When God is Dead - Holy Saturday

The idea for this post occurred to me during the lowest point in my life, in a moment when God seemed to be gone, everything lost—Holy Saturday. I have never heard preaching on this subject, but there are powerful life applications for the believer.

As you read, forget your knowledge of the Resurrection, forget you know the end of the story, go to the upper room with the Apostles and imagine... because minus the physical horrors of the Cross, Holy Saturday, when Jesus' body lay in the tomb, is the darkest day in history.

The Apostle John and the women at the Cross heard Jesus utter the most heartbreaking lament ever spoken, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' Those words must have shaken His followers to the core. Had Christ been rejected by the Father? From their perspectives, it must have appeared so.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Holy Saturday

After the crucifixion and Christ's entombment, the Apostles hide. Having witnessed the trial and execution of the most powerful man on Earth, they held no illusions about their future or the fate. Peter, the bravest and most faithful among them, did not deny Christ without reason; the Apostles knew the brutality of the Romans. But worse, with Jesus gone, the men who cast out demons in His name, realized Hell was coming for them. Thus, they are defenseless, hunted, and terrified.

Judas Iscariot fell prey to the lies of the Devil and religious leaders. Despite everything, Judas was their companion, their friend, who betrayed them, as well as the Lord. When news of his suicide reached the upper room, they learned his body was hanging in Potter's Field, unattended, desecrated. For a Jew, this is particularly abhorrent. As the caretaker of the money, it is reasonable to assume Judas stole their funds when he left. His death destroyed all hope he would repent and return. Scripture says after the crucifixion, Christ's followers scattered, leaving the disciples with no one, and in the upper room they are broke, with a price on their heads, trapped, and mourning not only Jesus, but Judas.

Imagine their disillusionment. They gave up homes, business, and position in the community to follow Jesus. Scripture confirms their families thought they were crazy and condemned them for being irresponsible. On Holy Saturday, the Apostles faced the crushing possibility they were wrong and wasted three years of their lives for nothing.

Jesus predicted His death and resurrection a number of times, but His words remained hidden, as if He had spoken in code the Apostles failed to hear or understand. Pentecost had not yet come, so without Christ or the Holy Spirit, they existed in total darkness, without hope Jesus would return from the dead. This is demonstrated by their disbelief on Easter morning and Thomas' rejection of the testimony of the ten.

Holy Saturday buffeted the Apostles, forced them into doubt and reflection. By design, it brought them to the lowest point in their lives and prepared them for the work to come. Holy Saturday demonstrates what Christianity would be without the Resurrection—dead.

We all encounter Holy Saturdays in our lives. We face betrayal, the loss of our loved ones, and the devastating fears financial insecurity brings. Enduring the death of dreams, hopes, and aspirations, we curl up in pain, mourning, and condemnation. There is nothing fanciful about Saturday; the experience is brutal.

But take heart, Sunday is on the way, and there we find victory, new life, and resurrection! Praise God.

(Originally Published 04/23/2011)

A Holy God

Hebrews 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Exodus 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

Exodus 19:18:  Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

Fire Lion

Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Psalm 97:2 Dark clouds surround him.  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.

4 His lightning flashes out across the world.  The earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.

Below is a clip of my church singing Psalm 97, the Lord reigns (I will look for a more truncated video of the song but for now, it's the first song).

Many years ago, we were flying high after a rousing version of the Lord Reigns and Pastor Livingston gave a sermon about God's holiness.  We'd "get happy" singing this but had we ever stopped to consider the words?  Had we ever considered what the mountains melt like wax in the presence of the Lord means?  I must confess, I was convicted into my seat, convicted to the soles of my feet.

We do not understand a Holy God, a God of Fire and Wrath, the Living God.  We have been fed such a diet of God's love and grace that we do not recognize the Holiness.  We call God our buddy, our friend, our Papa... we have no reverence, no fear, and no concept of who He is.  

If we dare to assert that God will judge - it is WE who are accused of being judgmental.  If we insist on decorum and reverence in worship - it is WE who are uptight and stiff.  If we repeat what the Lord says about sin, death, and hell - WE are accused of being hateful.  All these things are from the church, not the lost.

I am guilty.  I try to put God in my pocket.  I am comfortable with a tame God that I think I can understand but He reminded me today, that He is Holy, He is Righteous, and His ways are higher than our ways.

The Fear of Hunger

Abigail and Dolley readers 46.7 million Americans are on food stamps.  1.5 million middle class families have been added to the roles THIS year.  That is 1.5 million families who have previously been self sufficient who out of desperation, pain, and humiliation have had to seek assistance for FOOD.  Not vacations, not new cars - FOOD.  What does that do to a middle class family?  What does that do to a mother and a father, to have to seek government help to eat?

This Depression has been hard on us all and I understand what it is like to be afraid that there is not enough to feed your family.  Never mind the mortgage, the car payment, the electric bill - those will keep you awake at night but there is panic and a desperation that goes along with fear of hunger that is foreign to the middle class American spirit.

Look at their faces in Aldi, Walmart, and Dollar General - they are scared.  They have their cell phones set on the calculator and they are adding up the purchases that go in the buggy because there is $64 in the bank and they've somehow got to figure out how that is going to feed a family of four for a week.

Their husbands are out of work and they are making less than they made a decade ago.  Their 5 year old cars in the parking lot were once very nice but the gas tanks are on empty and those last few payments are falling behind.  The kids just think Mom hasn't gotten to the grocery store in the last few days and sigh as they eat ANOTHER peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  They don't have their friends over to eat at each other's houses anymore - everyone is just barely scraping by and it is indeed very scary. 

