The cross - keep it in focus

We are talking this week about keeping the cross in focus....keeping it "front and center" in our lives. I believe that as Christians, we sometimes can become complacent about the cross. We may even take for granted what it means in our lives.

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25)

We don't often think about the fact that through Christ's death on that cross, we are delivered from the penalty of sin.
Did you know that all of our problems in this life stem from sin, or from the fallen world that we live in? It may be our own sin, or it could be others who sin against us, and then it could even be our sinful reaction to those people....
Peter said, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree." The commentaries tell us that by using the word "tree" or "wood," rather than "cross," Peter was remembering his training in the synagogue, and the verse in Deuteronomy where the penalty for a condemned criminal is that the body be hanged on a tree. Christ was our substitute and took the condemnation that we deserve. God is holy and just; sin means a penalty must be paid. Only Jesus was sinless, and was capable of bearing the sins of our human race.

The fact that God sent Christ to bear our sins means that God doesn't shrug off sin. Unfortunately, we live in a world today of loose justice, if any justice at all. We are all familiar with cases when people commit horrible crimes, and then only receive a "slap on the wrist." A man or woman may murder someone; they may molest them sexually and damage them severely; they can then plead insanity and go free or spend a short time in a mental health facility. Or they can use what we've heard of as "temporary insanity," when one's emotions take over and rule out our common sense, or our judgment of right and wrong....but we needn't think that God's justice is like that. We can't shrug off sin as if it's no big deal to our holy Father. He isn't going to overlook it! The Bible is quite clear in saying that all sin must be judged, and either we must bear the penalty, or Christ will.

Jesus bore our sins on the cross, but we must take Him up on His offer. And if we turn to Him, we will be delivered from the penalty of sin. This is one thing that Peter knew would comfort and inspire those who (in the verses on either side of our passage) were being treated unjustly.
But that isn't all!
Christ's death on the cross no only delivers us from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. Peter is talking about an ongoing process; something that happens daily in our lives.
Some translations read, "you were continually straying like sheep" in verse 25. Before we accepted the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ, we were continually (all the time, habitually, constantly, routinely......gotta love how a thesaurus helps get your head around a concept, right?) straying from the right path. We wanted to go our own way. We didn't even know we were lost. We were in danger, in harm's way, but we were oblivious.

Isn't it nice that we are compared to sheep, in the Word? Many times in the Bible, we are talked about as "sheep" .....  awwww, they're so fluffy and cute, and the little lambs frolic about so endearingly, and just look at those little faces! .....It's a good thing, right?
Nope.
People in Bible times were more familiar with sheep than we are. It's not a great compliment. Seriously. They are some of the dumbest animals around. They must always be under the care of a shepherd, or they will graze right up to the edge of a ravine and topple over the precipice. They don't look around and guard their babies from predators. If they are out in harsh weather, they don't know enough to seek shelter - they'll just huddle together in a bunch. They aren't even smart enough to find their way home....and they're not smart enough to realize they are not smart. That's why they never learn from their mistakes, and they just keep wandering off and getting into trouble!
Oy vey.
Why? Well, like humans, they don't appreciate the intelligence or caring commitment of their shepherd. He knows of better pastures up higher on the slopes, but all they think about is how pretty and green this patch of grass is, right here. So, like humans, who ignore their Shepherd, the sheep turn aside for momentary gratification....they miss the bountiful provision they would have received, if they had followed the shepherd to higher ground. And the only way they can find their way home is if the shepherd goes out and brings them in. Like the sheep, none of us can boast in our own smarts in coming to Christ. He came looking for us. He wanted us to be freed from the power of sin.

That is why when Christ died, we identified with Him in His death. When He rose, we were raised to "newness of life," as Paul calls it. A new life began.
But wait, you say, I don't feel very dead to sin. In fact, I don't even feel weak toward sin....the very same sins and lusts that controlled me before are still rearing up and luring me with the same forcefulness as before.
Well, I will try to clarify this..... the moment that we trusted in Christ as our Savior, we were identified with Him so that all the benefits of His death became ours:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6-11)

Death here is not "stopping life," or "ceasing to exist," but instead means "separation." When we die physically, our souls are separated from our bodies. In this way, when we accept God's gift of salvation, we are separated from the sins that had a stranglehold on us. We now have the ability and the assistance of the Spirit, so that we can choose to obey God, rather than the lusts of the flesh.

