O Sacred Head Now Wounded

He was conflicted pondering between conviction

And public opinion within his dominion

Emperor Tiberius handpicked him to govern Judea

Pontius Pilate was stressed as he addressed a potential riot

Injustice brewed though he would not taste it

Until he was faced with the case to break him

The one standing accused was the one that made him

Would he stand brave while the masses hate him?

Or would he save his life by doing so waste it?

Send the True Life to the grave and disgrace him

He was facing the angry crowd misbehavin’

His only option therefore was to cave in

So he flogged him, mocked him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Christ’s title abused while his sacred head was bruised

His skin was fused with thorns worn as a crown

Hear the Jews saying “Crucify him! Pass it down!”

Pilate stood and frowned after examination

No fault could be found only discrimination

God’s chosen nation spittin’ accusations

Just imagine the Creator submitting to the creation

“You’re not Caesar’s friend if this man you defend!”

The Jews used those words against Pilate to threaten

He would fold like a flock and hand over the Lamb

And yet the one that would forgive ‘em would be the one that they mock

O Sacred head now wounded weighed down

 Scornfully surrounded with a thorny crown     

You took my place it’s so amazing
I’m not fading cuz your grace sustains me

 You saved me because I was lost but now I’m found

So they took him bearing his cross to the place of the skull

To Golgotha crucified and bearing the sins of us all

Sharing the site between criminals, hearing the jeers and the scoffs

The fear of the Lord was lost as result of the original fall

Pilate put an inscription on the cross as a taunt to the Boss

“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” as if he were a fraud

The heart of God broke while the people applaud

Yet the most heinous act of depravity would be the one that would save the lost

The gravity of sin carried a high cost

And the only one that could pay it was the one disgraced on a cross

The one’s whose garments were divided and tossed

And cast lots for the his tunic were the soldiers of Rome

Three Mary’s, One John, Three Crosses, One God

One request from Jesus to John for his mom

To take her in has his own

John complied and took her to his home, O…

Sacred head was wounded the hour unwinding

The shackles of sinful men were unbinding

Reminding man of the unending kindness

Of our God, the Light of the World unblinding

And though finding us in rebellion fighting

With futility against the God Almighty

He offered life but they wouldn’t hear it

“it is finished” he bowed his head and gave up his spirit

A tear jumps off my cheek, I can’t speak

I’m choked up by how Jesus, my High Priest was treated

A further look as I read it in other accounts of his death

Always leave me out of breath was he defeated?

When his flesh was ripped and from his neck blood dripped

And his head was gripped with thorns that pricked him

And from his blindside hit, they told him to predict

Who would hit him, he would not submit so they spit on him

They treated my God like criminal – He loved them but they

Hated him so when he was down they kicked him

The abuse was not minimal nor was it the greatest

Pain unlike any man could ever suffer still awaited him

Though before that they degraded him, they baited him to say to them

That he was royalty but the questions he evaded them

He was placed on a tree like a lower case “t”

Arms stretched to the point of hyper-extending

His impending sacrifice was preceded by this

Two long nails driven right through each wrist

And one through both feet to complete this horrific scene

While the guilt of world he bore,

Every sin you and I committed killed our Lord

Only his blood through death could make our dark hearts clean

Do you appreciate his sacrifice by sacrificing your life?

Or are you hanging on to this life too tight?

Crucify Him!

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Could a day get darker than this? 

Even though the sun shone brightly,
could our hearts be harder than this?

It’s like I’m witnessing the scene but should I intervene?

I thought I was stronger than this.

 “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Pilate paraded my Lord Jesus Christ to the passion,

Irrationally taking action under the pressure of the masses

The Pharisees and the High Priest were pursuing satisfaction

I internalized my reaction, I thought I was stronger than this.

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Pilate took Jesus and flogged him

Gave him a crown of thorns and purple robe just to mock him

“Hail the King of Jews” they spewed as they clocked him

I didn’t try to stop them, I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Pilate caved in, he gave into their demands

He gave the Son of Man into their depraved hands

After they whipped him, they kicked him, inflicted such wicked tactics,

I watched and thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

They dragged him as if he were a serial killing, drug dealing, child molesting, scum on the earth

Whose worthless birth cursed humanity – is this insanity?

 They used every ounce of profanity to berate him, why do they hate him?

Why don’t I save him?  I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Bearing his own cross they took him to the place of the skull

This was the worst act of humanity since the first sin in the original fall

From the Garden of Eden to Gethsemane to Golgotha on a cross

Is all hope lost?  I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Two spikes ripped through the skin of the wrists and one through his feet

To stick him to the tree that was stained with the blood that dripped for you and for me

He struggled to breathe, my mind can’t conceive

How he grieved with the transgressions, the depression as God’s wrath on Jesus was relieved

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

They wanted to kill him and see the blood spilling in agony

Evil infested all that invested in this like meat filled with maggots

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

He was dying, why won’t anybody stop this?

God save him!  He’s thirsty!  I’m so sorry for my sin!

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

His heart rate is slowly stopping, blood, sweat, and tears are dropping

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

Abandoned by not only man but by God I’ll never know the depths of his sobbing

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

The cup of wrath was nearly completely empty but not diminished

“Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

“It is finished,” he bowed his head and gave up his spirit

The world seemed chaotic, had God lost all control?

What a psychotic afternoon but then it turned so dark and cold

Like a sacrificial Lamb he died that I might not be damned

Truly, he was the Great I am

I know now that I am not stronger than this

My strength comes from the Spirit of God indwelling within me

The sin that would kill me lost the sting of death

For because of his death I live in his strength

Relentless

I was humbled this morning as I read the book of Hosea.  I was reminded once again that God is relentless.  As the Old Testament unfolds, so does a beautiful love story between God and His chosen people.  I always want to be careful to understand the context of the Old Testament before I apply it to my life but one thing is clear: God is relentless.  Here's what God said to His prophet Hosea:

"Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, 

for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD." 

Hosea 1:2

This idea was personified in the relationship between God's prophet Hosea and the whore named Gomer.  Israel had also committed whoredom by forsaking the Lord and seeking after other gods and pleasures.  As followers of Christ and members of his body, we are his bride and he is the groom (Rev. 19:7). 

An earthly spouse may deem whoredom as an unforgivable sin and may abandon the covenant made at the altar.  And I am not condoning or condemning divorce (because I believe every situation must examined separately).  With that said, I believe the Lord has many grounds for divorce in our relationship.  I am the unfaithful spouse that has repeatedly forsaken the Lord in moments where I am absorbed and consumed with self and yet one thing is clear: God is relentless.

Though the Lord would be justified to divorce me, He has obviously gone to great lengths to pursue me.  The cup of wrath was poured out on His son as Christ hung on the cross.  I'm a little offended when Christ's bride grows tired of hearing about this sacrifice or labels it as an elementary truth and desires to move on to deeper things.  There is no deeper truth or mystery in God's Word than His relentless love for His people.  This knowledge is not a license to whoredom but security that God will not forsake His bride.  He paid a high price for me.  God is relentless.

I could walk away from the Word and say, "this is nice" and go about life as normal.  But perhaps God has revealed His love for us that we may in turn love others.  It is easy to become bitter and to become self absorbed as result of the pain inflicted by others and difficult to forgive these offenses.  That is why it is important to remember verses like 1 John 3:16, "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."  Therefore, I think the appropriate response is to continually pursue the world around us in love, beginning with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  We will miss the mark many times before the last chapter of our lives is closed but we know that we will never be abandoned because our God is relentless.

My Deliverer is Coming

Hope is a powerful thing.  Once it is lost, life looks pretty grim.  I'm a lover of the fantasy/sci-fi epic story.  The most epic story in this genre I've ever encountered is The Lord of the Rings.  If you know me well, you probably just rolled your eyes and said to yourself, "here we go again with The Lord of the Rings.  When is the Star Wars reference coming?"  Rest assured that Star Wars will make its way into a post I'm sure, just not this one.  Anyway, back to the epic story.

Middle Earth looks all but lost.  Men and elves have come together to fight against a growing evil in the east and yet they find themselves outnumbered and weakened.  Mordor, the land of the evil wizard Sauron, is preparing to launch its final attack on the last obstacle standing in its way of world domination.  All seems lost.  However, there is a faint, flickering hope.  Somewhere in the land of Mordor, is a hobbit with a ring.  A hobbit cannot fight like a warrior but its strength lies not in a sword but in stealth for the hobbits are little folk.  This hobbit's name is Frodo, and if he succeeds in destroying the ring in the volcano in which it was forged then Mordor will be defeated.  The odds are pushed up against Frodo and everybody is aware of this.  Though none have lost hope because while Frodo lives, hope floats.

If you read Genesis 3, it's easy to become discouraged.  I mean, come on!  If Adam and Eve, who were sinless, fell into sin so quickly, what hope then is there for us?  There lies our problem, really.  Whenever I lose hope, which seems to happen a lot, I can find the root of the problem.  Am I wrong in despairing?  It depends, because I really believe there are times when there truly is no hope.

