Jesus Christ, King of kings. – Who Is Your King?

Facts are facts. Our problems with facts develop when we don’t like the facts, when the facts don’t support our point of view, when they challenge our lifestyle, politics, and beliefs.

She said, “Well, he’s not my president!” Obviously, she neither liked the incumbent president nor voted for him. The stubborn fact, however, is that the duly elected and sworn-in president of the United States is the president of all Americans regardless of whether a person likes him or not.

Before I get you all sidetracked by politics, let me turn your attention to Jesus Christ and Palm Sunday and the facts regarding Jesus. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus riding into Jerusalem at the beginning of the week that ended with His crucifixion and resurrection. Mark records the moment, “Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’” Mark 11:8-10 (ESV).

They welcomed Jesus as King and then rejected Him when He didn’t meet their expectations and politics, they saw themselves as the king-makers. But what about the facts? Jesus Christ isn’t King because you and I decide to vote for Him or acknowledge Him as such. He is the eternal King, He has never not been the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11-16). He holds authority over all things: heaven, earth, the entire cosmos, all of humanity, history, every nation, all peoples, life, death, and hell (Matthew 28:18, Colossians 1:15-18, 2 Timothy 4:1).

Before Pilate, the Roman Governor, gave the order to crucify Jesus, he had the following conversation with him: “’Are you the King of the Jews?’
 Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’
 Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?’
 Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’
 Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’                                                             Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’  
 Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’” John 18:33-38 (ESV). Doesn’t sound like Pilate bought into Jesus being a King, does it? He certainly didn’t think that Jesus had more power than the emperor Pilate was serving. If Jesus was some sort of king, He was the kind of king you could safely ignore, which is what Pilate eventually did. He ended up yielding to the power of politics and the desire to forge his own success and destiny.

I wonder what Pilate will think when he, along with you and me, sees Jesus on the throne of heaven judging all of mankind, when “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:8-11. He met the King of kings and chose to serve a lesser king. He got an invitation to be part of God’s eternal kingdom and rejected it for what will never last.

How do you know who’s your king? You know by looking at who or what rules you, who you bow down to, whose standards and laws you follow and submit to. Maybe you’re like Pilate, who under no illusion that he was the big fish, but he made sure he ruled over as much as he could. Maybe you are like many in the Palm Sunday crowd, you know that you won’t be the king, so you settle for being part of the king-makers to make sure things will go in your direction, fit your opinion, establish your values, affirm your lifestyle.

My chances, like those of most folks, of running into a real king are minimal, but each one of us will stand and bow before Jesus’ throne and acknowledge Him as the King of kings. The only question is whether you and I will stand there because we accepted His invitation to be part of His eternal kingdom, or because we rejected His invitation and authority and had to be summoned.

Who’s your king? Who rules over and in your life? Don’t pull a Pilate and settle those most important questions according to what you declare to be true, instead listen to and submit yourself to the only King whose rule extends beyond the grave and over all of eternity, Jesus Christ. Don’t be foolish or defiant and say, “Well he’s not my king!” I … implore each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” 1 Thessalonians 2:12.

            With Palm Sunday love and truth, Pastor Hans

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You Must Be Saved – By Jesus

 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (NASB, parenthesis mine)

That’s not what they wanted to hear, the Jewish ruling council who had Peter and John arrested the previous day. In their minds, the best thing that could happen was for the whole Jesus thing to away. If anyone needed saving it surely wasn’t them, they had their act together, contributed to society, stood for public morality, believed in God, prayed, and taught their children about God. No, if anyone needed saving it was these two uneducated and deluded followers of Jesus and their kind. If anyone needed saving it was the toothless tweaking drug addict down by the liquor store, or those damn Samaritans and heathens up north, those foreigners who shouldn’t be here in the first place, and those corrupt, Rome-sympathizing tax collectors. “The audacity! How dare they suggest that we are wrong, corrupt, and in need of saving.”

In the end, they tried to intimidate Peter and John and released them but not without threatening them and officially banning them from preaching Jesus’ name and the message that goes with it. Obviously, it didn’t work because, thankfully, Jesus’ name and the truth that we can only be saved by believing in His name is still being proclaimed two thousand years later. Not for lack of trying, however, in short order, they arrested them again and this time had them beaten before releasing them, and not long after executed Stephen for nothing more than preaching Jesus. They were far more corrupt, sinful, and lost than they would ever admit. Oh, how they needed saving.

