. We had several inches of snow last night with more to come. They are predicting a blizzard tonight with 15 inches of snow and 50 mph winds. So much for global warming! I haven’t seen that much snow since the blizzard of ‘93, the one that hit from Cuba to Canada. I was living in upstate NY at the time and we got 6 feet of snow…shut the state down!

One of our friends flew from Boise to Denver just ahead of the storm. She got the last flight from Denver to Wichita and my wife picked her up yesterday. All other flights form Denver International Airport were canceled because of the blizzard. She and my wife are supposed to be working a booth at the home show in Garden City but it’s probably canceled too. I have a snow day from work I guess the three of us will be holed up here at home.

While on vacation I gained ten pounds. But as of today I’m back to my pre-vacation weight minus one more pound. That’s a total of 64 pounds gone forever! I’ve had lots of activity between the Pilates DVD, Leslie Sansone’s 4 fast miles and my 10 minute Fat Blasting Latin dance workout (now that’s fun)! My wife even got a belly dancing exercise video. That rocks!

Sixties Philly Top 40 Radio

Growing up in Philly in the 60's, I got a good dose of great Top 40 radio. Stations like WDAS, WFIL and WIBG were legendary with "boss jocks" like Hy Lit, Georgie Woods, Dr. Don Rose, Joe Niagara and Jimmy Bishop. Unless you lived through this era you just don't understand. In 1964 the music was new, fresh and innovative. I witnessed the beginning of the British Invasion when the Beatles were featured on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Radio stayed on top of this new genre with bands like the Dave Clark Five, Zombies, The Hollies, The Animals, Chad and Jeremy, Manfred Mann, Peter & Gordon, Freddie and the Dreamers and The Troggs. The music was so hot, I recall one morning when a particular Beatles song entered the charts at #40 and that afternoon when I returned from school it was the #1 song!

WDAS was the top station for people of color. Running parallel with the British invasion was the Motown movement out of Detroit with artists like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, The Contours and The Jackson 5. There was Philly Soul with the music of the Delfonics, The Intruders, Jerry Butler, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells, Bunny Sigler, Brenda and the Tabulations, and Major Harris. As a kid in South Philly I remember when guys would stand on the corner, under the street light and sing the sweetest acapella doo-wop harmony you ever heard!! Every week there were new soul songs on the radio and there would be corresponding new dances. According to my mother, I was dancing before I could walk! With American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan and the Jerry Blavat Show, we got to see all our favorite new bands on TV, but I was hooked on radio...the fast talking, supercool DJ's and the infectious music. Never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself with a radio career.

...to be continued

Ol' 55

I celebrated my birthday yesterday
with a bit of obvious ambivalence
glad for the experience gained
sad for the things I’ve never changed
it precipitated an objective retrospective
changed my perspective by directive.
Whom have I influenced within my sphere
is the world really any better here
have I made a difference by my presence
or fallen to the acquiescence of obsolescence?
This quest has drawn a certain conclusion
only change is constant … that’s no illusion
knowledge never is perfectly complete
life’s learned lessons are quite bittersweet.

Lunarmax Productions

January 28, 2001

2008 Year in Review

We are so very grateful for the opportunities God has given us to serve Him. We spent a year working as a CARES team for Apartment Life Ministries in Northwest Phoenix. Our responsibility was to provide community and resident services at Renaissance Apartments. That consisted of welcome visits, teen activities, cookouts, pool parties, visiting the sick and even a Super Bowl party all in the name of building community. Personally we had the opportunity to build numerous relationships, have hundreds of spiritual conversations with residents and experience one single mother commit her life to Jesus Christ. The spiritual adventure of being a CARES Team helped Jay develop a servant's heart. A'Lisa is already gifted in that area.

This year brought with it Jay's desire to return to Christian radio. After a nationwide search, God opened the door for him at Great Plains Christian Radio in Meade, Kansas. They actually have two radio stations, He's on KJIL from noon to 3pm (Contemporary Christian) and KHYM from 3 - 7pm (Inspirational format). The stations cover SW Kansas and portions of Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. Working at the radio station enabled Jay to preach all over SW Kansas, whenever churches needed pulpit supply. So many times the Lord has confirmed that this is where He wants us to be, through His provision and the many ministry opportunities.

