Jesus had to die for us, but why did he have to be tortured to death? The penalty for sin is death, not torture. Yes, he was the Lamb of God, but when we look to the animal sacrifices Jesus replaced with his very life’s blood, the animals were killed swiftly and humanely. I’ve heard theologians’ various explanations why, but they contradict each other so all can’t be right. Psalm 22:14-18, Isaiah 52:14 and Isaiah 53:10-12 show what happened was prophesied. God’s thoughts are above our thoughts. Perhaps Jesus’ tortuous death was to relate to what his followers would and did experience throughout the ages. Our anxieties, our griefs and our sufferings are taken up and sanctified in his. Whatever the reason, I know his suffering was done out of love for us. That’s who Jesus is!

As I drink my unsweetened coffee each morning, I’m reminded again of the great love God has for me that he would sacrifice himself for me. He gave up everything to become a human baby and to live out a perfect life for me. I don’t deserve that. And I surely don’t deserve him taking on the physical and emotional pain he suffered, let alone the excruciating physical torture of crucifixion, all for me. I don’t even love myself that much! Resurrection Sunday is coming. It’s that yearly reminder of how much my Savior loves me. Many wonder about their purpose in life, who they really are and why, but I am loved by God! That’s who I am!

“Is Christ the priority in your life or the center of your life?” When someone asks me a question like that, I think, Wait. What? How do I answer that? Our pastor explained. If Christ is the priority in your life, when you get up, you pray and read your Bible or a devotional before you start your day. Then you go on to face your daily responsibilities, whether driving to work or weeding your garden or answering your mail. Christ is your priority. But if Christ is the center of your life, he’s not only in your designated prayer time, he’s also in the car with you on the way to work and with you weeding the garden and involved in answering your mail or whatever you’re doing. He’s the center of all you do, not just your first-thing-in-the-day priority.

What is the gospel? We know about the canonical gospels, three synoptic, Matthew, Mark and Luke, and then the fourth, John. We know they tell of the life of Jesus and his ministry and sacrifice while on this earth, and that the word gospel can be translated “good news.” Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God across Judea. He also called his followers to go and do the same throughout the world. But, as one who constantly writes about God and the gospel, I realize, with Christ living within us and us in him, the gospel is not only what we say (or write about), it’s also the life we live.

She was only 18 and she went missing. Along with so many others I prayed she would be found safe. Though I didn’t know her personally, her parents attended the university I once worked for. After many days, they found her remains buried in the desert. They have a suspect in custody. Why, Lord? It’s a fair question, as long as you realize God didn’t create robots. He created flesh and blood beings free to make choices, good or evil. Sex was created by God as a good gift, but for decades sex and sexual fantasies have been used to sell products. The old fashioned word chastity, for any reason, seems odd now. To think otherwise is not politically correct. Sexual promiscuousness is not new, of course, but now it’s acceptable, even preferable. The result is confusion, emotional pain and sexual abuse of all forms. Such horrifying news motivates me and I hope you to pray even more fervently for God’s Kingdom to fully come.

What is beautiful to you? What is considered beautiful varies among cultures and races. You only have to look at classic paintings or old movie star photos to see how what we see as beautiful changes in our world over time. But how does God view beauty? We can look at what he created and see so much beauty, but if we were the one creating we might not have come up with slithery snakes, slobbery hyenas, slimy leeches or the numerous other not-so-cute creatures in our world. Jesus was described physically as not a man noted for a handsome face. Yet Mother Teresa saw Jesus’ beauty in the faces of the dying, the sick and the destitute. I believe her vision of beauty may be much closer to God’s ideal than any of ours.

Ed’s sons and his youngest daughter visited this last week. The oldest son Dan, who lives near Palm Springs, always wishes for a thunderstorm while he’s here. Texas is known for its wild and crazy weather. It can be in the 80s at noon and drop to freezing the same night. This extreme change of temperature creates severe thunderstorms with hail and gale-force winds and sometimes tornadoes. This year Dan got more than he bargained for. The day before the guys left for flights home the sky darkened as sinister storm clouds appeared. Then an ominous rumbling began with lightning and strong gusts of wind. A tornado hit a small community south of us, headed right for us and then veered away across the countryside, taking out some outbuildings on its way. No one was killed. Thank you, Lord!

A praise song we sing at church is titled, “You Are the Air I Breathe.” Maybe you’ve heard it. The lyrics remind us that God is everything to us. If he left us, we would be desperate for his return. We can’t live without him! Though God never leaves us, sometimes it can feel that way.  Sometimes in the midst of a hard trial, health or otherwise, it can be normal to feel alone in our pain. But we don’t ever have to feel God isn’t always there for us. With all our sins and other shortcomings Jesus took upon himself on the cross, he suffered that feeling of abandonment for us too.

Here she came, joyously romping over to us, carrying her Frisbee In her wide jaws, ready to play. My daughter and I were finishing up a walk when the large yellow lab spotted us. Ignoring her owner’s calls, tail wagging happily, she invited us to join in her game. Eileen took her up on it, wrestled the Frisbee from her mouth and sailed it back toward her owner. She sprang into action running right back to where he could grab her. He and two other large dogs with Frisbees in their mouths were on their way to play somewhere, but she couldn’t wait. She didn’t know us, had not seen us before, but wanted to include us in her play day. To her it didn’t matter what race we were or age or gender or what church we attended, she invited us to join her in a friendly game. Don’t you love dogs!

Going to bed without fear at night is not a question for me. What to have for breakfast or lunch or dinner is a matter of various food choices. On cold days there’s heat and when it’s hot the AC hums away. Nothing fancy, the ordinary comforts most of us take for granted. But with a rogue nation fueled by power and greed maliciously attacking the Ukraine, our peaceful existence in this world is not guaranteed. The media has been all but shut down in Russia. Not a surprise, journalists striving for the truth are usually the first to feel the iron fists of dictators. Keep them in your prayers. Along with all that we enjoy in this country, let’s not take our brave free press for granted. They help keep us free.