EASTER - The day to end all days!

BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD! [John 1:29, 36; Other topics - Humility, Jesus, Lamb of God, Salvation]

A few years ago our church decided to change the traditional Easter decorations in the sanctuary.

My wife, Rita, volunteered to find a ceramic lamb for the altar decoration. She searched and searched every craft and church supply store in the area; she spent days looking; she found standing lambs, knelling lambs, and grazing lambs but not one like we wanted. Ours would be a lying down lamb, a cute and “innocent” little, reposing lamb.

Being a Shepherd, I decided I might add just the right spiritual element as she headed to the last store. We examined every self in the place; hoping perhaps one might be hidden behind something. Frustrated, we both headed for the exit, dejected, heads down … then we saw it, on the floor, in a corner, under a shelf, unattended, dirty, ignored, alone. It was perfect! And it was on sale!

The world has also been searching for a lamb to save them from their sins. They’ve been looking for 6,000 years.

They too are looking in all the wrong places, heads up, proud, money no object. They’ve found all kinds of saviors: standing ones, knelling ones, grazing ones and many others as well. But not one turned out to be the “perfect” one!

We have to give them credit, they have looked everywhere imaginable. But, it is only when they seem to have lost all hope, when their heads are down, humbled, and through with doing it themselves that they find Him … Jesus, the Lamb of God!

Jesus was likewise rejected and ignored, the world trying to shove Him out of the way, into a corner or under a shelf.

How much does the Lamb of God cost? The tag says, “Priceless.” He has paid it Himself. This Lamb gave His life for those who rejected Him.


BLESSINGS TOO NUMEROUS! [Psalm 107:31; other topics - Blessings, Conviction, Self-examination]

Pastor Jack Hinton from New Bern, NC was leading worship music at a leper colony in Tobago; time allowed for one more congregational selection. A woman in the congregation, who’d been turned away, turned to face Hinton, revealing a most “hideous” face. The lady’s nose and ears were gone; most of her lips had worn away as well. She lifted a hand, more stub than hand, and asked, “Can we sing ‘Count Your Blessings’”?

Overcome by the situation Hinton fled the room, followed by another team member. The man tried to comfort the distraught song leader, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again”? “Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”

Warren Wiersbie is credited for saying, “Life is a school in which God trains us for eternity. Trials are ... God’s textbooks in this school of Christian experience.” It often takes the deficiency of another to reveal our own; but in the revelation, we can find fruit for nourishment.

Pastor’s Update; FMB of the Southern Baptist Convention; Richmond, VA, May 1996, p.4; Sermon-Illustrations-Each-Week, 991004-6]


MORE THAN AN IMAGE IS NEEDED! [1 Peter 1:14-19; Atonement, Lamb of God, Blood (the)]

Evidently Peruvian authorities have begun dressing up walls along their nation’s filthiest streets with pictures of Jesus Christ; the purpose seems to be to shame those illegally dumping trash along the streets.

Apparently, just the image of our Lord is believed to have such importance among the general Peruvian population.

Oh that the mere image of the Lord would clean up the streets of our minds and hearts. But it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to cleanse the heart and mind of a sinner.

Oh that it had not been necessary for the Son of God to give His life an atonement for man’s sins … but it was.

The Father tried everything; but we rejected His miracles, rejected His word, killed His prophets, and turned our backs on Him … it was oh so necessary to send His Son.

You see, an image could never pay the ransom … the Jews tried that in the temple for centuries … only the priceless and spotless Lamb of God in person was worthy [Revelation 5:12].

WITNESS - It's ours to lose!

BACKYARD CHRISTIANITY [2 Samuel 16:7; other topics - Carnality; Sin; Transparency; Walk; World]

Pilots will understand when I say that Christian lives are often like the disparity between the front and backyards of many California homes.

On bright sunshiny days, when you’re blessed to be dancing with the clouds, you’ll be amazed to see the stark difference between the front and backyards of numerous homes.

You’ll see beautiful lush, green, landscaped front yards, one after another, like a Irish giant’s checkerboard quilt, but every third backyard or so will be Sahara-brown, weed-covered and trash-littered. It may be difficult for us to see a man’s backyard but a pilot has no trouble.

Likewise, the soul and spirit of a man is as hidden from other men, as his backyard is hidden from the passerby. It may be impossible for one man to see the inner reality of another, but from God’s perspective, it’s no trouble at all.


