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My friend’s husband has a lot of health problems. He’s maybe not always been the picture of perfect health, but he’s been fine. About a month ago, he found out he has cancer. And heart problems. So, practically overnight, he went from thinking he was healthy to knowing he had life-threatening diseases. Now, his days are filled with all sorts of doctors, appointments, tests, and phone calls. Maybe you have health problems too. Maybe you spend a lot of your time driving to appointments…waiting…seeing doctors…trying different meds…getting tests done. In general, when our health takes a nose-dive, we get on it. We take action. We get help. We want to get better. You know, when Jesus was on the earth, He performed many miracles. He healed people of all kinds of diseases. He made blind people see. He made lame people walk. He made deaf people hear. He healed—fully and completely and instantly. Part of the reason Jesus healed almost everywhere He went was because He had compassion for people who were suffering. He cared about their aches and pains and suffering. So, He did something about it. But what truly motivated Jesus to heal people was His relentless effort to show people who He was: God in the flesh. Who can fully and completely and instantly heal other than God? No one. Jesus’s miracles were proof. Now, if people could understand who Jesus was—God—they could believe in Him. The miracles were evidence that Jesus was God in the flesh so that people would believe. But why did Jesus care about people understanding who He was? Because He cared about their spiritual health. Yes, He cared about their physical health, and so He healed. But even more, He cared about their spiritual health. How is your spiritual health? I’ll tell you: without Jesus Christ as the Master of your life and your Savior from your sin, you are spiritually dead. Dead. Get that? You’re not on life support. You’re spiritually dead. Jesus offers spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead. When He was here on earth, those who believed in Him, received spiritual healing: they received life. It’s been the same ever since. We spend a lot of time on our physical health. Maybe you try to eat healthy. Maybe you try to get some exercise. Maybe you take vitamins. And when big health problems happen, like with my friend’s husband, doctors become a way of life. Our physical health becomes The Thing that consumes our thoughts, our time, our money. But what about your spiritual health? You see, we all will die one day. Taking care of our physical bodies is important, but at some point, physical health won’t matter anymore. Our spiritual bodies are eternal. Jesus does not desire that anyone—not you and not me—should perish spiritually. Spiritual life is possible only by putting your faith in Christ. Your spiritual health matters—and the only One who can meet your spiritual health needs is Jesus. Eternal life is found only in Him. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

What if someone told you that what you believed about God was wrong? Let me tell you the story of the apostle, Paul. He wasn’t always an apostle… Paul was a deeply religious man. He grew up in what is now southern Turkey, and at some point, his parents sent him to Jerusalem to study. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the best-known rabbi of that time. Paul studied hard. I’m sure he had most, if not all, of the Old Testament memorized. Besides being super-educated, he was a Pharisee. This meant that he followed the traditions that, over the years, the Pharisees had come up with. These traditions were nit-picky, ridiculous rules. These rules didn’t come from the Bible, they were simply traditions. Keeping all of them was hard—impossible really. However, Paul was committed to keeping them. I’m sure he rarely failed. So here’s Paul, a die-hard, passionate, religious, rule-following man. But he’s also a killer—a killer of Christians. Why? Because those Christians believed Jesus was the Son of God, that He had died and then had risen from the dead. Those Christians actually believed that Jesus was alive again! They said Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy—that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. “They lie!” he thought. Paul believed in the one true God—he thought. He worshipped the one true God—he thought. It enraged Paul! I mean he wasn’t just upset. It didn’t just cause him to lose a little sleep. To him, the Christians were beyond outrageous. They deserved to die. So, he hunted them down, threw them in prison, and even murdered them. And then one day, the living Jesus appeared to super-religious, defender-of-God Paul. And Jesus said, “Why are you persecuting Me?” I can’t imagine what it would be like to have the living Jesus confront me, in all His glory…and ask me why I was doing what I was doing…meanwhile, I’m thinking what I’m doing is super-religious and super-right. And then to learn I was actually totally wrong? This would be frightening to say the least. Well, a face-to-face meeting with the living Jesus caused Paul to see that everything he had believed all his life had been wrong. It took the power of Jesus to open Paul’s eyes to truth. Paul’s understanding of the Old Testament had been completely wrong. He had thought serving God was about following all the picky rules and working at being perfect. Honoring God was simply about doing the right stuff. What Paul learned is that God wanted His heart, his faith, and his obedience. Paul had been wrong. And it had all been right before his eyes all along…in the Bible. So what about you? What if the living Jesus told you that making sure you get a baby baptized has nothing to do with being saved or going to heaven?  What if the living Jesus told you that praying to anyone other than God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit is unacceptable to God? What if the living Jesus said eternal life is found by grace through faith in Him? What if the living Jesus said there is not one thing you can do that helps earn you a spot in heaven? What if the living Jesus told you that the Word of God is the only source of truth? He already has. In the Bible. Read it and believe. If you would like prayer or need a Bible, let me know.

There’s an event in the Bible you might be familiar with—when Jesus fed the 5000. Here’s what happened. Jesus’s twelve disciples had just returned from a trip through Galilee. They had been preaching and healing people. Their healing of people would have drawn huge crowds. So these guys had been on this preaching tour for a while, and when they got back to Jesus they were tired. Really tired. They needed a break—some rest and time away from all the people. Now, Galilee was pretty small, only about 25 miles by 50 miles. In this small area, there were 204 villages. Very crowded. No quiet place to get away and be refreshed. So, Jesus took them across the Sea of Galilee to find a quiet place away from the crush of people. But, of course, lots of people followed. Who wouldn’t? These guys were healing the sick, the lame, the blind. The people were desperate for more. Well, the crowd got big. 5000 men, plus women and children. So, maybe there were as many as 20,000 people there, maybe more. That’s twice the size of Fort Atkinson. Jesus taught. He healed. The day was starting to wind down. Remember, this is a place Jesus had sought out because it was quiet and away from towns. So as it got later in the day, the disciples got to thinking about how the people would be hungry. The people had walked a long way, and now they’d been there all day. So, the disciples told Jesus to send the crowds away. He should stop teaching and healing, and give people a chance to get food. Time to wrap things up. Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” What??? With what? Jesus must have been out of His mind! They were in the middle of nowhere facing 20,000 hungry people. There was no place to buy food out there. And never mind they didn’t have the money to buy food for so many people. Even if they had been able to buy food, nobody would have gotten more than a crumb. This was impossible! But not for Jesus, the Son of God. There were 5 loaves—crackers actually—and 2 fish. That’s it: 5 crackers and 2 pickled fish. Jesus thanked God, and began to give food to the disciples for them to give out to the people. The food kept coming. And coming. Until everyone had eaten their fill. The people ate as much as they wanted. When they were done eating, the disciples gathered up the leftovers. From 5 crackers, there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Imagine all of Fort Atkinson being fed with just 5 crackers and 2 fish. And they didn’t get just a nibble or a snack, but a satisfying, filling meal. And there were even leftovers! Jesus worked an incredible miracle. What’s stunning is that a few hours later, most of the people who Jesus had just fed ditched Him. Why? Because Jesus told them the truth. He said that He is the source of life. He told them that believing in Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was—and is—the way to eternal life. But they didn’t like that truth. So they ditched Him. You know, in the Bible, we have all these stories of the miracles Jesus did. We have the words of Jesus—we can hear and read what He taught. And then, we are just like those who Jesus fed. We turn away and say, “Nah.” Or, “Yeah, but not right now. Someday.” Believe the truth of Jesus’s words and the evidence of His miracles. I pray you believe in Him. Today.

