What’s so good about this Good Friday?

Have you ever wondered why they call it “Good Friday”?  If you look at what happened on that day, it doesn't seem good at all.  An innocent man was brutally beaten, tortured and hung up on a cross by religious leaders and a ruthless government. 

However, the “man” wasn't just a man and what happened was much more than it may seem at first glance.

Here’s what’s good about what happened and why you and I should celebrate.

The “man” wasn't just a man.  He was the one and only Jesus.  And He wasn’t executed or murdered.  The religious people and the Roman government didn’t kill him.  They couldn't do it.  Instead, He chose to lay down His life.  He did it for a very specific reason.  Here it is:

Jesus gave up His life on that cross for you, me, your neighbors, your kids, your family…all of us.  He did it to give us a huge, eternal, once-and-for-all  life do-over!

That’s why we should celebrate!   The Lord doesn't expect you to be perfect or even good before you come to Him.  Jesus is the only perfect person who has ever lived.  So the pressure has been taken off of you and me.

What happened on Good Friday is so much more than I can describe in this blog post.  The point I hope you walk-away with here is that the Lord offers all of us a fresh start.  All of us need new beginnings from time to time.  None of us are perfect.  In fact, we’re all “messed up” in one way or another. 

When Jesus gave up His life on that cross, he did it to say, “I’ve got you”.  “I’ll take your messed-up life.”  “I’ll pay for that huge mistake you made.”  “I’ll be your advocate.”  “I’ve got your back.”  “Yes, I do love you anyway and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

If you ask me, that’s a pretty “Good Friday”.

Don't Be Afraid

As a young boy, I remember being afraid of the dark.  I was certain there was a monster under my bed and that when my mom turned out the light, the monster would crawl out and bite my fingers off (weird…I know!).  I even remember what the monster looked like in my mind.  He was a human sized T-Rex with sharp teeth and hands with 3 inch claws (even more weird!).

Even after my mom showed me there was nothing under the bed and assured me that she and dad were just in the next room, I was still afraid when those lights went off.  Thankfully, there was a night light to keep me safe and the covers somehow had magical “shield” abilities as long as I pulled them up over my head.

Looking back now, it seems a little silly.  But as adults, we have many fears too.  Admit it.  We’re all afraid of something;   rejection, loss, change, failure, sickness, death, poverty, violence, irrelevancy, etc.  The list is long and these are our life-sized T-Rexes with sharp claws.  Let’s face it, this world has a lot of darkness in it and it’s no wonder we have so much to be afraid of.

Until a recent event, I hadn’t been someone who let fear control my life.  I honestly wasn’t afraid of much.  But then something happened and I was suddenly, overwhelmingly afraid of losing someone more important to me than my own life.  It was a paralyzing fear and for a short time, I could barely function.

That’s what fear does.  It paralyzes us and prevents us from making good decisions or moving forward.  Fear robs us of happiness and contentment.  Fear forces us into a mind-set of dark thoughts and negativity which leads to depression and other health problems.

However, you should know something.  Fear is a lie.

How can we face fear and anxiety and over-come the lie?  Here are the steps I took and these work for me on a daily basis:

1. Prayer - If you don’t believe (in God and his Son Jesus), you may scoff at this. You may doubt.  I get it.  I’ve scoffed and doubted too.  But I’ve also learned how little I actually knew when I was scoffing and doubting.  Prayer is simply talking to God.  He made us.  He knows what we’re facing and what we fear.  And here’s the thing…He’s waiting for us to ask for help.  God is not about barging into our lives without us asking.  You never saw Jesus begging people to follow Him. It was always an invitation – “ask” for help, “seek” the direction you need to go, “knock” on the door and He’ll answer.   To get through my daily list of fears, I take them to God and he has always answered.  You can ask for help too.
2.  Friends – You’ve probably heard the phrase “There’s safety in numbers.”  It’s true in every sense.  If you have something causing you fear and anxiety, talk to your friends about it.  I’ve often found that if I dwell on something long enough without getting outside input, I build the issue up in my mind to the point where it seems unbearable and I begin to despair.  However, when I talk about it to my friends, they always have a different perspective about which I never considered.  There has never been a time when I didn’t feel much better after talking to my friends about an issue or fear in my life.
3.  Church – You may not be church-goer.  You may have been “burned” at church or have reservations because church is full of “hypocrites”.  I have felt the same way at times.  But understand that a church is God’s version of family.  Of course it’s full of “hypocrites” – if you have 2 people in a room, you have 2 “hypocrites” in a room. So, don’t think of the church as perfect.   If you find a good church (and they are out definitely out there), think of it as your extended family and support system.  Some of my best friends go to church with me (see 2 above).  When I was recently walking through a very dark time, those people showed up and kept me going in a huge way.  Those “hypocrites” called me every day to check on me.  Those “hypocrites” brought me a meal or 2, took me to lunch, sent me encouraging cards and email.  Those “hypocrites” held me up when I was falling.  So, in short, I would do anything for those “hypocrites” and I love them all!  You can have the same thing.  Just look around, shop around, and find a good church! (If you can’t find one, come to church where I go, it’s great!)
4. Understand The Lie – You might wonder why I called fear a lie.  The reason is simple.     The idea that we should fear is the lie.  We weren’t meant to live in fear.  Sadly, our culture breeds fear.  The news media magnifies the darkest and worst news because it is TV gold.  Our politicians attempt to make us afraid of something so we’ll vote for them to keep it away.  TV shows dramatize everything from murder to disease to natural disasters.   But it’s all just a fake monster under the bed.   God never intended us to be afraid.  Jesus said “Don’t be afraid” many times.  God intends for us to have a fulfilled, satisfied, contented life.  The caveat is that without a relationship with Him, it’s not possible.  But WITH Him, it’s just a prayer away! 

Here is one of my favorite verses.  Even if you’re a skeptic about the whole “God” thing, think about this.  Try it out.  Go ahead and put it to the test and see for yourself.   But, be aware, if you really seek God, you’ll absolutely find Him.  And your life will never be the same!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition…present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7

Never Alone – The Worst 45 Minutes

I read a sad quote from Orson Welles the other day. 

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.”

While this may be Orson’s self-absorbed, depressed perspective, I believe it is completely false.  Don’t believe that statement for a minute.   

When people face intense times of crisis and pain, (and we all have or will at some point), many feel an overwhelming sense of “aloneness”.  In other words, in times of death of a loved one, divorce, betrayal, loss, etc, we are tempted to say and feel - “I am all alone!”   This is a terrible feeling and causes depression and anxiety.  If left un-checked, it can lead to chronic depression and worse.

I once experienced an event where, for about 45 minutes (which seemed like 4 days), I felt terribly and utterly alone and had no hope.  I can say without reservation that it was the worst 45 minutes of my 40 years on this earth.  It was awful and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

However, through that experience, I learned some powerful things and I’m supposed to share them with you.   Here are the things I learned from that “worst 45 minutes”:

1.       I was never actually alone:  As soon as I ran to the Lord (in prayer), he began to remind me that he had never left me – not once, not for a second.  He was there all the time. One of the many amazing things about God is that he always keeps his promises.  He promises over and over again throughout the Bible that he will never leave us or forsake us.  That is amazing.  Even though you may “feel” alone at a particular time, you can know that God is right “there” standing over your shoulder.  If you will go to him in prayer, you’ll begin to understand what I mean.

2.       Friends/Family can help – One of the things the Lord reminded me when I was running to Him was that He had already provided me with amazing friends and family who were all only a phone call away.  Why had I forgotten this?!!  In fact, it took only one phone call before I had a dozen different friends and family at my door to help me through this.  Note: The reality for many is that they don’t have “blood” relatives in which they can rely.  In this case, your other friends can be your “family”.  In my life, my close friends are as much my family as my wonderful “blood” family. – (thank you God for all of them!)