They totally missed it, the good news that through Jesus they could be saved from God’s deserved judgment, death, and eternal damnation as well as the opportunity God gave them to repent, believe in, and call on Jesus’ name when Peter told them both the truth and pointed out their need.

Their rejection of Jesus and self-righteousness hardened both their minds and hearts, salvation was so near and yet so far away. It wasn’t that they didn’t think people needed saving, it just wasn’t them who needed saving. “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved,” is just so narrow, so all-inclusive. No first-class cabins in the salvation ark of Jesus, the upright productive citizen is seated next to the tattooed gangbanger convict, the philanthropist has to share a cabin with the toothless drug addict in front of the liquor store we met earlier, the Never-Trumper next to MAGA-hat wearer, the illegal alien welcomed the same as the natural-born citizen, even our enemies get a sunny deck chair next to us instead of the brig.

The most humbling place in all the world is at the foot of the cross of Jesus, and realize that the sinless Son of God died there because of and for you, that without Him you have no hope of forgiveness and will forever remain in the clutches of sin and death, that the sum-total of all of your very best and noble efforts cannot save you, that you are unable to save yourself, that you need saving, “You must be saved” by Jesus!

So, are you saved? Are you going to respond to this opportunity God is granting you through a simple pastor’s note, or are you going to pass it up? If you have never been saved, read the following, then kneel and pray out loud your belief in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, acknowledge your sinfulness, and call on His name to save you.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved…
 For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-10, 13 (ESV).  

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

P.S. If you knelt and asked Jesus to save you, take these next steps. Tell everyone, including me (dergermanshepherd@gmail.com). Find a Jesus-preaching, Bible-teaching church. Get Baptized. Start serving Jesus every day.

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Jesus Saves Sinners – Always be Ready to Share the Gospel

 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NLT2)

 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” … 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT2)

• Everyone is a sinner.
• Everyone is headed for God’s judgment.
• Everyone should know and accept that only Jesus can save a sinner from his or her sins and God’s judgment.
• Everyone who believes in Jesus as the crucified, buried, and risen Savior and calls on His name, confessing their faith in Him will be saved.

How do we know the above to be true? The written word of God, the Bible, tells us. When I first became a Christian, I had my own salvation story/testimony which at its heart is me getting to know, understand, accept, and believe the four salvation truths stated above. However, since they are true about everyone, everyone needs to know them. We share important and helpful stuff all the time, and we should, but in terms of eternal importance, this is it. So, I wanted to be able to point to some scriptures when sharing salvation through Christ with someone.

I don’t remember who it was that introduced me to the “Romans Road to Heaven,” a handful of scriptures in the Bible book of Romans that state basic truths someone needs to know to be saved:

 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 (ESV).

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23 (ESV).

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8 (ESV).

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” … “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10, 13 (ESV). I wrote those references inside the front cover of my Bible. I highlighted them in the Book of Romans. Then I wrote where to go from one scripture to the next in the margin, next to Romans 3:23 I wrote go to Romans 6:23, and so on. I also wrote them on 3×5 cards and memorized them. And finally, I thought about how to integrate them into my own salvation testimony when I had a chance to share it. I wanted to be able to give a clear and helpful answer to anyone who wanted to know why and how they could be saved – I still do.

I can tell you this, that little bit of preparation has helped me a ton in sharing Jesus with other sinners like me. Did they ask me questions I couldn’t answer? You bet, I still don’t have all the answers. I do, however, know why a sinner needs to be saved and the only way how a sinner will be saved. And I have loved every opportunity I’ve had to share the Gospel, “Christ died for our (my, your) sins, was buried, and rose again.” Hallelujah! That’s very good news.

Since those early days of my Christian life, I have learned more ways and more scriptures to explain the Gospel. I memorized the little tract “The Bridge to Life” and the scriptures cited in it. I learned to turn to different places in Bible, like John 1, 3, 4, 5, Luke 16, 1 John 1, …, depending on who I am talking with. My prayer is that you and I will live out 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV).

May someone hear the Gospel through you this week. And, if you are reading this pastor’s note but never called on Jesus to save you, don’t miss the moment, the opportunity God is giving you right now.

 To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

P.S. Always feel free to contact me if you need to talk. 209 247-9235, dergermanshepherd@gmail.com

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Meet Jesus – Are You Prepared? – The Return of Christ

What comes to your mind with the following?

