Lenten Journey Day 47...Psalm 150

This Psalm is a fitting conclusion for our Lenten journey. Over the past six weeks we have found our way toward the cross along pathways of confession, repentance, mercy, and grace. At every turn we have been reminded of the greatness of God, while confronted by the weakness of our sin. This kind of journey is wearying, for to witness God's great love in the pages of scripture, and then attempt to follow the pattern of love through Jesus Christ by taking up the cross daily, is a challenge that hymn writer Issac Watts wrote, "demands my life, my soul, my all." The pain and shock of Good Friday has given way to the fear and uncertainty of Saturday. But as this morning dawns, there is something different...the heaviness of death and disappointment have given way to the release of resurrection. The words of Jesus ring in our ears once more..."Whoever believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and the one who lives and believes in me shall never die."

"Praise the Lord," the Psalmist writes. "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord." Friends, the journey doesn't end here, but begins anew, for our lives are to be an offering of praise to the One who has overcome sin and death. The empty tomb is cause for celebration, not just on Easter Sunday, but every day, for God lives and works in us through the resurrected Christ. Every breath...every step...every word is to praise the living Lord.

Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord! Amen.

Jim Abernathy

Friends, today marks the end of our Lenten journey together. Thank you for letting me travel this road with you! The walk of faith continues as the risen Christ goes before us.)
JKA

Lenten Journey Day 46...Matthew 27:62-66

One of the most telling statements of what we now call "Holy Week" was made by the Pharisees as Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly on Sunday. As the crowd waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," the Pharisees, disheartened, and perhaps paranoid at the crowd's adulation for Jesus, responded, "Look how the whole world has gone after him." Perhaps that paranoia persisted, even after they succeeded in having Jesus crucified, for our text today tells us that they went to Pilate and asked him to post guards at the tomb of Jesus, lest his followers "come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead." Pilate granted their request. "Go," Pilate said, "and make the tomb as secure as you know how." The stage was set for what the Pharisees believed would be the secure entombment of this "deceiver," but their actions only positioned one more barrier to be broken down when Jesus, the Christ came out of the tomb alive.

We know little of Jesus' followers activities on the day between crucifixion and resurrection. Their Sabbath was probably spent in hiding, perhaps in shame because of their own betrayal...most likely in shock and grief at the events of the previous thirty-six hours. They probably would not have had the energy or faith to refute the Pharisees's actions, nor dared to hope that something miraculous would come with the next morning's dawn.

Tony Campolo tells the story of an African-American preacher who started his sermon slowly, and in the depths of his vocal register said, "It's Friday." He repeated the phrase again and again, pausing on occasion to expand the theme of hopelessness in such a moment. He continued to build his energy and to raise his voice, however, until finally he proclaimed, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming."

Our lives are marked often by the Friday and Saturday experiences of life. Good seems to have been overcome by evil...truth forever diminished by the lies of the crowd...hopelessness clutching tightly the throats of those who once believed. The Pharisees among us have won. Their victory is now made complete through intimidation and fear. They double the guards and ridicule the dead.

My dear friends, it may be Friday or Saturday...but Sunday's coming...Sunday's coming! The paranoia and fear that so often accompany our sinful ways and motivate our petty actions cannot defeat the Christ...Son of the living God. Stones may be piled on top of stones as barrier to hope, but hope cannot be defeated. Sunday's coming! Sunday's coming! Sunday's coming!

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Journey Day 45...John 19:38-42

After his death, two unlikely men claimed the body of Jesus and placed him in the tomb. Both were known as members of the council that condemned Jesus and sent him to Pilate, though neither is known to have participated in that condemnation. Joseph is identified in our text as a secret follower of Jesus and Nicodemus had once come to Jesus under the cover of darkness to question him about his mission, prompting the response of Jesus that many of us memorized as children, John 3:16. Their brave action in stepping forward to petition Pilate for the body of Jesus moved them from the ranks of secret followers or seekers, to those who would be willingly identified with Jesus. It was a bold move on their part, stepping from the shadows, into the bright light of public awareness.

The cross brings about such transformation. It makes timid followers become bold ambassadors for Christ. Another Pharisee transformed by the renewing of his mind through Jesus Christ wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..." For each of these three men, there was a moment that convinced them that they could not remain as they had been. The truth of Jesus' words to Nicodemus spur us on to action as well..." For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, will not perish but have eternal life." That is the good news for a very dark Good Friday. That emboldens timid believers. That moves us to step out from the shadows, into the glorious light of the crucified Savior, as ambassadors for Christ.

Ponder anew this Good Friday call to step out and live boldly for Christ.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Journey Day 44...I Corinthians 10:14-17

We find ourselves often going in many different directions in the Abernathy household. Cindy draws us together with the expectation of a shared evening meal each night, and we work hard to clear our schedules for these important moments that are physically, emotionally, and spiritually significant. There is something about sitting around the table over a meal that nourishes us in many ways.

Paul reminds young Christians in our text today that their unity is found as they gather around the table of the Lord. Using Christ's metaphor of his body as nourishing bread, Paul writes, "Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf." When Jesus told his disciples to observe the Lord's Supper "...in remembrance of me," it was a call to unity, to recognize that what makes us one is the faith we share in Jesus Christ. Though we are many, we are one body.

We will gather around the Lord's Table on Maundy Thursday evening, remembering the sacrifice of Christ in the context of human sin. As we partake of the bread, we will hear his words, "I am the bread of life," and as we drink the cup, "I am the vine...". The cross unifies us in understanding that we are sinners...it also unifies us through faith in the One who "laid down his life, for his friends."

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Journey Day 43...II John 1-6

John offers a powerful definition of love in the sixth verse of our text for today. He writes, "...love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love." (NCV) Inherent in this definition is obedience, a receptive heart, and the courage to act. Living as God commanded is surrendering self, yielding in obedience to the One who created you in God's own image. A receptive heart is a listening heart, learning the great truths of God's word, from beginning to end. The courage to act means allowing the Spirit of God to lead and guide you to places, people, and circumstances where you will be used to make a difference.

As we come to these last days of our Lenten journey, we come nearer the cross, viewing a clearer image of love as defined by the One who willingly allowed himself to be nailed there as payment for your sin and mine. John's definition fits Christ's action..."love means living the way God commanded us to live." I believe Jesus Christ did this, yielding his own will to that of his heavenly Father. As we now come closer to the cross, Christ calls out to us through John's words, "Live a life of love." That is our Lenten imperative for today.

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Journey Day 42...Psalm 6

If you have ever traveled in a car with a child, or perhaps an adult
that acted like a child, you have heard the inevitable question of
impatience..."How much longer????" Sometimes it's a cry for
intervention in the middle of sibling argument. Sometimes it's an
admission of boredom from the back seat when all the movies have been
watched or games played. Sometimes it's a plea for deliverance when a
bathroom break is overdue. Sometimes it is just a sign of weariness and
the need for rest.

Our text today is attributed to David and asks the compelling
question, "How long, O Lord, how long?" He cries out in anguish, fearing
for his life, worn out by the tears that fill his long nights. He seeks
mercy and deliverance. He grows impatient waiting for God to act.

Have you felt that way at some time in your life...perhaps now? I talk
with people quite often who ask these kinds of questions of God. They
are people trying to walk the pathway of faith, burdened by their
circumstances, not quite sure how God is at work around and within
them. There are no easy answers to the question of "how long, O Lord?".
The Psalmists often ask such questions, struggling to find God in the
middle of their pain. Yet, they often reaffirm what they cannot always
see, hear, or touch... "God is an ever-present help in time of trouble,
therefore we will not be afraid." (Psalm 46)

The Psalmist answers his own query as he says in verse 9, "The Lord has
heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." God isn't
threatened by your questions...but God is blessed by your faith.

I remember a song that Dina Church sang a few summers ago in morning
worship entitled, "Trust His Heart," by Babbie Mason. The last part of
the chorus to this song speaks well to our questions of God.

So when you don't understand, When you don't see His plan

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart

Trust His heart

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Journey Day 41...Philippians 3:4b-11

I would imagine that the Apostle Paul was a difficult opponent in the midst of an argument. As a former Pharisee, a "Hebrew of Hebrews," as he called himself, he knew the law quite well, characterizing himself during that season of his life as "legalistic, righteous, and faultless." Those are formidable character traits to bring to a discussion of any kind, particularly where conflict may arise.

These traits served him well as a persecutor of the church, but they did not serve him well as a follower of Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul writes in our text today that he counts all of that, loss, when compared to the "surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord..." The transformation that came to Paul on the Damascus road and in the days and weeks that followed, set him on a new course with a new goal, as stated in verses 10-11 of our text. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Now, I'm not sure that humility was one of Paul's best know character traits as a follower of Christ, but his quest to know Christ dominated his actions and ministry for the rest of his life, and made him usable in the hands of God as an ambassador for Christ.

You and I don't need to defend Christ. We don't have to be great debaters in spiraling arguments of faith. Paul's goal is enough for us..."I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection..." That is a worthy goal that needs no debate.

Jim Abernathy