Our Hinge in an Unhinged World

“The greatest distinction between Christianity and other religions is that the death of its founder did not mark the termination of His life and ministry. . . . . The Resurrection is the hinge on which the truth of our faith turns, and without it nothing else would really matter. . . . The dynamic joy of our faith would turn into speculation, and Christianity would be simply one of many human philosophies and religious theories.” Nothing But the Truth: Upholding the Gospel in a Doubting Age by John MacArthur




It would be interesting to get the statics on how many home grown business went down the minute the original founder passed away. I can name two in my own home town that did just that. Basically their death did mark the termination of the business as it was, as their love ones weren’t interested in making it work. Living in the hometown where the founder of Les Schwab lived and died I’ve been watching to see if the same thing happens to all his tire stores since he passed away recently.



Without the resurrected Christ the same thing would have happened to the church. There is no way we would have kept it going without our founding Father still being alive and well and active in each establishment and heart. It’s a great thing to know that the death of our founder, Jesus Christ didn’t terminate anything but bondage to sin itself. His death and resurrection were the beginning of something bigger not the end of something self-created. No, I take that back it was the end of something self-created, sin.



Indeed the resurrection is the hinge on which the truth of our faith turns. Without it nothing else really matters. It is the reason we stay together and the reason we are able to survive. It’s our life line. We need to show the world that our founder is not dead but very much alive. Alive in our lives, active in our church, present in our hearts, and displayed in our actions.



In order to convince the world we serve a risen Savior we need to believe it ourselves. Too often we live our lives as if God wasn’t there watching over us. We worship Him on Sunday and do our own thing for the rest of the week. When life hits us upside the head we react first in an ungodly manner sometimes and then we turn to God. I am speaking of myself. I’m ashamed of my reactions that get ahead of my actions. God is all I have yet I treat Him sometimes like He’s my last resort, unhinged and trying to hang on by my own strength.



Shame on me, shame on us. Let us make our Founder proud. Many of the people who work for Les Schwab have never met their Founder and never will now that he has passed away. We get to meet our Founder, each and everyone of us. May He be proud, our hinge via faith in an unhinged world.



Nina is our hostess of the week at her site http://mamaslittletreasures.com/ run on over there and read and share with group regarding the wonderful message in today’s quote. October is coming if you hadn’t noticed we will be talking about planting seeds, maintaining a garden and harvesting what we planted. Get your shovels and tools out and join in.

Remaining with Jesus

“No one can remain neutral regarding Jesus’ resurrection. The claim is too staggering,
the event too earthshaking, the implications too significant and the matter too serious. We must either receive it or reject it as truth for us. To remain indifferent or undecided is to reject it.”  ~Mark Driscoll

In thinking about the resurrection of Jesus and other things the problem with people today is we like to find ways to “remain neutral.” We are raising our kids to think in this very realm. The more we can get people to sit on the fence the easier it is to knock them off to one side or the other. That may work with what we believe about global warming, what the speed limit should be, or if sugar is truly toxic or not. However, it doesn’t work that way when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus we either believe it or we don’t. We either reject it or accept it.

If you think about the claim regarding His death and resurrection it truly is too staggering, earthshaking, and significant to not take seriously. Back in Jesus’ time crucifixion was Rome’s punishment for slaves, foreigners, and criminals who were not Roman citizens. It was the most agonizing and disgraceful death a cruel age could devise. Nails were driven through the hands and feet, and the victims were left hanging there in agony, starvation, insufferable thirst and excruciating spasms of pain. Death usually followed in four to six days but in Jesus’ case it was over in six hours.

Jesus death was witnessed by many, his burial was no secret. Extra preparations were made to ensure no one could steal Jesus’body and then claim He rose from the dead as He had promised. In spite of all they tried to do Jesus arose anyway to appear to enough people to seal the deal showing He had indeed risen. Archaeological findings are everywhere to confirm what happened thousands of years ago at the time of His death and resurrection.

Back then there was no reason to “remain neutral” they either believed or they didn’t. Like Thomas who had his doubts we have our doubts too but it’s no reason to sit on the fence. We need to exchange our need to actually “see the nail marks” for faith. Sitting on the fence ready to jump to either side when the final moment comes won’t do. We either believe the whole story or not at all. Indulging in only the bits and pieces we like to munch on or pick out of the Bible like a snack tray are no good, they are worthless, null and void. There is no resurrection without the cross and there is no cross without the resurrection.

Jesus at any time could have put a halt to all of this. He had the power to stop it all before it even began but He didn’t. He had a task to do, a promise to fulfill, people to save, death to defeat and He did what He had to do. Now it’s time for us to do what we have to do and that is to believe. There is no reason to be neutral about it and make it out to be some kind of myth or fairy tale passed down from generation to generation. If that were the case then at the end we would all be sailing in the same boat. However, if the stories are true then that opens up a whole different boat to sail on that makes the outcome at the end different.

Remaining neutral is not the answer. Remaining with Jesus is!

What a wonderful thing we have in our “Easter baskets” the hope and promise of salvation, forgiveness, love, grace and mercy wrapped up out shining the chocolate bunny we often get this day. God’s gift lasts longer that’s for sure!

© 2012 Karen Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes