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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Pardoned to Paradise!



By Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

Two men asked Jesus for help on a barren hillside called Golgotha. One received pardon but the other received not a word. The verbal attack of the one showed the condition of the heart was more important than the actual words, because truth spoken in derision can be the worst kind of insult.

"Aren't you the Christ?" The dying thief asked in mockery. And his attitude of scorn destroyed a request for salvation: “Save yourself....and us!" he spat with obvious contempt. The insulting thief found nothing but silence from the King of Kings, while the other found words of assurance and victory. It was the attitude of the repentant thief that earned a pardon.

The first expression of that attitude was deep conviction of sin: "Don't you fear God since you are under the same sentence?"

The repentant thief was about to stand before God, his Creator and give an account of his life. He realized in despair all he had to show was his sin. Perhaps the very thought of seeing his sin revealed in God's holy presence brought conviction for sin.

The second expression of that saving attitude was honest confession of guilt: "We are punished justly," he said, “We are getting what our deeds deserve." Like the prodigal son of whom Jesus earlier spoke, the thief came to himself. He stopped trying to blame his guilt on someone else. And that was the only way he could be rid of it.

The third expression of that attitude was a full awareness of the Holiness of Christ: "This man has done nothing wrong!"

One reason Jesus came to our world was to show us the character of God in the body of a man. He is the perfect likeness of the invisible God. But, until we recognize the holiness of Jesus, the man, we cannot imagine the holiness of God, the Creator, and we cannot experience his holiness in our own lives.

The fourth expression of the attitude that brought pardon was an expression of faith in the midst of hopelessness: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Picture the scene: Hanging on a cross in the hour of his death the repentant thief looked beside him to Jesus and saw a man beaten, wounded, and bleeding. The blood from the crown of thorns was dried on his forehead, and fresh blood from the nails dripped from his hands and ran down his arms and torso to the sword-cut in his side continuing on down to mingle with blood from his nail-pierced feet and fall beneath him to the earth below. Sweaty from the strain of carrying the cross, the dust raised by countless feet had settled on his body. Chilled from the wind that blew upon Golgotha, he probably shivered violently from the cold. He did not look like a king. There was no indication he could even help himself much less anyone else. But in spite of all the evidence to the contrary this condemned man believed!

In the face of hopeless despair, he believed. He believed so much that even in his agony he groaned those never-to-be-forgotten words, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

That man was the first Christian! He was first to believe and first to receive the pardon Jesus came to bring.

Pardon is a beautiful word to a condemned man. "Today, you will be with me in paradise!” This word from Jesus transported him from the agony of crucifixion to the bliss of eternal paradise; from the dirt and stench of execution to the inexpressible delight of resurrection, from the destruction of sin to the righteousness of redemption.

Because of what God did through Jesus Christ almost two thousand years ago, by faith we can still hear him speak words of forgiveness and hope when we honestly seek Him.

I’m Rick Blumenberg, and that’sMy View from Tanner Creek”.
 

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Memories Dancing Around Every Corner…

By Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg


“Just Kathy and I now that all the children and grandchildren are gone. Some may think the house is empty but they can't see the memories dancing around every corner.”

These words were written by my cousin, Terry Arington in the hours following a Labor Day weekend of celebrating his 60th birthday with all or most of their family home for the festivities. Terry is Worship Pastor at Pekin, Illinois, First Church of God, and his song writing ability shows up in the poetic nature of these words. The quality of his work shows up in the depth of meaning and beauty in such a short paragraph.

I can imagine Terry and his lovely wife Kathy, now alone again after all the family has gone back to their normal lives with a hint of a smile lingering on their faces as they think about the good times with their family in the hours just past.

Loving families are an awesome blessing from God of which nothing else can compare. Terry’s Facebook notes tell of gifts of love shared by the family, but I know the greatest gift of all to both him and Kathy was the time spent with family gathered home.

We had one of those weekends too. Not all our family could be home, but our daughter Kathy & Mike and their family came, with our new grandson Neil, husband of Rebekah, plus Nathanael and Luke. Also present was my niece Katie (Blumenberg) Judd, her husband Josh and their marvelous 15 month-old son, Gresham, as well as my wife Carol’s sister, Fran Teeter, who has always been like another mother to our girls. They’re all gone now, returning to busy lives of school and work, but as Terry put it so well. The house isn’t really empty because of “memories dancing around every corner”.

Families are such an amazing blessing from God, and they bless us in the difficult times of life as well as the times of joy. This Labor Day weekend was a heart-breaker for the family of our beloved Bridgman dentist, Dr. Neal Smith, who died on Friday before Labor Day at age 54. We, his family and friends, gathered on Tuesday at Woodland Shores Baptist Church to celebrate his life and say a fond goodbye. So for the Smith family, Labor Day Weekend brought a different kind of painful joy as they shared memories of their beloved husband and father, alternately laughing and crying—both in thankfulness for the blessing of his life.



In spite of the heartbreak and loss, the memorial service really was a celebration of a life well lived. Dr. Neal impacted the word in amazing fashion in his 54 years through his family, his business family at Bridgman Family Dental Care, and in the awesome quality of his godly, Christ-like life. In those 54 years he helped plant two churches and went on numerous mission trips to do dental work and show the love of Christ to people in Russia where he established seven dental clinics, as well as in Mexico, Romania, Singapore and Zambia. But it wasn’t a sad service because the joy with which he lived life came through in the testimony of friends, family and employees. Because of the exuberant way he lived his life, the joy of the Lord will remain, and joyful memories will continue to dance around every corner.

I'm Rick Blumenberg and that's "My View from Tanner Creek".
   

Monday, September 03, 2012

Heartbreak of God



By Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg 

It was a cold winter evening on the hills of Judea. The precise location was a shepherd's camp in the foothills west of the Biblical city of Hebron. The sun was low on the horizon as shep­herds hurried to bring their flocks into camp before night­fall.

The young shepherd counted his sheep as they entered the fold one by one. He had a hundred sheep and he knew each one by name. As they filed in he noticed to his dismay that one was missing. It was "Leb Kamai", named for the ancient civiliza­tion of Babylonia, because he was prone to stray. In this instance he had somehow slipped away unnoticed and night­fall was swiftly approaching. 

The shepherd was tired from a long day's work and he looked forward to a hot meal and fellowship around the fire with the other shepherds. But instead, he closed the gate of the pen and began to retrace the day's steps across the lush green foothills and up into the rocks and ravines to find the sheep that had strayed. 

An hour or so later he strode into the circle of fire­light with the lost sheep asleep on his shoulder. The other shepherds rejoiced with him, slapping him on the back—congratulat­ing him because he had cheated the wild animals of one night's food. 

If you can imagine a little what it was like for the shepherd to find his sheep that was lost, you may also be able to partly understand the heartbreak God feels when we stray from his love, as well as the joy he knows when we come back to him.  (Adapted from Luke 15) 

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.