Jerry Bridges, in his book The Gospel for Real Life, tells a story about a Southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance (equivalent to about $500,000 today) to a former slave who had served him faithfully all his life.  The lawyer for the estate duly notified the former slave of his inheritance and told him that the money had been deposited for him at the local bank.  However, weeks went by, and the former slave never called for his inheritance, and so that banker called again to tell him that he had $50,000 to draw on at any time.  The former slave replied, “Do you think I can have fifty cents to buy a sack of cornmeal?” 

You see, the former slave had rarely handled money in his life, and so he had no comprehension of what $50,000 was.  He had no idea how much money was available to him, and so as a result he was asking for fifty cents when in reality he had enough money to comfortably live on for the rest of his life. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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This past Sunday, we celebrated a baptism service as one of our newest members, Anthony Varesio, was baptized.  Many people come from traditions where infants are baptized, and then confirm their baptismal vows in their teenage years.  In our tradition, as we understand the Bible, we believe that baptism is a public expression of an inward reality, that an individual has died to his or her old self, been washed of his or her sins, and has been raised to new life in Christ.  Consider Romans 6:3-4 – “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  Baptism is a way of identifying oneself with Jesus in His death and resurrection, and therefore something we believe should be experienced by those who can consciously make such a profession of faith.  Finally, it is also an act of obedience, keeping in mind that Jesus, who himself was baptized in Matthew 3:13-17, commanded us in his Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded us.

My baptism holds a special significance in my life.  Read more »

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Mark 14:32-42)

As we approach Easter, I’ve been reading the passages describing the last days of Jesus’ life. This scene from Gethsemane is, for my money, the most moving of all the stories, and even as I sit down to type my thoughts on the passage, I feel like Jesus’ disciples in v. 40, where it reads “They did not know what to say to him.” The gut-wrenching magnitude of what is taking place here in Gethsemane is simply beyond words.

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Isaiah 53:5-6 – He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Whether or not a person believes that Jesus was God in the flesh, one thing should be apparent from reading the stories of his life – Jesus would have been impossible to make up.  Over and over we see Jesus saying things that do not seem to make sense and acting in ways that no man-made god or savior would be expected to act.  Jesus is above all else completely unpredictable, rarely behaving like the religious men of his time – which, of course, is just what we might expect from someone who is Holy, separate, different than us.

Case in point – check out Luke 23:26-31.  As we approach Easter, I’ve been reading some of the passages describing the last days of Jesus’ life.  In Luke 23, Jesus is carrying the cross towards Golgotha, where he will soon be crucified.  As Luke puts it: Read more »

This week’s Pulse is a moving story from Haiti that I have copied from Albert Mohler’s blog, www.albertmohler.com.  Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his blog is the most popular Christian blog, according to technorati.com.  As someone with a heart for adoption and who himself has been adopted (by my Father in heaven – see Galatians 4:4-7), I found this story particularly poignant.   

Arno was inseparable from Mr. Penguin. The little Haitian boy was almost three years old, and the plush penguin with the word “love” inscribed upon it was his most treasured object. The orphan and his penguin were always seen together.

The boy had been given the penguin just after his birth. A Dutch couple was in the process of adopting him almost from the start of his life — they had been matched to him when he was only two months old. The penguin represented a promise.

The process of adoption took two years — the length of time considered adequate to determine that no living relatives might claim him. According to official estimates, there were over 50,000 parentless orphans in Haiti before the earthquake came and orphaned many thousands more.
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Near the end of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church comes this sobering line:  “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you– unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).  I have two reactions as I read that verse:  the first is that it is a great idea to test ourselves.  After all, is our faith really genuine saving faith?  Are we sure we really know God?  Are we convinced that we will go to heaven when we die?  I can think of no more important test than to be sure that we are “in the faith,” as Paul puts it. 

The second reaction, however, is just as important:  how do we test ourselves?  Read more »