Author: Justin Leininger

Today in Paradise

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(Note: this post was originally a mini-message I delivered at Bethany Wesleyan Church for a Good Friday Service)

How would someone describe you?  Think about it and be honest with yourself.  If someone had to describe you, what would they say?

Obviously, someone should start the description process with the hair.  Alright, maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.  It has been said that I have the best hair in the Lehigh Valley (okay…the person who actually said that was me…).  We do tend to start with physical attributes though, don’t we?  Hopefully, the description would go deeper.  They’d talk about if you were a nice person, a caring individual, a creative mind, a loving parent, etc.

For most of us we will be described by what we have done.  When I was in 5th grade I had a teacher named Mr. Dippery. (Seriously!  Imagine the fun a 5th grader could have with the name Dippery! Oh the temptation to say Dippy or Drippy.)  We took a class trip to a local park with a creek and Mr. Dippery made it very clear that every year someone fell into the creek.  He made it just as clear that we were not to be that person.  Wouldn’t it be great if this was the year where no one fell in the creek?  Yeah, that would have been great.  I can’t remember if it was hot out, if the water looked refreshing, or if maybe I saw a fish, but I ended up in the creek.  For Mr. Dippery, I became the “fall in the creek” type of kid and that description was probably well deserved!

How would someone describe you?

Jesus is on the cross and two other men are on crosses with Him. Matthew and Mark describe them as thieves. But Luke chooses a different word – a Greek word that literally means “those who do evil works.”¹  This is probably one of the ways we’d all least like to be described.  But the fear is that at one point or another in our lives this could have described any of us.  At one point or another we’ve all done evil. And we all hope not to be remembered for those moments.

Jesus hung on the cross with these two men. One, for some reason or another, decided to berate and mock Him. Did this evil man feel better from his words? Did he feel like part of the crowd? Did resorting to bullying make his situation seem better? I don’t know.

While one berated Jesus and mocked who He was, the other took a different stance.  Something from his evil life changed. Could he change his past? No, every action he had made remained.  Could he change his present situation, of hanging on the cross? No, he was literally nailed to that situation.  But he must have seen something in Jesus’ actions that gave him the hope to believe.  And as his heart began to change, he made a simple plea:

“Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”

And with those words he proclaimed his faith, his belief, his hope, his heart.

And Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Many across the world will remember Good Friday as the day that the world, humanity, a race of “those who do evil works” destroyed the greatest person among them.  It could be the day that they took the one true innocent man, the one Man that certainly was not “one who did evil works” and killed Him next to those who did.

That is one way to remember Good Friday.

I’d encourage you to remember Good Friday like this:  The day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ looked into the eyes of one who did evil works – a representative of each of us, maybe the worst of us – and because that man believed, Jesus invited him to spend eternity with Him in paradise.

How would someone describe you?

Remember that no matter how lost you are – Jesus came for you and on the cross He invited you to paradise with Him.  However your past may describe you – with a confession to Jesus Christ and a belief in Him, He will describe you as one fit for paradise, one made for His family.

How would someone describe you?

If those of us who claim to be Christ’s followers would show the compassion and love that Jesus showed even up to His most painful moment on the cross, think about how you and I would be described!  Think about the difference we could make!

How would someone describe you?  Time will tell.

From Good Friday we do know one thing, how Jesus would describe you – worth it all.

 

 

¹Adam Hamilton, Final Words From the Cross, (Abingdon Press, 2011) p. 38.

Clear Eyes

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Churches are supposed to be welcoming, right?  That’s not really a question, more of a statement.  Like when my wife asks me, “You’re going to do the dishes, right?”  If a church isn’t welcoming it’s not going to accomplish much good in its community.  I think my church is very welcoming, maybe extraordinarily so.  But don’t most church goers think that about their church?  Funny enough it took a rather unwelcoming church moment to help me understand exactly why I can be sure my church knows how to welcome others.

