Easter Thoughts from Max Lucado

THE TORN CURTAIN - - -
by Max Lucado

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:50-51 NIV).

It’s as if the hands of heaven had been gripping the veil, waiting for this moment. Keep in mind the size of the curtain—sixty feet tall and thirty feet wide. One instant it was whole; the next it was ripped in two from top to bottom. No delay. No hesitation.

What did the torn curtain mean? For the Jews it meant no more barrier between them and the Holy of Holies. No more priests to go between them and God. No more animal sacrifices to atone for their sins.

And for us? What did the torn curtain signify for us?

We are welcome to enter into God’s presence—any day, any time. God has removed the barrier that separates us from him. The barrier of sin? Down. He has removed the curtain.

But we have the tendency to put the barrier back up. Though there is no curtain in a temple, there is a curtain in the heart. Our guilty conscience becomes a curtain that separates us from God. As a result we hide from our Master.

That’s exactly what my dog, Salty, does. He knows he isn’t supposed to get into the trash. But let the house be human free, and the dark side of Salty takes over. If there is food in a trash can, the temptation is too great. He will find it and feast.

That’s what he had done the other day. When I came home, he was nowhere to be found. I saw the toppled trash, but I didn’t see Salty. At first I got mad, but I got over it. If I was cooped up all day with only dog food to eat, I might rummage a bit myself. I cleaned up the mess and went about the day and forgot about it.

Salty didn’t. He kept his distance. When I finally saw him, his tail was between his legs, and his ears were drooping. Then I realized, “He thinks I’m mad at him. He doesn’t know I’ve already dealt with his mistake.”

May I state the obvious application? God isn’t angry with you. He has already dealt with your mistake.

Somewhere, sometime, somehow you got tangled up in garbage, and you’ve been avoiding God. You’ve allowed a veil of guilt to come between you and your Father. You wonder if you could ever feel close to God again. The message of the torn flesh is you can. God welcomes you. God is not avoiding you. God is not resisting you. The curtain is down, the door is open, and God invites you in.

Don’t trust your conscience. Trust the cross. The blood has been spilt and the veil has been split. You are welcome in God’s presence.
____________________________________
From Next Door Savior
Copyright 2000, Max Lucado

North & South

I think I have discovered another favorite movie to go along with Pride & Prejudice. I have so enjoyed all of my Jane Austen movies that I decided to check out some others of the same genre. A couple of months ago I discovered "Wives & Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell and enjoyed it so much that when I saw another BBC movie of the same author, I decided to buy it. My daughter gives me a bad time for buying movies that I haven't seen yet, but this time the gamble paid off. I love this movie! It is very similar to P&P in that the female lead (Margaret) is very strong and the male lead (Mr. Thornton) is very proud AND there is an early proposal that has the same result so you spend the rest of the movie waiting for Margaret to realize that she loves Mr. Thornton and hoping they get together in the end. (I can just hear my son saying, "Not another one. Mom, all these movies have the same plot!") But I can't help it, I'm a sucker for romance, I guess.

I've tried to figure out what draws me to these period pieces. And while I'm not totally sure I have the answer, I do love the language and the costumes and the self-control and respect that is exhibited between those of the opposite sex. I think I'm so tired of seeing couples jump into bed before they're married and claim that it's love, that it's refreshing to see people exercise restraint and a kind of love that encourages someone to be a better person. So if you're inclined to this kind of movie, watch this one. I think you'll love it.

South Africa

I promised you a report and some photos from my trip to South Africa last month. So here it is, finally.

Our conference was held at Ekudeni Conference Center, about an hour and a half from Johannesburg (or Joburg as the natives call it).
It was a lovely setting but there were so many of us that they had to secure three other locations for us to sleep at and they shuttled us back and forth between the main location and our particular hotel.







As you can see in this photo, it was the beginning of fall in South Africa. It was the first time I've ever been south of the equator, so it was a little strange for me to adjust to an opposite season but I was grateful for the cool weather.













Each morning after a light breakfast, we would begin with worship in the chapel. The teenagers would join us and then after brunch they would head out for their day's activities and we would head to our meetings.







Hans Finzel, President of WorldVenture, would begin each morning with teaching on the life of Moses. We would then spend the rest of the day hearing from various staff members or missionaries regarding leadership and teamwork.