• Return

I only order stuff with free returns. Oh, that reminds me, I need to return Rick’s Sawzall. I am praying for her safe return. I love it when my kids return home.

• Sure thing

There is no such thing. But if you wake up tomorrow, you will be a day older. What goes up, will come down? You will act stupid if you get drunk or high? What’s the catch?

• Promise

Only as good as the one making it. Seen too many of them broken. Are hard to keep. Be very careful making one. Never promise what you can’t or don’t intend to keep.  

• Anticipation

Wow, that smells delicious. Only two more weeks until … I can’t wait till the first rain. I just want to get this surgery over with. When is this baby going to come?

• Faithfulness

Loyalty. Fidelity. You can count on me. What you do when no one is looking.

Return, sure thing, promise, anticipation, faithfulness, are important words for Christians, and they are all connected.

• Return

Jesus Christ will return for all who have recognized and trusted Him to be their Savior and Lord.“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” John 14:1-3 (ESV).

• Sure thing

There is no if or might when it comes to Jesus’ literal and physical return, it is only a matter of time, of when. “After Jesus had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” Acts 1:9-11 (ESV, italics mine).

• Promise

Only God can guarantee every promise, every prediction, and every prophecy. Only the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternal, omnipotent, and infinitely wise. Not a single word of God will fail, all His promises can be fully trusted. “The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” Psalm 119:160 (NASB). “Your word is truth” John 17:17 (NASB).

• Anticipation

It is wise to continually look forward to Jesus’ return. The surety and promise of Jesus’ second coming are a wellspring of hope for all who believe in Jesus. He will come! Nothing and no one will prevent Christ from returning. Not a single sheep of His flock will be lost, Jesus will come to take us home.  “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NLT2).

• Faithfulness

Since we wait with certainty for Christ’s return but do not know the day, our waiting needs to be filled with faithfulness to Christ, His instructions and commands, His kingdom, His will, and what He has entrusted and assigned to us. “Therefore You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes” Matthew 24:44-46 (ESV).

These pastor’s notes are dangerous, you know. From now on you will never be able to say that no one has ever told you about Jesus’ return. Make sure you are prepared. Feel free to contact me if you want help with that – dergermanshepherd@gmail.com

           

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Meet Jesus – The Risen One – The Resurrected Christ

 Paul, permitted to defend himself before the Roman governor Festus and his guest King Agrippa, said the R-word, “I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”
 Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”
 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth” Acts 26:22-25 (NLT2).

 Maybe you’re in Festus’ camp, “The only certain things in life are death and taxes.” Well, if you are, you would be dead wrong, you’d be short on the truth, as Paul politely pointed out. Leaving out, dismissing, or belittling resurrection truth is a cardinal mistake.

 Why? Because Jesus Christ did rise from the dead, and because there will be a resurrection of “the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15), or as Jesus put it, “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” John 5:28-29 (ESV).

 There is only one expert on resurrection, and it is not you or me. The thing we’re good at is dying. That’s because we are sinners and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:12-15). Resurrection and life are God’s domain. Jesus, standing with Martha in front of her brother Lazarus’s tomb, reminded her of that, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” John 11:25-27 (NLT2). So we know Martha’s answer to Jesus’ question, but what about yours?

 The truth of the resurrection of Christ and the coming resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked means death is neither the undefeatable enemy nor the great escape. Christ left the tomb as victor over sin, death, and the grave. There is hope for and life beyond the grave, we can shout, “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV). On the other hand, death doesn’t mean anyone “can get away with it.” There will be full accountability beyond the grave (Romans 14:10-12). It is entirely possible to escape human justice, but no one will escape the justice of God,  “Each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT2).

 What you do with the truth, especially resurrection truth, Jesus – the truth, will determine your eternity. Yes, you can dismiss it, ignore it, or declare it “crazy” but, as sure as death, it will catch up with you nonetheless. Jesus is alive, He will return, and you will stand before Him. The Easter question is whether you understand, believe, and are prepared – “eagerly waiting” – for that moment.

Christ is Risen! Love you, Pastor Hans

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Meet Jesus – Crucified – The Death of Christ

Jesus Christ died. The Messiah, King of Kings, Son of God, Creator of all, God in the flesh died. Before Jesus died, like everyone else, He was conceived, born, and lived. Unlike everyone else nothing about Jesus is ordinary, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and although tempted like us, without sin. He shouldn’t have died because only “the person, the soul, who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:20), “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). But Jesus did die.

