Weber, Allan 3

Scripture: Psalm 22:1a (ESV) – "My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?"

Message: Picture yourself standing at the foot of the cross. You have followed Him for three years. You see Jesus hanging there bloody, bruised, and slowly dying from asphyxiation. Overcome with sorrow, grief and sadness you weep unashamedly. You can barely hear His last words as He struggles to speak, gasping for air. What is going on? Jesus forsaken by God, His Father? Then my self-centered fear makes its appearance. Desperation and panic begin to set in. If this happens to Jesus, what chance do I have? My world has been turned upside down.

But, wait a minute! Is Jesus, in His dying moment, still up to something? He is always one step ahead of us. Even in this time of excruciating pain, is He still trying to comfort us? What's going on? Could it be that He is pointing us to Psalm 22 telling us to read and meditate on it, and that it will be okay. God prevails through the darkest of times. Victory is His!

Psalm 22:27-28 (ESV) - “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”

Although still sad and sorrowful, I take a deep breath. My faith remains strong. All is well!

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for pointing us to Your Word while You were dying on the cross. You point us to Your Resurrection. May we continue to rely on Your Word to strengthen and encourage us in all of our circumstances, good and bad. Amen.

Allan Weber (deceased)

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Scripture: Genesis 15:5a (TLB) – “Then God brought Abram outside beneath the nighttime sky and told him, ‘Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can.’”

Message: We find Abram (Abraham) sitting in his tent wondering what had gone wrong. Approximately 15 years before, God had promised him a child and he was still childless. His emotions probably ran the gamut from doubts about God to anger with God.

Abram let God know his feelings. So what does God do? God brings him outside.

What about us? Has this pandemic kept us in our tents more than usual? Are we watching too much TV, spending too much time on FaceBook and Google and too much money on Amazon? Are we eating too much? Are we feeling restless, irritable and discontent? Has a form of depression set in? Do we find ourselves doubting God and His sovereignty?

Like Abram (Abraham), it is time for us to go outside!

During this Advent season, we should leave our tents and look up to the Heavens. Imagine, if you can, that you are a shepherd tending your flock outside of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.

Suddenly, an angel appears, everything lights up, followed by a choir of angels rejoicing and singing, “Glory to God in the highest”.

What a sight! What a night! The night that changed the world forever. God became man to live among us. Take this image and thought with you as you go back inside your tent. God is the same today as He was 2,000 years ago. He wants to be in our tents with us.

Prayer: Father God, give us a new pair of glasses as we go outside our tents and look up to the Heavens. Let us see Your majesty, remembering that night 2,000 years ago when the world changed forever. Amen.

Allan Weber (deceased)

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Scripture: John 11:44 (GNT) - "He [Lazarus] came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. 'Untie him,' Jesus told them, 'and let him go."

Message: For four days Lazarus laid in the tomb, dead as dead can be. Then Jesus said "come out" and he came out. Lazarus was alive, moving and breathing. He answered Jesus' call, but he was not fully alive. He was shackled, his movements restricted. This was not an example of the abundant life. Then, he was untied.

We cannot fully answer Jesus' call and remain wrapped in our grave cloths, shackled by worldly concerns, such as finances, family members, addiction or illness. Do we have our circumstances controlled by our emotions and reactions? Are we immobilized by feelings of anxiety, fear and worry? Have our grave cloths so restricted our movement that we are barely walking with Christ? Has our light to the world burned out? Certainly this is not living the abundant life promised by Jesus.

Resurrection cannot be fully enjoyed until our grave cloths are removed. Let HIM remove them. Only then will we boldly proclaim HIS message of love and grace to a lost and lonely world.

Prayer: Father God, this Easter may we be reminded of Your power over life and death and our lack of power. We need You, we love You. Jesus untie us. Amen.

Allan Weber (deceased)

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