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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Rest Assured

This past Sunday was a great day for our church. An exciting move in to a new building, God has truly blessed us. What a great christening sermon, a reminder of the basis for our salvation as revealed to us in Luke 23:32-43. These verses depict a grisly scene. The Creator seemingly terminated by the created. In the midst of these verses, Jesus pleads with His Father to offer forgiveness to the very men bringing death to Him. How unaware those men are, that they are putting to death the most innocent of men, yet it is only through their actions of nailing Christ to the cross, that forgiveness is made possible to all those who have sinned, even themselves! The single worst deed ever performed by man, brings about the greatest news to this broken world that we live in, creation reconciled with the Creator. And so it goes with the Gospel. Our God taking destruction and disaster, creating restoration and reconciliation time and time again in both what we read in the Bible and within our own lives.

In the remainder of this passage, there are several instances of doubt within the observing rulers, soldiers, and one of the criminals; doubt of the supreme position of Christ. While on the cross, those around Christ display their doubt by accusing him of lacking the power to save Himself, taunting Him. How often does this doubt saturate my own thoughts? Hearing of the terrible things that occur within out city, our nation, and our world, how quick I am to question God, or the power of God. How could God just let these things happen? Doesn’t he care about me? Doesn’t He care about His creation? If I ever even get around to it, it often takes far too long for me to consider my very limited perspective. Just like the bystanders witnessing the death of Christ, am I even aware of what good God will create from atrocity? The Luke passage is a reminder to rest assured that we serve a just and powerful God. As read in Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Chiefly, we know that God worked all things for good in the death of His Son, for our salvation. From birth in a lowly manger, to a forsaken death on the cross, Christ has lived among us.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

-Zephaniah 3:17

~Michael Leslie

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