Sink or Swim

The miracle of Jesus walking on the water is recorded in three of the gospels (Matt. 14:22-36; Mk. 6:45-56; John 6:16-21). The event unfolds at the Sea of Galilee, which is 700 feet below the Mediterranean Sea and very susceptible to sudden and violent storms. After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus dismisses the crowd and sends his disciples on a boat trip while he remained on the mountaintop to pray. True disciples are SENT forth to do the work of the kingdom. The boat represents the adventure of life, for ships are made to sail the sea, not to remain in port. Although at times we can rest and sit for a while, we are made in the image of Christ to go forth and do the work of the kingdom.

While boating with Jesus, we will run into STORMS, for life is fraught with difficulties, disappointments, and challenges. We get “beaten by the waves” like the disciples of Jesus and become frightened with the rough seas of life. When the disciples first saw Jesus walking toward them they didn’t recognize him. They thought him to be a SPECTER. “It is a ghost!” they cried out (Matt. 14:26). Why did they fail to recognize him? They were not looking for him! It was the fourth watch of the night (anywhere from 3:00AM to 6:00AM)—they were tired from the lateness and weary from rowing against the waves. In the daily grind of things, it is easy to forget Christ who gives us strength to persevere. We tend to focus on the mundane and try to do things in our own power. But Jesus still comes to us in the storms of daily life, fulfilling the promise of Isaiah 43:2-3, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

The Lord may not come when we think He should, but his timing is always perfect, for he really never left us. He knows when we need Him most to appear and will intervene with his word, people, or Spirit at the most opportune time. Jesus had waited until the boat was far from land and the disciples were bereft of hope to rescue them and strengthen their faith. When we think all is lost, when we believe we are all alone, our faith becomes STRETCHED. When life becomes dismal, we are to remember that the Lord stretches our faith, but he will never string us out.

Jesus showed his disciples that the very thing they feared, the raging sea and the crashing waves, were not a hindrance for him. He would merely step across their fears and beckon them to come, for in him is safety in the midst of a world afire with conflict and possessed with fear. Often we dread the trying experiences of life such as illness, loss of loved ones, relationship fractures, and financial distress only to discover that these problems and afflictions bring Jesus closer to us. When we find ourselves involved in the harrowing experiences of life, we will sink or swim—sink in the sea of our fears or swim in the faith strengthened by Christ. Like Paul, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). But if our eyes remain fixated on self, we will sink into our own depression.

To swim with Christ, we must keep our eyes focused on him. As long as Peter did so he could walk to Christ on water. When he became distracted, he SANK, for he allowed his anxieties to take over by focusing on the fears that gripped him—the wind and the waves. But Peter had the resolve to cry out in his despair, “Lord, save me!” (Matt. 14:30) Jesus immediately took his hand and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Doubt is what makes us sink; but faith is what causes us to walk through adversities, knowing that Jesus has us by the hand (Ps. 37:24).

And when Jesus entered the boat, the wind died down, indicating the power of Christ over the elements. The disciples recognized his divinity and responded with their confession of faith, “Truly you are the Son of God!” This is the first instance of the disciples worshipping Jesus. They would continue to grow in their faith, sinking at times, but eventually swimming with endurance and turning the world upside down with the gospel of Christ.

Fish Sticks and Fiddlesticks

I grew up Roman Catholic and remember that Fridays were fish days. At school it was normally fish sticks for lunch, especially during Lenten Season. I didn’t particularly like the season, for it meant fasting some favorite food or giving up something I liked. Of course, the season began on Ash Wednesday with a priest putting ashes on the forehead. I remember being stigmatized by the mark and trying to explain to my Protestant friends why I was branded.

Now more and more Protestant churches, including Evangelical ones, are applying ashes on foreheads of their congregants. Now a Protestant and born again in Christ, I am appalled at the practice. I can understand the desire of becoming more contemplative leading up to Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday, but I disdain the thought of becoming more Catholic by doing some things that the Protestant Reformation abhorred.