Each evening around supper time, animals would show up near the back fence and we would rush out with our cameras to try to get some pictures.










There was usually a beautiful sunset as well.













On Friday about half the group went on a full day trip to Pilanesberg Game Park where we were able to see lots of different types of animals in their natural habitat, although most were very far away. Thank goodness for telephoto lenses.


























It was a good time and I am so grateful for those of you who provided the funds to pay for this trip. I am indeed blessed!

March Update

I know it's almost April, but I'm finally able to catch up with some of the postings I've been wanting to do. Here is a copy of my March update.

The past few weeks have been full of activity - school excursions, a two-day trip to Madrid to be trained for my new job as Treasurer of the Spain field, a weekend visit to Salamanca to visit our teammates there, working on one of the courses for the next semester of our online school (EET - Escuela Evangélica de Teología), and of course, language school. I’m trying very hard to get ahead in my work for EET since I will be in South Africa next week for the WorldVenture Leadership Conference. I will be traveling with two other families from our field and we are really looking forward to the time to be together, to learn from those who will share at the conference, and to be refreshed and renewed by the Lord. I will report on the conference in my update next month.

This month’s quote:

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1–2 NKJV).

The writer of Hebrews could have been a jogger, for he speaks of a runner and a forerunner. The forerunner is Jesus, the “author and finisher of our faith.” He is the author—that is to say he wrote the book on salvation. And he is the finisher—he not only charted the map, he blazed the trail. He is the forerunner, and we are the runners. And we runners are urged to keep our eyes on Jesus.

I’m a runner. More mornings than not I drag myself out of bed and onto the street. I don’t run fast. And compared to marathoners, I don’t run far. But I run...As the sun is rising, I am running. And as I am running, my body is groaning. It doesn’t want to cooperate. My knee hurts. My hip is stiff. My ankles complain...Things hurt. And as things hurt, I’ve learned that I have three options. Go home. Meditate on my hurts until I start imagining I’m having chest pains. Or I can keep running and watch the sun come up. My trail has just enough easterly bend to give me a front-row seat for God’s morning miracle. If I watch God’s world go from dark to golden, guess what? The same happens to my attitude. The pain passes and the joints loosen, and before I know it, the run is half over and life ain’t half bad. Everything improves as I fix my eyes on the sun.

Wasn’t that the counsel of the Hebrew epistle—“looking unto Jesus”? Hope is a look away. Now, what were you looking at?

--Max Lucado, Traveling Light

Praises:

1. My internet connection has been repaired, although I don’t know how. When the repairman left, I thought he said he was coming back. He didn’t, but two days later my internet was working. Thanks for praying!
2. I am enjoying language school very much. Continue to pray for opportunities to share my faith.
3. I have received half of what is needed to cover my expenses for the Leadership Conference.
4. Katie is doing well. We enjoy riding back and forth to language school, although we are in different classes. She is enjoying the time she spends with her host family and they are enjoying her.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for the students and the professors of EET as the next quarter begins in April. Jon will be teaching a course on systematic theology this quarter and I know he would appreciate your prayers.
2. Pray that those of us who are attending the Leadership Conference will be refreshed and renewed and will have sweet times with the Lord and with each other.
3. Pray that Jon and Kathy will be able to get the necessary paperwork to apply for Nacho’s visa for their upcoming home assignment.

Segovia

I promised you some pictures from our school excursion to Segovia. At long last, here they are.

You can see it was a cold, snowy day from this overlook on the road into Segovia. The castle and the cathedral are visible from here.











Here is Katie in front of the acqueduct. It is about 2,000 years old, spans 728 meters and has 166 arches. Probably the most amazing thing about this magnificent structure is that it is held together without any binding agent or cement of any kind.









This is the castle of Segovia. Called the Alcázar (the arab word for castle), it was orginally a Roman castle and later a refuge for the Moors. In 1862 a fire destroyed a great part of the castle and the restoration was completed in 1890.








This is the view of the castle from the road into town. Makes you think of fairy tales, doesn't it? It was from here that Isabel left to be proclaimed Queen in 1414.
















The Cathedral of Segovia is the last built in the Gothic style in Spain. Work was begun in 1515, four years after the original cathedral was destroyed in a war. 200 years and several architects later, it was completed.