Head-dibs

Today is Arbor Day. If you associate this day with planting trees, then you’ve pretty much nailed it (not sure if pun-intended, but it works). “Arbor” is Latin for “tree.” I just learned that Arbor Day is observed world-wide--this is not just an American thing. While I’m thinking of it, isn’t it sort of ironic that Hallmark doesn't make this card-worthy day? Perhaps they are just going green . . . Seriously, this is about the time of year planting of trees is favorable, so millions of trees will be planted. I can’t help but reflect how important trees are to mankind. When God created everything, He intended for man to be nourished by sustenance from the ground. “And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9a). The LORD God clearly tells man, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely.” (Genesis 2:16). The weight of the Hebrew reads more like this: “eat heartily from every tree of the garden.” Now, I...

Surah 4:157: "And in reference to the Jews who said, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus the Son of Mariam, the apostle of God,' they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear to them. And indeed those who differ in the matter are surely in doubt about it. They have no knowledge about it except following mere assumption. But of a certainty they did not kill him." Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified together with the Messiah. So it is no longer I who live, but the Messiah living in me. And this fleshy life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, the one who loved me and gave himself in my place. " (ht: John Samson)

A student was drifting off to sleep in class again when the teacher finally had enough and pounded the desk. “You know, if you would quit goofing off at night and get a good rest, you will be able to stay awake and in the ‘land of the living.’” The student sleepily replied, “but I’m a superhero at night.” Ok, perhaps this is not the best example of the one who comes swooping down into a desperate situation to bring a victim to victory. Nevertheless, we nowadays are in awe of that masked man (though we know him as an outside observer). Who was he? Where does he come from? (**whoosh**) There he goes. There is a man in the Bible who very closely fits this approximation. His name is Simon, and he comes in a very unusual circumstance at a very unusual time. Unusual, because it is the hero of mankind (as it were), our Savior who is in distress. We don’t know much about the man—he suddenly disappears as fast as he appears; and, something incredible happens to him. “ After they had mocked Him,...

"While that great body [of the Roman Empire] was invaded by open violence and undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and finally erected the triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the capitol." Edward Gibbon, "The Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire." (1776)

"From heaven’s perspective, those who break God’s Law are vile and worthy of all loathing. They are a wretched lot, justly exposed to divine vengeance, and rightly devoted to eternal destruction. It is not an exaggeration to say that the last thing that the accursed sinner should and will hear when he takes his first step into hell is all of creation standing to its feet and applauding God because He has rid the earth of him. Such is the vileness of those who break God’s law, and such is the disdain of the holy towards the unholy. Yet, the Gospel teaches us that, 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."’ Christ became what we were in order to redeem us from what we deserved." Paul Washer, on " The Cross of Christ ."

While "Waiting for Godot" to arrive, Vladymir (Didi) banters with Estragon (Gogo) about the two thieves crucified along with Christ. Didi recalls that one was saved and the other was . . . he can't seem to remember, oh yes, "damned." Funny how such little things (such as damnation) seem to slip just to the edge of recall. In like manner the subject of coming judgment for most is not a matter of great importance--if it were on the tip of the tongue, the matter could be swallowed by accident--who would miss it? Or like Gogo's old carrot--the more one eats, the worse it gets, so it gets spit out. Most treat the subject of judgment the way Didi does with Gogo's bad dreams--we just don't want to hear it. This (universe) is enough for us. Judgment is coming. Last post we observed that the judgment of the cross has come and gone, which produced two kinds of people: those who enjoy the benefits of that judgment, and those who will not. Those who reject the j...

A while back I shared the conversation I had with twin 10 year-old girls on my front doorstep. I showed them a Cross, asking if they knew what it was. They got excited and told me that "'t' stands for 'Church.'" They go to Sunday School and learn that all you have to do is be good, help people and stay in school and you will go to heaven. Is that it? Just go to church and do good? Does Jesus' death on the cross mean anything? Are we to just believe that Jesus died on the cross so we can carry on in life stuggling to keep our noses clean, so to speak? Is God supposed to let everybody into heaven just because Jesus died on the cross? Does God no longer judge because He is so gracious? If that is the case, then what do we do with 2 Peter 3:7, "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."? Part of the confusion lies in the lack of teaching on the different kin...

"As there is only one God so there can be only one Gospel. If God has really done something in Christ on which the salvation of the world depends, and if He has made it known, then it is a Christian's duty to be intolerant of everything which ignores, denies, or explains it away. The man who perverts it is the worst enemy of God and men; and it is not bad empter or narrow-mindedness in St. Paul which explains this vehement language (Gal. 1:8), it is the jealousy of God which has kindled in a soul redeemed by the death of Christ a corresponding jealousy for the Saviour. Intolerance like this is an essential element in the true religion. Intolerance in this sense has its counterpart in comprehension; it is when we have the only gospel, and not till then, that we have the gospel for all." "The Cross of Christ is man's only glory or it is his final stumbling block." --James Denney, (1856-1917) in "The Death of Christ."

"One unmistakable indication that a preacher has placed the cross at the center of his life and preaching is when the cross is central to all other discussions of the Christian life. A cross-centered preacher extends the gospel’s centrality beyond the conveyance of salvation to all the sin struggles of the Christian life. He injects the gospel into parenting, marriage, and counseling—and brings the hope of the cross to all of life’s experiences." ( Read the rest here )

" The Glory of the Cross " by Samuel Zwemer (1867-1952), Christian Missionary to Muslims. This is perhaps the most moving book I've read concerning the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This undated work (I suspect it was written in the years shortly before his own death--his quotation of hymns throughout the work sets the "record"--if someone knows a certain date, than information would be wonderful) of 130 pages is a little more than a casual devotional read. The first two of the ten chapters explain the nature of the gospel, followed by deep, insightful glimpses into Christ's passion that pass nearly unnoticed: He was blindfolded, bound, spat upon, stripped naked. Consider how this cowardly world would rather not look at him, much less be looked upon by Him--man must either look Him in the face, or declare Him to be myth. The one who made the hand folded His own in prayer before they took Him in the garden and bound Him for fear before the court. The last...

[One thing I greatly admire about my Kenyan students is that they really know how to ask questions. If you've been following along since late last week, I've been sharing questions students asked me when I traveled to Kenya in 2004. It seems that once the questions began, the more difficult they became--stay tuned to see what I mean.] As I consider the question, two thoughts come to mind: first, the fear of the Lord is one theme that deserves serious study by every believer. We see in scripture that communication with God brings about such deep reverence, fear and respect on the part of the one with whom God is talking. The second matter that comes to mind is that there does seem to be a careless attitude, a lack of fear and respect on part of many who say they know the Lord; however, such flippancy does not go unnoticed in scripture. Recall with me the Sinai experience. Moses is on the mountain, and the people gathered around with the stern warning not to come near nor touch t...

Do you understand what it means to be outside the camp, but within the veil? Malcom Wild, of Calvary Chapel Merritt Island , preached this powerful message on the importance of the torn veil at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful perspective that touches on worship from a pastor with a musical background. Put this wonderful message on your IPod. Click here for Malcom’s intriguing bio. Better yet, share it with others! This makes a great evangelism “closer.”

Gall is the taste of life when we Who live must bear our Calvary. On this day our Master died-- Christ, our Lord, the Crucified. Upon the cross in agony He shed his blood for love of me. In every street, on every hill, The Heart that stopped is beating still. --Vincent Holm

"Are you filled with an inexpressible gratitude for the 'unspeakable gift' of the Cross? Have you seen Jesus Christ 'evidently set forth and crucified?' Can you say with Paul, ' God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world ' (Galatians 6:14)? After seeing the love of the cross, how could we ever go back to the pleasures of sin? To do that, we have to trample underfoot the blood of Jesus Christ. We would have to count the sacrifice of Calvary as nothing. Instead, we willfully crucify ourselves to the world. We whisper with the hymnist, 'When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.'" (From Way of the Master Minute )

What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ? You live in a Christian land. You probably attend the worship of a Christian Church. You have perhaps been baptized in the name of Christ. You profess and call yourself a Christian. All this is well. It is more than can be said of millions in the world. But all this is no answer to my question, "What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?" I want to tell you what the greatest Christian that ever lived thought of the cross of Christ. He has written down his opinion. He has given his judgment in words that cannot be mistaken. The man I mean is the Apostle Paul. The place where you will find his opinion, is in the letter which the Holy Ghost inspired him to write to the Galatians. And the words in which his judgment is set down, are these, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." How what did Paul mean by saying this? He meant to declare strongly, that he trusted in not...

Click on the image to go to WTS Books, "Preaching the Cross" by Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan III, Al Mohler, C.J. Mahaney, John MacArthur, John Piper and R.C. Sproul.

How the Cross of Christ Corresponds to and Conquers Satan’s Work. by John Piper Satan’s work is not the chief peril dealt with in the death of Christ. God’s wrath is. God is opposed to us in his righteous wrath, and he is for us in his love. Therefore, in his great love, he sends his Son to endure his own wrath against us. In this way, his righteousness is upheld and his love is expressed. His wrath and curse and condemnation of our sin are endured for us by another—a substitute, Jesus Christ. Here are some of the texts that teach this: (read the rest here ).

Today is Passover and I was thinking of Jesus' crucifixion when I got this huge onslaught of "what if's". The Bible is silent about a lot of things, but I just had to ask. Matthew says "and when they crucified him" (27:35). Mark says "and they crucified him" (15:24) Luke says "there they crucified him" (23:33) John says "when they crucified him" (19:23) But how? How do we know the soldiers crucified him by laying him down on the wood and nailing him to it? How do we know they soldiers raised it up? They certainly did'nt bring the cross up there themselves, so why should they raise it and the man nailed to it? What if Jesus had to set his own cross in place on the hill? What if Jesus had to climb a small ladder, grasping the cross in places, holding onto its sides and balancing, perhaps embracing the cross so as not to fall off because of his blood that was now all over the place? What if he had to get his balance on the ...