At Just The Right Time
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6
I remember as a kid watching the Wizard of Oz for the first time. I think I was intrigued because my mom grew up in Kansas. We heard stories of tornadoes and wheat fields and America’s ‘flat land.’ So seeing the farm, Dorothy’s house, the oncoming tornado resonated with the stories I’d heard from my mom. Flying monkeys didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t have much patience for a whining lion but the Wizard made me shake and created fear in my young mind. He seemed horrific! He was brash and loud and uncaring. I didn’t like him at all. But I did like his ‘unveiling.’ You remember, the Wizard was simply a man hiding behind a ‘magnification’ machine. Of course Dorothy didn’t know that and those of us who were fearfully glued to the television didn’t know that. But Toto did. I cheered when Toto slipped behind the curtain and exposed the viewing audience and Dorothy to the ‘real’ Wizard who wasn’t bombastic and scary. He was just a man.
This last Sunday (3/29), lots of things took place behind the curtain at Trinity. We are going through unique times as we attempt to create some normalcy in a not so normal world. Plans are made. Preparations are put together. Lots of outside hours have been spent so that we can make certain our people can experience worship from their homes as we observe the ‘stay at home’ order in our community. Sunday was a mindboggling venture from multiple locations. For safety reasons, we had to change up our ‘plan’ and utilize technology in three different locations to accomplish Sunday’s service. At Trinity, sound techs, worship team, Pastor Kyle were working furiously to not only bring worship, but connect with me at my home. George was at his home setting up the video stream that we would use as our sound team (Glen and Brian) were plugging, testing, and creating a worship experience that would flow without a hitch to our church family. If you’ve viewed Sunday’s video, it all came together. What you don’t know is behind the curtain there were questions, lots of pressure, periods of frustration and eventually success that took place at breakneck speed. This amazing team made it work and everything came together at Just the Right Time. What we all realized is that God is Good and we have been blessed at Trinity with an amazing team! Thank you – ALL of you—for being flexible, efficient and bringing glory to God. Behind the curtain—there was a little chaos but amazingly it all came together.
As we focus in the few days heading into Easter—Romans 5:6 reminds us of another feat greater than any video cast. At Just the Right Time—Jesus died for the ungodly. As humans, most of the time we have our own time schedules. If this happens and that takes place when and where I want it to, my life will be easier. Time schedules always are wrapped around our little world because of course—EVERYTHING is about Me! But God’s schedule and his timing is different. It’s perfect all the time! When Sin devastated the relationship between God and man—preparations began from the Garden forward—for renewal. It took time for God to teach humanity what sin does and how sin is to be remedied. But God patiently set up guidelines, demonstrated requirements, gave us glimpses of holiness and love and compassion—all the while preparing for the Main Event. Through prophets he predicted the day and the time and even a name, Immanuel. And then Jesus came, at Just the Right Time. The sacrificial system was in place. Man’s sin continued to soar. The system helped but the blood of bulls and goats only covered the real problem. It hid sin. It didn’t cleanse it. At Just the Right Time God sent his Son, his only begotten son, his one and only, to take away the sin of the world. Jesus came to give you new life because his sacrifice on the cross paid the price for your sin and my sin in full. But it did more than that. His blood didn’t simply cover us and hide us behind the curtain. It cleansed us from ALL unrighteous. Complete! Sufficient! Perfect! That’s powerful and more than frightening like a man hiding behind the screen, Jesus’ actions on the cross and three days later rising from the dead—gave all of us hope and not fear! Sin separates. His sacrifice brings us back. This Easter you have one simple task. Accept the gift Jesus offers you. He’s already paid for your sin in full. It’s a done deal. Accept the free gift of eternal life. Tell him: Jesus I know I’m a sinner. Thank you for paying the price for my sin. Forgive me. Come into my life. I give my life to you. Jesus is inviting you right now to follow him and it’s not too late. It’s Just the Right Time. Give your life to him—today.
One last thing. If you invited Jesus to come into your life—drop me an email at tbcpastor@comcast.net I want to celebrate with you!
Pastor Bart