Genuine Leather Bible

[This is part of a series of posts during Easter week looking at the seven statements of Christ on the cross.]

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…he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!

—John 19:26, 27

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The scene at this point is shortly before Christ died. The Bible says that He saw His mother Mary standing near the cross. Besides just standing there, she must have been frantic. She knew what God had said about her son being the Messiah. Of all that she experienced during the life of Christ, she probably knew there was much more to what was going on than what she could see. This must have been the time she expected Jesus to leap off the cross and make His escape (if she indeed ever thought those things).

Her son did die. He was placed in a tomb. We know from the biblical account that three days later she was quite distraught. If Jesus was going to save himself, this was the time.

But now He hands over the care of His mother to John. In Christ’s final hours of suffering in human flesh He is concerned about others. He takes care of His mother.

It is great to know that we can trust Him who cares for us when our heart is hurting.

[This is part of a series of posts during Easter week looking at the seven statements of Christ on the cross.]

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Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

—Luke 23:43

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Jesus was speaking to one of the thieves on the cross beside him. This man had recognized that Jesus was the Son of God and that Christ had the power to forgive him. In his conversation with the other thief on the cross he had already come to grips that he was a sinner in need of punishment. What he did not expect to find was a Savior hanging on a cross next to him.

Jesus offered eternal life to this man. The man accepted, even though his theology was not completely right. He asked the Lord to remember him when Christ took control in His future kingdom. Jesus said that the day the thief died was also the day he would be in the presence of God.

There were no works, good living or even baptism that was required for this man to have the gift of salvation that was offered to him that day on the cross.

What a glorious promise to a thief on the cross. Praise God that salvation is offered to us in the same simple way.

[This is the first in a series of posts during Easter week talking about the seven statements of Christ on the cross.]

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Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

—Luke 23:34

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The men involved in the crucifixion were unaware of the gravity and importance of what they were doing. There may have been some—like the centurion who commented that he believed Jesus was the son of God—who had a small understanding. Yet, I think even the disciples who had spent years with Christ were still very much in the dark of what it all meant.

Thankfully God does forgive us. God forgives because of the work of Christ on the cross. Jesus shed His blood as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.

Even on the cross Christ was thinking about the forgiveness of others. Which, of course, was His purpose in this world to begin with.

One of the things that has often bothered me as a missionary in Latin American countries is when I see Christians shying away from certain activities or events because of the strong Catholic association. The main one that comes up every year is the lack of emphasis I see in Christian churches on the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

Semana Santa

In the Catholic tradition the Holy Week, or Semana Santa as we call it here in Mexico, is a very important week. Most people see it as a week of vacation and nothing more. However, the Catholic church seems to unnaturally worship this blessed time. As an outside observer it seems that each day of the week is worshiped more than the events in which the days represent.

Palm Sunday

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and the streets will be filled with people who won’t be able to enter into their church of choice because the crowds are so large. Everyone will have their palm fronds tied into crosses. Most of the houses in the neighborhood have already started displaying their palm cross.

I don’t pretend to know what it is they will speak about in the service tomorrow. I just know it will be well attended by regular and casual church members.

Resurrection Sunday

The rest of the week will have special celebrations each day culminating on Easter Sunday. I am conflicted with what I will see throughout the week. There will be very sincere people worshiping in their own way. I personally believe they are worshiping the wrong thing, but my point is that they are very dedicated to what they believe.

Going Too Far

While I disagree with my Catholic friends in their extreme worship of events, I am equally saddened by the way I have seen many Christian churches react to the Catholic fanaticism. It seems that in many churches I have been around, even good churches, they want to avoid any type of Catholic association with the remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection that they do nothing special on Easter Sunday. It is like any other service.

Pastors have told me (particularly ones who were saved out of a Catholic background) that they feel the association of the events surrounding the Easter celebration are too closely tied to the Catholic church. They want to make a distinction between their Christian church and the Catholic one their people left. It is like they are allowing the Catholics to control their church’s belief in the Scriptures.

Not Just Easter

Many years ago my wife and I were in an area in Kentucky where a strong group of legalistic Baptists dominated the thinking. Loosely defined, legalism is when a person or church believes that you may be saved by grace, but unless you live a certain way or with a certain set of rules, you probably weren’t really saved in the first place.

What we found in the church we visited was that they were trying to disassociate themselves from the legalistic churches. Therefore the people came to church completely “dressed down.” The pastor wore ratty jeans and flip-flops—and he was one of the best dressed people in the church. He specifically said they were trying to do “whatever they could” to keep people from thinking they were part of the legalistic crowd. Going as far as he did with this thinking he allowed wrong teaching to control his ministry. Going, in my opinion, too far away from error that he passed the truth and went into error the opposite direction.

Where have you or your church allowed others to control your beliefs?

Several months ago I saw the comment about Psalm 100 which said, “He is God. He is good.” That has stuck with me. These two thoughts come from verses 3 and 5. He is both almighty God and inherently good.

Make a Joyful Noise

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Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

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Verse 1 is a shout of loyalty and homage. It is also found in Psalm 66:1. Where is your loyalty? To God? Or to people and things?

Serve and Worship

It is a joy to serve the Lord. We can serve with gladness as verse 2 proclaims. A Christian should be pleased with an opportunity to serve God: not run from service when God gives a task to fulfill.

The second thought in verse 2 is to sing to the Lord. Corporate worship is not a solo performance. It doesn’t matter what you sound like, it matters that you are praising your God with gladness. Does it bother you to see people in church not singing with the congregational songs? While they may truly be worshiping internally, often when I see this it is coupled with body language that says they are not interested in being present in church.

He is God

The thought that keeps pulling me back to this Psalm is found in verse 3. He is God. He is our shepherd. He is there to guide, protect and provide. A shepherd does this for his sheep. Our God is there to care for us as well. We can rest in Him and trust His care.

Noisy Worship

Though we talk much about private worship, public worship is important as well. God can use your worship, praise and thankfulness to bring glory and honor to Him.

He is Good

Why do all this? Because He is good. His goodness is shown in His mercy. He existed in the times of our ancestors and He will exist after we are gone. He is consistent throughout history. What a wonderfully good God we are allowed to serve.

He is God and He is good.