Palm Sunday

This week we will celebrate Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday gets its name because as Jesus road into Jerusalem, the people waved palm branches, and some laid theirs on the ground, praising GOD for the salvation they believed was at hand.

The Bible gives us the story of Palm Sunday in all four Gospels, but my favorite is found in Luke 19.28-44. Jesus, knowing the time had come for Him to go to Jerusalem and fulfill his role in GOD’s plan of salvation, rode into the holy city on the back of a donkey. He was sending a definite visual message here – when kings rode in processions during war times, they rode on the back of a steed. During times of peace, however, kings often rode on the back of a donkey. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey, he was essentially saying He indeed was the King riding into town in peace.

As the story continues, we see that he received a resounding welcome! Luke 19.37-38 says that the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Friends, this is a big deal! Jesus is making a statement and the people are receiving it and praising GOD for all they had seen, and specifically, the witness Jesus Himself had given.

It was a powerful day to be sure, but as you could imagine, not everyone was thrilled. The Pharisees did not like the disturbance that was being created by this display and they told Jesus to make His followers be quiet. As verse 40 tells us, Jesus says that if He were to tell them to be quiet, the very rocks themselves would cry out for the salvation Christ represents! Amazing!!!

We know how the story goes from there that Jesus’ triumphant entry quickly turns turbulent. The same crowds who were clamoring for Jesus to be their king were the same ones who just five days later were clamoring for his crucifixion. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn, isn’t it? So sad, but so true.

As Jesus made the statement that the very rocks would cry out for GOD’s gift of salvation, I believe it also played a metaphorical role in describing the hearts of the people. Often in Scripture, you’ll read about how people’s heart’s were hardened due to various circumstances in life. Jesus knew what awaited Him and He knew their cheers would quickly turn to jeers. But what He also knew is that despite a human being’s fragile heart condition, we all have this powerful and innate need to be loved, comforted, and cared for. Sometimes we have to endure hardship before we can enjoy victory. Jesus was not riding into town to be praised; He was going to Jerusalem to provide the ultimate example of the love and grace of GOD.

As we prepare for this Palm Sunday, I want you to think about the condition of your heart. I know there are things going on in your life that make you want to celebrate and cheer the Lord. But I also know that there are so many difficulties we each and everyone face that could easily turn your very own cheers into jeers if it were not for the victory that Jesus has already sealed. I also know that there are some of us – if not many – who are somewhere in between being able to jeer and cheer Christ in the powerful and calming love of GOD due to life’s calamities. If that is where you are right now, allow GOD’s Holy Spirit to intercede for you and let you know that salvation is at hand for GOD has already won the victory.

Check out this awesome passage from Romans 8.22-30 which speaks to this very truth: We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Saint Patrick's Day

Today is Saint Patrick's Day…are you be wearing your green? Saint Patrick is known as the Patron Saint of Ireland, and his feast day has become a popular secular celebration, much like Valentine's Day. It is a day when we wear green, add green food coloring to our favorite foods and beverages, and have fun with silly things like pots of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in the 4th century into a wealthy family and his father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by GOD in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church and studied to be a priest.

In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The idea behind this is the shamrock is one plant with three connected leaves. Looking at this from a Trinitarian point of view, you have one GOD with three manifestations - Father, Son, and Spirit.

After nearly thirty years of evangelism, Saint Patrick died on March 17th 461. Although there were other more successful missionaries to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endures as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church.

Originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue, but over the years, the color green and its association with Saint Patrick's Day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of Saint Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century and are still prominent today.

So now you see that Saint Patrick's Day, with all of its fun and silly customs, actually originated as a religious holiday! Like Saint Patrick, May you use this time - wearing green and shamrocks if you so care - to think about the love and presence of GOD in your life. And also like Saint Patrick used the green shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, find a way to use today to share your relationship with GOD with someone else. If you have any questions, or would like some ideas, feel free to contact Pastor Mark.

Have a Blessed St. Patty's Day!
Pastor Mark

(This blog post comes from this week's church e-newsletter)

What Does a White Polar Bear Have To Do With Victory In Jesus?

In the message I delivered this past week in the 10:55am Contemporary Service, one of the concepts I taught on was being aware of the things that anger and/or attract you. Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about anger and attraction gets to the heart of placing things in life above our relationship with GOD. And the cold hard truth is that when we allow something to consume and dominate our hearts and minds, we allow that thing(s) to become a god in our lives. The temptation to allow these angering and attracting people, places, and things to dominate us is very real, and we must claim victory over them.