A'Lisa dreamed of opening a local coffee house that would become a social haven. The Lord allowed her to meet another local woman who owned a historic hotel (The Palace) and she had everything needed to open a coffee house. Thus the Palace coffee house was born. In addition to providing coffee and other homemade goodies to the community A'Lisa has used the Palace for fun events like jewelry classes, Bunco game nights, live music, ice cream eating contests, trunk or treat and now it's decorated for the annual Christmas tour. This became more than a job for A'Lisa, as she uses the opportunity to minister to just about everyone who darkens the doors. She has had many spiritual conversations, provided a listening ear, prayed for people, invited them to church, shared her faith in Christ, laughed and cried with them or just gave them a hug when necessary.

We miss being able to visit Jessy and Andy. Living in Phoenix we were just 30 minutes away from each other and could get together easily. Our daughter Jessica from Chattanooga spent a week with us back in March. We made all the Arizona tourist stops like the Grand Canyon and Sedona. She really enjoyed her visit. James and Jeshua are doing well. God provided the money for A'Lisa to spend a week with Alex recently. It was good for her to see Alex and be assured that he's taking care of himself.

We attend Plains Christian Church, a non-denominational ministry which is about 15 miles West of Meade. A'Lisa helps teach the children's Sunday School class and Jay helps our Pastor teach the adults. Recently Jay was installed as the Associate Pastor (part time), since our Pastor really needs additional staff. Soon we will move to the parsonage in Plains and begin this new chapter of our lives. We are so excited about working together with Pastor Rich and his wife to reach out to the surrounding community.

Remember our Lord Jesus' command, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

May you and your family have a wonderfully blessed Christ centered Christmas!

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Christmas Enchantment

Yesterday I left work at 11:00 picked up A’Lisa and we headed to Plains to work on the house. Our pastor came by about Noon and we had already started painting. With his help we were able to knockout a couple of rooms. We really appreciate his help. “Many hands make light work.” We cleaned up the mess, drove back to Meade, ate burgers and salad for dinner and settled down to rest.

I asked A'Lisa to call the Enns family who let me use their car last week while she was in Boise and please express our thanks. Well she did just that and before she hung up, Mrs. Enns said, “You’re coming to the Christmas program tonight aren’t you?” To which A'Lisa replied “Sure! What time is it?”… “7:30…OK…we’ll be there!”

At that point she reminded me of our commitment. Mrs. Enns daughter Eva is A'Lisa's best friend and she asked us to attend her daughter’s Christmas program. She is a single mom and we love to help her and her girls in any way we can. So we honored our promise, bundled up in the 10 degree cold and drove to the school. So many people were there we had to park quite a distance away and that little walk was brutal in the below freezing temperatures!

Eva had saved me a seat on the front row so that I could video her girls. I sat next to her nieces and encouraged them before they sang. I must admit, I would rather have been at home lounging in my recliner but the Christmas program was absolutely wonderful. Our children are all grown and it’s probably been 15 years since I attended anything like that. I couldn’t help but smile as the kindergarten through sixth grade presented their music, songs and the play for us. They were so cute and charming! Some of them dressed in their Sunday best. Others were dressed in costume for the play. I noticed that some of the kids knew every word and motion, while others just lip-synced and tried their best to keep up. There were those who looked nervous and others looked so confident they could be rock stars. I enjoyed myself immensely at this enchanting performance and was glad to honor our commitment to Eva and the girls!

White Christmas

Having spent the last 2 years in Arizona and before that living in Florida, it's been quite some time since I have experienced cold weather. Since moving to Kansas, I've seen my share of cold and wind and it's not even officially winter yet! They've been forecasting snow for the last couple of weeks and we've had only a flurry or two. The prognosticators called for snow last night and when I awoke at 4:00 this morning and looked outside I saw nothing, but we have wind gusts up to 45 mph.

Two hours later I went to the back door to put the dog (Bagel) outside and we were both shocked to see an inch or two of snow. Now Bagel hates rain, she doesn't even like to get wet and she didn't know what to think about this stuff. I had to drag her outside and after five minutes she was ready to come back in. You know, she might get her paws wet!

Anyway, A'Lisa made it to Boise to be with our son Alex. When she returns home she may be surprised to see everything covered in white. I wasn't dreaming of a white Christmas but it looks like we're going to have one!

An Attitude of Gratitude

I want to continue my thread of thankfulness...today being thankful to God. We have a 20 year old son who lives in Boise, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 9 years old. Not maintaining strict control of his blood sugar landed him in CCU at the hospital for 3 days last week. They finally got his blood glucose levels under control and sent him home Friday. I wanted to send my wife to visit him but our finances are tight.

