Heart Surrender - February 26, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Montana when suddenly a BMW came rushing toward him in a cloud of dust. The driver, a young man, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"  Bud looked at the man then looked at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answered, "Sure, why not?"  The guy whipped out his laptop, connected to his iPhone, and surfed to a NASA page on the Internet, where he called up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which then scanned the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. He then exported the photo to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, the image was processed and the data stored. Finally, he turned to Bud and said, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."  "That’s right,” said Bud.  “Well, I guess you can take one of my calves.”  He watched the young man select one of the animals and stuff it into the trunk of his car.  Then Bud said to the young man. “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"  The young man thought about it for a second and then said, "Okay, why not?"  Bud said, "You’re a Member of Congress.” “Wow! That’s correct” said the young man, "but how did you guess that?"  "No guess required,” answered Bud. “You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars’ worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and, you don’t know a thing about how working people make a living … or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep." … "Now, give me back my dog.”

I get that.  I understand how frustrating it is when people who have no clue tell you how to do your job.  Do you know what I mean?  And how about in spiritual matters or issues concerning the Kingdom of God.  People who have never surrendered their heart to Jesus start telling Christians all about Jesus, or God, or the Bible.  Doesn’t make sense to me.  There is too much of the world and not enough of Jesus in their heart.  Perhaps this would explain Pilate’s reaction to Jesus.

Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. ² The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. ³ “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face. ⁴ Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” ⁵ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”  ⁶ When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.” ⁷ The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” ⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. ⁹ He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. ¹⁰ “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” ¹¹ Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” ¹² Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”  ¹³ When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!” ¹⁵ “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. ¹⁶ Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away.

These Jewish Religious Leaders had no clue.  It’s as if the Devil swept his hand before their eyes and said “This isn’t the Messiah you’re looking for.  Move along.”  However, as shocking as that is, look how Pilate reacts.  He has a wrestling match with his heart.  Earlier, his wife had told him to “Leave that innocent man alone.”  She had suffered through a terrible nightmare about him the night before (see Matthew 27:19).  Then here, these Jewish Leaders inform him that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (verse 7).  These events caused Pilate to become quite disturbed.  But, rather than listen to his heart, Pilate gives in to worldly pressure.  His job was more important than surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus. Finally, Jesus reminds this Roman Governor who is really in charge.  That shook him up a bit.

When confronted with the Lordship of Jesus, people typically respond in three different ways.  They fight against it (Pilate), they deny it (Religious Leaders), or they surrender their heart and allow Jesus to be Lord of their life (the apostles).

I doubt many who go to church would self-identify with the Jewish Religious Leaders (the Sanhedrin, as they are called).  I mean, which of us would look Jesus straight in the eye and doubt?  And I know most of us would say we have nothing in common with Pilate.  We would have surrendered to Jesus.  But I’m not so sure this is true … at least not for me.  You see, sometimes I think many of us have a wrestling match with our heart.  We struggle with Heart Surrender in certain areas of our lives.  We call Jesus Lord, but when it comes to living like Jesus is our Lord, well, that’s where things get tough.

From the things we do, the words we say, and the life we live, we must allow Jesus to be Lord of all.  This takes a lot of work.  It just doesn’t come naturally.  It takes a conscience effort.  It takes self-evaluation.  We should assess the amount of time we spend in the world, and contrast that with the amount of time we spend with the Lord.  If you’re like most, the balance is way off.  How much of your time do you give to Jesus?  And when I say “Give your time to Jesus” I’m talking about time spent with Him in prayer and study, not just the hour on Sunday morning.  I’m talking about opening your heart to Jesus and allowing Him to guide and direct your entire life.  That’s Heart Surrender.

When it comes to worry and fear, we Christians are not much different than a non-Christian.  The same sadness, depression, hopelessness, and despair is heard from Christians and non-Christians alike.  Why is that?  Why do we, who have been given a peace the world cannot receive still fret and worry (Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage – John 14:27).  Maybe it’s because we fill our lives with depressing stories and worldly tensions; listening to songs that draw us into the world and not into the Kingdom of God.  When our emotional diet is sadness and anger, is it any wonder that our lives reflect this?  When we fill our hearts with the worries of the world, there is no room left for Jesus. Have we forgotten that He is to be our Lord and King?

I think each of us struggles with this.  I know I do.  I need to give God more of my time and attention.  I know this because I get grumpy and irritable when Jesus has taken a back seat in my life.  I am not fit to live with when I get into a wrestling match with the Lord; when He says “Go” and I stay.  I can tell when my heart is filled with the worries of the world and not the Peace of Christ because I am tense and quick to anger. I’m just like Pilate.

We give our heart over to Jesus for salvation, but giving over our lives is much more challenging.  And when we don’t, we miss out on the blessings in this life.  When Jesus isn’t Lord of our life, we live in fear for tomorrow.  We stop living in faith.  This even affects a Church.  When a local congregation refuses to make Jesus Lord of its life, that church stops making great leaps of faith and merely exist from day to day.  This happens because the people of that church make no room for Jesus.

Those who deny that Jesus is Lord are living outside the Kingdom of God.  We can’t expect them to display “Heart Surrender” while they remain proud and stubborn (again, consider the actions of the Religious Leaders).  But shouldn’t we expect a “born-again” Christian to display this Heart Surrender?  Shouldn’t it be evident that a Christian has allowed Jesus to be Lord of their life?

The Truth - February 19, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A man moved to Montana and bought a horse from a farmer for $100.  It was to be delivered the next day.  However, in the morning the farmer was at the door announcing that the horse had died.  When he asked for a refund, the farmer said he had already spent the money.  After thinking for a moment, the man just took the dead horse.  The farmer couldn’t figure what the man would do with a dead horse, but he shrugged his shoulders and left.  A month later, the farmer met up with the man and asked what had happened with the dead horse. "I raffled him off,” said the man.  “I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a net profit of $898." Surprised, the farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain?" “Sure,” said the man. "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."

I was always taught it is wrong to deceive someone.  Morally, it is not acceptable.  It’s wrong to raffle off a dead horse.  I was taught to always be honest and tell the truth, but I guess this man never learned that lesson.  Or, maybe he decided to create his own standard of right and wrong – his own version of truth.

For a long time, philosophers have been claiming Truth is something that cannot be known.  In the 5^th and 4^th centuries B.C. there was much debate about truth among the Greek philosophers.  Even then, truth was limited to that which could be understood and explained.  Anything outside of human reason or understanding was questioned (compare Paul’s debate with some philosophers in Athens – Acts 17:18. To them, the message of the Cross was nonsense).  In their arrogance, these great thinkers created their own morality – their own concept of right and wrong.  Maybe this is why the Roman Governor doubted that truth even existed.

(John 18:28-38) ²⁸ Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”  ³⁰ “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. ³¹ “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. ³² (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.) ³³ Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” ³⁷ Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” ³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

Pilate doubted that Truth could be known.  He was a product of his environment.  His only moral compass was Roman Law.  However, before we get too judgmental, remember that these Jewish Religious Leaders had crafted their own truth – a truth apart from the Word of God.  These Religious Leaders clearly understood that God promised to send a Servant – a Redeemer – to rescue His people from sin and death. They knew what God had spoken through the prophet Isaiah – that the Messiah would bring Good News to the poor and set the captives free (See Luke 4:18-19) – yet when Jesus claimed to be the answer to this promise, many people rejected Him, and not just because He was a man (When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious – Luke 4:28).  They rejected Him because they went to the Scriptures with their own idea of Truth, and reinterpreted God’s description of the Messiah.  They would not accept Jesus as the Messiah because they had twisted truth into something unrecognizable.

One group denied truth.  One group reinterpreted truth.  One group accepted truth.  The difference between these three is found in their attitude. The Apostles recognized the Truth because of their humble reverence.  On the other hand, the Religious Leaders redefined Truth, and the Roman Authorities denied Truth, both because of their lack of reverence.

When dealing with Truth, these three things I have noticed throughout history: people either reject truth, reinterpret truth, or surrender to truth.  It all depends on the humbleness of their heart.

 Is there any harm in denying Truth?  Is there anything wrong with creating our own Truth?  I can think of many reasons why it is wrong, but the clearest reason is that it leads to complete anarchy.  Take away our moral compass, and we have no boundaries of right and wrong.  Look what happened to Israel when they lost their moral compass. “All the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6).  Because of this, warriors from the Tribe of Dan march right into a man’s house and take his belongings (see Judges 18:22-26).  And they feel absolutely no remorse.  The people of God denied His truth and did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.  The entire nation suffered because there was no moral compass.  These people end up worshipping a carved image rather than the one True God (Judges 18:31).  Without truth, there are no laws. 