The fast and the ritual dusting of ashes predate Christianity, for many Old Testament people like Job repented “with sackcloth and ashes.” Originally, the ritual fasting in the early church was associated with those getting baptized, indicating their penitent nature. The days of fasting were expanded to 40 days by the 4^th century, which commemorated the suffering of Jesus in the wilderness. Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, protested against the Catholic Lenten traditions in 1522 by defending Swiss printers who had complained about abstaining from meat when they needed the protein for strength to work hard. Zwingli complained that the rules of Lent were more about obeying Rome’s traditions than supporting the gospel, which he said had nothing to do with eating sausages in the weeks preceding Easter.

Martin Luther also cautioned against obeying the rules and traditions of Lent with a view to meriting something from it. He said that Catholic teachings falsely promoted the idea that fasting and good works could eradicate sin and earn points toward salvation. John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion criticized Lent as a “superstitious observance.” The increase in Lenten observance by Protestants could be born out of guilt, for non-participation in events leading up to Holy Week may plague the conscience of the righteous—or should I say the self-righteous.

Although ashes are used in the Old Testament to indicate sorrow and repentance of the penitent, they are not ritualized in the New Testament as a ceremony of ablution. The purification of the believer has already occurred through the blood of Christ. Ashes and fish sticks are the stuff of Catholic folklore to which I say “fiddlesticks.” It is nonsense and the stuff of superstition!

Locked in Love

I just returned from a trip to Paris and Italy. In Paris my wife and I walked across a number of bridges that spanned the Seine River. Most had heavy wire rail fencing on each side with thousands of padlocks attached. One such bridge led from the Cathedral of Notre Dame to the left bank of Paris. On these locks were names of lovers. The idea was to purchase a padlock from a vendor who lends you a permanent marker to write your names and love message on either side of the lock. You then attach the lock to the wire mesh and throw the key into the river, thus signifying your eternal love for each other - a love that cannot be broken or unlocked!

I couldn't help but think how many people have purchased a lock, attached it, and then years later broke up, thus rendering a forever promise a temporary act. There is but one forever love and that comes from the One who does not break promises. In fact, he died validating the promise of the Good Shepherd that gives his life for his sheep. Why? So that in him they have eternal life! Christ is the only lock on eternal love. Our padlock is Jesus, who attaches himself to us. That lock can never be broken!

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:14-15, 28) 

Torn in Two

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Matthew 27:50-51

The most watched miniseries of all time was The Bible on the History Channel. I, too, watched this production produced by Roma Downey, star of the TV series Touched by an Angel, and her third husband, Mark Burnett. Although enjoyable, there were many liberties taken of Scripture. I had issues with some of the portrayals, but I was deeply concerned with how Burnett and Downey depicted the crucifixion. The Lord’s suffering along the Via Dolorosa was very Roman Catholic. Jesus fell three times, spoke to his mother Mary, and had his brow wiped by Veronica—none of which is in Scripture.

On the cross, Jesus spoke seven times—the most important being when he cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” This wailing statement came forth at the time when all of sin was placed on him as he became the curse of God. A holy God cannot look upon sin and therefore Christ felt abandoned. But this abandonment gives us hope, for Christ died to pay our debt, serve our punishment, and make peace with God the Father. These words were not in the crucifixion scene of Downey and Burnett. To neglect this cry is to ignore the real reason that Jesus had to die. Roman Catholics still think they can attain heaven by their good deeds. If this were so, then Jesus had no need to come to earth and die on a cross.

The producers did show that an earthquake occurred at the death of Christ and a curtain in the temple falling down before Caiaphas. There was no depiction of the veil in the holy of holies being torn in two from top to bottom, another significant occurrence left out of the miniseries, which tells mankind that the way to Christ is now open without having to go through priests. I can’t help but think of the Roman Catholic influence that still insists that a person must go to a priest to confess his sins. The priest therefore continues to act as mediator between sinner and God.

