Sunday, August 30, 2015

That is a lot of sins

I have been reading this book called The Power of the Cross, and in it, the author gives some perspective about our sins.

He asks how much sin it would be if Jesus took on all of our sin from the past hour onto the cross with Him. That would, of course, be a bunch of sins.  (Hopefully not too many, though!)

What if he took on all of our sin for the past day?  That would be even more sin.

Now consider our sins for our entire lives.  And what about our town's sins?  Our major city's sins? Our state's sins?   Hard to imagine how many sins that is.

What if He took on our entire country's lifetime of sins onto that cross with Him?  That is certainly an immense burden.  Hard for us to even imagine.  

Now take every single person that is alive today ... and go back all the way to Adam.  Could Jesus possible carry all of those sins with Him to the cross?

It is unimaginable.  And yet He did.  For us.

Thank you, Jesus. 

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Is There Baseball in Heaven?

Two best friends, Bob and Mark, were two of the biggest baseball fans on the planet.

Their entire adult lives, Bob and Mark discussed baseball history and pored over every box score during the season. They went to as many games a year as they could afford. They even agreed that whoever died first would try to come back and tell the other if there was baseball in heaven.

One summer night, Bob passed away in his sleep after watching his favorite team win earlier in the evening. A few nights later, his buddy Mark awoke to the sound of Bob's voice from beyond.

"Bob, Is that you?" Mark asked.

"Yes, it's me," Bob replied.

"I can't believe it!" Mark exclaimed. "So tell me, is there baseball in heaven?"

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Tell me the good news first."

"Well, the good news is that, yes, there is baseball in heaven, Mark.”

"Oh, that is fantastic! So what's the bad news then?"

"You're pitching Wednesday night."


God Bless you.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Nourishment for the Week Ahead

I had a subtle change of perspective after this weekends first reading about Elijah.

On the surface, it feels like Elijah had to eat the hearth cake and drink the jug of water.  After all, the angel of the Lord does not ask him if he wants to eat or drink, he tells Elijah to eat and drink.  Twice.  

Sometimes, I must admit, I subconsciously receive Communion each Sunday because Jesus told me to.  And quite frankly, that is a good enough reason!  But there is more to it than that. 

As I thought more about Elijah, I realized that, yes, while the angel did command Elijah to eat and drink, he did so so that Elijah would be nourished for the road ahead.  

Likewise, we need to receive the Eucharist each week (or day) so that we are nourished for the week (or day) ahead.  

I must admit, I don't often focus on the Eucharist as nourishment for my week ahead.  Yes, I use the word nourishment, etc when explaining the Eucharist, but I don't usually think about it as I do the hearth cake and water that Elijah needed for his journey.  

Now that I have this slightly new perspective, I have another beautiful image to think about when I receive Jesus each week.

God bless you.