Fairlawn Church of the Nazarene | 730 Fairlawn Road | Topeka, KS 66606 | 785.272.6322
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Church of the Nazarene
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"I have finished the work which you have given me to do."
John 17:4
Dear Friends,
As we prepare for the Easter time, don't think about the death of Christ as being a martyr for the cause of the kingdom. Lots of people think of the cross and death of Jesus as being just that. Being a martyr means that you are part of some event that might have been avoided.
Today in our society in the middle East and around the world, people do things to cause death and damage in a way to promote rebellion, bring attention to themselves or to their cause in a way to prevent an injustice.
Jesus did not do that on the cross. Judas tried to move the cause along by forcing Jesus to be the martyr, but he is not a martyr. His death does not symbolize us to rise to the rebellion, but it should remind us we have no cause without it.
Jesus reminds us in this verse the very reason he came was to die. Not to change the injustice, but to be the change for the injustice sin. God loves us. But he forgives and loves us because of the cross. If we are not reminded of that, then the cross and Jesus' death has no meaning. In other words, when God does forgive us for our sins, he does so because Jesus died on the cross, the greatest reminder of the cause (sin). I cannot change or prevent the cause of sin, but I can through forgiveness by which the death of Jesus and the cross gives me, can be changed. Jesus became the cause when he was born, walked on water, healed the blind, called the weak , gave rest to the weary, died on a cross and was raised from the dead.
Douglas McArthur said, "Only those are fit to live who are not afraid to die." But because Jesus died am I fit to live. That's where God's love, forgiveness, and grace enter. Jesus did not die for just some cause he died
for sin (me)! He finished the work God sent him to do!!
Life Out Loud,
Steve Vaughn
John 17:4
Dear Friends,
As we prepare for the Easter time, don't think about the death of Christ as being a martyr for the cause of the kingdom. Lots of people think of the cross and death of Jesus as being just that. Being a martyr means that you are part of some event that might have been avoided.
Today in our society in the middle East and around the world, people do things to cause death and damage in a way to promote rebellion, bring attention to themselves or to their cause in a way to prevent an injustice.
Jesus did not do that on the cross. Judas tried to move the cause along by forcing Jesus to be the martyr, but he is not a martyr. His death does not symbolize us to rise to the rebellion, but it should remind us we have no cause without it.
Jesus reminds us in this verse the very reason he came was to die. Not to change the injustice, but to be the change for the injustice sin. God loves us. But he forgives and loves us because of the cross. If we are not reminded of that, then the cross and Jesus' death has no meaning. In other words, when God does forgive us for our sins, he does so because Jesus died on the cross, the greatest reminder of the cause (sin). I cannot change or prevent the cause of sin, but I can through forgiveness by which the death of Jesus and the cross gives me, can be changed. Jesus became the cause when he was born, walked on water, healed the blind, called the weak , gave rest to the weary, died on a cross and was raised from the dead.
Douglas McArthur said, "Only those are fit to live who are not afraid to die." But because Jesus died am I fit to live. That's where God's love, forgiveness, and grace enter. Jesus did not die for just some cause he died
for sin (me)! He finished the work God sent him to do!!
Life Out Loud,
Steve Vaughn