Maker of the Universe Phil Keaggy The Maker of the universe, As Man for man was made a curse. The claims of Law which He had made, Unto the uttermost He paid. His holy fingers made the bough, Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow. The nails that pierced His hands were mined In secret places He designed. He made the forest whence there sprung The tree on which His body hung. He died upon a cross of wood, Yet made the hill on which it stood. The sky that darkened o'er His head, By Him above the earth was spread. The sun that hid from Him it's face By His decree was poised in space. The spear which spilled His precious blood Was tempered in the fires of God. The grave in which His form was laid Was hewn in rocks His hands had made. The throne on which He now appears Was His for everlasting years. But a new glory crowns His brow And every knee to Him shall bow. Jesus is our example of a real man. What does a real man do when he is faced with the inevitability of his death? Look at the way that Jesus handled His impending mission. Jesus talked to His Father about His calling to die. He spent significant time telling His Father how He felt about what was about to happen. He took His best friends with Him but He didn't allow His friends to dissuade Him due to their inability to be supportive. The day of His crucifixion, He spent time with His followers and let them know what was going to happen. His death was to happen during Passover. During Passover, a tradition is to sing the Hallel Psalms, chapters 113-118. They are to be sung as a prayer. What is interesting is chapter 118, the last scripture that Jesus and the His disciples sang. Jesus knew what He was going to go thru. Look at some of the key words that Jesus sang: What can man do to me? I will look in triumph over my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. They surrounded me on every side but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. The LORD is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation. I will not die, but live. I will proclaim what the LORD has done. This is the day the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. His love endures forever. So, the conclusion... When you know that you are going to face a severe trial, face it like a man. Be like Jesus. Spend time with your LORD and have confidence that you will emerge victorious because HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. BE HOLY. BE A MAN. I've always wondered what it would have been like to be present at Jesus' crucifixion. I wondered if I would have joined the disciples and disappeared. Or would I be like the only disciple, John, who stayed to witness Jesus death. I was fortunate to be granted the opportunity to see Jesus being crucified. However, having been a participant in the Easter Musical, I became, at times, a little complacent about Jesus' crucifixion. It became a matter of rehearsal and the actor playing Jesus was a friend. However, one practice, I was struck with the reality of Jesus' compassion and love, how He died for me. I walked onto stage and Jesus was on the cross. I looked up and just at that time, Jesus was looking down at me. I forgot that this man was an actor and my friend. I felt transported to the time that Jesus' was actually on the cross. I felt so overwhelmed. Jesus was looking at me and I was the only person there even though the stage and the audience was filled with people. It was Jesus and me. Nevertheless, I was overwhelmed by two competing emotions: 1) I felt ashamed at my sin, and 2) I felt pure love. I felt no condemnation. A flood of tears came to my eyes and at that night's performance, I didn't have to pretend to cry. My complacency vanished. My tears were real. Jesus was real. My sin was real. The love I felt was real. The forgiveness Jesus offered was real. Salvation is real. BE HOLY. BE A MAN. Yesterday, I posted about how a young man used the retelling of the crucifixion of Jesus so that he could sin and take others with him in his sin. Today, I want to share something beautiful from my experiences with the Easter Musical. In this church that annually would share the Easter story with its community, there was always a special private showing of the final dress rehearsal. The final dress rehearsal was an invitation to individuals who were physically as well as mentally challenged. The church would clear out much of the seating so that people using wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and canes could easily navigate into the auditorium. This was a fun tradition in this community because these individuals got to see the musical before anybody else. In this final dress rehearsal that I am remembering, Jesus was being taken down from the cross. This is a very solemn and quiet scene, taking a good ten minutes or so. Jesus is carefully removed from the cross, given to Mary, Joseph of Arimathea, John and Nicodemus. They lovingly prepare Jesus' body for burial, wrapping him in cloths. Well, during this scene, one man in the audience who couldn't speak or walk due to his challenges, started weeping uncontrollably. It was quite a poignant scene that was enhanced by this man's sensitivity. I firmly believe that this man was so touched by this reenactment that he said yes to God's invitation to accept Jesus as his Savior. Needless to say, this man's behavior affected many others not only in the congregation but many of the actors and orchestra members as well. In my own heart, I felt a revival of my own commitment to serving Jesus. I'm sure that many had a similar experience. An unspoken revival of sorts happened right there because of this man's sensitivity to Jesus' gift of salvation. I want to tell you that the man that was weeping was so much more of a man than many men I have ever met. Especially, more so than that young man from yesterday who wanted to have sexual conquests to prove his manhood. That weeping man allowed God to transform him. Outside he was still the same but I believe that man left the church a new creation. You may be wondering how the above picture of the extreme mountain climber fits into this story. Well, I'm thinking that when this guy gets to heaven, he's gonna want to do the things he always wanted to do but couldn't because he was in an earthly body that didn't work as he wanted. I'm gonna find him and we're gonna do some extreme mountain climbing. When we get to the summit, I'm gonna ask him, "remember when you were at that private showing of the Easter Musical? I want to know what you were thinking." I anticipate he will share with me his love for God and how the Holy Spirit worked in his life that night. Together we will agree with the Roman Centurion, "Surely, this man was the Son of God!" and we will spend a couple hundred years on that summit praising our Savior and recalling all the wonderful things that God did. Do you want to experience something beautiful? You can right now as you ask Jesus to lead your life, turn from your sinfulness and allow God to transform you. We want you to join us on that summit in eternity. BE HOLY. BE A MAN. There have been a few times when I have been so angry, that I felt like slugging someone... Let me set this up for you. The church that I attended would put on a terrific Easter Musical every year. It was a great production and much of the community would go. It was quite popular. I enjoyed being part of it. I was at a fast food establishment and I overheard a conversation that I wish I had never heard. Two young men were talking about the Easter Musical. Since I was in the production, I listened intentionally. Then they started talking to each other about how to pick up girls. I heard the usual stupid man advice about showing off, flexing your muscles, driving a fast car, flattering, flirting, etc. However, what I heard next was REALLY DISGUSTING. I wish I hadn't been listening. One young man said, "I take girls to that Easter Musical that's going on right now. I cry when Jesus is on the cross and they get all emotional. Then, when I get them home, they are like putty in my hands. I can do anything I want and they never say no." He continued, "If I can't get a girl to go with me, I will hang out afterwards and talk to the girls that have been crying. It's pretty easy to pick one up when they're like that." It made my blood boil. I wanted to slug the guy or say something but I was so angry and in such shock, I just sat there in disbelief. Did you catch what was DISGUSTING about that conversation? God talks about this. He says, "They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin..." Why is this disgusting? Did you catch what this young man said? He took the most wonderful and supreme act of love and perverted it for his own selfish, sinful advantage. And not only that, he took others with him. Do you find that disgusting? I have talked about several disgusting things on this blog. What makes this the most disgusting thing I have ever heard? Do you understand the gravity of this young man's statements? It is downright disgusting to use something that is holy for sin. To defile God's holiness with sin is a major affront to God. This conversation gave me a whole different perspective on God's Holiness and what it means to be a man. A real man takes God's Holiness seriously. That doesn't mean that a real man can't have fun and can't make light of some things that happen, even in a church. But a real man knows better than to defile God with sin. God and sin can NEVER be connected, even the slightest connection is abhorrent to God. Do you defile God's Holiness? Do you take Him seriously? God says we are to be holy in all we do. Never connect God to sin. BE HOLY. BE A MAN. |
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