IT'S CHRIST

FAITH: 

In elementary school the teacher would pass out drawings with the question at the bottom “What’s wrong with this picture?” Remember them? We’d look closely for something that didn’t fit?

A farmyard scene with a piano near the water trough. A classroom with a pirate seated on the back row. An astronaut on the moon with a pay phone in the background. We’d ponder the picture and point to the piano or pirate or pay phone and say, “This doesn’t fit.” Something is out of place. Something is absurd. Pianos don’t belong in farmyards. Pirates don’t sit in classrooms. Pay phones aren’t found on the moon, And God doesn’t chum with the common folk or snooze in fishing boats.

But according to the Bible he did. “For in Christ there is all of God in a human body” (Col. 2:9 TLB). Jesus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God. He was God-man.

Midwifed by a carpenter. Bathed by a peasant girl. The maker of the world with a bellybutton. The author of the Torah being taught the Torah. Heaven’s human. And because he was, we are left with scratch-your-head, double-blink, what’s wrong-with-this-picture? Moments like these: Bordeaux instead of H2O. A cripple sponsoring the town dance. A sack lunch satisfying five thousand tummies. And, most of all, a grave: guarded by soldiers, sealed by a rock, yet vacated by a three days- dead man.

What do we do with such moments?

What do we do with such a person? We applaud men for doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things. But when a man does God things? One thing is certain, we can’t ignore him.

Why would we want to? If these moments are factual, if the claim of Christ is actual, then he was, at once, man and God.

There he was, the single most significant person who ever lived. Forget MVP; he is the entire league. The head of the parade? Hardly. No one else shares the street. Who comes close? Humanity’s best and brightest fade like dime-store rubies next to him.

Dismiss him? We can’t. Resist him? Equally difficult. Don’t we need a God-man Savior? A just-God Jesus could make us but not understand us. A just-man Jesus could love us but never save us. But a God-man Jesus? Near enough to touch. Strong enough to trust. A next door Savior. A Savior found by millions to be irresistible. Nothing compares to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8 RSV). The reward of Christianity is Christ.

Do you journey to the Grand Canyon for the souvenir T-shirt or the snow globe with the snowflakes that fall when you shake it? No. The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon. The wide-eyed realization that you are part of something ancient, splendid, powerful, and greater than you. The cache of Christianity is Christ. Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a healthy body or a better self-image. Secondary and tertiary fruits perhaps. But the Fort Knox of faith is Christ. Fellowship with him. Walking with him. Pondering him. Exploring him. The heart-stopping realization that in him you are part of something ancient, endless, unstoppable, and unfathomable. And that he, who can dig the Grand Canyon with his pinkie, thinks you’re worth his death on Roman timber. Christ is the reward of Christianity. Why else would Paul make him his supreme desire? “I want to know Christ” (Phil 3:10 NCV).

Do you desire the same? My idea is simple. Let’s look at some places he went and some people he touched. Join me on a quest for his “God-manness.” Your may be amazed. More important, you may be changed. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2Cor. 3:18 RSV).

As we behold him. We become like him. By Max Lucado  

FRIENDS: 

Dear Lord, please help me become a "5-Star" Christian. I want to follow the example Jesus gave to serve others with excellence. Please help me have the right attitude toward the people in my life and to show genuine concern for others. May you be glorified in all I think, say, and do. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.  

DAILY BIBLE CHALLENGE 

March 9 

Matthew 24:1-14; Romans 6:15-23; Psalms 56; Numbers 21-22 

March 10 

Matthew 24;15-25; Romans 7:1-12; Psalms 57; Numbers 23-25 

March 11 

Matthew 24:36-51; Romans 7:13-25; Psalms 58; Numbers 26-27  

FOOD: 

This is my aunt's recipe and is delicious. Since it makes a lot I usually make half the amount and it will feed 4-6 people. I hope you try it. 

WARSAW SPAGHETTI  

2 pounds spiral macaroni, cooked and drained, do not rinse. 

2 quarts sauerkraut, drained 

4 large onions, chopped  

3 cans (10-3/4oz. each) Cream of Mushroom soup,undiluted 

1/2 cup margarine or butter 

2 (4oz.) can mushrooms, drained 

2 pounds of Kielbasi or smoked sausage,sliced 1/2 inch thick  

Directions: In large Dutch oven saute onions in margarine until soft. Add sauerkraut, soup and meat. Stir together until well combined. Add macaroni and mushrooms. Stir gently until well mixed. Cover and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until heated through. NOTE: I use 2 cans of soup when I make half the recipe.:  

FUN:  

1. WILL THE REAL DUMMY PLEASE STAND UP? AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked intellectual leadership. He received a $26 million severance package. Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.  

2. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS. Police in Oakland , CA spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, 'Please come out and give yourself up.'  

3. WHAT WAS PLAN B??? An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, wherein the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts. 4. THE GETAWAY! A man walked into a Topeka , Kansas Kwik Stop and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too s mall, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.  

5. DID I SAY THAT??? Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn't control himself during a lineup. Detectives asked the man in the lineup to stand still and repeat the words: 'Give me all your money or I'll shoot'. Annoyed, the man shouted, 'That's not what I said!'  

6. ARE WE COMMUNICATING??? A man spoke frantically into the phone: 'My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart'. 'Is this her first child?' the doctor asked. 'No!' the man shouted, 'This is her husband!'  

7. NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED! In Modesto , CA , Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. (hel looooo oo)!  

8. THE GRAND FINALE!!! Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, CA, some folks, new to boating, were having a problem. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new 22 foot boat, going. It was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power they applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted into a nearby marina, thinking someone there may be able to tell them what was wrong. A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working condition The engine ran fine, the out-drive went up and down, and the propeller was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath. He came up choking on water, he was laughing so hard. NOW REMEMBER...THIS IS TRUE. Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer!