"Forgiveness at the Cross"

Here's a word from the folks over at www.creativeyouthideas.com on Forgiveness.

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

"Father"
These are the first recorded words we have from Jesus on the Cross. He begins with a prayer to our intimate heavenly Father. He does not address his beloved disciple John, nor the grieving women who followed him nor the religious leaders, nor the sinners on each side, nor the gawking crowd below. Jesus did not look at the people around him, but up to the Father above. He will only be able to see the people around him in proper perspective when he focuses on the Father first. Are our first thoughts toward God in everything?

"Father, forgive them"
But there's more. While in excruciating pain, Jesus asked God to forgive his tormentors. I don't know about you, but in the midst of the pain, especially when I am on the receiving end, I find it difficult to think about forgiveness. Christ's pain wasn't even over yet, it had just begun! The people on the receiving end of God's forgiveness certainly didn’t deserve it. They didn’t even ask for it. It wasn't even a past event. More was to come. Yet he still asked the Father to forgive them. What amazing grace! What amazing love! This may be the most powerful example of grace and forgiving love in the whole Bible.

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." 
Did the soldiers, the gawkers, the Jewish leaders, the angry spectators, fully comprehend the consequences of their actions? We don't know all the reasons they were there on that day at the cross. All we need to do is to think about ourselves a little -- How often do we actually think through the repercussions of what WE do? We may think we are doing the right things. We have noble ambitions. We may be protecting the truth. Standing up for righteousness. Making sure the wicked don't go unpunished. Our reasons may even be less than honorable or outright rebellious. In the end it doesn't really matter why they were there. They thought they knew what they were doing, but in the eternal scheme of things they had no clue!

But Christ's concern wasn't the "Why?" When faced with persecution, with trials, with pain, our first response is to ask God "why?" Maybe we want to understand to have a reason to grant forgiveness! But Christ's didn't need a reason. True love doesn't need a reason. His first response was reconciliation, forgiveness, grace!

That's the first and final conclusion of the cross - grace - God loved us first, taking the initiative to reconcile with us, even at the greatest possible cost to himself.

May this Easter season be a time of reconciliation for all of us! Don't ask for an explanation. Don't try to understand. Don't wait for someone to ask you for forgiveness. Don't focus on what is happening down here. Focus on your heavenly Father. Look up in prayer on their behalf. When you do, you will find the grace to take the first loving steps toward loving forgiveness for those around you, regardless of what they are doing, or why they are doing it. Simply forgive and leave the rest up to God!

"Bad Company"

Here's a devotional from the guys at www.Dare2share.org.

"Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character." (I Corinthians 15:33)

They influence your speech, dress, and mannerisms. They are your constant mirrors. They are in your address book and in your phone 's speed dial. They have a firm grip on your heartstrings, and oftentimes they are the difference between success and failure in the Christian life. Good ones can nudge you to victory. Bad ones can drag you to defeat. What are they? You guessed it...friends!

The bottom line is that the type of friends who form your inner circle will most likely determine how faithfully you serve Christ, and whether or not you make a spiritual difference on your campus. When Paul wrote today's verse: "Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character " - he was addressing a friendship situation.

The Christians at Corinth had friends who basically denied the resurrection. In other words, their main goal in life was to try and find happiness through partying, because there would be no judgment day. So these believers had friends who were pulling them in the wrong direction. My guess is that those Christians thought that they were strong enough in their faith to resist the bad influences of their friends.

Paul says- I don't think so...

So what about it? Are you being misled? Do you have as your best friends those who have Jesus as their best friend? If not, it's just a matter of time before your character is corrupted with the virus of spiritual compromise.

I can't help but think of Ronnie. We went to school together all through Jr. High and High School. In fact, Ronnie helped lead me to faith in Christ as my Savior. We held each other accountable and witnessed to our unsaved friends. But as high school continued, Ronnie began to make other alliances. More and more of his friends were less and less concerned about Christ. Pretty soon his closest friends were absolutely unconcerned about the Lord, and positively concerned about their own happiness before anything. Bit by bit Ronnie got his eyes off the bull's eye of serving Christ.

There came a time when I had to choose between my friendship with Ronnie, and my allegiance to Christ- and guess what? Rock breaks scissors: Jesus wins. Sound judgmental? Perhaps, but the judgment was more on myself than on Ronnie, because I knew that eventually I would shipwreck my faith if I stayed on course with that friendship. Sound difficult? Absolutely, breaking off a close friendship is like having surgery. Yet if you don't go through with that spiritual operation, you could lose your spiritual life.

By the grace of God, when I graduated my eyes were set on entering the ministry, and today I serve the King of Kings. By the time Ronnie graduated he was just like his closest friends...spiritually weak and disinterested. To this day, 18 years later, Ronnie is totally unconcerned about following Jesus, and completely miserable.

In the words of one pastor: "If you drop a white glove in the mud...the mud doesn't become 'glovey'...the glove becomes muddy." This is especially true in relationships. Christian teens that continue with godless friendships will themselves become godless.

Maybe you need to make some decisions right now about your inner circle of friends. Don't put it off! The whole direction of your spiritual life hangs in the balance...

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1-10 (1=bad, 10=good), what kind of influence do your friends have on your spiritual life?
2. Do you really think that "bad company corrupts good character?"
3. If your closest friends were put on trial for being Christians- would they be convicted? Would you?

A Confidence Booster to Start the Week

Here is something just to give you a good laugh, a confidence boost, or whatever else you can deem from this. I read this a few days ago and it just absolutely amazed me, so hope it does the same to you. This is a post from "Godreads.com" posted by Maggie Shaver, who is not the original writer.


God vs. Science

Chapter 1   —   Updated Apr 22, 2009   —   8,570 characters

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"
"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"
"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"
The student falters. "From God"

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes."

So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."
"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word."

"In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean."

The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir."

"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.