If we've ever jacked up a car in the driveway to effect a repair, or taken it to a mechanic and seen it raised of the ground on the hydraulic lift; or if we have inadvertently switched on a kitchen mixer before lowering it into the bowl of ingredients, then we can understand the concept of a power source which is very powerful, but is ineffective through separation. (Grin) The mechanic can rev the car's motor, or we can press harder on the mixer handle, but the car isn't going anywhere, and our recipe is not getting mixed. That is very similar to our union with Jesus Christ, that sin is powerful and still revs inside of us, but we are separated from its power.
Here's a clue -- we have been talking about the work of Christ in separating us from the power of sin. There is also something we must do:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life,appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:1-5)

Ahhh, this is indeed (pointing back to our image of the car not touching the pavement) where the rubber meets the road! Paul is saying that we must take some radical action to separate us from various sins that tempt us. It points to the decisive and often painful action of denying ourselves in obedience to God....it really must start at the level of our thoughts if we want to live in holiness before God.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (II Corinthians 10:5)

Stopping looking at the television shows or the internet sites that tempt....distancing ourselves from people or from objects that influence us to sin....not going to locations that we know would not be pleasing to His Spirit....daily praying for release and freedom from sin in our devotional time, and searching for promises in the Word that will encourage our hearts.... all of these are things that can help us remove our tires from the pavement, as far as the power of sin is concerned.

It's our "job," so to speak, to go on living in this sinful world, but to live in righteousness; to be obedient to the commands of the Bible. If we are continually defeated by sin, then we need to enter into a deeper relationship with Christ, and keep His cross in focus -- it is He Who removes us from the power and the penalty of sin.

We'll conclude our study tomorrow.

Verses that inspire

Recently, I've been excited to check on my cuttings that I took in the early winter, just after the first frost here. I wanted to try my hand at "being fruitful and multiplying" my Confederate Rose bush. I know it has a more formal botanical name, but peeps around here know these as Confederate Roses!

They grow up mostly as groups of long stems, with lots of generously sized leaves. They are beautiful and green, but the show really begins in early fall, and lasts until frost. The buds (at least the ones that the deer don't munch on) open, one or two daily, with spectacular flowers. The largest ones are almost the size of one of my dinner plates!

They begin as a lovely pale pink, and the next day are a deeper rosy red before wilting and falling. It's like it takes so much "oomph" from the plant to produce that show that they can't keep it going for very long. (Grin)

Anyway, I cut some of the small stems and put them in water. I've tried this before, but was not as patient.....two months later I saw tiny, wispy roots starting to make their way out of the stems. And now, I'm pleased to say, I have roots in the water and even have leaves on them, too!

You know me, this got me thinking about roots. And then I came across a verse in my studies that wowed me! Check this out:

Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah    will take root below and bear fruit above. (II Kings 19:30)

What an awesome picture of us as believers! To take root below and bear fruit above.....we need to truly take root in ways that may not be visible outwardly. To keep focused on our Lord in our prayers and in our study time; to really take in the Word, like a plant pulls in water and nutrients through the roots.
That will enable us to bear fruit "above," to show the characteristics of our Savior in our own lives. It's how the fruit of the Spirit will come to be traits in our lives.

We will be like the psalmist said:

Blessed is the one    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take    or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,    which yields its fruit in seasonand whose leaf does not wither—    whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Lord, help me to take root below and bear fruit above!

The cross - front and center

Our verses for this week are the final two verses of the chapter:

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25)

There is so much packed in here! I was at a loss as to how to get to all of it.... Peter is continuing to talk about the suffering of our Savior.
These verses are sandwiched between two similar passages: in both of them, Peter tells people how to react when they are treated unjustly. The first passage is addressed to slaves who may be treated unjustly by their masters; the second passage is addressed to wives who may be treated unjustly by their husbands. In this context, Jesus is our supreme example of One Who endured suffering and injustice.
I'm indebted to a short study by Tracie Wallace, where I found this illustration:

Meet my Cambodian friend, Lydia. (Not her real name) The youngest of eight children, she was born two years before the Khmer Rouge came to power. During their reign of destruction and killing, five of her siblings died of starvation. Lydia survived as her mother slipped her extra food portions. Her parents and all her older-generation relatives were murdered before she was five. After the death of her parents, Lydia was ‘adopted’ by Khmer Rouge foster parents, a practice of the regime employed to re-educate the youngest children. She quickly learned to hide in the forest in the day time and live in the homes of the deceased at night. At age 22, Lydia became a Christian through a missionary family who came to serve God in her village. Because she spoke English, the missionaries soon asked for her help with translation materials, and provided Lydia with a foundational understanding of her faith. During her final year of seminary education in Singapore, Lydia turned down opportunities for better paying jobs and determined to return to Cambodia. She now serves God in a Christian ministry organization in her home country, convinced her fellow Cambodians are in great need of the hope she found through the gospel in the midst of her suffering. Though I cannot begin to fathom the traumas of her childhood, Lydia exudes a contagious joy and confidence in Christ. How does she do it? How has she learned to draw strength from Christ’s sufferings? How can the injustices Christ faced in His lifetime and on the cross make a difference in our daily struggles?

I believe that this Cambodian girl has discovered what Peter is trying to tell us....we need to keep the cross of Christ "front and center." To keep it focused and important in our daily lives.

You might look at me and say, "Snoodles, I just don't think that this discussion is relevant to me. Maybe the theologians can discuss it. But how is this going to be practical in my life? How can it help me work out the problems in my marriage? Or help me raise the kids? Or pay the bills?"

But there is truly no more practical subject in our Bibles! The cross of Christ is central to our faith: it reveals the character of our Father God. It shows us His love for lost sinners, and that love meets justice at the cross. If we want to grow in our love for Him, then we must be growing and maturing, understanding the cross. The cross confronts the most prevalent of sins: pride. We'll get to that in a moment.....
The cross of Jesus is the place where all the wounds of sin are healed. If we suffer from emotional problems -- depression, anxiety, guilt, anger (at ourselves or at someone who's harmed us) -- there is healing in the cross. If we are suffering or experiencing tragedy, there is no greater comfort for a believer than to think of the love of a spotless Savior Who was willing to die for us.
Peter wrote these words to slaves who were suffering unjustly under cruel masters. The words he used about the wounds of Christ would have spoken volumes to their hearts, because they referred to the welts produced by whipping -- some of these slaves would know first-hand about that pain and suffering. He knew that meditating on the cross would fill their hearts with gratitude, as they thought about One Who bore so much on their behalf.

Keeping the cross front and center in our lives will protect us from the many false doctrines that are circling about in our world today.  We must remember that Satan hates the cross! The cross of Christ sealed his doom, so he is relentless in his efforts to undermine it. He'd love, love, love to see it brushed aside. Every false teaching in some way diminishes the work of Christ on the cross -- many times it diminishes it by magnifying human ability. Satan especially is working to erode the concept of sin.
How many times have you heard lately, a preacher who unequivocally talks about sin and its penalty? Many of today's church leaders like to spend their time talking about the love of Jesus. The friendship, and the comfort of our Savior. All of their preaching is very attractive to people who would prefer not to be reminded of their shortcomings, their sins.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (II Timothy 4:3-4)

And Satan loves to pump people up, too, and make them prideful. (See, I told you we'd come back to this.) If he can convince people that they are not as bad as that "mean ole, terrible, hateful preacher" says they are.... if he can persuade them they don't really feel guilt. They aren't really sinners. They don't deserve God's wrath.
Ahhh, then they don't need a crucified Savior, do they?  Ka-ching! Satan just won a battle.
If Satan can convince believers that they don't need to repent daily, and be cleansed from sin, then they don't need to keep working at their study and prayer. Ka-ching! There's another win for Satan.

Keeping the cross "front and center" is what we will focus on this week.....

Friday slowdown

What a great week of study! Thank you to all who posted comments and who studied with us....I hope that you were blessed by these thoughts we shared.

Today's song is an "oldie but goodie."

Praying God's best blessing for you today!

Carpentry skills, conclusion

We've been discussing some thoughts this week about our Lord Jesus, and His work as the Great Carpenter.

