Calvary's Anthem - A Meditation (2)

 

“For there is power in the blood of Calvary to destroy sins more than can be counted even by one from the choir of heaven. Thou hast given me a hill-side spring that washes clear and white, and I go as a sinner to its waters, bathing without hindrance in its crystal streams.”

 

When I was a lad we sang of the blood of Jesus. There is Power in the Blood; Are You Washed in the Blood?; When I See the Blood; There is a Fountain; O the Blood of Jesus. Later Andre Crouch came along with The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.

 

How I love the vibration in my soul when I sing, “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.” The music of this hymn communicates reverence, holiness, and commands attention.

 

When I See the Blood takes us back to the Passover in Exodus and God’s promise that His judgment will pass over those households with the blood of a lamb on the lintels of their doors. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul reminds us that, “Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed for us.” In our present age of Biblical illiteracy within the professing church, we do not readily make the connection between the first Passover in Exodus and the Perfect Passover of the Lamb on the Cross.

 

About eight years ago I was in a Sunday school class which was using curriculum from what was supposed to be an Evangelical denomination, written by a Ph.D. within the denomination. The lesson was on the Passover in Exodus and there was not one mention of Christ being our Passover Lamb. I could not believe it. I had to interrupt the teacher and make the connection between Exodus and Jesus for the class.

 

What is perhaps worse is that no one else in the class made the connection, even though most, if not all, of the people had been professing Christians for decades, many growing up in the congregation – a congregation which professed to be Bible believing. When I was a young Christian such ignorance would have been unthinkable in the congregations I knew.

 

The story of the Passover and God’s assurance of mercy remains a comfort to me in Christ, I trust the blood of the holy, pure, and spotless Lamb of God.

 

The hymn Are You Washed in the Blood? begins, “Have you been to Jesus for His cleansing power, are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?” This is the question that matters, is it not? Do we even ask this question anymore?

 

Do preachers and pastors ask it? Do elders and deacons ask it? Do professing Christians ask it? We can have all the group therapy sessions we want on Sunday mornings, sing songs, engage in self-improvement, have motivational messages – have our coffee bars and our doughnuts and sit in our seats eating bagels and omelets – but if we aren’t washed in the blood of the Lamb we are dirty and unclean and under the judgment of God for we have not run to Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing and new life in Him.

 

Have we forgotten the deadly seriousness of sin? Have we glossed over its evil consequences? Have we downplayed the holiness of God and the utter wickedness of who we are outside of Jesus Christ, outside of the Cross, outside of being washed in the blood?

 

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

 

How I love to sing There is Power in the Blood. “Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, pow’r in the blood, would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.”

 

The evil, of course, is not “out there,” it is within me and within you. Jesus has broken the power of the evil one “out there,” we must be washed in the blood and die with Him and be raised with Him for the evil within us to be broken, there is indeed power in the blood of the Lamb.

 

When we gloss over our sin, when we treat sin as some kind of developmental problem that can be cured with therapy and self-improvement programs and self-talk and positive reinforcement and developing a better self-image…we are fools and we are believing the lies of the devil. Only Jesus Christ and His blood and His Cross can free us from sin and from self, only the power of Jesus Christ can set us free. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash our sins away.

 

Another verse says, “Would you do service to Jesus your King? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood. Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.”

 

Do we think about doing service to Jesus today? Are we interested in singing His praises daily? I seldom hear church folks speak of wanting to serve Jesus. I hear them speak of politics, of the economy, of sports, of entertainment, of acquiring more and more things, but I seldom hear anyone speak of serving Jesus Christ, I seldom catch anyone singing about Jesus Christ.

 

Friends, we can get caught up in “Christian” music all we want, but if we ourselves are not singing to Him, if we are not singing to one another and rejoicing with one another in Him, then we are deceiving ourselves – we really don’t know what worship is, we don’t know what true “Praise and Worship music” is, because if it isn’t flowing from our own hearts and souls then we are substituting what others do for our own koinonia with Christ.

 

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).