King Solomon warns that “People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart” (Proverbs 21:2).  As Christians, we must approach God’s Truth with humble reverence.  In His wisdom, God chose to reveal His Truth to the world through the Bible.  We must open the Bible with a heart longing for God, a mind ready to be taught by God, and a spirit ready to be challenged by God.  If we don’t, then we end up like the Religious Leaders or like the Roman Governor; we deny Truth or create our own exclusive Truth

The laws of this land used to be a fairly good compass.  Biblical morals and godly ethics used to guide us as a nation.  But not so much anymore.  It seems to me that we have become a nation of people who do whatever seems right in our own eyes.  Even some religious leaders have reinterpreted truth.  Modern-day religious leaders are telling us things that contradict the Word of God.  So, we must carefully choose what guides us.  The only moral compass that does not change is the Bible.  If we are to live a life that is fully surrendered to God, then we must make a choice to read the Bible for ourselves, and humble ourselves to His Holy Word.

If You’re Saved, and You Know It - February 12, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg

On the way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher's sermon this morning confused me."  The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?" The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are.  Is that true?" "Yes, that's true," the mother replied. "He also said that God lives within us. Is that true, too?" Again, the mother replied, "Yes." "Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn't he show through?"

Yes, you would expect God to “Show Through,” especially for those who claim to be Christians.  Yet even the Apostle Peter had moments of weakness.  Look how he responds when Jesus is arrested.

(John 18:15-27) ¹⁵ Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. ¹⁶ Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. ¹⁷ The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

¹⁹ Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. ²⁰ Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. ²¹ Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.” ²² Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded. ²³ Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?” ²⁴ Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

²⁵ Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” ²⁶ But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” ²⁷ Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed. ^[1]

Peter denied knowing Jesus.  He did this three times.  Bible teachers give many different reasons for this, but the bigger question is why would he do such a thing, especially after he had called Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 16:16)?  Jesus even warned Peter this was going to happen, yet the Lord forgives him even before it happened (Luke 22:31-32).

Have you ever wondered why Jesus would forgive Peter ahead of time?  Why would Jesus extend His hand in grace to Peter knowing that he would deny any association with the Lord?  The Lord’s forgiveness even extends to Peter’s usefulness in the Kingdom.  Jesus extends a hand to Peter along the shoreline in Galilee, calling him to “Feed My sheep” (see John 21:15).

There is something in this exchange between Peter and Jesus that we cannot overlook.  Peter’s commitment to Jesus had wavered, yet the Lord offered him Grace; the Lord forgave this sin.  I say we cannot ignore this exchange because the Lord does not show favoritism (see Acts 10:34).  If He offered grace to Peter, Jesus would offer that same grace to others as well.  If someone else stumbles in their faith, they will find the same grace Jesus extended to Peter.

The Apostle Paul understood this.  He did more than denying knowing Jesus.  He tried to undermine the earthly work of Jesus.  Paul persecuted Christians and stood by while good Christian people were murdered (the stoning of Stephen in Acts 8:1).  Yet when confronted by the risen Christ, Jesus offers grace, and even commissions Paul to spread the Good news of the cross.

I do need to point out that in both these cases, these men repented of their sin; they recognized what they had done was wrong.  For sure, Jesus doesn’t offer grace to the person who is unremorseful – someone who refuses to admit what they did was wrong – but when a person has the courage to admit their sin, Jesus offers grace … even if they sin over and over again.

Still, the question remains; why would our Savior offer grace to the Christian who sins?  I mean, doesn’t it seem like He is letting them off the hook?  Surely the Christians should know better.  They didn’t allow God to show through.  Why does the Lord offer Grace?

Paul suggests we view salvation as a changed nature (2 Corinthians 5:17).   This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ^[2]  And since we have a new nature, our actions and behaviors should naturally reflect this.  Our actions and behaviors do not change our nature, as we discussed last week, however, our nature should affect our behavior.  A changed person should change their attitudes and behaviors (see Romans 13:14 and Galatians 3:27).  Paul describes this as putting on New Clothes.  These new clothes (attitudes and behaviors) reflect our new nature (clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love – Colossians 3:12, 14).  Unfortunately, even though a New Life has begun, our actions sometimes reflect the “old person.”  Yet these old actions and behaviors are merely a reflection of our old nature; they do not indicate we have lost our new nature.  Paul even admits to this struggle from time to time (see Romans 7).