When churches become a certain size they can become targets.  There are always new faces, random meetings, exciting ministries – you might say some hustle and bustle (okay no one actually says that).  It is exciting but it can create an opportunity for someone to try and take advantage.  A few weeks ago just such a person was slipping through local churches, taking advantage.

Then came the Sunday when the individual arrived at our church.  We had been notified to be on the lookout, but the whole thing didn’t seem likely.  I admit, this person made some rounds and probably got the customary smiles, head-nods, and hellos.  But then the unfortunate moment for them came, when one of our church leaders had eyes clear enough to see.  Clear eyes that first searched for ways to connect, then for ways to help, and finally for ways to understand.  And the situation clicked into place and our church became for but a moment a bit unwelcoming.

In Acts 3, Peter and John are on their way to the temple and they pass a man lame from birth.  The man calls out to them for money.  This is a regular kind of occurrence, something that most would say could be ignored.  But I love what Peter and John actually do.  Acts 3:4 says, “Peter looked straight at him, as did John.”  For maybe the first time in a long time someone truly looked at the man.  With clear eyes Peter and John saw the man and saw the real need.  They didn’t have money to give, but they gave what they had, healing by the power of the name of Jesus Christ.

Clear eyes – first off, I’m not referencing the product whose commercials featured the dynamic duo of Ben Stein (Bueller…Bueller…) and a beach ball (anyone else remember these commercials – just me?).  To me, clear eyes is having the ability to put aside our personal distractions, concerns, and self-focus so that we can ‘look straight’ at people.  We can give them the attention, the focus, and the care they deserve.  When this happens the true welcoming begins!

Seeing with clear eyes is not the easiest thing to do.  The biggest challenge is not allowing ourselves to get in the way.  We’re all going to have moments, minutes, and days where this is impossible, that is life.  But this is no small thing and it shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Having the ability to see others with clear eyes is a key ingredient to effectively ministering to others.  If you never allow yourself to do it, your impact is greatly limited.

I know what many of you are thinking, “Is he going to talk about clear eyes and never actually reference Friday Night Lights?” (A TV show that coined the phrase “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.”)  Of course not!  Ask yourself – are you seeing others with clear eyes?  When you welcome people at church, when you see someone at work, and even when you pass someone in the grocery store – are you looking with clear eyes?  Put aside everything for a few moments and give someone your attention, your focus, and your care – see what they need, who they are,  and how you can make a difference for them!  Because maybe, just maybe, Friday Night Lights got it right.  Eyes clearly seeing others, with hearts full of Jesus Christ, could just be a recipe that can’t lose.

First Blog Ever

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For the past few years I have felt the call upon my life to write.  I have never doubted that God has incredible things in store for my life.  He has led me to many incredible places and has taught me so much along the way.  Currently, I find myself writing every week for the many different areas of ministry in which I serve.  This page is to help me share some of what I have written and to allow my writing skills to develop for whatever God has planned for the future.

I hope you will find this page meaningful and a bit entertaining!  For the most part, this page will focus on three main things that are very important to me:  family, ministry, and creativity.

Family is huge to me!  There is nothing that has helped shape my faith and my personality more than my family!  They get the credit for my walk with Jesus Christ and they get the blame for my Pennsylvania-Dutch stubbornness.  (And my love for potato chips and Chinese food!)  My ministry is centered around family as well.  I know God ‘moves’ and ‘works’ in different ways in our world and time, but a family centered around Jesus Christ will always be one of His greatest weapons!

Ministry is my calling.  As a pastor’s son I have been around church ministry for a really long time.  (Okay, calm down, not that long.)  I love finding new ways of reaching people for Jesus Christ and I think there is a lot we can learn from each other in making most areas of the church better.

Creativity is what often fuels me.  Too often being a Christian has been associated with negativity, boredom, and legalism.  I see it as just the opposite and I will gladly share any idea that helps people smile, laugh, and cheer while learning about Jesus Christ.