Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Jesus uttered these words on the cross to God; “My God, my God—why have you forsaken me?”

Why did God forsake Jesus on the cross? Was it because he couldn’t bear to see his son hanging there? That’s reasonable. Was it because he couldn’t bear to look on the sin of the world Jesus took to the cross? That could be.

But the Bible doesn’t really say God forsook Jesus. We can assume from what Jesus said, that he really, down to the core of his being, felt forsaken by God. And he had never known that feeling before. He had never sinned and therefore had never felt the pain of being separated from the most Holy God.

But sin always separates us from God. We know that. We’ve all been there. Sin is like the cloud that hides the sun. The sun doesn’t change, but it sure feels different on a cool day when the clouds gather and we’re left in the cold. But the sun doesn’t change. It is only hidden by the clouds.

God never forsakes us and he also wouldn’t forsake Jesus. When sin comes into our lives it feels like God is a million miles away only because the sin comes between us and him. We feel helpless, as if there were nothing we could do about it. That’s how Jesus felt, hanging there on the cross with all of my sin, and yours, and the sins of the whole world—a burden too big for any mere human to carry. But Jesus wasn’t a mere human. He carried those sins to the cross and died to gain the antidote for our sin poison and the sin poisons of the whole world. He was the only divine-human Being who ever was and he was the only he could do it.

I think God was right there looking on and wanting to help, but he knew this time the Son had to be on his own. The Father had to stand aside and let the Son do what only he could do. Jesus had to get through the pain of feeling forsaken by the Father in order to provide us with an antidote for the poison of our sin. I think God was there cheering him on, but Jesus didn’t know it because of the sin he carried for us.

When you feel forsaken by God because of sin, just remember that the forsakenness you feel is not real. God is waiting for you to ask for the antidote his Son provided when he died on the cross. God is pulling for you! Jesus, himself, is interceding for you as well. When you ask in faith, God gives his help lavishly—always adequately for your salvation. In fact the antidote is adequate for all the sins of the entire world.

Let our prayer for this planet today be that every person on earth will turn to God, receive the antidote for sin’s poison, and thus remove the cloud of sin that separates us from God’s unconditional love. That’s what “Resurrection Sunday” (usually called Easter) is all about.

Go to church somewhere this Sunday and celebrate what God has done for you! And for everyone in the entire world!

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

Pardoned to Paradise

Two men asked Jesus for help on that 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. 

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 sinfulness. The very thought of seeing his sinful life revealed in God's holy presence brought an awesome conviction of sin.

If we are to enjoy pardon, we too, must see our sin as God sees it: a reproach to His holy character, an insult to His beloved Son, and destructive to the people he loves. 

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 purpose of Jesus' death was to bring pardon but His purpose can only find fulfillment in our honest confession. Until we admit our guilt his death is wasted on us.

The repentant thief realized his Sin brought him to this place. We need to realize our sin brought Jesus, the God-Man, to this day—Crucifixion and to this place—Calvary.

He got what we deserve.

We get what he earned—if we confess our sin, ask his forgiveness and accept him as Savior!

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 earth 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: The repentant thief hung on a cross in the hour of his death. He looked beside him to Jesus and saw there a man who was 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 down to mingle with blood from his nail-pierced feet and fall to the ground. Sweaty from the strain of carrying the cross; with dust from countless feet 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!” was the word from Jesus that 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 the resurrection! From the destruction of sin to the redemption of righteousness through Jesus Christ, God's Son!

Pardon is also a beautiful concept for you and me. Almost 2,000 years ago Jesus paid the price for every one of us! Because of what God did through Christ we hear him say also to us "Today, you will be with me in paradise." We need not wait to die. Life is a paradise for all who live by faith!

I’m Rick Blumenberg…and that’s “My view from Tanner Creek”.

Preached @ 1984 Good Friday Service at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in a service planned by the Elkhart Area Ministerial Association. I was pastor of Midtown (now Adamsville Road) Church of God.

This Gospel is just as true today as it was then!
   

The Miracle of Family

We live in Bridgman, Michigan, where people come to vacation during summer months. Beautiful Lake Michigan and its fabulous beaches, the surrounding agricultural bounties and the beautiful Southwest Michigan scenery call out to people from throughout the Midwest and beyond, to come and enjoy our delightful offerings. Years ago when our granddaughter Rebekah was a pre-teen, she expressed it well on a visit from central Indiana.

She said, “This is a place people come to!” Another way of saying Southwest Michigan is a destination for people who seek a fun place to spend a vacation.

Most of those who come are families and it is one reason I enjoy living here. I like to see families interact on vacation—playing together and having fun, and see parents share important life truths with their offspring in that joyful process.

A good example happened recently in a public bathroom. The boy was about four years old and I found it interesting to see his Dad re-emphasizing what had obviously already been taught about washing hands and being polite to others who shared the public facilities. To the boy it was just a fun day with Dad. He had no idea he was learning important lessons that would help him live well for decades—lessons he would someday pass on to his children, thus passing the knowledge from generation to generation.

That is how God planned it. He said we should teach our children throughout the day…

^“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7^(NIV), New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica)

In strong families that function as God planned, every life encounter is a learning opportunity if we take advantage of it. If it is done well, it is so much fun the children don’t think of it as a task. They think it is just the pure joy of living—and they are right.

Sometimes those families are not “normal” families. Recently while on vacation with friends in Mexico we went on a whale-watching expedition. A part of our group of about 25 or 30 people was a vacation family made up of two couples and one single mom and about ten teenage children from all three families. I was intrigued and had already begun this article, so I wanted to find out more about them. When I talked to the single mom, she said none of them were related, but the boys were in sports together and the three families had been friends and schoolmates for several years. They had a special relationship that was fun to watch throughout the morning.