When I was in college, my dad called me one day. He was a farmer and everything that could go wrong in farming was going wrong. He owed more than the farm was worth, and the bank decided it was time to repay loans. All that he had worked for his whole life was going down the drain. It meant tough decisions and tough conversations. Thus, the phone call to me. My parents had paid for college but no more. Dad basically said, “You’re on your own.” It had to kill him to say those words to me, but it was the truth. Very often, the truth is hard to hear. When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, they lived in a perfect world. But then, they decided to do things their way instead of God’s way. If eating from the tree would make them wise, they thought that seemed like a smart thing to do—except God had told them that tree was off limits. God had warned them—things would change if they did that. They knew if they ate that tree’s fruit, they would face God’s punishment. But they ate the fruit anyway, and sinned against God. I can’t imagine how disappointed and hurt God must have been by their actions. He created them, He loved them, He had given them a world of beauty and perfection and all that they needed—plus they had a direct, talk-with-God-everyday-all-the-time kind of relationship. All this, and still they decided they wanted more. They chose sin instead of God. So they got what God had warned them about. Death entered the world. And, they no longer had a direct relationship with God—their sin put up a barrier between them and God. And, they had to leave this place of beauty and perfection. Their sin had severe consequences. This must have crushed God, to have to tell them all this. But He told them the hard truth. However, God did not abandon them. He still had a relationship with Adam and Eve, but now it was different. Did God punish them? Yes. Did He give up on them? No. Instead, God made them a promise. One day, there would be One who would defeat sin and death. God didn’t tell them who, or how, or when, but He made them a promise. God gave them hope. True to His word, God kept His promise. He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus didn’t come into the world with big headlines. He didn’t take over the world. He came in quietly. He taught people about God. He taught about sin. He called people to believe in Him, to put their faith in Him. So why should you believe in Jesus? Because Jesus is how God kept His promise. If you refuse to love Jesus, you’re doing the same thing Adam and Eve did. They decided they knew better than God. Refusing to love Jesus is believing you know better than God. It’s a dangerous way of thinking and living, and one that has consequences. My dad had to speak hard truth to me. Did I enjoy that call? No. Did it change me? Yes. Jesus got real direct with people. He said there was only one way to life. Himself. Jesus alone. He spoke the hard truth. Did people like it? No. It’s hard to hear that you’re a sinner and that you need Jesus. We love our independence and think very highly of our “goodness.” But the only “goodness” of value in God’s eyes is believing in and loving the lifeline that He has given: Jesus. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to write these messages. Does anyone read them? I wonder and sometimes feel a little discouraged. I thought about that this morning. And then I thought about how Jesus left glorious heaven to come to earth, spent three years preaching, teaching, and performing miracles. He was constantly on the move, going from village to village. Israel is a tough geography, and all this travel was done on foot…who knows how many miles Jesus logged in His short life. Hundreds, probably thousands of miles. He never had a home of His own. He likely owned nothing more than the clothes He wore. Some of the people who followed Him gave up on Him—so He lost friends. His own family didn’t believe in Him. He had plenty to be discouraged about. But He never was. From our human perspective, Jesus should have been super-discouraged. From our view, Jesus’s life could be considered a total failure. He had no possessions. No home. His own brothers and sisters rejected Him. The people in his hometown tried to kill Him. The leaders In Jerusalem were constantly plotting ways to destroy His credibility and reputation. When that didn’t work, the leaders simply decided to eliminate the Jesus problem: kill Him. Jesus was arrested. He was falsely accused. And, even though He was declared innocent of the crimes—publicly declared innocent—He was still killed. And His death was the most shameful and horrific death possible—hanging naked on a cross, with nails painfully driven through His hands and feet, stretched out for everyone to see and mock. There’s more…when He ascended into heaven and the church first started, there were only 120 believers. After all that, only 120 people stuck with Jesus. Sounds like a total failure, right? NOT FOR A SECOND. Jesus didn’t come to earth to live a wonderful life, telling people about heaven, congratulating them on how good they were, and suggesting a few minor improvements. He came to earth to rescue people from going to hell. Most people don’t like to think they are on their way to hell. Most people think that since they are moral or kind or generous or whatever—that’s it, all is good. That wasn’t what Jesus taught because that’s not the Truth. The Truth is that God loves you and me a whole lot…more than either of us can comprehend. And yet, God is also holy. Sin stands in between holy God and sinful humanity. Jesus is the bridge between the holy and the sinful. He came to take care of our sin problem. And He did, on the cross. He took that death for all who will believe in Him. Don’t be deceived. 1) Hell is real. And 2) the cost of entry into heaven is not being good, being nice, or doing good things. The cost of entry into heaven is faith in Jesus Christ alone, the Son of God. Truth is not determined by humans. God established truth. The Bible says the way to heaven is narrow, the way is hard, and not many find it (Matt 7:14). I find encouragement in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection – but more than that, I find hope. I pray you’ll find hope too, through that narrow way: Jesus. If you need a Bible or prayer, let me know.

There was a man in the Bible who believed a few things that people still believe today. His name was Simon (Acts 8:9-24). Simon was a celebrity in his town because of his remarkable magic tricks. Then one day, Philip, who had been one of the men chosen to help serve in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5) came to town. Philip told the people about Jesus. Philip healed people…some had been paralyzed, some couldn’t walk. Can you imagine this? People listened to what Philip was teaching them about Jesus, and many believed the good news of Jesus. Now all this fascinated Simon! Philip could do better tricks than he could! Simon decided he’d better get on board with this thing. So, the Bible says, “Even Simon himself believed” (Acts 8:13). And along with a whole bunch of people, Simon got baptized. He was saved! Or was he? The story goes on. Simon hung around Philip and continued to be amazed by all that Philip did. I mean, these tricks were just incredible. Well, the apostles, Peter and John, heard about the people’s belief in Jesus and came to town to lay their hands on those who had been baptized in the name of Jesus. By the laying on of their hands, the truth of the people’s faith was confirmed, and the Holy Spirit was received by these believers. Simon was stunned. Just by simply laying their hands on people, the Holy Spirit could be made to come to people? Simon had to get his hands to work the same way. Note: obviously, Simon wasn’t a true believer—he obviously hadn’t received the Holy Spirit. But, hey, this was no problem for Simon. He offered Peter and John money. He tried buy the ability to do the same thing: put his hands on people and cause the Holy Spirit to be received. Said another way, Simon thought there was something he could give or something he could do to get the Holy Spirit. Is that how it works? So, three things Simon thought and people still believe. 1) Was Simon saved because he said he believed? Though he said that, those were nothing but words. And in the same way today, there are plenty of people who think that simply saying the words, “I believe in Jesus” is all it takes. Here’s the truth: you can say anything you want. But it’s your life that tells the story. Does your life reflect a total commitment to the Lord? 2) But Simon must have been saved because he was baptized! It seemed to Simon that baptism sealed the deal. But baptism doesn’t save anyone…and yet, many churches today teach that baptism saves. Baptism is simply an action taken that declares to the world a change of heart—it tells friends and family that you are committed to loving and serving the Lord. A true change of heart means that what motivates you has changed. Is your motivation to love and serve the Lord wholeheartedly? 3) Simon believed that he had something that God wanted—his money. Seriously? Simon’s money could influence God? And yet it’s no different today. Many churches teach that what you do saves you…they teach that your giving and good deeds is the way to be saved. Back to the story: Peter called Simon out, saying, “your heart is not right before God.” Ah, and there’s the issue. A right heart. What is a right heart? The person with a right heart sees and is sick over his or her sin. The person with the right heart pleads with God for mercy and grace and forgiveness, made possible by Jesus’s death. Peter told Simon, “Repent!” Do you seriously think God is checking His records to see if you’ve been baptized, and if you have, that puts you in good standing with Him? Or that you can work way into or earn the right to be saved because of what you’ve done or not done? No. God looks at your heart. What does God see in yours?

