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Extravagant Love

April 11, 2014 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (NIV) John 12:3

It’s a Friday evening, 6 days before the Passover. What Thanksgiving is to Americans, Passover is to the Jews. It is a time of hearty celebration. It’s also one week before Jesus crucifixion and burial. Jesus and His disciples are in Bethany, a small village about two miles east of Jerusalem away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Martha, Mary, Lazarus, Jesus, and His 12 disciples are at a dinner in Jesus’ honor.

But, the dinner is interrupted by Mary. She approaches Jesus as if she is a slave, she went to His feet. She carries a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume imported from India, made from dried leaves of a rare Himalayan plant. Her ointment is worth 300 denarii, nearly an entire year’s wages for a working man. Without hesitation Mary pours it on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair. The aroma envelopes the room. The anointing prepares Jesus for the day of His burial which is one week away. Jesus is about to die and Mary knows it. She has heard Him say it over and over again. She wants to show Jesus how much she loves Him, and she does so by giving Him most likely, her most precious and valuable possession.

Is there anyone in this world that you feel that way about? Someone who you love soooo much that all you want to do is demonstrate your love for him or for her in some tangible way? a husband? a wife? a child? a mom or dad? a boyfriend or girlfriend? Jesus? Someone who means more to you than anything in life. Then you understand how Mary felt. As we approach Easter, please take the time to read through the extravagant love displayed on the cross!

How have you experienced God’s extravagant love?

The Finish Line

August 14, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NIV) Hebrews 12:1-3

Once the author of Hebrews tells us how to run, he turns our focus to the finish line. We are to focus on the Finisher, Jesus. Why do we fix our focus on Him? Because He is the author and perfecter of our faith. The Author – the Originator, the Founder, the Leader, the First, the Beginning. He is the initiator of our faith. And He is the Perfecter – the Finisher, the One who reached the goal. He started it all and He finished His task. Jesus endured.

Where was Christ’s focus? It was on His goal: first the cross, then the throne. The result was joy. Joy in knowing He was returning to His Father. Joy in defeating sin and death once and for all. Joy in knowing that someday we would live in eternity with Him!

We are told to consider Him, consider Jesus. Think about Him, meditate about Him, learn about Him, and seek after Him. So that when you grow weary, when you are tempted to lose heart and when you are exhausted in the middle of the race, you can focus on the finish when you meet Him face to face! The exhilaration will be greater than entering the Olympic stadium at the end of the marathon. . .the roar of the crowd will be deafening. . .there will be cheering and applause as Heaven expresses its approval.

So where is your focus? Fix your eyes on Jesus and race with long obedience in the same direction. . .until you reach the end. . .taking one step after another. . .running the race for an audience of One, Jesus!

God’s Initiative

March 2, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV) John 3:17

The cross was an act undertaken by God. The Father was not a passive spectator, but an active participant in the plan of redemption. Christ died on the cross because it was God’s will to reconcile mankind to Himself. God was in Christ, and therefore, involved Himself in man’s redemption. God made Christ sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21) and then victoriously raised Jesus from the dead in the resurrection (Acts 2:32, 3:15, 3:26, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40, 13:30, 13:33-34).

The Father’s Love:
** For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)
** The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead– whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. (Acts 5:30)
** And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son {to be} the Savior of the world. (I John 4:14)

The Son’s Love:
** He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:8-9)
** She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
** For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
** Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

The Spirit’s Love
** Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:5)
** The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)
**. . . because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. (1 Thessalonians 1:5)
** But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (Titus 3:4-6)

It was God’s initiative, God’s plan, that saved mankind from the clutches of death.

Written by Marji “Mike” Kruger

The Ultimate Sacrifice

February 24, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work– whether native-born or an alien living among you–because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. (NIV) Leviticus 16:29-30

The Day of Atonement, was the tenth day of the seventh month on Israel’s calendar. It was set aside as a day of public fasting and humiliation, a day when the nation of Israel sought atonement for its sins. On the Day of Atonement, the whole community gathered at the tabernacle to fast. The high priest, very carefully followed God’s prescribed steps, bringing the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and sprinkled the blood on the cover (the mercy seat) of the ark of the covenant. This annual sacrifice, made before the Lord, was an “atonement . . . to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” (16:34). Following it, Israel was told, “You will be clean from all your sins” (16:30). Each year the same ritual had to be repeated.

Just before Jesus died on the cross, He said: “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30). . . At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split (Matthew 27:50). Israel’s high priest could never make such a statement as “it is finished,” his work was never finished. But, when Jesus offered His life for all time as a sacrifice for all sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). His work was finished! The tearing of the temple veil indicated that God’s demand for justice was finally satisfied.

God’s Gift to the Israelites, the Day of Atonement, demonstrated God’s graciousness in response to the helplessness of His chosen people. It was given to them as a means of providing reconciliation with God. But, the Day of Atonement was only a shadow of what was to come. . . it was Jesus life, shed on the cross that provided a new and living way for us to God.

We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

Have you accepted God’s offer of reconciliation through faith in Christ? If not, why not investigate the work that was done on the cross?

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