Why God Chose the Cross
Today is the Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a season that parallels our Lord's fasting and spiritual trials in Matthew 4:1-11 over a period of 40 days. It marks a season of spiritual reflection about our Lord's sufferings for us that culminates in the cross. Most people today, including Christians, don't think too much about Lent anymore. For some it is a dead or lifeless Catholic tradition that has little to say to Protestants. For others it doesn't seem very relevant to modern life. But the most important thing about the Lenten season is that it reminds us of the cross and why our Lord came into this world in the first place as our Savior.As we enter the Lenten season, it might be a good time to stop and ask why God chose the cross in the first place. People have always struggled with the cross from the beginning for a variety of reasons. The Apostle Paul wrote eloquently about these struggles with the cross in 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 where he writes,
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles
Did you ever have a moment when you wondered if life was worth living? Most of us have probably had such days. They often come after we face great losses, pain, trials or certain problems that make life seem overwhelming at times. Anyone who has lost a loved one or experienced depression and grief surely understands these issues. During such seasons it can even feel like life is too much to handle or face each day. All those feelings and experiences are pretty typical for everyone now and then. It would be nice if life was just "fun" all the time, but these painful realities have a way of reminding us that we live in a fallen world that needs the love of God and His gracious redemption for us in the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the most amazing things in life is the world's fascination and obsession with love. It really doesn't make much sense if you look at it objectively. People do all kinds of crazy things for love, yet most have no idea what love is all about. Just imagine some of the crazy, romantic things that will be done this Valentine's Day. People will be buying flowers that last but a few days and writing out cards with often saccharine sentiments that might embarrass many. Once again, all of this is done for something no one can really define or easily understand. And yet, when you stop and think about it most of the things done in life are motivated and explained by love. So, what's love all about?
Almost everyone in America now knows the face of the new Congresswoman pictured here as that of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th District). Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has identified herself with socialist parties in this nation, even though she ran as a democratic. There is not a single news cycle today where there isn't some story about her. She is young, attractive, articulate and often well dressed in expensive clothes. In a recent interview she was wearing designer clothes that cost an estimated $3500. Her shoes alone cost $600. She looks like the face of something new, fresh and wonderful. The public can't seem to get enough of her, or at least that is what we are told by the media. More than a few people see her zeal and energy to be part of the needed answers for the challenges we face in America. Some might even think of her as a "savior" that could help America find a new way forward in a day of political conflict, division and gridlock.
One of the hardest parts of life is watching people we know and love die from a terrible disease., Among the top diseases on that list is cancer. About 1 in 6 people will die from cancer, and over 9.6 million people died from it in 2018. Cancer can be a cruel disease. It leaves victims and their families devastated through a series of terrible treatments that range from chemotherapy to radiation and surgery. As a pastor, I have watched many people die from this dreaded disease and done their funerals. I personally know how cancer has destroyed the lives of many wonderful people and their loved ones. Cancer is truly like a wasting plague and has been a terrible scourge to humanity. Just look at the cancer cell pictured in this article and imagine that cell multiplying and destroying your body. Cancer's cost to our world is beyond words.
Most people today have lost the fact that God cries. Somewhere in all our wrong ideas about God, we have lost the idea that our tears and sadness come from being made in God's image according to Genesis 1:26-27. We feel things deeply inside of us because God did first. Our Lord Jesus Christ felt the pain of the cross before the world was created when He knew what would have to be done to redeem the world from its sin. Our Lord came into this fallen world and personally saw and experienced what sin and death had done to everyone. Our Lord cried when He heard the news of Lazarus's death and saw the pain of His dear friends in John 11:33-35,
One of the fascinating things that just happened is the firestorm over the recent Gillette razor commercial that aired nationally, in anticipation of a possible Super Bowl ad. Did you see it or hear about it? The commercial was not just trying to sell Gillette razors to men, but was yet another attempt by our culture to not only define masculinity, but reject a toxic version of it. So it now appears that even a growing number of advertisers are joining the culture wars and trying to define what it is to be a real man or a real woman. And yet, in our increasingly genderless world, it is surprising that anyone has any idea of anything about male and female anymore. How could anyone define toxic masculity when many don't believe male and female even exist ? Today's politically correct ideology has created a scenario in which people are not even sure if they can mention a person's gender, lest someone is offended. This emerging gender identity chaos has simply become overwhelming and is destroying the entire fabric of our society and few are even willing to speak up about it.