“Don’t talk to me about Jesus. Jesus was just a man.” Someone said that to me…and In a way, this is true—but it’s only half-true. Here’s the whole truth. Jesus was a man. The apostle, John, wrote very plainly that Jesus was a flesh-and-blood man. John wrote about how he had heard Jesus speak with his own ears, seen Jesus with his own eyes, touched Jesus with his own hands (1 John 1:1) Matthew, who was also one of Jesus’s disciples along with John, wrote about how Jesus said to him, “Follow Me” (Matt 9:9), and then he invited Jesus over to his house for supper along with a bunch of his friends. The gospels are filled with stories of Jesus interacting with people, traveling around Israel, preaching and teaching. Obviously, Jesus was truly a man. But Jesus was not JUST a man. John saw Jesus do things no mere man could do. Jesus instantly and completely healed hundreds of sick people…He fed a crowd of 5000 in the middle of nowhere with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread…Jesus brought His dead friend, Lazarus, back to life—4 days after Lazarus died. These are just a few of the amazing miracles of Jesus. Who do you pray to when you’re sick? When you’re hurting? God. Jesus did all these miracles to let people know that He was God in the flesh, right there among them. Plus, Jesus knew peoples’ hearts. He answered Nicodemus’s question before Nick could even ask (John 3:2-3)…Jesus told the woman at the well she’d had 5 husbands and was living with a man she wasn’t married to—Jesus had never met this woman before and they hadn’t talked about her personal life (John 4:16-18). And I especially like the time when Jesus was at one of the Jewish leaders’ houses, and Jesus read this guy’s mind (Luke 7:36-50). “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” Did you catch that? The Pharisee said to himself…and Jesus answered him. No mere man reads minds and hearts. God knows the hearts of man. So does Jesus. Jesus knew the future. Here are just a couple of the many examples. He told his disciples again and again that He would die and be raised from the dead (Matthew 16:21-23, Mark 8: 31-32, Luke 9:21-22). That’s what happened. Jesus told His disciples that Jerusalem would be destroyed (Luke 21:20). That happened, 40 years later, in 70 AD. God knows the future. So does Jesus. Going back to 1 John 1:1, we read that Jesus was described as “that which was from the beginning.” This means Jesus is eternal. John also introduced Jesus in his gospel as being eternal, being with God—and being God (John 1:1). But how did John know this? Jesus told him! Jesus said that that He and the Father were one (John 10:13). God is eternal and has always existed. So is Jesus. What’s amazing is that God bothered to send His Son, Jesus, into a world that is full of sin, and to a world of people who say Jesus was nothing but just another man. It was because of God’s great, great love for us that He bothered. It was because of Jesus’s great, great love for us that He willingly died for our sins. Jesus was not JUST a man. He was also God in the flesh who came so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Let me know if you need prayer or a Bible.

We got to see our daughter, Lindsay, and 3 grandsons last week! It’s been a year since we saw them. They live in Galmi, Niger in northern Africa. They are just south of the Sahara desert and north of the equator. Of course, talked a lot about life in Niger. As I told my sister about Lindsay’s description of what life is like in Niger, I found myself focusing on all the problems. You know, the negative stuff. Things like it’s really hot there right now. Super hot. They have all lost weight, partly because of a lack of food they like…partly because the boys are growing boys—they simply need a lot of food…partly because they get a lot of stomach bugs and all the nastiness that goes along with that. There is no social life—they live inside the walls of the hospital compound with about 30 other families, but everyone works at the hospital and comes home exhausted, too tired to do anything but eat and fall into bed. And there’s a kind of spiritual darkness that’s really difficult. It all sounds so miserable. But is that the right perspective for me to have? Is that a godly heart attitude? Jesus’s apostles suffered a lot. As the church was just getting started, they were thrown in jail for preaching the gospel (Acts 4:3, 5:18). They were brutally beaten (Acts 5:40). That’s horrible, right? But that’s not how the apostles saw it. When they were freed from prison after being flogged, they rejoiced that they had suffered for preaching about Jesus (Acts 5:41). That’s amazing! Just as Jesus suffered and died, they were now being targeted and mistreated by people who rejected what they were preaching about Jesus. And the apostles rejoiced!!! As Rick and I were doing our morning study yesterday, I re-read some notes I had jotted down…on human perspective and God’s perspective. From my human perspective, all I see in Niger is misery. When I try to look at their situation from God’s perspective, my focus shifts—I focus on God. God chose them—our kids!—for this specific work in this specific place for His specific purpose at this specific time. God’s plans are always best for us, even when they are difficult.  Instead of seeing all that’s hard, I have this opportunity to support our kids by encouraging them, seeking to see the joy in what they are doing, and praying for them in more specific ways—that God would protect them from stomach bugs…that the recipes I sent Lindsay will help her be creative in using the ingredients she does have a lot of. They do have enough food—it’s a matter of figuring out how to use what they have so that it’s tasty and filling. I can pray for God to provide Lindsay with another missionary mom on the compound—there are new missionary families arriving in August! And I can pray that more people will know Christ. Plus, there truly are many things to rejoice over. For one thing, the boys LOVE it there! They have a great school teacher and are making incredible progress in their education. They are immersed in learning the Bible! Stuart, our son-in-law, saves multiple lives nearly every single day working as a surgeon in the hospital. As he meets patients, he’s part of the team that introduces them to Jesus—people who would otherwise never know anything about Jesus. These are not minor blessings—they are life-changing blessings! This is the perspective I want to have, to rejoice as the apostles did, keeping my eyes on Jesus. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

I’ve been listening to a series of short sermons called “Taming the Tongue.” Did you know the Bible has a lot to say about the tongue? Though it is a small muscle, it has tremendous power. It can be helpful or hurtful. The words we say can be encouraging and uplifting. Or words can be really damaging. With our words, we hurt others to the point of destroying relationships. How many times have you said something in anger, and then wished you could take those words back? The book of James in the New Testament is a really practical book, and one of his areas of concern was speech. In chapter 3, James gives three examples which provide vivid images of the power and danger of the tongue. First, James uses the example a bit, which is part of a horse’s bridle. The bit is super-small compared to the size of the horse, right? But that little bit is the way the movement of the horse is controlled (James 3:3). A second example draws a similar comparison: a ship and its rudder. Though small, the rudder controls the direction of the much larger ship its attached to (James 3:4). The tongue has the same ability to control us, with words often determining our future. Trashy, crude, belligerent speech generates a different response than friendly words. Harsh words, profanity, vulgar language—it turns people off. Mean words cut deep. They leave scars. I think James third illustration is the most powerful. He compares the tongue to a fire (James 3:5). A tiny spark is all that’s needed to start a fire, and in the certain conditions, a small fire can develop quickly into a huge, roaring, destructive fire, spreading, getting larger and larger, spewing smoke high into the sky, and destroying everything in its path. Likewise, the words we speak quickly inflict hurt that has lasting impact. Here’s why. Memory. Words don’t just vanish into thin air. Damaging words remain in our memories—things I say, I remember. Things that have been said to me, I remember. There are hurtful words my dad said to me years and years ago that I’ve never forgotten. Our memories of words spoken by and to us are like smoke from a fire; just as clothes from a house fire smell like smoke forever, words never go away. That’s the dangerous power of the tongue. So there are two points here. 1) Control your tongue. Your speech directly influences your relationships with everyone you know. Do you speak kind words or do you use speech to insult, hurt, curse? You have the ability to control your words. 2) Forgive. We all say things we wish we hadn’t. Jesus came to save sinners—which includes every person in the world—because we all sin. He offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe in His Name and accept Him as Lord and Savior. In the same spirit of forgiveness, the only way to live with one another is with a spirit of forgiveness and grace. No one is perfect. Even as we do our best to keep our tongues under control, we will fail. Be willing to forgive others and to do so quickly. Remember, you probably need them to forgive you too. If you need a Bible let me know.