3.       Pain and defeat can be turned to joy and victory –I’ve learned over the years that God can turn the worst situation into something amazing and wonderful.    He can transform the most broken of lives into a shining example of victory.  He can turn a crushed relationship into a redeemed, loving example of grace.   Basically, there is nothing broken that Jesus can’t fix.  I’ve seen too many examples to doubt His ability to make things “right” again.

The simple truth is that if you have a relationship with the Lord through Jesus, you will never be alone.  It’s a promise from God that can be found over and over again in the Bible and in everyday life.   He said it best Himself:

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” – John 14:18. 

Here’s one of my favorites:

“Be strong and courageous.   Do not be afraid or terrified…, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy  31:6

The question for you is this:  Do you have a relationship with the Lord so that you never have to be alone when crisis hits?

When the Bad Thing Happened

Have you ever heard the quote "...Into each life, a little rain must fall"?  It basically means that at some point in EVERYONE's life, something bad is going to happen.  It happens to us all.  At some point, something really lousy – crappy – crummy –awful –etc  is going to take place in your life, in my life, in all of our lives.

When this happens, you may find yourself asking this popular question:  “Where are you God and why aren’t you rescuing me IMMEDIATELY?!”  It’s a valid question.  In fact, I believe sometimes it’s a question the Lord wants us to ask.

Recently something very bad happened in my life.  The details of what happened aren’t important to this blog.   What happened as a result of the bad thing is what I want to share:

1.       When the bad thing happened I acted just like a child acts when he or she falls down skins a knee and runs to a parent to make it better.  I RAN to God.  I didn’t crawl.  I didn’t walk casually.  I RAN (in a spiritual sense) to the Lord crying (literally) begging for help.  At the time, I remember feeling terribly alone – this was completely false as I’ll discuss in a later blog.  I learned I was never alone…not for a minute. 

2.       When the bad thing happened I asked God to fix everything immediately.  Isn’t it interesting that often our
idea of a miracle or a miraculous act by God needs to be immediate?   It seems that miracles (acts of God changing things in our lives) are sometimes instant, sometimes take place over a short period of time, and sometimes take what we think is a LOOOOONNNNGGG time.   I learned that my sense of timing is not necessarily the Lord’s timing. 

3.       When the bad thing happened, I suddenly realized there were a lot of “things” in my life that had been distracting me or keeping from having a close relationship with the Lord.  When I was on my knees begging for help, I reminded myself of all the times and things I had done that drove a wedge between me and God.  I remember the little “pet sins” and selfishness I had held onto.   Those things became repulsive to me because all I wanted to do was be near the Lord.  I learned that sometimes it takes something major to “burn away” all of the junk in our lives.  It’s only when I open up all the dark closets in my life and turn on the lights to God, that I am finally in a place where he can do some serious healing and work.  I basically prayed and said “God…I’ve got nothing left…” and I feel like He said, “OK.  Now I can finally do something in your life!” – more on this in a future blog 

4.       When the bad thing happened, my family and friends responded in a HUGE way.  They responded by coming over and just sitting with me.  They responded by calling me.  They responded by texting me to check in.  They responded by bringing food over.  They responded by emailing me.  Most importantly, they responded by covering me in a blanket of prayer.  I learned that the Lord uses people in a powerful way to help in times of crisis.  I further learned how important family and friends are.  It made an impact on me that I will never forget and I have pledged to be a better friend in return.


5.       When the bad thing happened, and I had given everything over to Him, I began to see amazing changes that I honestly didn’t expect.   I learned that Jesus has the power to turn ANYTHING around.  I do mean ANYTHING.  I’ve seen it.  I’ve heard about it.  Now I’ve experienced it for myself!

There is a whole host of things that I learned during this time and I believe I will share them in future blogs.  The question for you is this:  How do you respond when the bad things happen?  How will you respond in the future when they DO happen (because you know they will)?  Will you choose to run to the Lord and have Him turn defeat into an amazing victory?  Or, will you be defeated by the bad thing and live in misery?