I was a twenty-four-year-old pastor, with a total of three months of experience. The man laying in the casket in the front of the sanctuary had died in car crash, leaving a widow and four children behind. It was my very first funeral. Sometime during the service, the widow walked up to the casket and with sobs and cries of “Why? Why? Why?” tried to crawl into the casket. To this day it is one of the saddest scenes in my memory. The fact, the how, and the why of death filled the room, held us in its grip, it does that.

There is the fact of Jesus’ death. He really died, He let out a final breath, His heart stopped beating, His brainwaves ebbed to a standstill, and His body hung limb and lifeless. They even checked to make sure He was dead by thrusting a spear into His side, piercing His flat-lined heart. He was dead, and sometime later two men came and buried Jesus’ cold and stiff body.

The ‘how’ of Jesus’ death seems obvious on the surface. He was crucified by Romans soldiers on the order of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, at the insistence and machinations of the High Priests and Jewish High Council. It was a public, violent, and cruel death by crucifixion. However, that’s not the complete ‘how’ of Jesus’ death. He died voluntarily. At His arrest, a bloody melee was about to break out, Jesus stopped it and said, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” (Matthew 26:53-54, NLT2).And Jesus died of His own accord, He didn’t get robbed of His life He laid it down, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17-18, NKJV).

We are left with the “Why?” of Jesus’ death. The short answer is that He died because He loves us. He died to save sinners like you and I form the judgment and wrath of God, to keep us out of hell. “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NLT2). “Since we have now been declared righteous by Jesus’ blood, we will be saved through Him from God’s wrath” (Romans 5:9, HCSB, italics mine).

Jesus died in our place. “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, HCSB).  “He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed” (1 Peter, 2:24 NLT2).

Jesus died to pay for and forgive our sins. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross” Colossians 2:13-14 (ESV). “He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:6, NLT2). “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV).

Jesus died to defeat both sin and death for us. “Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God” (Romans 6:9-10, NLT2).

Jesus died to give us life, eternal life. “Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood … He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever” (Hebrews 9:11-12, NLT2). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).

Sinners, you and I, desperately need Jesus, we are hopelessly lost heading for the judgment of God without Him. Put your faith in trust in Him today. If you believe the truth about Jesus and call on His name, He can and will save you.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Meet Jesus – The Life of Jesus – The Sinless One

I don’t own a single pair of white pants, and when I wear a white shirt, I feel like a stain magnet. I just don’t do well wearing anything white, drops, drools, squirts, smudges, and accidents hound me like a pack of wolves. Grease, ketchup, mustard, salsa, coffee, tea, chocolate, and berries of all kinds love to congregate on any light-colored clothing of mine like tsetse flies on blue tarps.

What’s even harder to keep clean is my life. Try as I may (And I think a preacher should try, don’t you think?) careless words, lousy responses, rotten attitudes, pride, self-righteousness, stupid, selfishness, stubbornness, and …, continually smudge my life like the windshield of a car driving through a swamp.

This is what makes Jesus’ life so amazing, so singular, not a single stain, no smudges, nothing to launder, sinless. “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15 (NASB). Not a single thought, word, or act outside of God’s will and law. No misplaced word or broken promise. No abuse or misuse of power. No impure motivation. No careless or wrong reaction. Not an ounce of judgmentalism or pride. No rash or unwise decision. No …, nothing.

It wasn’t because Jesus didn’t live in the trenches of life, was somehow isolated and insulated from the mean, the filth, the ugly, and the unfair of life. No, He was born into poverty, was a refugee, his half-brothers took shots at him, the people of His hometown tried to throw Him of a cliff, He was laughed and spit at, they called Him everything in the book, including a child of the devil. He was constantly watched, falsely accused of all kinds of things, and finally, although innocent of all charges, He was tortured and crucified like a common criminal. And yet, throughout all of it, every single day and every moment, He was without sin. He didn’t trip once, not one slip, not a single “Whoops!” nothing to repent of or apologize for, not a single stain. Nothing but complete holiness and impeccable righteousness.

Completely pure, clean, spotless, flawless, you and I are utterly unfamiliar with such a life. We know dirt, machinations, pretense, and how to exploit flaws. We can’t count the number of times we have succumbed to temptation, or total the sum of our sins. We can’t imagine the surrender, humility, obedience, and discipline it took to live a sinless life. It is the hardest thing anyone ever did.