This week, Rick and I have been reading about all that Jesus did in the days leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. How Jesus spent His time, what He did. One of the things that is important to remember about Jesus is that, as God in the flesh (in other words, Jesus was God on earth as a man) Jesus knew all the thoughts of everyone He met, everyone He talked to. And, He knew the future…including what the coming days held in store. He knew God’s plan—that He, Jesus,  would die to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. Bottom line: Jesus knew this was the week of His death. For a mere human, this would have been an horrific situation. How could anyone knowingly walk into the city where people are plotting Your death AND also know that these killers would succeed? However, please also keep in mind Jesus never sinned—He always obeyed God the Father. Only Jesus, God in the flesh, could do this. Only Jesus could know what was ahead and remain obedient. He would pay an excruciating price for others out of His great love for those lost sinners. That was Gods’ plan and Jesus is obedient to God—all the way to the point of death. Wow. Jesus arrived in a little village near Jerusalem and, there, His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus had a dinner for Him (John 12:1-2). The next morning, He went into Jerusalem, and the people were so excited to see Him! They greeted Him as He came into town riding on a donkey (just as the Old Testament had prophesied in Zechariah 9:9), and it was like a parade. They waved palm branches in the air and shouted their joy at seeing Him. They welcomed Jesus, even calling Him the King of Israel (John 12:12-15). Jesus went straight to the temple. It was a disaster—the leaders had set up shop again and were selling animals and exchanging money in the temple courtyard! Jesus threw them all out—He cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-13). The next day, Jesus spent the entire day teaching in the temple. He was confronted by the Jewish leaders who were trying to trap Him so they could kill Him (Matthew 21:23-27). He taught the people. He called out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders (Matthew 23:1-36). Amazing—He knew His death was just days away, and He kept on teaching. He kept telling the people the truth of who He was. Plus, He still had a lot that He needed to teach His disciples. So after a long day at the temple, that night, they walked out to the Mount of Olives, a mountainside just outside the city. Jesus sat down and told the disciples what would happen in the future: Jerusalem would be destroyed (Matthew 24:1-2), and it was in 70 AD. Jesus told them about the end times—the final judgment when all the world would be judged (Matthew 25:31-46). Well, Judas decided enough was enough. He got together with the Jewish leaders and agreed to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). Jesus knew this too. He knew His betrayer was right there among them, and He still remained obedient to God’s plan. And so, the next day, after the first Lord’s Supper (what we now call Communion), Jesus was betrayed and arrested. There was a hurry-up trial, and Jesus was sentenced to death even though the Roman governor (Pontius Pilate) and the Jewish king (Herod Antipas) found Jesus innocent. The people—the same ones who had welcomed Him with a parade and called Him King of Israel—screamed for His death. All of this was God’s plan. So that Jesus, His beloved Son, His sinless Son, could do what only Jesus could do: die for the sins of the world, so that those who believe in Him could have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus willingly gave His life for me and for you—if you’ll believe. I pray you’ll believe In the Lord Jesus. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

Rick and some friends were in an accident about a month ago. Someone cut in front of them, and they smashed into the other vehicle going about 50 mph. Miraculously, every person in both vehicles walked away with just bumps and bruises. There were many at the scene of the accident who said someone would have died if Rick’s group had been in a car instead of a heavy pickup truck. You know, we take it for granted that there will be a tomorrow. We go to sleep every night and expect to wake up the next morning. Peter, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, wrote that people scoff at the idea of Jesus coming again, that there will be an end, and that Jesus will judge all people. After all, the scoffers say, the world just keeps on going like it always has (2 Pet 3:4). Things just keep chugging along... Jesus once told a story about ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13). These ten women were bridesmaids in a wedding. It was a night wedding so it was dark. Each of the bridesmaids had a small oil lamp, the kind that has a wick, kind of like a candle. The women needed their lamps to see where they were going. The problem was that no one was sure when the bridegroom would arrive. Therefore, the women had to keep