Forsaken?

I know it's late, but here is something else I wrote for our Good Friday Service.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

He cried out to His Father at that ninth hour.  Jesus knew this day would come. He knew that he would die at Calvary.  Still, in the midst of the unbearable pain, he cried to His Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.   Had God forsaken His Son, Jesus as He hung there on The Cross?  No, of course not. God never leaves nor forsakes us.  Our sin, however can make us feel that way.  At that moment, Jesus was bearing the sin of the world. Every sin ever committed and every sin that would ever be committed. Every wrong thing done by you and by me.  It was the weight of that sin that made Jesus feel separated from God.

Isaiah 59:2 reminds us that our iniquities separate us from God and our sins have hidden his face from us, so that he will not hear.  That explains us, but what about Jesus?  He was sinless. Scripture tells us that he knew no sin.  Maybe that’s why he felt forsaken by God.  His own sin hadn’t separated him from God, but the weight of the sin of the world, my sin and yours made him feel far from The Father. 

So it is with us.  Our sin separates us from God.  God doesn’t forsake us; we forsake him when we live in a way contrary to His Word and His Commands. So, when we feel separated from God and He seems far from us, we have no right to ask as Jesus did; “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Rather the cry from our anguished soul would be, “My God, My God, why have I forsaken you?”

Thank God for Jesus and that because of His Sacrifice on The Cross, we do not have to face eternal separation.  Romans 5:8-9 makes this clear.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! “  Jesus was  wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  Jesus accepted the temporary feeling of abandonment by The Father for our sakes; let us not waste the ultimate Gift of Salvation by foolishly taking for granted the Grace of God.  Let us be mindful, today and forever of the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 5 “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Reconciliation means unless we so foolishly will, we never have to be separated from God. All because Jesus shed His Blood…on Calvary

Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified and The United Methodist Church...Hand in Hand?

Finally, finally, finally...a post that has something to do with a portion of the address of this blog...not many fathers... My original intent was for my first post to be an exegesis of I Corinthians 4:15, which reads: "For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." I just wanted to talk about how we have many teachers or instructors, but not many who actually take the time to nurture us in The Gospel. 

While this post is not directly related to that passage of Scripture, it is loosely tied.  Here's how...I'm taking an online class under the United Methodist Church, the denomination to which I belong. The denomination to which God sent me and I went (albeit, grudgingly), as I shared in a previous post. I have been asking The Lord; "WHY???" for some time now and He finally gave me some peace in Jeremiah 29: 7.  That's another post for another time, though.  Back to this post...a question was posed in this class concerning the best way to develop "Principled Christian Leaders".  This was my answer (and the reason I fully expect to be kicked out of the UMC...I kid, I kid):

One key component in developing Principled Christian Leaders is for those being developed to follow the leading of Principled Christian Leaders who are already in place.  I have a wonderfully Godly pastor who models Christian Leadership and truly lives The Gospel.  I submit to her leadership, tutelage and mentorship so that I have an example.  We learn best by example and if there are more Principled Christian Leaders in place, more can be developed.  Our church has instituted monthly Leadership Training and a number of small groups that put this thought into action.  Our pastor has recruited help in creating the Leadership Training and she gently guides (without micro-managing) those of us who lead small groups.  Our church is guided by The Bible first, as the Ultimate Guidebook for Christ's Church and then The Book of Discipline as a guide for a congregation within the UMC. 

The UMC would do well to get behind its truly Godly leaders and do whatever possible to support and encourage them, so that the focus can truly be on making disciples of Jesus, rather than such a major focus on numbers and money.  While money is necessary for ministry, it should not be a church's number one priority and the numbers will increase as pastors are encouraged to preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Jesus is The One who draws by The Holy Spirit...to paraphrase a quote from the movie Field of Dreams..."If we preach Him, they will come".  There is no better way to develop Principled Christian Leaders than to teach, live and model The Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ.