​"I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.” - Job 19:25
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Job had some hard-living’. Long story short - God tested Job to show to Satan how faithful Job was.  He lost his family (including his wife) and all of his riches (which were substantial).  Job had every reason to abandon God.  Even his wife said to him “curse God and die” in the midst of all his pain and hardship.  Despite his hardship, Job refused to curse God and kept his faith in Him.  He trusted that in the end of it all, despite his sufferings, his redeemer lived.  He would be victorious over all pain and suffering, including Job’s.  

We all suffer.  Perhaps not as seriously as Job, but our pain is nonetheless real to us at a subjective level.  When we in our darkest place we have to remember, believe, and confess that we know our redeemer lives and that he will come.  With His arrival comes alleviation of our pain for eternity.  We need to confess that Jesus will come again, despite the pain and suffering we experience.  This is the comfort that we all can have; that no matter what we face, our redeemer lives!

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 NIV
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Creation can and is beautiful.  If you have ever travelled through the mountains in Colorado or Vermont you know that God’s beauty can be overwhelming, but in a good way.  Maybe your connection isn’t the mountains; maybe it’s the ocean or something else.  No matter what it is, you know that God had a hand in it.

In this Scripture today Paul is talking about what we can know through creation.  For Paul, he has two kinds of people in mind: those with faith and those without it.  Those who have faith in Christ can find the beauty in creation.  This kind of beauty is the kind of beauty that confirms God’s love for us.  God loves us so much that He has created this world and all the beauty in it for us.  Further, He has done so that they we can know that He loves us! 

There is second kind of person that Paul has in mind.  They are the people who have yet to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  Creation plays a different role for them.  According to Paul, creation does reveal something to them as it reveals something to us.  What is revealed, though, is different.  Instead of creation being a message of love, it is a message of condemnation and wrath.  How is this?  Creation is a reminder that those who do not have faith are targets of God wrath and great power that is seen in creation.  Creation becomes intimidating.  They develop an unhealthy fear of God (versus a healthy fear that those who have faith have of God).  Creation becomes a constant reminder that they are not included, but have excluded themselves from this love that God has communicated.  This is why Paul says they are “without excuse.”   They know God through creation, but deny His power and love.  There are no excuses; they know God but fear His wrath.

We are coming into a beautiful time of year in the midwest.  The trees are finally budding, flowers are blooming, etc.  Remember that through creation for those who have faith we know God’s love for us!

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;”
- John 11:25
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Belief is an important thing; at some level belief is investment.  When we believe in something, we invest our lives in it.  It doesn’t matter whether it is a vocation, religion, or hobby: when we believe it is important we invest in it.  

Throughout our lives we are encouraged to believe in many things: love, science, education, etc.  At some point in our lives we realize that the stakes in life are pretty high and we wonder about our belief in God.  This leads us to questions about Jesus Christ.  What do we think of Him?  Since is it mostly Christians who are reading this my guess would be that most would say, “Jesus is God’s Son, He is the Lord.”  This response is great, but not very telling.  What is telling is the investment that comes with this statement.  As you believe in Jesus are you investing in Him, His church, and His Kingdom?  Another way to ask it is this: do you walk the walk as well as talk the talk.  Here’s what is at stake - life.  It’s a simple mathematical equation: belief in Christ leads to life.  Let’s say it a different way: investment leads to life; investment in Christ leads to life.

Today ask yourselves - how is my investment in Christ?  If investment leads to life,  are you confident in your life with Christ?

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​Lent Narrative – “Cross as Reconciliation”
April 10th, 2019
 
The cross has many facets to it.  Each week we have been looking at these facets and how they apply to our understanding of God’s work in our lives.  Way back in our first session we reflected on the cross as atonement or the “bringing together” of God and humanity through Christ’s work on the cross.  Today we look at another facet, the cross as reconciliation. Let’s take a look at Romans 5:9-11, “9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while 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 boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  It is through the work of Christ on the cross that we are reconciled back to God.  He overcame our rejection and restored us to faith.
 
Let’s pray - “Lord and Father, you see us turn away from you time and time again.”  Forgive us for wanting to be the masters of our own lives.  Draw us back to you by the power of your Spirit.  Shape us into the people that you would have us be, that we can trust more deeply in you, through Jesus Christ.  Amen.”
 
We don’t have to look too far into Scripture to discover stories about the need for reconciliation. Jesus’ teachings are full of parables that address this issue.  An excellent place to starts is Mark 12:1-12; the parable of the owner and the tenants. The story goes like this:  There is a man who owns a vineyard and rents it out to tenants.  When it is time to collect some of the fruit from the vineyard he sends his servants to collect it.  Multiple times the tenants either beat or killed the servants.  Finally, the owner sends his son to collect what is due to him; but he is also killed and thrown out of the vineyard.  The situation is simple: the tenants ignored the owner. They created a circumstance where the relationship was broken between them and the owner, to say the least. The son was rejection and destruction ensued. 
 
In this parable we recognize God the Father as the owner and the son as Jesus.  Jesus, like the son, is rejected and killed.  But this is not the end of the story.  We read in vs. 10-11 that even though Christ was rejected God used Him to be the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God, “10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:“‘ The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”  Man’s rejection isn’t the final word about Jesus.  God’s acceptance of Him is.  
 
For true reconciliation to take place, we must accept the fact that we are broken.  We create the situation in which our relationship with God is broken. We rebelled against our creator, just like Adam and Eve.  Our open relationship with God is transgressed by our own sin.  
 
The stark reality is that we are enemies of God.  The good news is that Christ died for us and sets a model for what reconciliation looks like.  Jesus gives us clues as to what He will do on the cross early in his ministry in places like Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . . “  Christ loves us, even if we are enemies of God.  He loves us, prays for us, and reconciles us back to God.
Jesus models this love for His enemies as we were His enemies.  Christ was not in it to prove His own righteousness, but to save us. He laid down His life for His friends, showing us what love is, creating the relationship faith between us and God, which is what God had intended from the beginning.

​Lent Narrative – “Cross as Investment”
April 3rd, 2019
 
During this Lenten season we have been reflecting on the cross.  We have been working through what the cross means and the different aspects of the cross.  Last week we looked at the cross as demonstration; God’s demonstration of His love for us in Jesus Christ.  This week we will look at the idea of the cross as investment; God’s investment in us. We will be using the model of marriage and the church as the “bride of Christ.” 
 
Prayer – “Merciful Lord, you are the source of all good things.  We thank you for entrusting us with your many gifts.  Help us to be good stewards of what is yours, even as we trust to you our own cares and concerns.  In this happy exchange, let us never forget our dependence upon you for all your gifts of grace.  In the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.”
 
In the Old Testament there is a prophet named Hosea.  To shorten the story, God commands Hosea to marry someone that is unfaithful to him, a woman named Gomer.  Gomer breaks her marriage covenant with Hosea.  She worshiped her own pleasure and freedom more than she valued and wanted to be in a relationship with Hosea. Nevertheless, God commanded Hosea to stay with Gomer and take care of her, despite her behavior.
 
Hosea and Gomer are a metaphor for Israel’s relationship to God.  The Israelites were full of idolatry (much like Gomer’s adultery). Despite worshiping other gods and putting their comfort ahead of God, God stays faithful to Israel.  God is invested in Israel in the same way that He is invested in us.  
 
God goes a step beyond faithfulness.  He invests in us by taking on the punishment for our unfaithfulness.  Take a look at Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Through Jesus Christ, God exchanges our burdens and gives is to His Son.  God invests in us through this happy exchange of our burden for Christ’s righteousness.
 
This exchange and investment mean something tangible for our lives.  We no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Christ.  We live the life of Christ in us.  Consider 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, “ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
 
 The cross demonstrates that God is invested in us. Because of this investment we have a future.  What rightfully belongs to Jesus has been given to us.