Last night at the Christmas party our manager handed out bonus checks. This was totally unexpected. My bonus was the equivalent of two weeks pay! He told me in private that since I've only been here 7 months that normally I would only receive half that amount. But since he and the board appreciated the fine work that I do, they decided to give me the whole amount! God is good! Now A'Lisa can spend the week with Alex in Boise. What a tremendous blessing!

Concerning the party, I was tempted by the cheesecake (my favorite dessert) but did not indulge. I just enjoyed the prime rib, salmon piccata, vegetables and salad. One local pastor's wife has been asking about the low carb lifestyle, so I sent her some low carb links on Friday. I noticed that even she avoided the sweets last night. I love the "paying it forward" concept!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

Back to the Routine

Well, I had a busy weekend. We spent Thanksgiving with some good friends. Friday morning I came to the radio station to record my shows, in the afternoon spent about 3 hours practicing for the Down Home Christmas Concert and then performed Friday night. Saturday we slept in, did some shopping in the afternoon, and had a quiet evening at home. Sunday I preached at two local churches, then we were invited out to lunch and spent the remainder of the day decorating our home for Christmas and playing games.

What I noticed this weekend is that being out of my routine, I tended to eat more than usual, however I still ate low carb. Now it's Monday and I know from experience that it's much easier to follow my routine when I'm working. Today I'll get back to tracking all my food on fitday and make sure I'm getting balanced meals.

This month I'll be joining the staff at my church as Associate Pastor. I'll still be working at the radio station and work at the church part time. We'll be moving to Plains, which is about 15 miles away, into a house provided by the church. The house will be part of my monthly remuneration. Suffice it to say, I will get plenty of exercise working on the new house. We want to paint and remodel before moving in. We'll actually move some time in January. That's what's happening in my world, should be an interesting month!

Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. I ate much more than usual but managed to keep my carbs down. I just had a small breakfast of 1 egg, bacon and cheese. About noon I made a meat and cheese tray with celery and pickles. My wife and I snacked on that and sampled the cheese ball she made. I made some stuffed jalapenos to take to our friends house and A'Lisa made green beans with almonds, sugar free cranberry/orange relish, cheese ball, cheesecake, pumpkin bake and real whipped topping.

At our friends house we had the stuffed jalapenos and cheese ball with celery for appetizers with a small glass or two of white zinfandel. About an hour later we had dinner and I avoided all the high carb/sugar laden stuff. I simply had dark meat turkey, cranberry relish and green beans. For dessert I had cheesecake and pumpkin bake with whipped topping.

I was pretty stuffed after dinner and then we played this game called "Apples to Apples." It was lots of fun. Usually I don't eat after 6 pm, but when I came home I ate a few more jalapenos and had another small slice of cheesecake. Now back to my normal routine!

Thanksgiving

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

This is Thanksgiving week 2008. There is so much for which to thank God. We live in exciting times because we can see the handwriting on the wall and we know that the return of Jesus is imminent. Thank God that we still have our freedom in America and that we worship Him without government interference. Thank you Lord that you set your plan for mankind into motion long before anything was even created. Thank you for revealing yourself and your plans for us through your Word. Thank you that you love us and you knew that we would rebel against you, so you planned for our redemption.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your willingness to humble yourself, take on the form of a man, live 33 sinless years and become obedient to the point of death on a cross. God made you to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in you Jesus. Thank you for being our substitute, paying the price that we owed for the penalty of our sins. Through you we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, abundant life now and eternal life with you. Because of your sacrifice we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain help in time of need. Thank you Lord for enduring the cross, scorning its shame, and now you sit at the right hand of the throne of God, ever making intercession for us. Now God has exalted you to the highest place and given you the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Thank you Father for my spouse who is the perfect complement for me, thank you for our children and our extended family. Thank you for our Christian friends and even those we desire to become part of the family of God. Thank you for health and strength, for the activity of our limbs, for the experience of our senses. Thank you for the beauty of the world around us, the sun, moon and stars, all of nature and the beautiful colors we experience each year. Thank you for food, clothing, shelter, material blessings, for our jobs and the ability to do our work for your glory. Thank you Lord for giving us a future and a hope. We eagerly await the day when the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise. Then we who are still alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Our hearts are filled with gratitude because we are called, chosen and kept by the power of your Holy Spirit. All glory, praise and honor is due to you O God our Father, in the matchless name of Jesus our wonderful Lord and Savior, Amen.