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Sunday, November 26, 2006


"For You -- (Part 1)"

Those of you that know me well, or have been reading my blog for some time, know that I am an actor and an artist. That's my passion. That's what I do. But I am also a Christian -- and I stand tall in that conviction. I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I choose to live my life in thanks for His sacrifice on what should have been my cross.

I'm also a church-going person. Granted, I don't make it every Sunday, but, I am blessed to go to a Milwaukee church where the sermon is recorded and broadcast on national television as part of the growing Time of Grace Ministry. Perhaps you've already seen it?

Well, today's message was a rather poignant one, and a wonderful reminder to me -- personally. And, since it applies to all of us, I thought I'd share part of it with you. Now, I understand not everyone shares the same faith as I do, and I accept that. But, regardless of where you come from, or what you believe, you are still invited.

So, as follows is part of today's Time of Grace message by my pastor, Mark Jeske. Enjoy.

The Ultimate Expression of Love
(Source: Pastor Jeske's Nov. 26, 2006 Time of Grace message.)

When it comes to the comparison between showing a message by saying it with words or showing it with actions, obviously which one shouts louder? Actions. Actions always shout louder than words.

If a guy kisses his kids goodbye and kisses his wife goodbye before going off to work, and he says, "I love you all; I just love being with you. You are my family, I love you with all my heart and I love my home; I can’t wait to see you again," except after work he goes out with his buddies, drinks up all his paycheck, gets totally bombed, risks losing his job, and staggers home at 2:30 a.m. in a foul, angry mood -- what do you think those kids are going to remember about that particular Tuesday of their lives? Are they going to think, "That was the day I was sure Daddy loves me?" No. That’s going to be the day they remember, "Maybe he doesn’t love me at all."

Actions always trump words. And if Jesus had just come to say, "God loves you" and "I will be with you always," that would be wonderful and we’d have to go on his word. But really, what gives us such incredible power behind those words is that he showed his love. He allowed himself to be arrested, meekly submitted to the abuse that unworthy human beings dished out to him, and then he allowed himself to have a crown of thorns beaten into his head, hung up on an instrument, the rack of torture, nailed down and left to hang there to expire a slow, miserable, painful death.

Infection set in, and his head was broiling in the sun as the life slowly seeped out of his body. And on top of that, he got to suffer rejection from everybody around him, including his friends, and including his Father, who turned on him also. And in absolute loneliness, alone and in misery, he hung there to die for you and for me. That’s how much he loves you.

He spread his arms wide -- wide enough to hug the whole world, and he showed, "I love you." For he did all those things -- not for himself in any way -- that was purely in order to give you a gift.

That assigns such worth to you and to me. There he paid a price to take away all of your and my unworthiness. There he paid a price to give value to the worthless like you and me. There he stooped down to our world. He didn’t set the bar up high and say, "Jump." He knew we couldn’t. He came down to our world and lived it to the full.

He breathed our poisoned air. He listened to our bitter, hate-filled conversations and endured the same kind of abuse that you and I often have to take and see dished out. And he suffered the ultimate human consequence of human sin, though he had never sinned. He voluntarily took the blame and allowed himself to be put to death.

That is how much he cares.

Christ came down from heaven, left all his glory behind, and became human like the rest of us. Then he became a willing sacrifice for you and for me. He volunteered to die in our place -- in one of the most humiliating forms of death possible -- just so that our sins would be washed away... and we would be able to join Him in the glory of heaven.

THAT, my friends, is the ultimate expression of love... And one heck of a gift to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

So, as you start this new week, don't forget the real reason we give thanks this time of year. "We love, because He first loved us!" (1 John 4:19)

Have a blessed Monday all!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon

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Jon Baas

Blogging Since 2002!
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USS Enterprise 1701-D
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