an eye out and be ready to go the minute he walked in. Well, five of the bridesmaids planned ahead and got some oil for their lamps in case it was a long wait. The other five didn’t bother with extra oil. They decided to take the chance that they had enough. And the ten of them waited. And waited. And then, all at once, the bridegroom showed up! But five of them had a big problem. No oil. They weren’t ready! They rushed to the market, scurrying around to buy oil for their lamps. While they were gone, the wedding began and the door was closed. The five bridesmaids with no oil couldn’t get in. They missed the whole thing! What was Jesus’s point? His point is that He will come back. Just as a bridegroom will be at his wedding, so Jesus will come again. His coming is certain. But what we don’t know is when. And so, like the five bridesmaids who had oil and were prepared for a long wait, we must be ready. Because once Jesus comes, that’s the end. There won’t be more time given to anyone who does not believe in Him. There won’t be any more opportunities. The door will be shut. Rick’s accident could have been his last day on earth. God obviously has more planned for Rick in this world, and so He left Rick here to complete that work. But even if that had been the end of Rick’s time on earth that day, it would simply have been the beginning of Rick’s eternity in heaven. Because by God’s grace, a few years ago, He granted Rick a new heart to believe in Him through Jesus. Today, you still have the opportunity to respond to Jesus’s invitation to repent of your sin of rejecting Jesus and believe in Him. Jesus’s invitation is open to everyone, including you. Perhaps there’s no urgency for you, after all, tomorrow always comes, right? But will it? Things happen and you never know. I pray that you will consider this. I pray that you will pray for a new heart, a new heart that can only be given to you by God through Jesus. This is urgent. Let me know if I can pray for you or if you need a Bible.

Death. Ever thought about your own? What awaits us once we are dead? Nothing? Is it like the end of a movie—just over and done with? If you have some kind of belief in God, then you probably believe death is entry into one of two places: heaven or hell. There are lots of ideas people have about what happens after death, and many people think that heaven is the next stop for them. I used to think that, until about five years ago when God opened my eyes to the truth that I actually wasn’t a follower of Jesus. I was actually on my way to hell. But how could that be? I went to church and did lots of church work. I was doing all the supposed “right stuff.” I had believed the lie that doing all the “right stuff” meant heaven was my next stop. There was this man who went looking for Jesus (read John 3:1–21 for the whole story). His name was Nicodemus. If there was anyone on his way to heaven because he had done all the right stuff it was this guy. Nicodemus was super-religious, prayed all the right prayers at the right time, followed all the rules. He even taught others—he was a teacher of how to do all the right stuff. But there was something wrong. Nicodemus was worried. Something was missing. He should have felt absolutely secure about ending up in heaven because he was doing all the right stuff. But he wasn’t. Nicodemus was anxious. So, he went to Jesus, who was clearly from God, to find answers. Jesus was not easy on Nicodemus. He didn’t say, “Well don’t worry about it, Nick, you’re a really decent human being. You’re making a good effort. Keep up the good work.” Instead, Jesus basically said, “Are you kidding Me? You teach Scripture and you don’t know that all your goodness does nothing for you? That your good works and your religious ceremonies are worthless?” Wow. Here was the problem. Nicodemus had bought into the lie that by doing good things, he would wind up to heaven. After all, Nicodemus believed in God. Surely, that was enough, right? Nope. Nicodemus prayed. Didn’t that count? No. Nicodemus studied the Scriptures. Did that help? No. I was in the same boat. I had the same problem that Nicodemus did. I thought that doing good things and right things had something to do with me being saved and having heaven to look forward to. I thought that my own “goodness” was connected to what happens to me after I die. But I was still worried. Something was missing. Jesus had the answer, for Nicodemus and for me. He said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is an invitation that is life-changing. Believing in Jesus is not just saying, “I believe in Jesus.” It’s admitting you are a sinner. It’s repenting of your sin, hating your sin. It’s trusting in Jesus that He might graciously forgive your sin and give you a new heart. It’s a total submission to Jesus and all that He taught. Jesus paid a high price—He died for sinners. For those who respond to Jesus’s invitation, who truly believe, you receive the best gift you could dream of: life, now and forever. Life that you can NOT obtain in any other way. If you need prayer or a Bible, I’m here.