Reflecting again…there I go. This week has been one of reflecting on the following issues in no particular order. 1) transitions 2) sex 3) the cross of Christ.

Transitions because I am changing jobs, leaving some folks that I have come to like and going to a new place. Wondering why things always have to change. Understanding that many times changes bring good things and that in changes progress occurs.

Sex because all over, everywhere it abounds and it seems like sex gone wild wins. Teens ruin their lives because of it. Marriages are ended because of the it. Lives are lost because of the consequences of it. Ministries are damaged because of the desire for it. In and of itself sex is supposed to be wonderful, an act between a man and a woman who are married "to each other". No need to have a lesson here but I belief my heart was both scared and grieved. Scared because I am always evaluating myself and how its pull can get to me too..I don’t profess to be perfect. Grieved because I’ve seen up close how something intended to be so beautiful can be used for so much damage. Three…count them three…marriages I know of this week are ending because of sexual infidelity. More young people than I care to count are having babies without being ready…many out of wedlock…so much so that a song by Fantasia Barrino (last American Idol) called "Baby Mama" is considered an anthem.  I still say that people have to find safe places to talk about S-E-X. Trying to handle things on our own just doesn’t work. We have to stop being proud. We have to stop wanting to have people think we have it together. And we totally have to stop walking away from people who do mess up because observers say "heck there is NO way I’ll ever be found out."  Although the only group I have problems with is women who get sexually involved with married men knowing they are married or worse…knowing the wife and the kids and doing it anyway. God has not helped me find a soft spot for that group as of yet…I told you I ain’t perfect.

The Cross. I have to tell you that putting together an Easter service with no money is a killer. But like everything else we’ve had to do without money, it has been accomplished. The real test will come after the service when we find out if people liked what we put together. In a church plant, you are the sound person, video technician, worship leader (from shower to pulpit), opener and closer lol. But anyway, it was putting all this together that took me back to the cross and how it changes everything.  Martin Luther once said "the only person who deserves to be called a theologian is the one who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the Cross." Most Christians understand the vertical dimension of the Cross and how its the bridge to God but what I know I don’t dwell on enough is the horizontal dimension of the cross. Eternal salvation can’t happen without the Cross but neither can daily salvation. The cross is not just about eternity (some day) its about living now (today). Fully embracing what Jesus did for us on that cross so many years ago takes you on a journey of healing, wholeness, and extraordinary peace. It’s a wild plan man. Paul said "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Ya see..The Cross is not only our bridge to God but the bridge over troubled waters of our daily life. The power of the Cross, the power of the Cross…it was the low road to the high road. Yes, it bridges that ugly gap between humans and God. It is also THE CROSS that heals my relationships. It’s THE CROSS that crucifies the power of our own selfishness and releases us get that abundance, God loving mentality towards others.

I am just awed by the Cross. I hope I can get through the service on Sunday. Think of these cross thoughts:

"Our sin must be extremely horrible. Nothing reveals the gravity of sin like the cross." –John Stott

"God will keep His promises even if it kills him" -don’t know who said that one

"They crucified him with the criminals. Which is more amazing, to find Jesus in such bad company or to find the criminals in such good company? …Jesus died precisely for these two criminals who were crucified on his right and left and went to their death with him. He did not die for the sake of a good world, he died for the sake of an evil world."–Karl Barth

Thank you Lord for the Cross!