First let me elaborate on what I mean by the fact that there is sometimes no hope.  As a human, I love to touch and feel and know that what I believe in is tangible and certain.  Many times my hope is often misdirected and misplaced on a person or dare I say, myself.  I really want to believe that others can fix my problems and yet they fail.  Or I want to have full control and yet I come up short.  If my hope is found in myself or in another person, pastor, leader, etc. then perhaps there is really little or no hope left.  "But there is always hope!" one may shout or "Hope floats" (which only reminds of a movie that I did not enjoy very much).  Of course there is always hope, but what good is hope if it is a hope misplaced?  Is that not referred to as "false hope?" I think Rich Mullins' song My Deliverer really speaks about the real hope we must set our lives on.  I particularly like DC Talk's version of it because it was adjusted for the movie The Prince of Egypt.

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by

Isn't that the point of our lives?  If God has forgotten about us, then what's the purpose?  I don't want to this post to take a philosophical turn so I won't attempt to discredit any self-centered worldviews at this time.  I just want to focus on my Deliverer.  Actually, He's not just my Deliverer but He is your Deliverer as well.  Actually, from the beginning of time, humanity has set its eyes on our Deliverer.  From the moment Adam and Eve fell, they were looking ahead toward someone that could deliver them from their sin and while they did not know exactly to whom they were looking toward, they knew that God offered hope.  The Song begins:

Joseph took his wife and child and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile they listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singing... My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by

Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid a deadly confrontation with King Herod.  We know that Jesus is the Deliverer and at first glance, it may appear that He arrived too late.  The captive children referred to here were enslaved by pharaoh thousands of years before Christ was born.  Was He too late?  Exodus 2 reminds us that God did not ignore their slavery those many years before the birth of our Deliverer.

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Exodus 2:23-25, ESV

So God raised up a man from the tribe of Levi named Moses to miraculously deliver Israel out of Egypt's hands.  This is where I like DC Talk's variation on the song.  The next verse focuses on Moses' longing for a Deliverer  because even he understood that he was not ultimately Israel's savior.  For though Moses delivered Israel physically from Egypt (through the power of God so that even Moses could not take credit for it), he could not deliver Israel spiritually from their own sin.  In fact, not even Moses could deliver himself from sin.  So Moses, arguably the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, longed for a Deliverer and sang the song as well:

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by

This is where we must all check out egos at the door.  If Moses needed a Deliverer, then so do we.  Well, the Word of God tells us that this Deliverer, Jesus Christ, arrived around two thousand years ago.  He not only set a high standard for the way we live our lives, his death would deliver us from our sin.  He was arrested and then executed as a blasphemer.  He physically rose from the grave three days later.  He commissioned his disciples and then ascended, in bodily form, to heaven.  But it doesn't end there.  This is where our hope now lies.  It's not good enough for us to think of Jesus only in the past tense because Jesus transcends time.  The Bible is very clear that Jesus will return.  But will He?  Rich Mullins reminds us why we can trust what the Bible says:

He will never break His promise, He has written it upon the sky

God never breaks promises.  He has written it upon the sky.  The sky?  Remember the rainbow after God destroyed all life, save those on the ark, in a flood?  Hollywood loves to make movies about the end of the world.  But rest assured that they've all got it wrong.  God has already promised not to destroy mankind like that before He returns.  Every time we see a rainbow (or even a double rainbow - and by the way, it's not becoming a triple rainbow), we can be reminded about God's promises. You know what's even better?  God's promises are true whether we believe them or not.  Read Rich Mullins' amazingly honest says:

I will never doubt His promise, though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes

We all doubt sometimes and yet God is steadfast.  And it's His steadfastness that's keeps us hoping that He will make true on His promises.  He has not left us here to die but is coming back for us.

The Lord of the Rings is more than just a geeky fantasy story, it's a picture of life.  We live in a world that seems hopeless.  At times, it seems the world is spinning out of control and yet, there is hope.  This hope is not in a hobbit, a wizard, or a good-looking bearded heir to the throne of Gondor.  This hope is in the One that has never broken a promise - the ultimate Promise Keeper.  This hope is in the One that is Faithful and True, even when we are faithless liars.  When Christ said He would return, He meant it.  When He said that He would be with us always, He spoke truth.  My Deliverer is coming and because of that, I have hope to carry on everyday. 