As a carpenter, and as the Great Carpenter, Jesus has the ability to see potential. How does a carpenter think when he is looking at a piece of wood?
I believe from my experience from artisans who craft amazing things from wood, that they see it differently. Most people will look at a piece of wood and think, "Hmmmm, it's got several knots in it, and there's a fairly large crack right there; it even has a glob of ink on it where they stamped it at the lumber yard." Or maybe they see, "Oh, look, it's got a bow in it. I just don't see how we can make anything good from that piece."
A carpenter, though, looks at the wood differently. The artisan sees the potential in the wood. They might say, "I can glue those knots in so they won't move, and I can fix that crack, too. I can take out the bow or bend with my plane or other tools." The carpenter sees the potential of the wood, not the problems there.
If you were to look on Pinterest, or on some home improvement sites, you would see there is a big demand for old wood, for barn sidings and the like. We might think those pieces are worthless, but that's not the way a carpenter sees them. They look at them and think about what they could make from them!
In the same way, Jesus looks at our lives today -- what does He see? Does He see all of our flaws? Yes. But He sees our potential, too. Here's an example: Christ looked at a man named Simon, who was a fisherman. He told him, Simon, you shall be called "Cephas," which means Peter, or rock. I imagine that Peter's friends must have chuckled, or maybe laughed like crazy..... this guy? Simon? You must be joking! He's a braggart, a big bag of wind! He's impulsive and he likes to show off!
But Jesus saw his potential, and said no, I'm going to rename him, because He will be a rock in my kingdom.
The Great Carpenter is still working in our lives today. He knows which tools to use to bring out our potential. He knows when we need to be sanded down. He knows what flaws need fixing, and He knows if we need some polishing. He knows what needs to happen in our lives to bring out the talents we have.....and He works in our lives today.

Our final thoughts today have to do with the manner of the Great Carpenter's death. I mentioned when we began our study that I couldn't get that out of my mind. I was drawn back repeatedly to study and prepare these posts.
Our Lord Jesus Christ could have chosen to die in a number of ways. He could have chosen to be beheaded, as John the Baptist was. He could have chosen to be stoned, as in the old days of the Law of Moses. He could have chosen to be shot to death with an arrow, like King Ahab in the book of I Kings. Instead, He chose to die a carpenter's death. The Romans took a hammer and nails, the tools of a craftsman, a carpenter, and they nailed the Son of God to a wooden cross. It was an ugly way to die. It was a humiliating way to die. It was reserved for the basest of the base. The low. The criminals. Tears are filling my eyes as I try to type this, for my Savior chose this death.
Why?
He went through this kind of death so that He could buy us, redeem us from Satan. His blood would result in forgiveness of our sins, if we accepted it. When we accepted it, we would be not just forgiven, but transferred from darkness into light. Given new life. It was a fitting way for the Master Carpenter to depart.

As we strive to be like Him, we should value honest work. We should rely on His ability to repair our lives, and tell others how He can make things new. We should see the potential in others, as He did.

There have been tears this week, but I hope there has been encouragement, as well, for us as believers. If you are not yet a believer, I hope that you will think about the fact that Jesus, the Great Carpenter, died for you and your sins. I would encourage you to click on the link on our sidebar and learn more about accepting His gift. Message me if you have questions, and I will be honored to try to assist you.

Blessings to all!

Carpentry skills, continued

Yesterday, we studied how Jesus was trained as a carpenter at His stepfather's knee and then at his side. We applied that to our own lives and said that our honest labor, no matter what we are working on, can be done to God's glory.
Jesus modeled that for us in His role as a carpenter.

There is another application of His work as the Great Carpenter. I hope you will receive a blessing from our study today....

Have you ever thought about the nature of a carpenter's work? Let me explain..... There are really two things that a carpenter does with his skills and experience.
First, he repairs things. There are many times that we have something that needs to be repaired, and it's beyond our pay grade, as my grandpa used to say. It's something that we don't have enough skill to complete.
Sure, we can sand the cabinets and fill the holes with wood putty. We can nail a board down when it comes loose on our deck.
But how about repairing the leg on that kitchen chair, so it doesn't collapse the next time cousin sits in it? Or maybe there is a violent storm, and a tree falls across the deck, and causes a great deal of damage?
Who helps us then?
We may go on our phone or computer to find the right one, but we generally are looking for a carpenter for these tasks. Someone who has the skill and the experience to repair the damage.
Jesus Christ was trained as a carpenter, and He was (and still is) a spiritual carpenter as well. People brought Him their broken lives, and He repaired them, just as He does today.
There's a dear old hymn that reads:

           Bring Christ your broken life, so marred by sin.
           He will create anew, make whole again.
           Your empty, wasted years He will restore,
           And your iniquities, remember no more.