So, a Christian will have bad days.  A Christian will wake in the morning, forget to dress in humility, and then struggle with pride and selfishness the rest of the day.  It’s not their nature that has changed; they simply put on the wrong attitude.  The good news is that when the Christian realizes what they have done, they can ask the Lord to forgive them, over and over again.  And the Lord offers grace.  He can do this because it was not the nature of the person that has changed, but merely a reflection of old behaviors and actions.

The Lord Knows this.  He knows we will struggle with old attitudes and actions.  He knew Peter would have a weak moment.  He knows that we will have a weak moment.  He knows we will misbehave as adopted children in the Family of God.  Sure, we will disobey – struggle to live in a way that reflects our new nature – but we never stop being God’s Children.  This is why Jesus could offer grace to Peter.  This is why the Lord extended forgiveness to Paul.  This is why He does the same for you and me.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 18:15–27). Carol Stream, IL.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (2 Co 5:17). Carol Stream, IL.

In Harm’s Way - February 5, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg

I’ve got rats in the cellar (I know, you also want to add that I have bats in the bell tower as well).  Seriously, there is something deep inside of me that doesn’t belong.  I am shocked at how sinful I really am … something C.S. Lewis observed in his own life. 

In his book, Mere Christianity, Lewis says, “We begin to notice besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity [against kindness, compassion, generosity, sympathy, etc.]; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed.  And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected: I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself.  Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated.  On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly.  But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.  The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”

This is where the journey of Salvation begins.  It begins when someone admits they are a sinful person; they have rat’s in the cellar.  The question is, what do they do about them.  How does someone eliminate what doesn’t belong?  How do they change who they are?  Again, Lewis observes, “But I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives. After the first few steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.”  This means we must allow Jesus to place himself in harm’s way: something not as easy as it sounds.

In John 18:1-11 we read, After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. ² Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. ³ The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

⁴ Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. ⁵ “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) ⁶ As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! (“Ego eimi”, says Jesus.  “I AM”.  The word “he” is not present in the Greek, meaning that Jesus asserts His deity at this moment). ⁷ Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” ⁹ He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. ¹¹ But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?” ^[1]

Did you notice what Jesus does here?  He steps forward; He protects His followers.  Although most of them had fallen asleep during His prayer (Luke 22:45-46), Jesus places Himself in harm’s way, so the apostles are spared (verse 9).  And I think this is a lesson we sometimes forget.

Too many of us are like Peter.  We want to take matters into our own hands.  We want to wrestle sin into submission with our own might and determination.  We think that our sin can be overcome by some action on our part.  However, our actions accomplish nothing.  Only Jesus can overcome our sin.  The Lord places Himself in harm’s way, and He did this on the cross.

What did God say about the Messiah?  How did He describe Jesus?  “It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! ⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. ⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” ^[2] (Isaiah 53:4-6).

We cannot overcome our sin because we are sinful people.  We are prone to do what is wrong [“Sin” is doing something that God said we should not do].  This isn’t an issue about eliminating bad behaviors in our life, but a matter of who we are.  We are people who have rats in the cellar – things deep inside us that do not belong. Those attitudes and behaviors will always be present because we just cannot change who we are.  However, we can turn to Jesus who has promised to take the punishment for our sinfulness.  His broken body pays the penalty for our broken behavior.  His bruises compensate for the bruises we inflict on others.  He is pierced for our hurtful words which pierce the hearts of others.

In Romans chapter 10, Paul says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. ¹¹ As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”  For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” ^[3] (Romans 10:9-11,13).  Paul could say these things with confidence because Jesus had put Himself in harm’s way.  This is why a Christian is not someone who confidently proclaims they have cleaned up their life.  Rather, they are someone who admits they can’t but Jesus can.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 18:1–11). Carol Stream, IL.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Is 53:4–6). Carol Stream, IL.

^[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ro 10:9-11,13). Carol Stream, IL