Families are God’s miracle for the survival and advancement of society. No other organization means so much to individual persons or to society as a whole, as the family. When the family is dysfunctional, unless someone else steps in to make up the difference, the children in the family suffer from that dysfunction the rest of their lives. When children grow up in a loving, supportive, educational family, they gain benefits that are immeasurable. Thank God for strong families! Thank God for parents who rise to the occasion to meet the needs of their growing children. And thank God for adults who fill in for children who don’t have functional families, helping them to grow into persons that will bless society for a lifetime.

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

Back Home in Bridgman!

Well I'm back on Tanner Creek, here in Bridgman, Michigan. Carol and I have been on an extended trip out west (California, Arizona and Mexico) and I didn't find much time to write. 

Now we're both trying to catch up with all that was neglected (work and home) while we were gone. Sorry I've gone so long without making a posting on my blog. Hopefully this weekend or next week I'll share some of the things we experienced during the past four weeks.

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

The Power of Choice

With Valentine’s Day's fast approach many book, magazine and newspaper articles as well as radio, television and internet stories will be about the romantic bliss we call love. And that’s wonderful. I love those stories when they are genuine and portray the reality of the human condition. (The “human condition” is not only about the bad. It can also be about the good and there is much good in human behavior if we only look for it.) In light of this, let’s think today about the power of choice—to love or not to love.

We have the amazing ability to choose good, transform life and in so doing, change the future. Years ago as a much younger pastor I left the hospital after visiting a parishioner and noticed I was in a particularly foul mood. I analyzed myself and my feelings. Why was I feeling that way? The visit with the parishioner had not been the cause. It had been pleasant and seemed to be productive. I had given encouragement and assurance of the love of God and the church, as well as me personally, what I shared had been well received.

As I walked to my car under heavily overcast skies, with a cold, biting, moisture-laden wind blowing off the partially frozen St Joseph River, I realized I had allowed weather conditions to dictate my attitude and emotions. I realized if this had been a warm Spring day with green grass, leafy trees, blooming flowers and a pleasant breeze blowing over sunlit, sparkling waters of the beautiful St Joseph River, I would have been whistling and in a joyful mood. So I chose to be happy! I discarded my sour mood and started to do the things I normally do when I feel good—whistling as I walked, smiling to myself, and thanking God for the beautiful world in which I lived. When I did, I noticed I felt so much better. The wind did not feel as cold and could even be described as refreshing. The clouds, that had been gloomy and cold, now gave texture to the wintery scene. Life was good! Just because I had chosen to be joyful!

I was amazed at how much my choice to embrace joy changed me and changed my attitude. That life-transforming experience taught me I could choose joy even when I didn’t feel it. I could choose love even when I didn’t receive it. I could choose happiness, even when I had not received what I wanted and what I thought would make me happy.

So as this Valentine Day approaches, if your romantic life is not all you would like it to be, I urge you to choose joy. If you’re single and would rather not be, embrace what is and rejoice anyway! If you don’t love your spouse as much as you did in years past and have the urge to stray, choose to love your spouse and give unconditional love—show it in whatever way you deem appropriate.

If you don’t think you can do that, if your situation is too discouraging and seems impossible, I urge you to seek God’s help. He can be an amazing help if we just ask, and He really does want to help you. God can help you change your attitude and love your spouse whether or not he or she deserves it. And being loved may help them deserve it. God can give wisdom to make good decisions about the future of all your relationships.

We have the power of choice! My prayer for you, me, and the entire world in this valentine season, is that we choose unconditional love for every person on this wonderful planet.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
 
(Note: This article is a re-print from a Herald-Palladium newspaper "Insights" Column dated February 11, 2012.)

Self-Ish-Ness is a Three-Letter Word

Have you ever noticed that if you take the first letter of each syllable of the English word Self-Ish-Ness, it spells sin? Is this a mere coincidence of language? Of course, but it sure makes a good sermon outline. In another place, I wrote…

I Believe in the Selfishness of Sin. Every sin is basically some form of selfishness and every instance of selfishness is sin—the very opposite of righteousness. Selfishness, by its very nature, alienates people from God and from each other, hindering and ultimately destroying the Divine‑human oneness that is the essence of abundant living.

Self-Ish-Ness puts self first and that makes God at least second and possibly much lower on our appreciation list. Self-Ish-Ness destroys person-to-person relationships that should be the greatest treasures of earth and degenerates them instead into all sorts of love perversions. A parent-child relationship that should be the joy of life is destroyed by molestation. A marriage meant to last a lifetime and bring joy to home, church, community and the world, as well as to the Kingdom of God, is instead destroyed by the Self-Ish-Ness of one or both. Examples are endless if we wanted to continue, but there is no need—you get the point.

In I Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, helped us to see that Self-Ish-Ness and love are opposites. He tells us what love is: “Love is patient, love is kind.” and what love is not: “It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (I Cor. 13:4-5^(NIV))

Years ago, a sociology professor gave our class this one sentence description of love: “Love is an unselfish concern for another.” Not romantic, but practical and it shows that for love to flourish we have to get the Self-Ish-Ness out.

Let’s turn Paul’s description of love around to show what Self-Ish-Ness really is.

Self-Ish-Ness (or self-seeking behavior) produces envy, boastfulness, selfish pride, rudeness, is easily angered and never forgets a wrong.

On the other hand, the opposite of selfishness is unselfish behavior, attitude and outlook. So here we see both the cause and correction for the sin that so easily besets us. The cause of most, if not all our earthly problems is that we care too much for self and too little for others.

The solution to our earthly problems is that we learn to love both ourselves and others, thus producing an atmosphere where love can flourish, where joy is the rule and where happiness the natural condition of life.

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