The Great Carpenter can look down and see the mess we have created, and He can begin to repair the damage, and allow the healing to start.
This line of thinking reminds me of a verse in Matthew that would have been very meaningful to the Jews of that time, but may have lost its familiarity for us:

A bruised reed he will not break,    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,till he has brought justice through to victory.     In his name the nations will put their hope. (Matthew 12:20-21)

This is actually pointing back to a prophesy of Isaiah, and if you'd like to turn there, the passage is Isaiah 42:1-4. In ancient times, reeds were used for many purposes, but once it was bent, or bruised, or battered it was useless. A shepherd could make a flute-like instrument from a reed and play soft music on it to sooth and calm the restless sheep. If the reed became soft or cracked, it would no longer make music and the shepherd would break it and discard it. It was no longer useful; he would throw it away.
In the lamps of the time, the end of usefulness would be signaled by the fact that it had burned down to the end of the wick. It would smolder and smoke, but it would not make any light. Since it wasn't useful, it was put out and thrown away, just like that broken reed.
The battered reed and the smoldering wick are like the people in this world whose lives are broken and worn out. The world may see no value in them. If they can no longer make music or give light, the world casts off the weak and the helpless. They have no time for the suffering and the burdened souls of this world. In ancient times the Romans ignored people like this as uselesss; the Pharisees despised them as worthless.
Since the advent of sin in the world, and the fall from grace by Adam and Eve, it's been mankind's natural tendency to destroy. Little children will often follow a scampering bug just to step on it. They will snap off a beautiful bud before it flowers. Adults will undercut, hurt, and devour each other in business, politics, society, and even in families.

By contrast, it's the nature of our Father to restore. He will not break off or put out even the least of those who come to Him -- and He gives a dire warning to those who want to do so.

 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)

Many times, we humans are like that smoldering week. We are like that broken reed. We've been beaten down and defeated by life. But the Great Carpenter begins to work with that reed and with that smoldering wick and begins to rebuild our lives. Christ repairs our lives instead of tossing us aside.

There is a second thing that a carpenter does: in addition to making repairs, he builds new items. John says this about Jesus:

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3)

This is the Carpenter Who built the universe! From scratch! Everything that was created was built by Him, and He was still building in the first century, for He said that He would build His church, and the gates of Hell would not overpower it!

And our Savior is still working as a carpenter today.....

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2)

Jesus, the Great Carpenter, is constructing places for us where we will dwell, once we reach heaven. His carpentry skills are awesome and amazing; He can repair our lives and He builds things from scratch.

We'll finish our study tomorrow....

More about our Great Carpenter....

Yesterday, we talked about how in Bible times, there were people extremely skilled in carpentry. I know that there are peeps who do awesome work nowadays, too, but just think about if you didn't have the advantages of modern-day tools! They were not blessed with huge expanses of forests, so they learned incredible techniques to help them conserve the wood, and not waste any little bit.

When Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary, He became part of a family that was very familiar with carpentry. His stepfather, Joseph, was a carpenter in the city of Nazareth, in the province of Galilee. It was pretty routine for the Jewish people to teach their sons the skills that their dad had, so probably around the age of fifteen, Jesus began to learn from His stepfather the skills involved in the trade of carpentry.  I read in a commentary that there was a saying among the men of Israel, "If you do not teach your son how to work, you teach him how to be a thief."
(I can picture Him with Joseph before that, can't you? I imagine that He would have been like other little boys, and climbed His daddy's legs or clambered up into his lap, to see what he was doing. Joseph could have let Jesus' little hands ride on top of his strong, calloused ones, as he smoothed wood, or shaped it into something useful.)

