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My Two Cents
by Rev Chuck Behrens
March, 2014
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Past Articles |
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There's a terrible genetic
trait I fear I've passed down through the generations without being able
to exactly trace it back to where I got it. I don't sleep LONG...I sleep
well, but not for very long hours, still I need at least 4-6 hours
together. My children have the same trait and it didn't sync up real well
when they were smaller which meant they'd usually find there way to the
BIG BED. They'd usually come snuggling in there and for the sake of sacred
sleep, we'd usually let them. The clincher would usually be something like
this when they'd snuggle up close, "Daddy, hold."
There's not one of us who doesn't need that kind of hug sometimes, like a
son missing his daddy. We go through seasons when our security is shaken,
when we feel alone, confused, or maybe uncertain about the future. That's
when our heart wants to say "Daddy, hold" and know there will always be
someone there to do just that.
Actually, we were created to have that kind of intimate love relationship
with God himself. His is the hug that gets you through the night. He's
supposed to be our rock, our stability, our fixed point, our one like
"unloseable." But sadly, in God's own words in the Bible, "each of us has
turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6) and so our sins have, again in God's
words, "separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Now, we may have
strong beliefs, and we may be very religious. But we can still tell that
the Heavenly Father we need to hold us is kind of beyond our reach.But
that's why Jesus came! That's why this Season of Lent holds some of the
most special days in a Christian's life. Something mind-blowing happened
on that cross - something almost inconceivable, but the only thing that
could give us a chance at belonging to the One who created us. It's
described in our word for today from the Word of God in Mark 15:33-34.
Jesus is nailed to a Roman cross. And though it is very difficult to
speak; I mean, water fills a crucified man's lungs, Jesus speaks several
times before He dies. There are four accounts of Jesus' death; one in each
of the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. But only one
thing Jesus said on the cross is reported in more than one of those
accounts, and this is it: "At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole
land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud
voice, 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Well, the answer is basically this: because God loves you more than you
could ever imagine. This Lenten Season SHOUTS that!
To put it simply, for God to hold you, He had to let go of His Son. Why?
Because His Son was carrying all the guilt and all the hell of all the
sinning you've ever done. And a holy God turned His back on His one and
only Son because His Son was carrying your sin. God turned His back on His
own Son so He would never have to turn His back on you!
And now, in this Season that Celebrates the death of His Son, God is
asking you to give yourself to the One who died so you don't have to. He's
ready to hold you, today and every day of your life, and then forever. But
first the sins of your life have to be erased. And that can only happen by
you telling Jesus that you're putting all your trust in Him to tear down
the wall between you and God.
During this upcoming Lenten Season, would you stand at the foot of that
cross and look at Jesus dying for what you've done, and give yourself to
the One who loves you most?
See, God is the Daddy that we've always wanted to hold us. And His is the
hug that will get you through the night. He's reaching for you. Reach for
Him...Let's make this walk through this Lenten Wilderness the most
memorable ever.
See you in Church,
Rev. Chuck
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