Regarding Windshields, Bugs and the Cross

My office has a seasonal issue with stink bugs. The thing that stinks the most about stink bugs is not that they stink. They are aggressive little suckers.

Tonight I was sitting in my office minding my own business writing a blog when suddenly I was under attack. I ducked his first dive bomb attack but the menacing little drone was on a mission. He just kept coming. Suddenly I was out of my chair swatting at the thing with a packet full of prayer requests.

Mr. Stink bug was undeterred by my warning salvo. He circled around at the entrance to my office door and made a stink-bug -line for my face. I held up my prayer shield and swatted. Prayer requests flew willy-nilly out of the packet as the bug connected with my weapon of mass destruction. When all the prayer requests had settled to the office floor like autumn leaves I found my tiny enemy wounded and trying to limp as fast as he could out of my sites.

“Oh no you don’t!” I cried and with three swift swats I dispatched the little terrorist to whatever hell bugs go to.

Satisfied I shut out the lights to my office and headed home.

On the ride home Holy Spirit began to talk to me, “You shouldn’t have killed the bug.”

“Oh come on Lord. It was a bug!” Was my swift retort.

“This isn’t about the bug. It is about your attitude.” He said.

The Mary Chapin Carpenter song started playing in my head almost instantly.

Then God said, “You always want to be the windshield. You want to be the Louisville Slugger. You always want to come out on top. How does that fit with my words ‘in humility esteem others greater than yourself.’ or ‘If a man strikes you on one cheek turn to him the other also’ ?”

As I have been meditating on that tonight the question comes to mind, “What if Jesus had insisted on being the windshield? What if he had called 10,000 angels to His side instead of going to the cross? Where would we bugs be then?”

Of course Jesus didn’t do that. He gave up his windshield moment to become the bug. He bore his cross. He calls us to bear ours.

I hope you understand this post isn’t really about bugs. It’s about those moments in life when we have the power to win but using the power is simply the wrong thing to do. It’s about those moments when we have the opportunity to be the windshield but God calls us to be the bug instead.

Jesus’ cross looked like a loss.

Your cross will look the same.

Jesus could have done something to get rid of His cross.

Chances are God is going to give you the same opportunity to get rid of yours.

In that moment as you consider your cross just remember, sometimes we need to lose a little to gain a lot. Sometimes we have to be the bug.

Pastor Wrinkles: Unintended Consequences Pt. 6

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Today we shall finish up our discussion regarding the fall of mankind into sin. We have spent the last posts talking about some of the things we lost in the fall. If you would like to chime in on any or all of those discussions they can be found,

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

AND HERE

The fall was truly devastating for our race but there is a solution…

It is true, we lost so much in the fall and most days we don’t even stop to realize that it didn’t have to be this way. Friend:

If you have ever felt like you have no purpose in living and life is just an empty shell not worth living.” It’s because you have lost your sense of significance in the fall;

If you are ever afraid that you won’t be able to provide for yourself or your family. That is because you have lost your sufficiency in the fall;

If you ever feel like your life doesn’t matter and the world would be better off without you. It’s because you lost your security your sense of belonging in the fall;

If you feel like you are less than enough and disappointed in how you have turned out. It is because you have lost your assurance in the fall;

If you feel powerless and like the world is about to swallow you whole it’s because you have lost your authority in the fall;

If you feel like you are on a hamster wheel and all your work is nothing more than trying to knock down a mountain with a toothpick, it is because you lost your rest in the fall;

And if you feel like your world is a war zone it is because you are under the influence of the fall!

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Our race gained nothing good by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In fact, whatever knowledge or ability we gained in those moments has done nothing  but destroy us. I am glad that the bible does not end with the book of Genesis. The Fall of Man, the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not the end of the Bible. It is the beginning. While our story starts in darkness the rest of the Bible is about God working in our history to fix the mess that Adam and Eve made and bringing us back into the light.

You may be reading today feeling insignificant, insufficient, insecure, not sure of anything, ashamed, guilty, feeling weak and hopeless, tired, weary and at war with the world. All  of that is perfectly natural. Life has become all of those things for all of us. It is the human condition; BUT GOD has provided an answer. He made Adam, and Adam failed in the Garden, but God has solved the problem of the Fall. The Bible tells us that God clothed himself in flesh and became a man named Jesus and the Bible tells us that Jesus is a second Adam.

  When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Ro. 5:13-18 NLT

The Devil may have gotten Adam to destroy the world but,

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work 1 John 3:8

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You may be here today feeling like your life has no purpose. Jesus can give that to you.

You may be here today and your life is falling apart and you can’t fix it. Jesus can provide what you need to get back on track.

You may be here today feeling alone and unwanted. Jesus can put you in a forever family.

You may be here today feeling ashamed because of the life you have lived. Jesus can forgive you and clean your conscience.

You may be here today feeling powerless to do anything about your circumstances. Jesus can give you back your authority to live the life He always intended.

You may be here today tired and weary from life’s hardships. Jesus can refresh you with His presence.

You may be here today feeling like you are at war with yourself and the world. Jesus can give you peace.

Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus came to restore what the fall of man took away.

But if that is so you might ask why doesn’t everyone experience this restoration. Because it is based on each person’s faith in the son of God which leads people to give their lives to Jesus Christ and to declare Him Lord. Paul the Apostle said it this way,

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”d that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

So if you need any of the things listed above pray with me now and let Jesus do the work that needs to be done.

Sunset Prayer

Pray: Jesus, I know God sent you to Earth to deal with the consequences of the fall. I admit I have allowed sin to affect my life and now I am broken by this evil power. Please forgive me for letting sin into my life and please forgive me for sinning. Jesus come and set me free from the power of the fall and fix my life. You are my Lord. You alone are my God from this point forward and I believe God has raised you from the dead and because of that you have the power to hear this prayer and help me. Thank you Lord for doing that and saving me from myself and sin. Amen.