We see evidences in some of Jesus' sermons that prove his expertise for us. There are references to things a carpenter would think about. Jesus spoke of a "narrow gate," and we can imagine that he and his stepfather, Joseph, crafted many gates for the people in the town. Our Lord also talked about building a house "upon the rock" and not on sand -- that's a concept that carpenters would have known about. In a beautiful passage in Matthew, Jesus said that His "yoke" was easy:

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

As a skilled carpenter, He could make a yoke that was comfortable for the animals as they labored. He talked about building a tower in a vineyard, and also told the parable of a king who wanted to build but didn't count the cost . . . you have to know the expenses before you begin a project. That's another thing a skilled carpenter would know. Then, in Matthew 13, He is referred to:

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Matthew 13:55)

If we think about it, Jesus Christ actually served as a carpenter longer than He served as a preacher and leader.  And He wasn't ashamed of it. The people of the town may have looked down their noses, but He wasn't ashamed.  I believe that this emphasizes the fact that God respects all honorable work that we may do -- even manual labor -- even things that seem ordinary.

That was a tough lesson for the Jews to learn in the town of Nazareth! Jesus didn't meet with their criteria for the Messiah.... they expected the Messiah to be born in a palace; instead He was born in a humble stable. They expected their Messiah to be born into a royal family; instead He was born into a poor family in a tiny town. They expected their Messiah, that they'd been told would come, would be taught military skills. They thought He would raise an army and be the general of a military powerhouse. Then He would force the Romans out of Judea and establish the Jewish nation.....

But it didn't happen that way. He wasn't trained in military skills; He was trained to be a carpenter. I found myself pondering this as that verse and that mental image stayed with me. The image of bare skin on rough, splintery wood, and nails pounded right through gentle hands.
I believe that Jesus wanted to identify Himself with the common people. The everyday folks. He wanted to align Himself with the dignity of manual labor, of working hard and creating things with our hands.
I think He wanted all of us to understand that as long as it is honest work that we are engaged in, then any job is respectable in the eyes of God. That's not the way the people of Nazareth reacted to being a carpenter. They seemed to be prejudiced against those who worked with their hands. In the sixth chapter of Mark we see again that they rejected Jesus, and they insulted both His previous profession and His lineage. They are a good example for us of how NOT to look at others! Jesus wanted to demonstrate the dignity of any job done for God's glory.
As long as it's honest work, and as long as we remain faithful to God, it doesn't matter what we do for a living. Any profession can be carried out for the glory of God.
One of the commentaries that I consulted had a brief illustration for this point. Over in Great Britain, there is a tombstone for a man who had an ordinary life: "Here lies Thomas Cobb, who mended shoes to the glory of God..."  And did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his lovely music and wrote the letters "SDG" on each piece? That meant "Sola Deo Gloria," or "to God alone be the glory."

Whether we work each day at manual labor, or we work "pushing papers," or if we labor to keep our family's house clean and cozy.....no matter what it is that we do every day, it can be done to the glory of the One Who saved us! Work is not our enemy. The real enemy is our attitude. (Ouch!) It's our failure to see our daily tasks as a part of our service to Christ. In a world still struggling with the effects of sin, we have a responsibility to work to the glory of God.

And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

I believe that is why Jesus began as a carpenter.

We'll continue this study tomorrow.

Carpentry skills

This week's study comes from our next verse in I Peter (although indirectly):

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”  (I Peter 2:24)

These words struck me....."His body on the cross."
I had an immediate mental image of Christ's body in contact with the wood of the cross. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I'm sure that the wood of the cross was very rough. The pieces would have been rough-hewn; they would not have smoothed or sanded the wood used for a cross to execute a criminal.
The Great Carpenter's skin against terribly rough, splintered wood.
Join me this week as we talk about that Great Carpenter.....

Like so many things in God's wonderful creation, wood has been used, abused, and then ultimately used again.... In Bible times, it wasn't beautiful furniture most of the time, or decorative items for the home, but mostly plows, yokes for oxen, ladders, doorways, and things like that. (It would be something very unusual to see a carpenter take time out of his workday to create an intricate box or item for someone he loved, or for a rich patron.) The Temple walls were made of wood, and there was wood used in the sacrifice of millions of animals in the worship of God. Although it was fairly rare in the land of Israel, it was probably more abundant then, than it is there today.

This blessing of God that was so useful, though, was also abused. It was the tree that the snake spoke to Eve from, and persuaded her to rebel against God. It was wood that many carpenters grabbed and turned into idols. (There are several references describing the craftsman making an idol in Isaiah, if you want to look those up.) You would think that the irony would sink in, as the worker took the scraps from making the idol and tossed them into the fire to keep warm, but evidently not! Wood was used in other "bad" ways, too, for the spear that King Saul wanted to impale David with, to the gallows that Haman erected for Mordecai.....

