Jesus – Y’shua
Bored, Tired, and Desperate
One of the songs which impacted me as a young man was a hit song sung by Peggy Lee in 1969. It was called "Is that all there is?". It’s mostly spoken and is really a cry for help in a time of quiet desperation.
After expressing great disappointment in life - seeing a fire as a little girl, a circus at age 12, and then falling in love as a young woman - the last verse goes like this:
I know what you must be saying to yourselves,
if that’s the way she feels about it why doesn’t she just end it all?
Oh, no, not me. I’m in no hurry for that final disappointment, for I know just as well as I’m standing here talking to you, when that final moment comes and I’m breathing my last breath, I’ll be saying to myself...
Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball.
If that’s all, there is...
Pretty sad isn’t it.
The name Jesus means simply, “Jehovah is salvation”. Here is the answer to the question sung by Peggy Lee in an age of young men drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam, long haired hippies, and flower children who were all seeking some meaning to life.
Here was the answer to the question that had been asked since Adam and Eve were turned out of Eden – What will become of people? Will they be born, live out their lives and then die? Will they cry and whisper “if only” to a darkened room? Will they party hardy and “go out with a bang”? Is that all there is?
No! There is so much more
Light in the darkness
Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Who is this light?
Joshua the slave.
God spent many years preparing Joshua for his calling. He was born into slavery in Egypt and was given the name Hoshea (Num. 13:8), which means “salvation.”Moses later changed it to Joshua (v. 16, NIV), “Jehovah is salvation,” which is the Hebrew form of “Jesus” (Matt. 1:21; see Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8). When his parents gave the baby the name “salvation,” they were bearing witness to their faith in God’s promise of redemption for His people (Gen. 15:12–16; 50:24–26).Joshua belonged to the tribe of Ephraim and was the firstborn son of Nun (1 Chron. 7:20–27). This meant that his life was in danger the night of Passover, but he had faith in the Lord and was protected by the blood of the lamb (Ex. 11–12)[1]Joshua’s life foreshadows the Messiah
The light drives out the darkness of sin
Jesus came to save us from our sin
The name of Jesus was not given him at random, or fortuitously, or by the will of man, but was brought from heaven by an angel, as the herald of the supreme decree;256 the reason also being added, “for he shall save his people from their sins,” (Matt. 1:21). In these words attention should be paid to what we have elsewhere observed, that the office of Redeemer was assigned him in order that he might be our Saviour.Christ appeared to take away our sins (vv. 4–6).There are several definitions of sin in the Bible:
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).“The thought of foolishness is sin” (Prov. 24:9).“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).“All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17).But John’s epistle defines sin as lawlessness (1 John 3:4).It views sin as defilement (1 John 1:9–2:2), but here it views it as defiance.The emphasis here is not on sins (plural), but on sin (singular):
“Whosoever practices sin.” Sins are the fruit, but sin is the root.
The root of sin is defiance
Poem "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley
distributed by Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh at his execution. The title is Latin for ’unconquerable.’
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud,
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
-- William Ernest Henley
A small defiant boy
When I was a youth minister 30+ years ago I told a young 5 year old boy to stop running in church. He stopped and then turned to me and said I couldn’t make him. Well... I couldn’t let a challenge like that go by so I got down on his level and firmly took him by the arms. I got eyeball to eyeball with him and said, "I told you to not run in church. You could hurt someone else. Now slow down."
This little boy balled up his fists and vibrating with anger said “You get your hands off of me.” Now, at that point I wasn’t about to let go. I took him over to the stairs and sat him down on the first step. (By now he is crying.) Then I said, "You sit here till you stop crying and you think about what I said about running in church. When you stop crying you can get up and when you are ready you come find me, pull on my sleeve and we’ll shake hands and be friends."
About 15 minutes later I felt a tug on my sleeve. There was the boy looking up expectantly. We shook hands and he happily went on his way.
Who here has not been that little boy to Yahweh God?
Jesus is the Light that drives out defiance
You have to look to the light
Psalm 130:1-4 (The Message)
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help!Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.
If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.
Poem “Conquered” By Dorothea Day
Around 1900 a young lady that had been greatly enamored with Henley and his humanism got soundly converted to Christ. She wrote a response to Henley’s blasphemy, and set forth the correct attitude of a child of God toward the sovereignty of God. Here is her poem:
Out of the light that dazzles me,
Bright as the sun from pole to pole,
I thank the God I know to be,
For Christ - the Conqueror of my soul.
Since His the sway of circumstance,
I would not wince nor cry aloud.
Under the rule which men call chance,
My head, with joy, is humbly bowed.
Beyond this place of sin and tears,
That Life with Him and His the Aid,
That, spite the menace of the years,
Keeps, and will keep me unafraid.
I have no fear though straight the gate:
He cleared from punishment the scroll.
Christ is the Master of my fate!
Christ is the Captain of my soul!
Jesus is the light that brings us into God’s presence
God’s purpose is our presenceWe are not just saved from sin – we are saved “for” God’s presenceHe wants us in his house – for all of time and eternityThat is a little tough to believe sometimes
Do you sometimes feel like the last tree on the lot?
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be the last tree on the lot on Christmas Eve?
People have passed you by because you were the wrong size or had gnarled branches or a poor shape or your needles were falling.
Perhaps you feel like a rejected Christmas tree. You don’t quite measure up to people’s expectations. You think nobody wants you.
There’s good news. God doesn’t look at you the way people do. He looks at your heart.
Frankly that’s a distinctive of Meridian ChurchIt’s a sweet warm fragrance of fresh bread from the oven. It is the powerful smell of roasted turkey, hot sweet potatoes, and warm pumpkin pie.
We have no liturgy or rules about worship – we just love being with our Father GodChurch is fun! We like being here – in a community of believers gathered in his family room.
We have no creeds or doctrinal statements written by men to separate us from others – we simply follow Jesus.Jesus is the common factor. Not a denominational name, manual of discipline, or written or unwritten set of expectations.
We have no class distinctions; no male or female; black or white or brown; no rich or poor – we are determined to love one another. People are people and we are committed to acting in harmony and loving each other. Preserving the unity of the body in all circumstances
We have no one who is unacceptable or useless – we all fit into the family and have a place where we can serve others. This is a place of grace and mercy. No one is disposable. No one is useless. No one is beyond hope or redemption.
We have no limitations on God’s family - We care about you and want to find your way home – God’s home that he has prepared for me and for you.We are not slaves to a building. We are the church. You and I are the church. And we belong to Jesus.
This isn’t my church. It’s not your church. It is Jesus church. He came for it. He died for it He established it. I just work here. It’s mostly a lot of fun.
Christmas is for Children
For years Donna and I celebrated Christmas in our home with our kids…Christmas is for children.Always think of joy and innocence.
Always hoping for their future
Christmas is not joy for everyone
For hundreds of babies – up to the age of two – it was death because of a paranoid king. For their mothers it was crushing grief.Last Sunday Steve Higgs talked about his mother passing away during the Christmas season and how that has impacted his Christmas.
Some of you have lost loved ones this year, struggled with staying afloat financially, suffered in marriage where there is little love, or mucked your way through a separation or divorce.
In times of misery it’s hard to be joyful and listen to all the music.Christmas is still for children
You are a child of God
He will do everything he can to make a place for us in his home.
Welcome Home! You are God’s child and he wants you to come home.