We Are Not As Strong..... As We Think We Are

One of my absolutely favorite moments in Chicago Bulls history was courtesy of Scottie Pippen at the expense of New York Knick's center, Patrick Ewing.  To sum it up, Ewing jumped to block a Pippen dunk but Pippen jumped higher.  Ewing was strong but Pippen was stronger.  Ewing's giant wingspan stretched as far as it could reach to block the Bull's player but Scottie's will was stronger and with rim-rocking authority, he dunked over Ewing as the two collided in mid air.  For a second, it appeared that the two became one - like two meteors smashing into each other head on.  Ewing went crashing to the ground, finding himself on his back while Pippen pounced like a puma.  Pippen landed and proceeded to walk over Ewing as he taunted him.  Man, I love that story.  I can't wait till my kids are old enough to understand so that I can tell them that story every single night.  Or will I?  Now that I think of it, why do I love that story so much again?  Okay, now I'm a little nervous to investigate this.  I feel another Rich Mullins reference coming soon.  But before that, let me do some introspection here.  

God has really been working on my pride lately.  I feel like it's the theme of every sermon I hear, song I listen to, or literature I read.  I've begun to look at the way I live and realize that I think way too highly of myself.  The reality is, I would be wrong if I thought a little too highly of myself.  There is no good reason for me to think highly of myself at all.  That's not what I was taught growing up.

As I get older, I'm less than impressed by arrogant athletes.  I've been told by some younger than me that if you're good enough, then you have the right to be arrogant, the right to boast and bring glory to yourself.  Obviously, they've never read James 4 where he says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  I know, I know, it's just sports.  Or is it?  Or can we just group all celebrities together and drop the gavel on them?  GUILTY!  Phew, most of us don't fall into the category of professional athlete, rock/pop/rap star, celeb, etc. so we feel somewhat exempt.  However, I've come to wonder if what we've witnessed on the silver screen, on youtube, or television is really a glorified presentation of what we are already feeling inside.  Or maybe it's what we want to feel inside.  We have the Pinky and the Brain syndrome because we want to rule the world.  At the very least, we want to rule our own lives.  We want to be the captains of our ships and we are told (or brainwashed from birth) to take life by the horns.  Is that so wrong though?  Should we not be driven?  Of course, but the real question is, "Who's the Driver?"

Remember the "God is my Co-Pilot" bumper sticker?  It sounds nice but it's based on a flawed premise: that we are flying the plane.  The crazy thing is that our actions prove that we believe this premise.  However, can I point us back to world history as evidence to the fact that when we steer the ship, we crash and burn and the casualties are always abundant?  I think Rich Mullins hit the nail on the head in his song, We Are Not as Strong, as We Think We Are.  He opens the song with these lyrics:

Well, it took the hand of God Almighty, to part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie, to separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

This is what happens when man assumes the role of God.  We screw things up.  We perceive ourselves as strong when we are weak.  We boast of what we accomplished in this life when we are nothing and God does not need us.  We take credit for His works.  We want to make so much of ourselves in this life.  We want to win or die trying and if that is the case, we will always die trying because we do not even have the power to live.  Only God can be the source of life and strength.  If Rich Mullins' opening lyrics don't make an impact in your heart, examine his chorus:

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion, choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens, so few inches apart
We must be awfully small and not as strong as we think we are 

Paul says that we are jars of clay and that the only reason that we are not broken is because God is sustaining us...every breath.  Stronger men and women than us have died, many of them with unfinished business.  We are frail and created by our heavenly Father.  However, it is our passion and our sin that tainted us.  For when man strives to do what only God should do, we fall hard.  And when we fall, broken in pieces, it is there that we are reminded that we are awfully  small and not as strong as we think we are.

When you love you walk on the water
Just don't stumble on the waves
We all want to go there somethin' awful
But to stand there it takes some grace
'Cause oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are

I remember Audio Adrenaline's song that said, "If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on water."  The problem in this is that it is difficult to keep my eyes on Jesus.  I get nervous with the waves around me or even worse when I start to look at myself and become impressed that I'm accomplishing such a feat.  I am so wretched.  I'm beginning to understand how truly amazing God's grace is to save someone like me.  I'm also starting to learn that walking with Jesus takes God's grace and not my will power or my talents.  God does not need me and because of that, I cannot take credit for anything good I've done.

Understanding Grace: A Lifelong Endeavor

Sometimes I long for the days of Bible college when theological terms were just words to be defined and knowledge to fill my head.  "What is 'grace'?" the professor would ask.  The hand of some know-it-all student would dart up and before the teacher could even call on him, he would shout out, "Unmerited favor."  Well then, that clears everything up.  Grace is unmerited favor.  That was easy enough.  Okay, not really because I have to admit that I was nearly theologically illiterate when I entered Bible school in the *ahem* mid nineties.  So when Mr. Know-it-all coughed out that answer, I sat in my seat scratching my head.  What the heck does that mean?  Unmerited favor?  Well, I think it's easy enough to explain.