But God overcame the abuse and used wood in ways to rescue mankind. Noah's ark was wood; Moses' staff was wood; even the Ark of the Covenant was wood covered in gold. That was the place of God's presence here on earth. When the Israelites complained and the Lord sent poisonous snakes, it was wood where God instructed Moses to hang the bronze snake, so that anyone bitten could look and be cured (Numbers 21).

Hundreds of years later, God sent His Son -- He was laid in a manger made of wood. And as He grew up here on earth, He was in contact with wood every day, as He was the son of a carpenter. I'm certain that He was very familiar with, and very comfortable with the tools of that trade. Then one day the carpenter shop closed, for it appears from the Bible that Joseph passed away, and Jesus went out to preach, tell parables, work miracles, heal diseases, and train His disciples. He didn't work on wood any more. He was progressing toward the day when wood would work on Him.

The very last day of His life, Jesus was in contact with wood. It was the only solid substance that He was in contact with, the last few hours of His life. When He was a carpenter, his palms held the tools and touched the wood, working to bring out the best of the wood's potential. Now His hands were nailed to the wood so that the backs of His hands were against the rough surface -- working to save our souls. The carpenter didn't pound nails into the wood; nails were pounded into His hands.
The carpenter Who had been so comfortable and at ease working in the shop was not comfortable on the cross. He was there to pay the price of our sins. The cross wasn't burned to make a fiery offering, but it was an altar just the same -- the altar on which the Lamb took away the sins of the world.

I still get all geeky with words, and I thought it was significant that on five occasions, when the "Epistles" of the Bible refer to the cross, it's not called a cross; it's not called a tree; it's called wood in the Greek. If you look at the literal Greek translation, here is what you see:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on wood." (Galatians 3:13)

That one refers to Deuteronomy 21, where at the end of the chapter it says that someone whose body is hung on a pole (for murder) is under a curse.
Then Peter says this (if you change the word to the literal Greek):

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the wood, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (I Peter 2:24)

Wood was created by God. It has been used for good purposes, and it has been abused and used for bad purposes, too. God used wood as the framework of our salvation. We've been healed by Jesus' wounds, and the devil has been overcome.

This week we'll look deeply into this concept from Peter's letter.

Respite

I hope that you have been blessed by our week of respite and peace. I thought this song rendered by George Beverly Shea was a wonderful conclusion to our thoughts this week....

It's a lovely old song penned by Fannie Crosby:

1. Safe in the arms of Jesus,

1. Safe on His gentle breast;

1. There by His love o’ershaded,

1. Sweetly my soul shall rest.

1. Hark! ’tis the voice of angels

1. Borne in a song to me,

1. Over the fields of glory,

1. Over the jasper sea.

• Refrain:

• Safe in the arms of Jesus,

• Safe on His gentle breast;

• There by His love o’ershaded,

• Sweetly my soul shall rest.

1. Safe in the arms of Jesus,

1. Safe from corroding care,

1. Safe from the world’s temptations;

1. Sin cannot harm me there.

1. Free from the blight of sorrow,

1. Free from my doubts and fears;

1. Only a few more trials,

1. Only a few more tears!

1. Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,

1. Jesus has died for me;

1. Firm on the Rock of Ages

1. Ever my trust shall be.

1. Here let me wait with patience,

1. Wait till the night is o’er;

1. Wait till I see the morning

1. Break on the golden shore.

Blessings to all who pause here.

Respite

Peace.
Rest.
Shalom.
Today in our prayer and contemplation, let's re-read these familiar verses and ask God to shower His peace and comfort in our hearts.

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

You will keep in perfect peace    those whose minds are steadfast,    because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever,    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

The busy, noisy world and its voices and influences bring about an overload of weariness if we are not careful to rest in Him. The pressures of Satan and the world are ever mounting.  If we neglect the "it's you and me, Lord" time, what hope do we have of strength to resist the world? Not just the routine reading of the Word. Not just assembling with others to worship. But a true, set-aside time for secrets that only the Lord shares with us. We can cry. We can wrestle as Jacob did. We can wait. We can listen. And then we can rest in the peace that He will give. We just have to ask.....

Shalom....