February 2002
Page 1 - Renewal, Revival, and Reformation by Graham Cooke
Page 2 - Seven Habits of One Highly Effective Person
Page 3 - The Master's Institute - A Journal Entry by Diane Snyder - Administrative Assistant at The Master's Institute
Page 4 - Like a Child by Gary Bistram
Page 5 - Pastor-In-Residence
Page 6 - The Launching of the ARC
Seven Habits of One Highly Effective Person
The way people die can sometimes tell us how they lived. Jesus died forgiving His enemies, redeeming a thief, caring for loved ones, overcoming the powers of darkness, confessing human need, finishing His assignment, and trusting His Father in death. What a way to die!FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.
"Yes they do, Jesus. They're killing you, an innocent man. Why aren't you angry? Why aren't you trying to get even? It's hard for me to forgive, Jesus, especially when it's unjust, especially when I'm right. Nothing angers me like injustice. But you forgave, and you hurt more than I ever have. Would you help me to forgive like you do? Jesus, help me to live as you died. Give me grace to forgive without strings, the way you did."
When East Germany asked forgiveness of Israel, they responded, "The shame of the action cannot be removed." But Jesus can remove any shame, even the shame of killing Him. He removed it as they were doing it-and He'll remove your shame, too. Just ask Him.TODAY YOU SHALL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.
"Jesus, You take the unlikeliest people with you to heaven, people who sure don't deserve to go there. Oh yeah, no one does. But I haven't stolen like he did-well, except time, or friends, or a reputation. I've stolen with words as well as actions. You came to seek and save the lost, and did it even at your last hour."The power of Christ's life and death is seen in His dying moments. Salvation is extended to a criminal, who has nothing to contribute before he passes into eternity. But he will still shine with the stars of heaven and he will praise the blood of the Lamb. Better people will go to hell because of their refusal to do what he did. What faith! "Remember me..." And what a response of faith: "Today you will be with me..."
I can picture him going to heaven's gate. Imagine Peter asking, "How can you come in here? You're a thief." He would respond, "Jesus said I could." "Really, when did He say that?" "Just today, a few hours ago." He was a thief, an undeserving one. But at his dying moment he took more than he had ever taken before as a thief-he took eternal salvation. We will meet him in heaven, thanks to Jesus. One blasphemed, the other believed. What a difference for eternity.
WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON. BEHOLD, YOUR MOTHER!
"Jesus, when I get a headache, I don't think of other people much, even those close to me. I think about myself. Sometimes when I hurt I get grouchy. I feel that others should wait on me, take care of me, be considerate of me. How is it that at the time of your greatest need you are thinking of others, like your mother? She was weeping for you, and you were looking out for her. The unique Son of God, you were also the son of Mary. You were a good Son. What love you had for people, for your family, for your mother! Put within me your heart of compassion for people, for the needy, for our loved ones."MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?
"You're a reject. You came into this world a reject. Your birth was called illegitimate. Your parents were poor, and so were you. You were an itinerant preacher. The hometown folks received you, until you preached your first sermon. Then they tried to throw you over a cliff. Hardly a welcome. You came to your own and they didn't receive you. 'You were despised and rejected by men.' The rejection continued at the trials. You were worse than Barabbas, a criminal and worse than a criminal. But you knew it was going to happen. You had told your disciples that 'the Son of man (would) suffer man things and be rejected by the elders.' The worst had to be when God rejected you. You had never known even the slightest moment of separation. Now you are condemned, even by the Scripture: "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse" (Deuteronomy 21:23). You had only known God's favor. Now you feel His curse. You knew no sin. You became sin itself for us."What a battle! Hand to hand combat with the powers of darkness. The Lord lays on Him the iniquity of us all. He is being stricken by God. The Father is beating up His own Son, who feels the agony and cries out, not to His Father, but to God. There is no darker hour in human history. No place is He more a representative of the human, fallen race. His cry, "My God, my God, why...," is the most wrenching cry of the universe. Unspeakable horror, undiminished shame. Jesus paid a high price for our sin. Consider it the next time you think Jesus doesn't care, or the next time you feel the need to indulge yourself. No one understands suffering like Jesus. What great sorrow! What great love!
I THIRST.
It wasn't until He looked to the needs of others that He said, "I am thirsty." He dealt with the thief's thirst for salvation before He asked for a drink. He drank when all things were accomplished. In the heat of battle, one cannot yell, "Time out." The demands of the fight far outweigh the desires of the flesh. That Jesus now confesses thirst is not only a sign of thirst. For John it is an indication that the battle is over. And He said it in fulfillment of scripture.At no point in the conflict did Jesus ever lose control. Caiaphas did-and tore his robes in anger. Peter did-and swore his denial of having ever known Jesus. Pilate did-and tried to wash a guilty conscience away with water. The crowd did-and shouted, "Crucify him," like bloodthirsty dogs tearing at their victim. But Jesus, the victim, never lost it. He knew what was happening all the time and what He needed to do. History was on schedule. The king was about to be crowned. And He said, "I thirst." He was the Son of God and Son of Man. His confession of need encourages me to be human, to be honest about my needs.
The one who created Niagara Falls, who made the lakes in the Rockies, is now dehydrated. He had been preparing to give eternal water to the thirsty, and now He grows thirsty in the process. He had poured out His soul to death. He deserved to be thirsty.He had just cried out, "My God, my God." That was the worst kind of dehydration, the most awful exposure, the exposure to the elements of darkness without the help of God. But He was also facing the physical exposure. The soldier understood Him and gave Him some of the sour wine, the cheap stuff given to soldiers as part of their rations. Earlier it had been offered to Jesus and He had refused it. Why now? Because He was about to die, His work was over. He did not want to be drugged earlier, because He chose to be in full awareness of what He was doing. He needed to "taste death for everyone." When He received the wine, He gained sufficient strength to cry out.
IT IS FINISHED.
He didn't say, "I am finished." He didn't die a victim but a victor. He finished it all. That means that there is nothing left for you and me to do. "There is therefore now no condemnation."He accomplished it all-single-handedly. It had started at the dawn of creation. Satan, who had led a rebellion in heaven, then convinced Adam and Eve to rebel. The devil wounded the heel of Jesus, but Jesus stepped on his head. Everything on the other side of the cross would be the mop-up campaign. Heaven must be rejoicing.
What do we add to the cross? Our good efforts? Our church attendance? Our zeal? Our devotions? Our tithe? Nothing can be added. Our salvation in Jesus Christ is the cross plus nothing. We have amassed a great debt, but it has been paid in full. We, too, can say with Christ, "It is finished."
FATHER, IN YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.
He ended as He started, praying to His Father. The Father must be so pleased now. The Son is finished with the assignment. He will soon be coming home. The Son has always trusted His Father. Now He entrusts His spirit in death. He trusts the Father to raise Him up again. Jesus chooses to die. He yields up His Spirit, almost like a child praying, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." The 3lst Psalm was one of the first psalms Jewish children memorized. Jesus was saying His closing prayer, quoting from that Psalm. This was the third time He quoted Scripture from the cross, as He walked through the valley of the shadow of death, like a man on a mission. He came to die-and now He does.The Father is conforming His children into the image of Christ. He would teach us to live-as Jesus died.