I ran across an interesting story during my quiet time earlier this week about the time when Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist, was a boy, he reportedly started The White Polar Bear Club with two of his friends. In order to become a member, you had to stand in the corner and for thirty consecutive minutes not think of a white polar bear.

Have you ever tried to intentionally not think about something? The more you think about not thinking about it, the more impossible it is to keep it out of your mind! Yet, this is how we handle temptation; when it comes, we try as hard as we can to not to think about it: If I just don't think about it, then I'll have victory over this temptation

Victory over temptation (anger and attraction) is attainable, my friends! As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15.57-58: "…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." As you face all kinds of temptations, burdens, stresses, struggles, and strain, know you have already achieved victory in Jesus Christ! Pray to GOD, invite His Holy Spirit into your life, and know beyond the shadow of a doubt that GOD is for you and has a purpose for your life.

(This blog comes from the weekly email sent out from Cokes Chapel UMC.
It was inspired by Jon Walker's daily Grace Creates devotion from 2/16/11.)

Happy Groundhog Day!

I must confess, I always found Groundhog Day to be a little silly. Even the most expensive computers and highly trained meteorologists have a hard enough time knowing what the weather will do tomorrow, so I don’t put much stock in what a groundhog thinks will happen in a couple months. Regardless, Groundhog Day has taken on somewhat of a different meaning in our culture the last several years thanks to the 1993 Bill Murray movie. If you aren’t familiar, with the movie, it is about a weather man who is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the 'following' day he discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage before coming to the realization that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day.

It might just be a humorous fictional movie, but there is a lesson in it for us. All the time we see people doing the same thing over, and over, and over again, reminding us of the old definition of insanity – repeating the same behaviors and expecting results. Some might think doing something new is impossible, but the Bible tells us that with GOD all things are possible (Matthew 19.26)! On this Groundhog Day, think about how you might be able to do something NEW for GOD thanks to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Revelation 21.5 tells us that GOD makes all things new, so let Him begin today with you! Open up your heart to receive the Lord’s invitation to follow and believe!!!

(This blog was written for our church's weekly email)

Belief Beyond The Tightrope Of Life

There once was a tightrope walker who was going to walk across the Grand Canyon blindfolded pushing a wheelbarrow. On the day he was to do the feat, people from all over came to witness the stunt. Whether they were hoping to see him succeed or the carnage of his failure, they lined up from all around.

When the time came, the tightrope walker made it successfully to the other side! Upon his victory, he turned to a reporter and asked, “Do you believe I can do it?” The reporter responded, “Of course I do, I just saw you do it.” This answer did not satisfy the stuntman as he asked again, “Do you believe I can do it?” Again, the reporter answered, “Of course I do, I just saw you do it.” The tightrope walker asked a third time, “But do you believe I can do it.” Again, the reporter answered, “Of course I do.” With this response, the tightrope walker said, “Get in the wheelbarrow.”

Life is full of challenges. There are times when we only believe we can succeed after we have. Be it a task at work, a test at school, or a confrontation at home, we might think we are doomed to failure until the surprise of finding firm footing at the other end of the tightrope. And there are times when we think life will be much easier than it has been, only to find ourselves gasping for air at the end. Regardless of the tightropes we must walk, in order to succeed, we must first believe that we can! The Little Engine That Could was on to something here.

But when we peer out over the Grand Canyon of doubt we might think the task at hand is utterly impossible. That is where faith comes in! Hebrews 11.1 tells us this about faith, “[Faith] is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” (NLT) We might never think we’ll get to the other side, but the Bible tells us that if we believe it, we can achieve it.

There is an awesome story in the Gospel of Mark about the power of faith and belief. A father whose son had been possessed by an evil spirit comes to Jesus asking for help. The man pleads with Jesus saying, “‘if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, "If you are able! — All things can be done for the one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’(Mark 9.23-24, NLT, emphasis mine)

All too often, we find ourselves in the place of the father—wanting, needing something to happen. We have faith that Jesus can do it, but we do not believe anything can be done. We fear the unknown. We fear a lost cause lost. We fear the inaccurate inevitable. Yet Jesus tells us that all things can be done for the one who believes. What’s left is unbelief! And when we surrender our unbelief to the One who can do something with it, then Jesus says, “I AM able. I can work with that!” I’ll not only help your child, your spouse, your parent, yourself, but I’ll help your unbelief. That, my friends, is where the miracle begins.

