Have you ever wondered why they call this Friday "Good"?  It seems to me it was a pretty bad Friday for Jesus.  To be crucified does not constitute a good day!  And yet, we call it "Good."

Maybe we should switch names with Black Friday.  We could say that is Good Friday because it is good for retailers.  This one was pretty black at the time.

As I think about it, though, I think we should leave well enough alone.  Even though this day was black for Jesus, and there was darkness for 3 hours as He hung on the cross, it was the best day ever for us.

When Jesus died, the Bible says that "He who knew no sin became sin for us."  That means when Jesus hung on that cross, He didn't have our sin WITH Him.  It wasn't just hanging beside Him where He could see, feel and smell it.  Our sin was IN Him.  It WAS Him.  He BECAME sin!

When He did that, Jesus was SEPARATED from God the Father for the first time ever.  He experienced hell so we would never have to.  Jesus was paying the cost to present us holy and pure before the holy and pure God.

Okay, I'll stop shouting now.  But it is amazing that He would endure that for someone like me. Do this with me.  Think of your sin.  Think of how many times you have sinned.  Now think about how many people are in your family and multiply your sin by that number.  Now think about how many houses are on your street, and multiply again.  How many streets are in your town?  How many towns are in your state, states in your country, and countries in the world?

Those are just the sins of today.  Jesus became all the sin of all the world for all time, past, present and future.  That is how much He loves us.

Jesus did that to forgive you.  Confess your sin to Him.  In other words, agree that your sin is really sin against God.  Ask for the forgiveness and gift of new life that He is holding out to you right now.  Trust Jesus to be the one who saves you from eternal hell, and to lead you into life that will never end in heaven with Him.

Do it now.  Make this the Best Good Friday you have ever known!

Did you hear the one about the guy who fell in because he didn't read the sign?  It said "Spring Ahead".  Never mind.  But that reminds me of a little ceramic piece I should have bought.  It was almost Christmas, and this item was in the midst of a shelf of Christmas decorations.  It was a little ceramic sign.  The message was so obvious that it amazed me.  This is what it said:

This Shall Be A Sign Unto You

And I said, "DUH, of course, you ARE a sign unto me and everyone else who sees you!"  It was probably a craft project by Captain Obvious.

We go through life reading signs just like that and thinking nothing of them.  We read in our Bibles that we will all die, and it doesn't bother us.  We read that our days our numbered and we just hope for a high number.  

We just lost an hour that we will never gain back - at least until fall.  Will we be here then?  The truth is, we just don't know.  A family in the area had the funeral for their 11-year-old boy yesterday.  They can tell you about time.

How much time do you have left?  Since you really can't answer that question, I have a better one.  What are you doing with your time?  

We are all builders.  Ultimately there are only 2 things you can build.  Either you build your kingdom or God's kingdom.  Either you work for the life you want or you work for the life God desires for you.  

Most people choose their own lives.  They buy a bigger or better house, car, boat, or whatever.  They say they are doing it for their families, their children. But they are really building their own kingdom.

Jesus promised a better kingdom.  His promise is that if we live for Him, He will give us Abundant Life.  He will live His life through us, and we will be fulfilled in Him.  

When you die, what will last?  Only your life in Jesus, and what you did as you followed Him will survive the grave.  Not your will, your kingdom, built in your way, but God's will, His kingdom, built as He chooses, will last for eternity.

It is not the obvious, human-thinking way to live.  It is God's way to live.  And He leaves signs along the way to encourage us, and to remind us of His love for us.  They are not always obvious, but they are there if we look for them. Sometimes it is in the subtle, small thing that we see God.  But every once in a while we see a bold statement.  It might even say:

​This Shall Be A Sign To You.

It was pointed out to me last night that I missed one important lesson from my computer crash.  Always look for someone YOUNGER to help!

One thing also became very clear to me in our discussion (and if you haven't sat around the fire with us on Wednesday night, you are really missing something).  

The lesson re-learned is Grace.

Grace.

Ask someone who grew up in the church what grace means, and they will probably tell you the "standard" answer:  Grace is unmerited favor. Undeserved gifting.  That is certainly how grace works, but it doesn't tell us what Grace is, or what it looks like.

Or more accurately, Who it is and Who it looks like.  Grace is Jesus pouring Himself into us through the Holy Spirit.  He is the ultimate undeserved gift.  

A friend who now knows much better than I do about grace, being in the presence of Jesus, taught me that Grace can be defined as the Empowering Presence of Christ.

Go back through your Bible and see if that definition fits the definition of grace.  Jesus in our lives, the Christ empowering us through the Holy Spirit is all the grace you need.

He hears us. In fact Jesus and the Holy Spirit both intercede (pray) for us! And He cares about the biggest problems and the smallest irritations in our lives.  Sometimes He allows the thorn to stay with us, as He did for Paul. But that thorn taught Paul grace!

Paul said that in his weakness, God's power was shown.  God's empowering presence could shine through when compared to the weakness of his mind and body.  In other words, God's Grace.

So, one final word on lessons re-learned.  Grace is all I need.

There are definite lessons to learn from my computer crashing and being restored.  Some are old lessons re-learned, and some are new insights.

1.  He who laughs last, probably backed up his files.  He who didn't back up may still get his files back, but at a significantly higher cost.

2.  Find someone who knows how to restore computers.  The cost in time is still high, but at least not insurmountable.

3.  Nothing will ever be exactly the same.  The new programs replacing the old ones will have new features, modified features, and some features gone. But change is good, right?!

4.  People are more important than things.  Every time.  Even if the things are there to help people or inform them.  ALL people are more important than ANY thing.  So get your head up, stop texting, stop hiding behind a computer screen, stop focusing on your tablet and see the people around you.  Then let them know how important they are!

4.  When something is lost, say, for instance, the ability to access the church's 2 e-mail accounts, don't panic.  It won't do any good.  Instead, pray. A lot.  With intensity.  I'm not advocating the idea that God is there to grant wishes, but I know that He loves us enough to care about what is troubling us.

5.  Pray.  Did I mention this?  After a week and a half of not accessing those e-mail accounts, I took time to pray earnestly and long, reminding God that I was at the end of my options, and that only He could restore those accounts.  It would take a miracle of sorts to gain them back.

6.  God is in the business of miracles.  I was sure I had the right web application with the right passwords.  It wasn't until I was looking for an unrelated paper that I found what God chose to let me find when He let me find it to regain the e-mail accounts.

7.  Trust in God is greater than trust in things.  It wasn't until I finally said I would be content re-creating everything that God gave me everything I needed.  He is our Father, and our Father truly does know what is best for us! By the way, He wants to restore you, too.  Trust Him!