The renting of the veil was no small miracle, for such a curtain was 4 to 6 inches thick. The tearing was not intended merely as a display of power, but rather to teach believers some great truths. First, the law of sacrificial ordinances was satisfied and, like a worn-out vestment, ripped and thrown away. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were finished, completed and fulfilled in him; and therefore the place of sacrifice, the temple, was clearly marked with change.

Second, the torn curtain tells us that all the hidden and concealed things of the Old Testament sacrificial system could now be seen. The mercy seat that hid behind the veil was revealed, indicating that all who place faith in Christ have direct access to the Lord Almighty. Christians can now boldly approach the throne of grace without an earthly mediator, for Christ is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

Third, the annual ceremony for the day of atonement was also abolished. The atoning blood that once every year was sprinkled behind the curtain and inside the Holy of Holies was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. No blood of bullocks or of lambs need be shed, for Jesus has entered inside the curtain shedding his own blood as the Lamb of God.

The renting of the curtain, however, does not allow all people access to the gates of paradise. Jesus is the High Priest, who has entered the inner place behind the curtain to become the anchor of our soul and is the only key to heaven (Heb. 6:19-20). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; and no one comes to the Father unless through him” (John 14:6). When Diogo Morgado (portrayer of Jesus in the miniseries) quoted this Scripture from John’s gospel, he did not repeat the last phrase. Neglecting to say “no one comes to the Father except through him” removes the exclusivity of Christianity—that Christ and Christ alone is the way to heaven, thereby letting the populace think that there are other roads to God the Father.

Christ is the ONE-WAY STREET to God. No one will see heaven without confessing Christ and placing faith in him.

Why Christian Schooling

Twin Oaks Christian School (TOCS) is a wonderful ministry of our church. Some have wondered, however, why Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church continues to support a large and rather resource-intensive ministry. Although parents have the primary responsibility of educating their children, the church believes in coming along side and helping them in this all important discipleship ministry.

In the community around us, we have many options for schooling our children. There are some fine public schools, homeschooling, private schools, and Christian schools like TOCS. All are viable options, and as a church, we support parents in whatever choice they believe is right for their family. When we were rearing our family, Deena and I have had positive and negative experiences in public schools, homeschooling, and Christian schooling.

We do, however, support Christian schooling over public schools for a number of reasons. (1) Public schools cannot teach Scripture, sound doctrine, and proper relationships based in Christ; (2) Public schools cannot train our children to integrate their faith with all areas of life; and (3) Public schools favor secularism and values that in many instances are contrary to our biblical world and life view. In contrast, TOCS instills biblical values into our children and encourages them to follow Christ in all facets of life. This is essential if our children are to thrive as Christ-followers in a fallen world. Not only do TOCS teachers pray with and for the students, they give our children a biblical lens through which to view the world.

When my children were in the public school, I had the task of implanting within them biblical values. But without support from the education system, it was an uphill battle because my children were being influenced by the world about them. This world is attractive and luring and desirous of engulfing our children in the way “they should not go.” I had to read their textbooks, go over their assignments, and talk to them about curriculum that was contrary to biblical teaching. Anyone who has their children in public school knows how hard it is to keep up with the teaching and “brain-washing” that goes on in our national education system. I admire our public school parents who take an interest in the education of their children and become involved with the school system, pouring time and energy to nurture their children in the midst of a culture that wants to rob them of their innocence. Yet, many parents do not have the time, energy, or encouragement to become actively engaged in a system that frowns upon Christian parental involvement.

I remember when my wife and I sat across from the regional director of public schools in Maryland who made it quite clear that “they” knew what was best for our daughter. At the suggestion of my daughter’s second grade teacher, we had asked for her to be placed in another school that would challenge her intellect. She was bored and already reading at high school level. When I heard the words, “we are the experts who know best,” my antenna went up and the words of Scripture echoed in my brain that I was responsible for the education of my children. That revelation led my wife and I to place our daughter and then our sons into Christian education.