So in the midst of life’s tightropes, do not forget that with God nothing is impossible. Do not forget that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Turn in prayerful faith to the One who can cure any ailment, ease any heart, and even conquer the grave. And believe Him when He tells you, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11.24, NLT)

Veterans Day Blessings

As you might know, today is Veteran's Day. Veteran’s Day commemorates the Armistice, which is when the Allies and Germans ended their fighting in World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Veteran’s Day has taken several forms throughout the years and been commemorated on different days, but the 1978 Congress set it as a state and federal holiday on November 11th. Veteran's Day was also set aside to remember all who have served, and are serving, in the US military.

In a time of war, it is even more important that we remember the men and women who have served our country so valiantly. Please remember those who are currently engaged in the fight for freedom against tyranny and terrorism. Also, say a special prayer for those who have paid the ultimate price to secure and preserve our freedom.

Here is a prayer I found and adapted for Veteran’s Day. As you read and pray these words, please think of the commitment and courage of those who have given – and give – so much!

God of peace, we pray for those who have served our nation and who laid down their lives to protect and defend our freedom. We pray for those who have fought; whose spirits and bodies are scarred by war; and whose nights are haunted by memories too painful for the light of day. We pray for those who serve us now, especially for those in harm’s way. Shield them from danger and bring them home safely. Let the peace you left us, the peace you gave us, be the peace that sustains, the peace that saves. Christ Jesus, hear us! Lord Jesus, hear our prayer!

Have a great day and pray for our nation’s veterans, past and present!

Swimming In The Murkiness of Sin

This past weekend, Tiffany and I helped chaperone the youth group’s trip to Lake Wedowee in Alabama. As it turns out, this lake is the location of two pretty significant and related lessons.

When I was youth-aged, I went to Wedowee for a weekend of lake fun. It was there I learned how important it is to wear sunscreen. I spent several hours out on a boat without it and got the worst sunburn of my life! I have the sun damage on my left arm to prove it! As I’ve gotten a little older and wiser, I wear sun screen religiously. And now, I’m supplementing my sun protection by wearing one of those nifty swim shirts, similar to what a surfer would wear. Lesson I.

This past weekend, prior to getting on the boat, I lathered up with an 85 SPF sunscreen. I then donned my swim shirt, which is solid white, to further protect my pasty-white torso. We then struck out on the boat for an afternoon of swimming, tubing, wakeboarding, etc. Once finished, we headed back to shore for the next slate of activities, which for me included lying around on a float – hard work to be sure! While Tiffany and I were swimming in the water, I made some comment about how clean the water appeared to be for lake water. She tacitly agreed and we continued our afternoon of leisure.

When our swimming session was completed, I made my way out of the water with Tiffany right behind me. Once I heaved myself out of the water, Tiffany was able to see my white swim shirt and commented on how dirty I was. I didn’t believe it until I actually pulled my shirt away from my body and saw how it was no longer white, but the color of a latte! While swimming in the lake, the murkiness of the water dyed my shirt a light brown! Returning home, I soaked it in a diluted bleach solution, but guess what? The shirt is still brown! Lesson II.

Having my swim shirt re-colored got me thinking about the murkiness of sin. While we are willingly swimming around in sin-stuff, we look around and think that all’s well. In fact, we look past what we’re really getting ourselves into and think that it isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s fun and probably even exciting. Not experiencing any immediate consequences, we get deceived into thinking that we are above the need to avoid whatever it is we’re doing. It’s all about deception, and while we’re enjoying ourselves, we are deceived that what we’re doing is a-ok. The problem, however, is that it isn’t a-ok, and we’re being tainted while note even knowing it. Quoth Scooby Doo, “Ruh Roh!”

Once tainted with sin, there is nothing we can do on our own to cleanse ourselves. We can try with all our Humpty-Dumptyesque efforts to wash the sin away, but we simply aren’t capable. We need some help. That’s where GOD comes in, because it is GOD alone who cleanses us from the stain of sin. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51.7)

GOD came to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and in Jesus’ sacrifice, broke the strangle-hold that sin has on us forever. In accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, you can receive the immeasurable blessings of eternal life that begins with the cleansing of sin. Revelation 7.15 tells us that those who believe in Jesus and follow Him will be able to wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, making them white again—whiter than snow! It’s the blood of Christ that cleanses us better than any bleach ever could.

If you have been swimming in the murkiness of sin, thinking that you’re staying clean, be careful! The honest truth, though, is this applies to us all. Accepting Christ, however, cleanses you from the inside out, purifying you, making you whiter than snow. Accept GOD’s love for you. Embrace Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. Go to Him to be cleansed. The murkiness of sin stains even if you aren’t aware of it, but GOD alone makes you clean. So take a dip in the living water of GOD’s love! Get clean, stay that way, and may it change the way you live forever!!!