Jesus’ sinless, completely righteous, life is great news for us sinners. It qualified Him to be our eternal High Priest (as opposed to the high priests who were sinners like us, Hebrews 7:26-28), to be atonement for our sin – “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT2, also see John 1:29, Hebrews 9:26, 10:12), and our Savior – “Because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” Hebrews 7:24-25 (NLT2).

Jesus’ sinless life is also an invitation, an open door into God’s presence. We dare not enter on our own, our sin prevents and condemns us. However, Jesus, the sinless one, can and will take anyone who trusts in Him there, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:15-16 (NASB).

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Her Last Five Minutes – Linda Carter

The last five minutes count. Not just in sports, baking, and cross-Atlantic flights, but especially in life. Which brings me to Linda Carter (not Wonder Woman).

I had known Linda for a few years. She dipped in and out of church a few times. However, the last few months were different, and as it turns out, they were her last five minutes.

Linda ended up back in church because Merle Martin, one of our deacons, ended up at her house through his job, and besides the business side of things they got to talking about spiritual things as well, and he invited her back to church.

I don’t know how many people I have invited to church who never have shown up. Linda, however, did and this time around something clicked. Maybe it was because she had been searching for real peace all her life. Maybe she had an inner sense that she was down to her last five minutes. For sure it was the Holy Spirit tugging on her heart, Jesus offering her a sip of the water of life.

She turned in a response card, indicating she wanted to get baptized, which in turn brought the preacher, me, to her house to talk about what baptism meant, making sure she understood that believing in Christ and calling on His Name was the prerequisite to the public confession of Christ in baptism. She followed Romans 10, confessed with her mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed in her heart that God raised him from the dead, and was saved. With her heart she believed and was justified, and with her mouth she confessed and was saved… She called on the name of Jesus and was saved (Romans 10:9-10, 13). She prayed a precious prayer, confessing her sinfulness, asking for forgiveness, admitting her need for Christ, and stating her belief in the crucified, buried, and risen Christ. And something changed, you could tell, a burden lifted, a peace invaded, a joy rained down.

She did get baptized, almost bouncing with her cane in and out of the baptistry. Next, she joined the church. Then she wanted something to do (Talk about getting it right). But what was constantly on her lips and all over her face was joy and peace. And then, her last five minutes were up. She fell “asleep” in Jesus, she crossed over “Jordan’s stormy banks” right into the promised land where peace and joy never end.

I got a little bit of her story, some of the many years that preceded her last five minutes, and how I wish could have seen more of the photo album of her life. But I feel really privileged to have been a part of and a witness to the last five minutes because they were glorious, they were a downpour of God’s mercy and grace, they were a thirsty soul taking the cup of living water from Jesus’ hands and thirsting no more, they were an end to a life-long search for lasting peace, they were a sinner being overjoyed with salvation.

No one but God, who numbers our days (Psalm 139:16), knows if the next five minutes are our last five minutes. So, the wisest thing anyone of us can do, no matter where we are on the journey of life, is to make the next five minutes count, to realize the very best decision is to trust in Christ this minute, the next five minutes, and down to our last minute.

            To God be all glory. Thank you, Linda. Love you, Pastor Hans

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The Cross of Christ – Three Crosses

The day before Passover, for maximum exposure Pilate’s PR department had picked the date carefully. Jerusalem would be packed with Jewish pilgrims, entering the city they would have to go right past the execution site, Calvary, Golgotha, the place of the skull. For increased effect, it would be a triple crucifixion, two ordinary criminals and a notorious rebel, a terrorist as far as Rome was concerned. The message sent would be unmistakable, “Don’t mess with Rome!” Fear is a great tool to squelch many things.

The centurion ordered to lead the execution detail had checked off the items on the prep list. Three crosses, nails, digging the holes to drop in the crosses, sedatives, who does what at the site, sufficient protection – you never know.

The legalities were all wrapped up and recorded, charges, verdicts, sentences. Not that they were needed, after all, these three were not Roman citizens, just Jewish riffraff. But it’s so much tidier when things are don’t right, less to worry about afterward.

Both the centurion and the court official got an early morning call, “Change of plans. The insurrectionist Barnabas is to be released, a guy named Jesus will take his place, just make sure you put him in the middle. Everything else will go as planned.” Most likely, it didn’t matter to the centurion, the court officials, or the other two death row inmates who else would or wouldn’t be crucified, but somehow Jesus ended up being executed between two nameless criminals. Although, it seems, both were not unfamiliar with Jesus, maybe they had heard him preach or even witnessed a miracle of his.