FOR APPEARANCE SAKE [Matthew 10:24-33; other topics - Easter, Fear-Fearlessness]

Today we all know about computers; even in the most undeveloped nations on earth, great numbers of people know about computers. Yet, many folks, are scared to death of them.

Take a kid who’s never seen a computer into a room with one, leave him alone for a couple of days, come back later and you’ll be amazed at what he’s learned on his own. On the other hand, leave a grown up and you’ll have a nervous wreck in two hours. What’s the difference?

In the case of the former, there is no fear. It may be an unknown to them but they are filled with a fearless “can-do” attitude. The later are filled with terror, not of the machine, not of the software, or the firmware, or the hardware ... no, none of these. What then?

It’s the fear of failure and the fear of embarrassment; the fear that they might somehow look bad to others, that they might somehow seem to be foolish or worse, stupid!

Every year Easter brings this human quirk home to me; for this season of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension ought to cause all believers to witness for Jesus. But they don’t! Why?

Consider for a moment the differences between the kids and the adults above: youth brings a kind of fearlessness which says, “I don’t care what other people think, I’ve gotta do this!” Age, on the other hand, brings with it a deep concern for appearances. Doesn’t it? We get all hung up on what others might think.

RED DOT WITNESS [Matthew 28:18-20; Atonement, Blood, Sacrifice]

Sandi Martin is a critical-care nurse who has a red dot on the face of her wristwatch. In hospitals people are very conscious of blood-borne disease, many patient’s and staff assume blood has splashed onto her watch.

However, when asked, Martin’s quick response has always been, “... don’t worry; this blood is 2,000 years old. This dot reminds me of Jesus, who paid for my eternal salvation with his own blood.” Most respond with a smile and nod while gazing at the dot.

Witnessing is so simply many times. People are not offended so often by our attempts to share Christ as they are by the way in which Christ is shared. If what Jesus has done for you, means something to you, then tell people what it means to you. Follow that up with what He will mean to them.

I don’t recommend witnessing gimmicks, but a gimmick such as Nurse Martin’s, when based on a personal truth, will bear much fruit.

[Adapted from “Red dot on wristwatch opens doors for witness,” by Barbara Denman; Baptist Press, 4/14/99]

SIN: Someone must die in order to separate yourself from it!

BITTER MILK [Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; other topics - Man's ways; Unrighteousness]

It was reported in an Associated Press article a few years ago that Russia had developed a hybrid plant as a cheap substitute for cattle feed. However this designer plant has an unusual effect on the milk it produces ... it's bitter!

Now they've also discovered the plant, once started, is virtually unstoppable, causing "burns" and "stinging" for those who come in contact with it.

The effects of sin are much like this! What seems a good idea to man, turns into a disaster in the end!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAN YOU REFUSE TO GO? [Matthew 25:45-46; Atonement, Hell]

John R. Cooper of Ridgecrest, California, hated paying taxes, so he didn't ... on several occasions. As you'd expect, he landed himself in jail. [Inyo County Register, 4/18/1986]

When I was a kid, a popular saying went something like this: "only two things are certain, death and taxes."

Another certainty, for those who reject God’s Son, is hell. Some hate the thought of anyone going to hell; and so they spend a great deal of energy denying its existence. Yet, unless their sin debt is satisfied (atoned for), they’ll land themselves there all the same. (Added 16 March 2006)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

GETTING OUT THE STAIN! [Jeremiah 2:22; other topics - Blood; Cleansing]

When a bachelor I cooked many of my own meals ... being poor and a college student. At that time I had an adventurous spirit and liked to experiment, trying things I'd never tried before. That spirit is what got me into so much trouble before I met the Lord.

At any rate, on one shopping trip, I decided to try black beans with a ham I had purchased. Now, I’d never tasted black beans, but I reasoned: the white ones were good but the red ones were better; so, black? ... well? They’ve got to be the best. For those who've had black beans, you will know the one disadvantage of these wonderful legumes ... the stain.

Much of my culinary expertise, up to this point, had been out of an old Betty Crocker Cook Book my mother had given me. I followed the instructions for ham and beans using a nice four-quart, cast aluminum pot, also from mom.