Although parents have the primary obligation for raising children, I believe that nurturing children is also a responsibility of the entire covenant community, not just those who have children, but all of us. We affirm this thought whenever we baptize a covenant child. Having a Christian school like TOCS is one of the ways we fulfill our vows at baptism. As a church, we want to come along side parents and help them equip their children to think biblically, not just about theology, but also about literature, history, science, and the entire curriculum. This occurs at our Christian school to which the entire congregation supports through their tithes and offerings. 
     

If you are a parent and realize that you would like assistance in training your children in a biblical view of all of life, then we encourage you to check out TOCS. Although attending TOCS requires a financial investment, it is an investment well worth the mind and soul of our children. There is, however, financial assistance available to those who have need. So, I encourage you to talk to Cathy Jones, our school administrator, and learn why Christian education may be a good option for your family. May God bless all your decisions as you rear your children in the nurture and admonition of our Lord and Savior (Eph. 6:4)!

It is Finished

Was Jesus a victim of crucifixion? Although he was innocent and railroaded into execution, Jesus was not a victim. Why? Because he willingly came to pay our debt of sin and take the penalty we deserve. He was God in flesh, who came to earth to redeem his people. 

On the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished." The word used in Scripture is "tetelestai"--a term also used in the New Testament era as an accounting term. The word was stamped across notes or accounts, which meant "PAID IN FULL." The debtor no longer owed anything, for his debt was paid.

     Jesus Paid it All
     All to Him I owe;
     Sin had left a crimson stain,
     He washed it white as snow.

Sin is a debt owed to God and payment is required. According to Romans 6:23, "the wages of sin is death"--i.e. eternal separation from God--"but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The gift was a note stamped "PAID IN FULL" and it was nailed to the cross in the body of our Lord and Savior.

Since none of us is good or even seek after God (Rom. 3:10-12), we could never pay the debt of sin to a God who demands  perfect holiness. It only takes one sin to make us guilty before the Lord, but we were born in sin and have committed so many sins that we could never repay.  All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). We therefore need a benefactor, one to pay our debt for us. And that Benefactor is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so he cried out from the cross, "It is finished" - our debt has been paid.

Liberty in Christ

"Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom," commented Alexis de Tocqueville when the United States was just a fledgling nation. 

In Christianity all are equal in Christ. Freedom is found in our relationship with Jesus. It does not matter our status, our economic situation, or our ethnic background. In Christ there is no male or female, no Jew or Gentile, and no slave or freeman (Gal. 3:28), for all have the freedom to approach the throne of grace. But in Christ, we have different job descriptions to fulfill and different gifts to employ for the enhancement of God's kingdom. Some of us may be wealthier than others; but all of us are rich in Christ. The wealthy have a responsibility to care for the less fortunate, for to whom has been given much, much will be required of him (Luke 12:48).

In the world, equality is all about rights and redistribution of wealth so that no one is inferior or superior to another. This is the view of communism, not Christianity. It eventually leads to an impoverished nation because the heart of man is evil continually (Gen. 6:5) and will seek to do best for him to the disregard and disrespect of others. Why put in full effort when the pay is equal? The Pilgrims learned this lesson quickly. At first, everyone was to work the community garden and share everything. Soon, the slackers were discovered who put in minimal effort. When each family was given their own plot of ground to cultivate their own produce, then the colony flourished. "A slack hand causes poverty, " says Scripture (Prov. 10:4). To have others remunerate the sluggard for his lack of effort is not equality; it is foolishness.

De Tocqueville also wrote, "Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude." May the Lord change the hearts of men, for without Christ they will remain in slavery to their fleshly appetites, which lead to destruction. Hope is in the One who freed us from the bondage of sin and released us to live in grace for the betterment of mankind.