And there they hung, surrounded by an angry mob insulting Jesus. Luke recorded the scene: “When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.
 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
 A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?  We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:33-43 (NLT2)

I hope you and I don’t miss the beautiful and amazing in the center of this brutal, ugly, vicious scene. There, from that middle cross, dripped more than blood. Mercy flowed and tried to touch the soldiers who enjoyed their grisly task just a bit too much, the hostile crowd which had demanded Jesus to be nailed there, and the two criminals dying next to Jesus. Sadly, out of all of them, only one both recognized and received it.

For the two criminals, the last-minute substitution was the most fortuitous moment of their lives. When, not if, you’re going to die, having Jesus next to you is the very best thing that could happen. However, the responses of the two dying men beside Jesus are worlds apart. One dies in darkness, breathing cynical, faithless words down to the very end of a misspent life. He wastes the last and best opportunity of his life and lets the mercy, forgiveness, and hope of Christ fall to the ground he’d be buried in before sunset. The other recognized the moment, and more importantly, who he was dying next to, Jesus the Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world, the Way, the Truth, the Life. He didn’t let the mercy, forgiveness, hope, and eternal life puddle at the foot of his cross and slowly seep away. No! He repented, reached out with arms that could not move, and laid hold of the Savior. Hallelujah!

And, what about you?

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Switching Power Companies – Connecting to Christ

Take a quick walk around your home or apartment and count how many things are plugged into an electrical outlet. In my tiny office the number is seven, heater, printer, little vacuum, computer, phone, cell phone charger, mini stereo. And yes, the only way that works out with just two outlets is adding a power strip. So, what was your number?

Every one of our plugged-in devices is totally dependent on the flow of power, from the super deluxe flat screen hanging on your wall to the lonely light bulb under the house. Whatever their purpose and function they are useless unless they are connected to a power source.

Living in Don Pedro you soon become familiar with power outages caused by winter storms, fires, accidents, failed transformers, rolling blackouts, and even woodpeckers. You quickly realize our power source is both fragile and unreliable. I am surely not the only one who has wished for a PG&E alternative or dreamed of unplugging from the grid altogether and be energy independent. But our need for electrical power will remain undiminished if not increasing.

Jesus was talking to a devoutly religious man, Nicodemus, one night. “You must be born again,” He told him twice (John 3:3, 7) in response to the question Nicodemus had not yet asked but wanted to know the answer to, “How can a person, how can I have eternal life?” Nicodemus knew that despite his religious devotion he was running out of life, that what he was plugged into and believed in was insufficient, held no hope, lacked any kind of reliability and assurance. Jesus told him that only by believing in Him, by connecting to the Son of God by faith, could he be spared from God’s judgment and have eternal life. There is only one eternal source of power and life, God Almighty revealed in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-17).

Peter was preaching the truth of Jesus Christ to a large listening crowd of Jewish pilgrims when it dawned on them who Jesus really is, “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that, “no one comes to God the Father except through Him” (John 14:6). So, they wanted to know what they needed to do. “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” Acts 2:38 (NLT2), Peter informed them. He basically told them that whatever religion, whatever belief system, whatever they thought and trusted in was insufficient, that they were connected to power grid and company that could not sustain life, was flawed, and completely unreliable. The truth was that their “sins had cut them off from God” (Isaiah 59:2), which is also true about you and me, and that the only real and eternally lasting solution was to reconnect to God through Christ. However, for that to happen they had to first unplug (repent) from whatever they were plugged into, believed in, hoped in, and by faith plug the cord of their life into (believe in) the only outlet carrying the current and power of eternal life God has provided – Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and risen from the dead.

Over 3,000 decided that day that it was time to be rightly connected to God, they put their faith and trust in Christ. Publicly, in baptism, proclaimed their unplugging from the old, sinful, and hopeless, and their new connection to Jesus Christ. In that first moment of connecting to Christ through faith, they were also connected to God’s family (born again into a spiritual family), they were connected to the body of Christ, His church, and then they began to learn and live together as people connected to, saved by, and made spiritually alive Jesus Christ. “So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers” Acts 2:41-42 (HCSB, parenthesis mine).

Is this the day you need to switch your eternal connection to Christ? Feel free to contact me.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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