Well, when the time smelled right, I followed the aromas and lifted the lid. At first I was startled by the dark mound in the midst of a bubbling mass of black beans, but then I gathered my senses and sternly demanded, "What are you and what did you do with my ham?"

That night I had a great meal of black ham and beans for dinner, with hot, buttered bread and creamed corn on the side. I ate like a king.

I didn't feel the least bit foolish eating black ham until the next day, when I took some really thick slices of potato bread and made a ham sandwich ... I had a vague sense that Dr. Suess had made my lunch for me. But the real shock was a closer look at the pot; it was stained black from the bottom to half way up the inside. I honestly doubted I'd never get that stain out.

I scraped, I scrubbed, I rubbed, I boiled ... nothing I did could get that stain completely out of that pot.

When I met the Lord, face-to-face, I, like Isaiah, didn’t think the stain in my heart and soul would ever come out! There were times in my life when I tried ... scraping, scrubbing and rubbing, but nothing I did seemed to make any difference to that stain.

I had almost given up when a hippie friend told me about a divine red cleanser that was guaranteed to get out even the worst of stains. She said I could only get it if I sank to my knees and pleaded with its Maker to give me what I needed (not what I deserved). I did ... He did ... and now there's no more stain ... praise His holy name!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOLY MOLD! [Romans 6:23a; Forgiveness; Iniquity; Repentance; Sin]

I'm told fungi (plural of fungus) are multicellular organisms usually composed of a network of cottony filaments. Often their filaments (or threads) clump up, looking more like a cottony tuft or pile. Some fungi are important sources of antibiotics, vitamins, and industrial chemicals. However, fungi are parasitic to their hosts ... eventually consuming them.

Most often fungi appear black or white in color but are also found in a multitude of hues, shades, and tones. Some fungi shine, some are dry, some are dusty, and many are slimy. They may be found almost anywhere one looks or can look. They are found in small quantities or in vast networks covering several thousand square miles.

All fungi reproduce asexually; meaning they require the agency of nothing other than themselves to reproduce.

Despite the fact that sin isn't multicellular or the source of anything good, fungi do remind me of unrighteousness.

Unrighteousness is always black yet found in every size, shape and texture imaginable and some unimaginable. It is also found in every place man can look and in many places he doesn't want to look. Sin comes disguised as tiny, hidden things, as-well-as huge, overt monsters of iniquity.

Unlike fungi, unrighteousness cannot reproduce asexually ... it needs the assistance of another ... its host. Nevertheless sin, like fungi, will destroy its host!

On the one hand, we've known about fungicides (fungus killers) for centuries; on the other hand, though, we've known of a cure for sin from the beginning. It's called repentance and is followed by forgiveness; man provides the former, while God provides the latter.

The Bible tells us "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." How's that for a sin-a-cide? (Added 16 March 2006)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

JUST NOT HIS DAY! [Numbers 32:23; other topics - Darkness, Word]

A report by an international news agency reveals just how bad a day some people can have ... recently, while renovating a building in the historic part of Natchez, Mississippi, masons found the fully-clothed skeletal remains of a man who has been missing for more than 15 years. His remains were found stuck in the chimney of an old, historic, Mississippi building; a structure dating from before the Civil War.

The man disappeared without a trace in 1985. At that time, a gift shop was a tenant in the building. Investigators discovered the man had a police record ... as a burglar.

The Bible tells us our sins will find us out. In fact the Bible itself tells us the Word is Christ and that ... "there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." [Hebrew 4:13]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOT A SMALL MATTER! [1 Peter 5:8; Evil, Satan, Wickedness]

Various news agencies are reporting employees at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium are looking for a lightning-quick mantis shrimp which is wreaking havoc in a coral reef exhibit.

This shrimp roams around at night, under the cloak of darkness, leaving only the shells of prized sea snails, barnacles and hermit crabs. Workers believe the shrimp was introduced by way of a shipment of display rocks from Florida, into which it had evidently burrowed.

Likewise, Satan also prowls about in the darkness seeking whom he may devour. Peter advises we stay alert and sober; you see the devil is no shrimp!

Clearly those who warn us about importing worldly things into our lives, our homes and our workplaces are correct. We must be vigilant to prevent those things (which seem harmless and innocuous on the surface but may have horribly damaging critters hidden just out of view) from entering our lives.

