White House Easter Prayer Breakfast

President Obama said: 

I can’t shed light on centuries of scriptural interpretation or bring any new understandings to those of you who reflect on Easter’s meaning each and every year and each and every day.  But what I can do is tell you what draws me to this holy day and what lesson I take from Christ’s sacrifice and what inspires me about the story of the resurrection.

For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire.  The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen. 

We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him.  We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity.  And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.

And such a promise is one of life’s great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design.  Each of us falls short of how we ought to live.  And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all.

It’s not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption.  But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ.  And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul.  Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.

Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season.  And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion.  He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath.

“Father,” He said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.  These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today.  Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God’s children. 

So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.  And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.

Wow-thats a pretty decent expression of belief in the deity of Christ and the truth of the empty tomb.  Of course, the President's stance on many social issues seems to be outside the bounds of biblical morality - but I can't judge his heart.  I was sad to read  from a partial list of attendees:

Pastor Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, IL
Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Bishop, A.M.E. Church
Elder Nancy Wilson, Metropolitan Community Church
Commissioner Israel Gaither, National Commander, Salvation Army
Pastor Joel Osteen, Pastor, Lakewood Church
Hyepin Im, Korean Christian Community Development
Dr. Arturo Chavez, President, Mexican American Catholic College
Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Fr. Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities
Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President, National Council of Churches
Dr. Julius Scruggs, President, National Baptist Convention of America
Sister Carol Keehan, President, Catholic Health Association
Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Senior Pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church

With so many denominations and sects in attendance, where was the Reformed representative?  Did any OPC or PCA person get invited?  Oh well, its a partial list I guess.

Even if his views on many issues seem out of step with Scripture and despite the fact that his guest list isn't the most solid grouping of Gospel-advocates, I find hope in the President's words and a renewal in my mind of the admonision that I so often forget:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Why no "Holy Week-Sunday?"

You may have noticed that I did not conclude the week with a "Holy Week-Sunday" post.  My apologies, I spent much of Resurrection Day at the hospital with my wife.

It was a bittersweet Easter weekend for us. We lost our baby yesterday at 12 weeks to miscarriage. It was very rough for my wife with 7 hrs of labor before the OB had to do surgery.

In the midst of such sadness we cling to the hope that comes from knowing that "He is Risen!"

As we head into this week we mourn for sure - but we are strengthened in knowing that we shall yet see our precious child in the presence of our heavenly Father.

Thank you all for your prayers in this difficult time and thanks to God that he loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us and rise again that our sins would be washed away and that we might become his adopted heirs.

Holy Week - Wednesday

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.  He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

See the rest HERE.

Holy Week- Tuesday

Did you know that this went down on Tuesday of Holy Week?

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And he said to him,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Learn about all of the other things we see in Scripture that occurred on Holy Week Tuesday, thanks to Justin Taylor and the ESV Study Bible HERE.

I will continue to post a snippet and a link for every day this week!

It was my sin that held Him there...

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
_________________________________


Those lyrics come from the 1995 Stuart Townsend song "How Depp the Father's Love for Us"


We sang it in church this morning.


As we were singing I thought of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ."  We have all seen that movie and I imagine that most of us watched the flogging and crucifixion scene and thought "...oh, thats so horrible that he had to go through all of that...those horrible Pharisees and Romans..."


Heres an idea...


What was really going on that day was far worse than the physical beating that Jesus took.  All of our sin was being placed on Christ's shoulders and he DIDN'T deserve any of it.


He took all of our sin and payed our penalty so that we could enter into eternity with the Father.


Yes, I said "our"...thats what hit me this morning because of the Townsend song...it wasn't the Pharisees and the Romans that I should be so angry at - its myself.  He suffered for me, for everytime I envy and lust, for every malicious word that comes from my mouth, for every failure of mine to uphold God's righteous law.


I put Jesus on that cross...


But then again, in a way I didn't...he submitted himself to that cross for me.  Thats the beauty of the cross - when I look at the events of Good Friday I see a God who loved me so much he died for MY sins...not just sin in the abstract.


When we think of it that way we can achieve a far greater appreciation for our Saviour and hopefully a greater sense of worship and relationship with Christ.