Unmerited means unearned.  Favor is a blessing or something done out of good will.  Therefore grace is something done out of good will to someone that didn't earn such treatment.  Ahh, I think I finally understood.  I deserve hell but God gives me heaven as an act of grace.  I deserve to die but God gives me new life as a result of grace.  I was quickly catching on and before long you could catch me waxing this theology with a slightly impressed group of high school kids that I taught in Sunday School.  I puffed out my chest and pretended to understand grace - it's a wonder that definition did not melt in the midst of the hot air flowing from my mouth.  In all fairness, I was just excited that I finally understood some abstract theology.  However, it's easy to think that you understand grace if you don't believe you have any major flaws in life.  It's only when you look in the mirror and see a broken sinner that grace begins to baffle you.  I know it baffles me.

Sometimes it's difficult to look that depraved creature on the other side of the mirror in the face.  You know that many people encounter that face throughout the day but you are the only one that can look this fallen being in the eyes and know the hurt behind them.  My selfishness disappoints people daily.  If you have not been disappointed in me, that's because you don't know me well enough.  If only I could take back words.  If only I could have do-overs. If only there was grace for me.  Ah, but I remember what I learned in Bible college, I remember that there is grace for me.  I remember now singing a hymn that said, "Grace, grace, God's grace/ Grace that is greater than all our sin."  Well there it is: God's grace covers my failures.  Nice.  Okay, I know what you are thinking: "Grace is good, but don't abuse it," as if this was something that they came up with on their own.  Actually, Paul says this in Romans 6:1-2:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means! 

How can we who died to sin still live in it? 

So here's the dichotomy: You get free refills on your prescription of grace though you shouldn't make yourself sick just to take the prescription.  Is grace merely a safety net or a backup plan to the ongoing work of sanctification?  That would be a very finite way of looking at it, I guess.  I think really the problem in understanding grace stems from the baggage that we bring into our relationship with God.  Once again, our finite minds seek to dumb God down to our level.

Grace is not a backup plan or a safety net.  It is a byproduct of the unconditional love of God.  It displays His patience and forgiveness.  In His patience, He does not remove grace when we once again fail Him.  In His forgiveness, He gives us what we did not earn.  His grace should inspire us to live godly, not to take advantage of it.  We can rest assure that His grace is enough though it should never be a license to sin.

With all that said, I still struggle with the idea of grace.  I have a hard time wrapping my head around God's character.  I keep asking why? and although I get an answer, I follow up the answer with another why?  It's interesting that while I was in college, learning theology seemed to be the most important work in the kingdom at the time.  Some time after that in ministry, I began thinking that theology isn't really as important as I once thought.  However, now I'm beginning to finally meet those two ideas halfway as I see that learning theology is one of the most important things we can do in our lives.  I don't mean simply for the sake of head knowledge or so that we can verbal behead atheists with ease in a brainy debate (a weird image just came to mind, but I digress). Without sound theology, I would fall into despair as I reflect on my life.  I would not understand, nor would I be able to accept God's grace.

Perhaps I would intellectually understand this idea of unmerited favor if I were not so broken, so flawed.   However, it is because I am so broken and so flawed that I put my hope in God's grace.

The Only Reason

These are the lyrics to a song I wrote early in ministry and marriage, inspired by the story of the prophet Jonah:


The Only Reason

I ask why?
Every time I try
to not let foolish pride reside inside
of me I fail to rely
on You, my Sovereign King.
Break me like I'm clay so I am used.
I sing of Your grace.  Why do you
still love me, my Sovereign King?

You know where I've been
And You saw what I've done, no matter
You see past my sin
And see me as a son
You are the only reason
that I still stand

My Sovereign King,
I did not grow this plant.
So why do I make great demands?
Only Your grace lets me stand.

You know where I've been
And You saw what I've done, no matter
You see past my sin
And see me as a son
You are the only reason
that I still stand


Take me from the one I see
in the mirror looking back at me.
And make me like the One I see
submitting to death on a tree.
You make, You take, You break me.
You touch my heart and shake me.
You never forsake me, for Your love is infinitely
faithful no matter what I've done.

So thank You, Father thank You
Spirit thank You, Jesus thank You
Messiah thank You, Savior thank You
Redeemer thank You, My God thank You
Thank You


You know where I've been
And You saw what I've done, no matter
You see past my sin
And see me as a son
You are the only reason
that I still stand