Desensitization is too tame a word for this danger ... "deadly spiritual carnivores" is better. These demonic forces have been leaving the shells of God's prized children along the Way for centuries.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

REAPING WHAT WE SOW! [Ezekiel 21:24; other topics - Reaping, Responsibility, Sowing]

Radio talk show hostess, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, has been a major proponent of morality and women's issues, as well as the author of a book on the Ten Commandments from a Jewish worldview.

Unfortunately, twenty years ago, while dating (a.k.a. having an affair) a rock-n-roll disc jockey in Los Angeles, she allowed herself to be photographed in the nude. Last month her old flame sold those pictures to an Internet porn site for $50,000 and now the whole world can see Dr. Laura as sHe does not want to be seen.

Behold, your sins will find you out. To Dr. Laura's credit, she spoke of the issue on her talk show and took responsibility for her actions, admitted that it was a dumb thing for a grown woman to do, then said, "Now, let's get on with our lives."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ROTOTILLER WAITING TO HAPPEN! [Rom 3:23; other topics - Unrighteousness]

Kansas has been in the news a lot since the State Board of Education voted to eliminate mandatory teaching of evolution in the state's schools. This has raised a hornet's nest of trouble for Kansans.

However, hornets are not the only problem this Midwestern state has: they've got a "poor man’s grizzly" problem also. That's what hunters call the wild pigs that roam the state. These are mean, hairy, nasty, and vicious tempered hogs. They're probably reincarnated descendants of the 2,000 pigs the Lord flushed into the Sea of Galilee.

These "250-pound rats" are not welcome in this great farming area of the US. They tear up ground-crops eating young plantings, churn through river beds looking for fish eggs, drive out other wild animal species, and spread disease to man and beast alike.

One retired biologist said, "Once they have a toehold ... it's pretty hard to get rid of them." Many of the pigs are probably being trailered in, in the dead of night, from other states, he added. These feral hogs reproduce so quickly hunters can't keep their population in check; they're so adaptable they thrive in almost any environment.

The pigs have their defenders: hunters primarily. But some scientists say the problem is overblown, that the alarmists and do-gooders are making a big thing out of nothing.

Kansas is not the only place affected: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and at least 19 other states have problems with these "pesky porkers." One writer said, "Each one of these hogs is a rototiller waiting to happen." [Michael Pearce of Newton, Kansas, said]. They can destroy a freshly planted field in a night or two.

Sin has plagued the world with just as much ferocity. It is a deadly disease, passed on from one generation to another. Sin is mean, nasty and horrible ill-tempered.

Sin has its defenders: participants primarily. But some religious people say the problem is being overblown, that the alarmists and do-gooders are making a big thing out of nothing.

But sin tears up families, churches, and businesses; it's been known to tear up whole denominations, even towns; it drives out other wholesome species, and it’s especially devastating to our young seedlings.

Sin spreads its disease to man and beast alike. Once it gets a toehold it's almost impossible to get rid of it. Much of it is being brought in, in the dead of the night. And iniquity is so adaptable that it thrives in almost any environment. And it reproduces so quickly that hunters of sin can’t keep it in check.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING – CAUTION RECOMMENDED! [1 John 1:9; Righteousness, World]

Large batteries, like those in automobiles and boats, are normally filled with acid (sulfuric, if I remember right); so caution is recommended when handling them. The slightest contact can permanently damage clothing; most often, the damage is unseen till the next washing. I've seen many garments lifted from the wash with blotches of discoloration that virtually decompose when touched.

Sin is like battery acid. And we're exposed to sin on a daily basis in this technological age, by things we use as tools or for entertainment (for example cars, magazines, videos, or the Internet). Caution is always recommended when using them. Their utility is enormous, but they're fraught with danger. What appears on the surface to be a harmless excursion into an entertaining medium leaves unseen damage on our robes of righteousness.

In fact, the Bible warns us to remain "unstained by the world" [James 1:27] and not to love "the things of the world" [1 John 2:15f].

Fortunately, the same Bible offers a way of escape when we encounter this spiritual corrosive. It tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." AMEN. (Added 16 March 2006)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAGS: Anecdotes, Atonement, Bitterness, Blood, Cleansing, Crime,
Evil, Forgiveness, Fungus, Illustrations, Mold, Pigs,
Preaching, Reaping, Repentance, Satan, Sermons,
Sin, Stain, Unrighteousness, Wickedness, Word