The Moth and the Cross

One night, while on a hike, I came upon a church. As I looked around I saw a cross made of 4x4s and painted brown. Kneeling down at the front of the cross I prayed for a while then and sat down on a post that was a few feet back. Looking at the wooden cross I thought about all Christ had endured to get there. The people that he loved, all demanding “crucify him!” because of lies spread by the religious leaders.

• Luke 23:20-24 (NIV)
  20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
  22For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
  23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant their demand.

The thought of His flesh in shreds from the whipping and the cat of nine tails (a whip with pieces of bone and metal on the ends of straps, designed to damage from impact and pull flesh away when it was pulled back). I also thought about Him being nailed to the cross and raised up to hang there for hours of more suffering. All these things that he endured for my sins…

• 1 Corinthians 15:2-4 (NIV)
  2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
  3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Then I prayed about seeing Him, to be able to talk with Him. That’s when I heard a sound coming from some tall grass. I looked down and saw a large moth stuck in the grass flopping around. While helping him escape his prison of grass I noticed a broken wing. I placed him on an arm of the cross realizing that Jesus had revealed Himself through the moth. It’s broken wing representing Jesus’ broken heart. A broken heart for the people of this world who still reject Him when all He wants a personal relationship with each of us.

This may not seem like big deal, but it shows me that God is still with us and wants to be part of our lives. What about you? Have you looked around to see if Jesus is revealing himself to you or maybe some who needs Jesus?

Pastor Steve

What's the Big Deal with Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday is Sunday April 5 this year and good many of us have been around church, especially at Easter, and observed Palm Sunday. But you may not really understand it's significance. Was this about people having their palms read to see the future? or maybe it was the first Arbor day and they were planting trees?

Actually, it should be called donkey colt-branch-coat parade or something more catchy than that. What do I mean. Well about a week before Jesus' crucifixion, He rode Jerusalem on a baby donkey on a road lined with peoples coats and branches. This wasn't because the town was dirty and the street sweepers haven't been out yet. It was out of honor and respect for the one the prophecies were about. Check out these verses to get the story:

• Matthew 21: 1-11


• Mark 11: 1-11


• Luke 19: 28-44

Why a baby donkey? Donkey's were associated with leaders and by riding a young donkey would have shown humility and gentleness. This also fulfilled what Zechariah had seen. Putting coats and branches on the road was customary way of welcoming a triumphant king returning from a victory. So they were treating Jesus like a king who has one a major battle...

• Zechariah 9:9-10 (NIV)
  The Coming of Zion's King 9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king [a] comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
  (This was written around 900 years before it happened)

The problem is that the people saw Christ as a political leader that had come to deliver them from Roman rule. Christ did come as the King of Kings and to deliver us from the enemy, but that enemy is the sin in our lives. Within one week this admiration and respect will change drastically.

Check back next week for the rest of the story.