One of the greatest insights into the world's future right now is this growing battle about the supposed "danger" of being a nationalist. This issue has found its focus and epicenter in the presidency of Donald Trump, who openly describes himself as a "nationalist" and a person concerned about America's future. Many voices in the media and other areas of the progressive, political world have likened President Trumps labeling of himself as a "nationalist" tantamount to bringing back the dangerous nationalism of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, where German nationalism led to a world war. This deep concern about nationalism, as being hurtful to our world, was also picked up by French President Emmanuel Macron. In a recent address in France, President Macron warned that nationalism was a small minded view of the world and needed to be rejected for a broader view of things that considered everyone's needs from a global perspective.
On the Eve of a New Year, as we look back on 2018, most of us realize how fast the year has gone. For some of us 2018 was a great year of blessings, while for others it had many challenges. For most of us 2018 was most likely a year of blessings and challenges. But as we head into a New Year, the most important thing for everyone to see and understand is how the Lord is working in our lives. No matter what happens in the New Year, the ability to see God at work in our lives is the one thing that will give us perspective about the ups and downs of life. If we know what God says about us as Christians we will better be able to weather the challenges we may face in the New Year.
As Christians all over the world prepare to celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, a good question might be, "What if anything does Christmas mean to us as we look to the future?" In other words, does Christmas have anything else to say to us other than Jesus' birth as our Savior? As we will see, the Christmas holiday offers us a unique glimpse into the future of our world that is largely missed or rarely discussed anywhere today.
No religious event in Western civilization has so affected the world as Christmas. This Christian tradition has been celebrated for about the last 1700 years or so in the Church and around the world. And while the birth of our Lord didn't start out as the tradition we call "Christmas," it did evolve over the centuries into the holiday we know on December 25. There is virtually nowhere on earth today that Christmas is not celebrated in some form or at least acknowledged as Jesus' birth. People may even be atheists, but they celebrate Christmas as a holiday to have a party, drink with friends or take a day off from work or school. So even though Christmas is a religious holiday that celebrates the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is still enjoyed by people all around the world, whatever their beliefs, as a time of winter festivity, peace on earth and good will toward all.
Isn't it great to know that life isn't about politics and our daily battles in this life? As we move toward the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, it is wonderful to know that our life is really about knowing the Lord and having the privilege and pleasure of worshipping the Lord with all of our hearts and minds in spirit and in truth. That is the Lord's joyful call to everyone. With that in mind, this week's edition of the Carlson Report is about our life of worship and praise of the Lord. I hope you enjoy this article about worship and pass it along to somebody you love and care about today.
Well, the midterm election drama is over for now and the results confirm what everyone knows about our Nation. We are a deeply divided Nation, more than people know. It seems clear that our Nation is going to be in an ongoing political war for the foreseeable future. And while most of us are already weary of this division, the worst is yet to come. You see the real division in America has never been about Red States or Blue States, or the many issues that supposedly are dividing us from immigration and race to abortion. Those many issues are just symptoms of a much deeper topic that is rarely discussed today that is spiritual in nature.
As the political chaos continues to grow in our society as we head to the National mid-term elections, it is a good time for everyone to stop and gain some perspective about where we are right now. Surely not too many people in our society are having any "fun" with all the partisanship and rancor going on. Families are being divided. Friendships and even marriages are strained. Studies tell us that about 70% of Americans are "stressed" about the current state of affairs in our Nation. Some people have had enough and are just "tuning out" or "dropping out" altogether, with many not even bothering to vote at all for a variety of reasons.
This Sunday is Reformation Sunday. It commemorates and celebrates the Reformation that was started by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, when he posted the "Ninety-Five Theses" on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was deeply concerned about the collapse and corruption of Biblical doctrine by the professing Church. The Church had been selling salvation to the masses for centuries through something called "Indulgences," a practice in which a person paid to have their sins forgiven. It was a very lucrative practice and brought enormous amounts of money to the Church. Luther came to a place where he felt it was time to speak up about this and return the Church to a Biblical foundation of grace alone. Suffice it to say the Reformation changed Western Civilization as we know it. It was responsible for the founding of America by Christian pilgrims and the eventual birth of our Nation in 1776. Simply put, without the Reformation America would not exist.
The midterm national elections are upon us in a few weeks. Some have called politics "a blood sport" and with all the drama and personal destruction going on, one might wonder what makes people want to run for office at all. Surely some want to help and serve others and make the world a better place. For some the motive may be more about pride or ego to make a name for one. But if we are honest, it seems clear in this hour that some of our leaders run for office to gain power and control over others. Sadly, for some, power appears to be a drug or narcotic that becomes as addictive as alcohol or cocaine. A few leaders just crave the "high" they get when they taste power in office and seem willing to do anything to get elected...literally anything.
One of the goals of the Carlson Report is to get the Lord's people to do a little more thoughtful and critical thinking about the Lord and our lives in Him. It is easy to get lost in our sound-bite, shallow culture and miss the richness of life and the Lord. After all, aren't we all a bit tired of the mindlessness going on in our world today and sadly, sometimes even in the Church? A more thoughtful Church is a more powerful Church. That is true because we rarely act outside of our deepest thoughts and understandings of things. The truth is, we don't know what we don't know and we don't do what we don't think or know about. So, let's do some deeper thinking today about the Lord and allow Him to change our lives. A renewed mind is at the heart of every growing Christian disciple according to the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2.
Every poll today tells us that the vast majority of people believe in God or some sort of Deity...over 80% in America. However, the real problem we face today is that people seem to have little fear, awe or reverence of the Lord that deeply changes their behavior. Instead, our belief in God has often just come down to acknowledging God's existence, but not much more. This gap between belief in God and a healthy fear of the Lord that really shapes how we live is the spiritual crisis of the day.
If someone was to ask me if I believed that the devil exists and why, here is my answer. Firstly, the Bible does not hesitate to discuss the existence of the devil and the spiritual battles we face each day connected to that reality. How can anyone look at the Lord Jesus' public ministry and conclude otherwise? In numerous passages such as Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:21-28, Luke 8:26-39, John 8:39-44 our Lord was engaged in spiritual warfare with the demonic realm. That battle continues through our Lord's public ministry and consummates in Revelation 20:10 with the destruction of the demonic realm. So, the main reason I believe in the devil is because of what the Bible says.
The Bible tells us that there is never anything new under the Sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). And with that thought, we have reached a pivotal moment in American history that needs to be understood and discerned by everyone, whatever our political views as we face the future. This current moment in American history has already happened before, but few ever believed it would emerge in America. You see right now we are watching the slow but steady growth of sanctioned violence that is beginning to surround our political disagreements. It started small, but it is growing each day. Do you see it? If this trend continues to grow, and is left unchallenged, it will ultimately lead us to an America none of us recognizes.
One of the major, unseen battles going on today in our lives is the attempt to define the relationship between truth and feelings. This conflict is at the heart of the entire Biblical story of redemption, yet sadly it is rarely discussed today. So then, what is the relationship between truth and feelings and why is this issue so important to the Lord and His work in our lives?
Does anyone remember the "good old days?" I do. I remember growing up in a sheltered life in suburban Chicago. Life was good. We had fun summers that included swimming at the beach, camping trips, picnics with my family, fireworks on the 4th of July and a good public school where I played football and ran track. People knew Communism was wrong because communists didn't believe in God and we could sing Christmas carols at Christmas. People went to the same-sex locker rooms for PE (Physical Education) and boys never thought they were girls. No one ever talked about killing or impeaching the President in public and we had "In God We Trust" on our money. Men opened doors for women and kids went to the Principal's Office when they caused trouble instead of a lawyer. For some of us such things truly seem like another world today because it was, and I miss those days for myself, my children and America.