The Glory of the Cross

Here are some important Good Friday thoughts from Jerry Bridges' book, The Gospel For Real Life:

Herein lies the glory of the cross. Justice and mercy are reconciled; wrath and love are both given full expression - and all of this so that we might experience the unsearchable riches of Christ.

What great humility and gratitude this should produce in us; humility that we were the cause of our Savior's unimaginable suffering, and gratitude that He so willingly and lovingly experienced God's wrath that we might not suffer it ourselves. When I think of Christ's great work of propitiation, I am compelled to sing those grand old words of Isaac Watts:

"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" (p. 56).

My Incredible Wife

Check out these convicting and challenging words of truth, from my incredible wife, Kelly's recent blog post:

It's EASTER! Unfortunately, I suspect, like most American children instead of being excited about the NEW HOPE given to us by our Lord & Savior-JESUS dying for OUR SINS & raising to new LIFE-we'll be disgruntled about what we did or did not get in our Easter basket. I'm way too hard on my kids. I know it-I feel it even now as I type this. 3 of our 5 children have just recently heard the name JESUS. I cannot expect them to understand the huge significance of this week. Do I understand it? Truly?

Yeah-I could spout off 3 significant things that Jesus did for me but do I GET IT? Do I truly get it? I mean, look at my life, do I glow from all my encounters with God? Of course not, I'm too busy being distracted by everything that everyone else is doing wrong. The plank in my eye is so big-yet it doesn't even hurt. So crazy.

Tonight, once Dan gets home from the church service we're going to re watch the Passion of the Christ. I'm so terrified of that movie-we watched in the theater when it came out & I cannot stomach it again. But I need to. I need to get out of my glamorized, Americanized, self-righteous, PROUD, PROUD, PROUD view of Christianity & get my sights set back on JESUS!!!

Amen. These coming days are an important time for all of us to refocus our eyes on the Cross, our ears on the message of the Gospel, our minds on the redemptive truths of Scripture, and our hearts in the gracious and merciful love of God. I am so thankful for the many ways in which God's grace is working in Kelly's heart, and through her, in the lives of my children and in the heart of her husband.

Who God Wants Us To Become

Today, as I was sitting in a local, satellite campus of the Cathedral of St. Arbucks, I spent a bit of time thinking about who God wants us to become as His Kingdom people. As I have read the Scriptures and reflected specifically on the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, the Holy Spirit has led me towards an active rest in, and an obedient pursuit of, greater personal embodiment of the picture painted in this brief working summary: 

I believe God wants to transform me into:

• A man who truly knows and fully loves Jesus; adoring and treasuring Him with every part of who I am; loving Him with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength; being sanctified by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to become more like Him in my motivations, attitudes, thoughts, emotions, pursuits and actions.

• A man who deeply and sacrificially loves my family, my friends, and my neighbors; practicing generous hospitality and consistently looking for, and tangibly meeting, other’s needs as they arise.

• A man who embraces and lives out God’s gospel mission of restoring all that has been fractured and distorted by sin; serving the least, loving the lost, proclaiming and living the gospel in my home, neighborhood, and city.
  

A Great Vacation

Last week, Kelly, the kids, and I, took a trip to the little-known, spring break hot-spot of southeast South Dakota. I think most spring break analysts, if they were completely honest, would have to rate South Dakota a close third behind South Padre Island and Cancun. Despite traveling 1400 miles in a mini-van, which seemed to become more "mini" than "van" by the minute, we had a great trip. We were able to spend a few days with Kelly's parents on the farm, enjoy a few days in a pool-side room at the luxurious Kelly Inn (in Yankton, South Dakota), and relax for a few days with my parents in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

For Jasmine, Brian, and Shamie (our three adopted children), we think this may have been their first trip out of the metro area and definitely their first experience with life on the farm. They really enjoyed seeing all the baby calves, playing in the endless supply of mud and puddles, riding in the tractor for chores with Grandpa Don and Uncle Rick, feeding apples to the horses, and exploring the nooks and crannies of Grandpa and Grandma's expansive farm house.

For Kelly and I, perhaps the best part of the trip was watching our extended families warmly embrace and actively love our adopted kiddos. For me, it was an opportunity to think deeply about, and attempt to adequately give thanks for, God's pursuing, embracing, active love for me through Jesus. More often than I would like to admit, it is so easy for me to lose track of how passionately and wildly my Heavenly Father moves towards me, embraces me, and serves me.

As I watched our extended families demonstrate intentional love and affection towards our kids, who nine months ago were complete strangers, I was reminded of God's gracious, spiritual adoption of us, through the redeeming and reconcilling work of Christ, which Paul describes in the first two chapters of Ephesians:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-20).

"Adoption," as John Piper once said, "is truly greater than the universe." And the Father's love for us, as the great hymn says, "is vast beyond all measure."