Rewritten and Rebuilt

Luke 23:42- Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."    When Jesus was crucified, two other men were hung alongside of Him. Now the Bible doesn't really go into great detail about who they were or what their crimes were. But one thing to remember is that at this particular time, crucifixions of Jews or Romans was pretty rare. Death sentences were common, but to be crucified was so painful and embarrassing/degrading that it was reserved for only the worst offenders (Further proof of Jesus' taking all of our sins, but I digress). So this conversation between Jesus and these criminals is short but impactful.    The first guy, at the end of his life and already nailed to the cross, is still demanding proof of Jesus' Lordship. "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" Luke 23:39b. I love how he tacked himself on at the end! "Oh yeah, save me too!" How many times have we done that when faced with h...

 I'm coming to the realization that I was never the good guy in my past. I always knew I wasn't the hero, but now I realize I was the villain. I was the person who enjoyed hurting and harming others. I loved to humiliate and break people's minds and bodies. I gave myself over to hatred and I loved it. People always said there would be a price to pay someday but frankly, I thought I would be long dead before then. I thought the price would be hell and I already assumed I was going there.    No one ever explained that the price might be learning to live with the fact that Jesus paid it. That I could never adequately payback my sins. My "price" was realizing my God did it for me. 1 John 2:2 (TPT), He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also the sins of the whole world. Perhaps the price I pay is learning how to walk through the process trusting God will be with me through every step, every memory, every pain of regret.    I oft...

"We are often more convinced of our unworthiness than we are of His worth. Our inability takes greater focus than does His ability." -Bill Johnson    I've been full of myself the last few days. Not the prideful almost fun way but the whole, "I'm too messed up" kind of way. And I am too messed up, we all are, but God for some reason still loves us. Every part of mine and your painful pasts, every sin, every raw place, every unspeakable act; He has seen every part and He still loves us. That very thought confounds my brain. Then I read the statement above and I realized I've been wrong in my thought process.    I am so worried about the why when I should be focused on the how. Instead of why would God love me, maybe I should wonder how can He still love me. How can a perfect God who cannot tolerate sin still love us who are sinful? The answer is simple, we sing it in worship, preach it in sermon's; but so often we struggle with it's sheer si...

I sometimes think we judge Judas Iscariot more harshly than we should. “Don’t be a Judas, He (She) is a Judas, etc” are sayings that have meanings that cross cultural boundaries. Judas is synonymous with traitor. Now before people start getting upset and huffy, I’m not saying what he did was justifiable, OK, or anything like that. Someone was going to betray Jesus and it just so happened that it was Judas. It could have just as easily been Peter, John, Matthew, or any of the other 8 disciples. So why was it him?     When Jesus picked Judas as one of the original 12, did He know that Judas would betray him? I have no idea but it seems odd that Jesus would pick someone knowing he would betray Him. Simply put, Jesus was/is all about redemption, forgiveness, and new starts; therefore Judas’ fate couldn’t have been set in stone. He had to decide to do it. When Luke names the 12 disciples, he makes an important distinction that I think we often overlook. Luke 6:16b Judas Isc...

Give thanks  to the  Lord , for he is good. His love endures forever.   Give thanks  to the God of gods. His love endures forever.   Give thanks  to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-3    I was reading Psalm 136 earlier and remembering when I had to memorize it for school years ago. It was a personal favorite because every other line is "His love endures forever." What a simple one to memorize! But the Holy Spirit nudged me into a gentle realization; I had memorized but never believed it. It's a simple yet profound concept: His love endures forever. For me, for you- His love endures forever. The whole Psalm declares all these triumphs of God from His creation of the world, to His salvation of Israel from Egypt and their other captivities; but verses 23-24 packed the most punch to me.  "He remembered us in our low estate; His love endures forever. And freed us from our enemies; His love endures forever." I kno...