So forgive me if I don't think your $9/month birth control pills are a top priority.  Excuse me for being offended that killing babies on demand is your primary concern.  Pardon me if I get a little pissed when I hear from you that the middle class is doing fine.  Don't tell me there is a recovery when I know people who have been trying to find work for more than a year.  Sorry if I get a little testy when I realize that my family of three owes $150,000 toward the National Debt. 

Why don't you fly off on another tax payer financed vacation, give your political friends more billions to squander on fire fly electricity plants, but STOP telling me your way is going to fix this mess because from where I am sitting this is the worst shape my country has ever been in and you have been at the helm of its destruction.

Holy Saturday - The Second Day

Abigail and Dolley readers I have been contemplating today, Holy Saturday for a few months now.  This is the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter.  This is the day that Jesus' body lay in the tomb.  To the followers of Christ, this must have been the darkest day of their lives.  Think about it for a minute, forget your knowledge of the Resurrection, forget that you know the end of the story, simply go to the upper room with me and imagine.

The Apostles are hiding, certain they will be killed if found.  The fear of gruesome death and humiliation torments them.  They have lived with Roman oppression, they know what happened to Jesus.  He was the most powerful man on Earth and they killed him, how vulnerable they must have felt!  How terrified would you be waiting for the knock at the door that signaled they had come for you?

Their friend Judas had betrayed the Lord and was gone.  He had fallen prey to the lies of the Devil himself.  With Jesus out of the way, the poor disciples who had cast out demons in Jesus name must surely know that the hoards of Hell were coming after them.  With Jesus dead, they would be fresh meat for the demons.

Judas was the caretaker of the money for the group and it stands to reason he would have taken all of their funds with him when he left.  So they are broke, with a price on their heads, and they are trapped.  They have no way to pay off anyone to help them escape, how are they going to get food?  The followers of Jesus had scattered and the people of Jerusalem had called for the Lord's Crucifixion, without funds there is no one to help them.

Then there is the disillusionment.  These men had given up everything to follow Jesus - homes, families, business, position in the community.  I am sure there were those in their families that thought they were crazy, that condemned them for not doing the "responsible" thing and leading a normal life.  I am sure there were a few Mother-in-laws who had condemned them for leaving home and hearth to follow this rabbi.  As they sat in the upper room that day, they had to face the crushing possibility that they had been wrong and everyone else had been right.  Had they wasted the last three years?

Jesus had predicted his own death about a dozen times, but from all accounts His words seem to have been hidden from the Apostles.  It was like Jesus had spoken in code and they had not heard or understood what He was saying.  This is demonstrated by their disbelief on Easter morning and Thomas' rejection of the testimony of the ten.  So I do not believe that they took comfort and hope that Jesus would rise again, this Saturday did not serve that purpose.

Holy Saturday was designed to buffet the Apostles.  It was designed for them to reflect.  It was designed to bring them to the lowest points in their lives and to prepare them for the work to come.  Holy Saturday is what Christianity would be without the Resurrection - dead.

I believe we all have Holy Saturdays in our lives.  Our dreams, hopes, aspirations, and loved ones are taken away on Friday.  We curl up in hiding, mourning, and fear on Saturday.  Saturday is lonely and scary but take heart Sunday is on the way.  Sunday their is victory, new life, and resurrection!  Praise God.

Israel's Faithful Generation

Abigail and Dolley readers I have been thinking about the wilderness lately, probably because metaphorically I am wandering around in it.  Now the wilderness of a middle class American would make most of the rest of the world and previous generations scoff at the ease, but God meets you where you are and it doesn't have to be life or death for it to be serious in your life.  The wilderness can be anything that leaves you anxious, worried, and fearful and is dominated by the fact that you in your own power can not change it.

In the wilderness, we look around and say if God doesn't show up, we are in big trouble.  The wilderness if full of pain.  We as humans hate pain and try to avoid it at all costs.  The wilderness if full of uncertainty.  We like to know where we are going and how we are going to get there.  Your wilderness will be different from mine but regardless of the circumstances, walking in the wilderness is never comfortable.

From our perspective, we would avoid it all together, but from God's that is a different story.  We are never closer to Him than when we are wandering in the desert.  We never rely on him harder than when we are powerless.  We never eat His Word and breath His Spirit more than when we are depending on Him for everything.  Paul writes that we are never stronger through God than when we are weak.  In our weakness, His power is made perfect.  So we should rejoice in our troubles because when we are weak then we are strong.

Consider Israel's greatest generation - Joshua's Israel.  The first generation out of the wilderness.  These are the children that walked through the dry land of the Red Sea and beheld the great miracles of the Exodus.  These are the children born in the desert who grew up on manna and quail.  These are the children who looked up at the cloud of God by day and the pillar of fire by night.  These are the people who the desert stripped fear, unfaithfulness, and murmuring from their hearts.  These mighty warriors did not balk at marching around the walls of Jericho at the order of the Lord.  These mighty men of God operated in His power.  This generation was the only faithful generation of Israelites and they were products of the wilderness.

I encourage you today, if you find yourself in the wilderness consider the good that the Lord is working in your heart.  In spite of your fears, trust the Lord to do a good work in you.  Trust Him to see you through this trial.  Hold on to the hope that we are at our strongest and most faithful when we emerge from the wilderness.  Cast your anxiety upon the Lord, for He loves you.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and with all your mind, lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge the Lord and He will direct your paths.  For we are not given a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Fear not, for He is with you always, even until the end of the age.