 

If we aren’t doing this as our way of life in Christ, then something is terribly wrong. If we can’t sing with our friends, if we can’t share a song with others, something is amiss. What would happen if no musicians or choirs showed up on Sunday morning? Would we sit like those who cannot speak? Would we wait for someone else to lead in song? Is this a game we’re playing, or are we living in service to Jesus our King?

 

Calvary’s Anthem could also be titled, An Anthem of the Blood of the Lamb, for indeed it is. The blood of the Lamb flows from Calvary, from the hands and feet and head and side of Jesus Christ. It flows from eternity past into time and space, down through the ages, and onward and upward into eternity future. It is a glorious and mighty river, and the Lamb beckons us all to be washed in His sacrificial blood, to confess our sins, to repent (which means to change direction and follow Him), and to live daily for Him.

 

“It reaches to the highest mountain, it flows to the lowest valley. The blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power” (Andre Crouch).

to be continued....

Calvary's Anthem - A Meditation (1)

 

 

Calvary’s Anthem is the title of a prayer in The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett and published by Banner of Truth. I have often found solace, comfort, encouragement, and inspiration in this collection of prayers and Calvary’s Anthem has spoken to me more than once. Over the past few days I have heard its Voice anew.

 

“Heavenly Father, Thou hast led me singing to the cross where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish, where my mountains of guilt are levelled to a plain, where my sins disappear, though they are the greatest that exist, and are more in number than the grains of fine sand…”

 

I love speaking the word “Father” to our Father, I love calling Him “Abba” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Jesus teaches us to call Him “Father” in the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:9) and if we listen to Jesus, if we watch Jesus, we come to know that He is indeed our Father and His Father, our God and His God (John 20:17; Hebrews 2:10 – 13). In one sense, the entire Gospel of John is about the Father, it is about the Son living in the Father and the Father living in the Son and you and I living in them in and through the Holy Spirit.

 

The Christian life is a life of communion with the Father, of constantly speaking His Name, of enjoying life in Him, of receiving His life and offering our lives to Him in and through Jesus Christ the Son.

 

While my Father is truly my Heavenly Father, He is very much here on earth with me. He is not far away; He lives with me and within me (John 14:23) – isn’t this a mystery? He teaches us to live in the heavens and on earth, our source of life is above, flowing from the Presence of the Trinity; we learn to express this life on earth, living in koinonia with the Trinity and with one another.

 

If we have joy in special friendships, how much more joy should we have in our friendship with our Father? How ought we to cherish every day with Him?

 

The image of singing as we approach the cross speaks of our praise to God for His love and redemption for us, inviting us to fling our burdens down and watching them vanish. We are reminded:

 

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10 – 12).

 

We are also reminded that “This is the Day which the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” is the Day of the Cross, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone, this is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (See Psalm 118:22 – 24).

 

When we read concerning the writer’s sins, ”though they are the greatest that exist, and are more in number than the grains of fine sand” we may think, “Surely whoever wrote this could not have the greatest sins that exist, surely they could not really be more numerous than are the grains of sand on earth – whether by the oceans or in the deserts.”

 

If we think that whoever wrote Calvary’s Anthem could not have had the greatest sins that exist, if we think they could not have been as many as the grains of sand on earth, we may be right, but there is only one way in which we can truly be right and it is not a pleasant way.

 

We can only truly be right if we have come to look into the mirror and realize, “I have the greatest sins that have ever existed, my sins are more numerous than the grains of sand on earth.” For when we see ourselves outside of Christ, when we see ourselves outside of Him as we truly have been, our sins overwhelm us and we see no one else’s sin, for our sin alone engulfs us in sorrow and despair and repentance.

 

We go “singing to the cross” when we realize:

 

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:8 – 10).

 

What song will you sing to God today?

 

To be continued….

 

Eye Contact

 

I suppose I’m old school. I do not like ordering from a kiosk, I want to speak to someone, to look them in the eye, to ask them how they’re doing.

 

I don’t want to put my money in the cloud with something that’s supposed to be a bank, I want to have a place to go if I have a problem or a question, a place I can walk into, ask for the manager, look her in the eye and say, “I need help with this please.”

 

How old school am I?

 

A new gas station has opened where we live. I stopped there to get gas, got out of the car fully expecting to have three choices, high grade, mid-grade, and poor man’s grade. But oh no, there weren’t just three choices, there was another choice, I think it’s called E85. I stared at the pump like an opossum on an eight-lane highway looking at oncoming traffic with headlights on high-beam. Realizing I was in the wrong place I got in the car and left and I haven’t been back.

 

When I was younger we used to call places where you get gas “service stations.” You could actually get service at these places. Your oil could be checked, your tire pressure checked, your windows washed! (no kidding), and your gas pumped for you. Now you get to check your own tire pressure and if you need air they charge you for it and you get to put the air in the tires yourself – imagine that, paying for air. We’ve been conned for sure.

 

Being old school, a firm handshake and eye contact are vital statistics, they are components of first impressions. They are integral to communications, they can communicate trust, doubt, or warning and suspicion. I have a friend, Jim, who is a general contractor. I knew him as a contractor before I knew him as a friend; becoming friends was a natural process based on trust. When I first met him his eye contact and handshake communicated trust and truth and dependability. In all the years we worked together Jim never let me down. If he said he was going to do something, he did it. If there was a problem with work his team did, he took ownership and solved it. If Jim was on a job and called me and told me about an issue I needed to address, I didn’t need to go see it for myself, I could trust Jim. I could do business with Jim on his word and a handshake.

 

We used to live in an agricultural region that employed folks who were not born in this country. When I walked down the streets of our little town and saw one of these folks coming my way I especially wanted to make eye contact, smile, and say, “Good afternoon.” I wanted these men and women to know that they were welcome. However, many of them passed me with heads down and eyes on the sidewalk, as if they were trying to be invisible. I was ashamed that they would feel unwelcome.

 

If I was ashamed a few years ago, you can imagine the shame I have today.

 

Prior to retirement my office was in a building that housed several firms, and since my firm was located on the first floor there was foot traffic outside our doors as folks headed to and from the elevators. I always tried to speak and make eye contract with the women and men I passed in the hallway and lobby area. Since this was not Grand Central Station, I’m not speaking of crowds of people, a crowd might be two or three in our building, normally it was just me passing one other person.

 

It bothered me that so many folks were too busy for a civil return to my, “Good morning,” or “Good afternoon.” Forget about eye contact.

 

We have a fair number of walkers in our community. This is a great place to walk because there is no through traffic. It amuses me that some walkers are like the agricultural workers I mentioned. They seem to think that if they don’t make eye contact with me that I won’t see them. This is especially amusing when I’m walking toward them on the other side of the narrow street.

 

When Vickie and I are sitting outside and walkers pass our home we make it a point to wave, say “Hi,” and jump up and down to acknowledge folks. (Well, not really jump up and down, but it may come to that.) Most folks respond, but some do it reluctantly, giving something akin to a royal wave where the hand barely moves when the king acknowledges the unwashed masses.

 

A few mornings ago I approached the deli counter at our grocery store to purchase some lunch meat, it was early and there wasn’t much going on, I was the only customer at the counter.

 

There was a woman bent over a slicing machine beyond the counter. Without looking up and without making eye contact she said, “What can I do for you?”

 

“May I please have a half pound of low sodium turkey Ma’am?”

 

“Anything else?” (Still bent over and not looking up.)

 

“And a half pound of roast beef please Ma’am.”

 

I then stepped away from the deli counter to pick up some cheese and a baguette on nearby shelves while she retrieved the meats and sliced them.

 

As the corner of my eye caught her moving to the counter to give me my order, I saw that she remained bent over in her walk, head and eyes still downward. I then realized that she had a physical condition, and I was reminded of the woman in Luke Chapter 13 who had been bent over for 18 years. As I silently prayed for her and thanked her for helping me, two things came to me.

 

The first was how thankful I was that the grocery store employed her, many businesses would have passed her by.

 

The second was that there are people who would like to make eye contact with us but can’t. Some can’t because of physical conditions, some, like the agricultural workers mentioned above, won’t because of social conditions. I could give example after example of this, but if you think about it long enough, you’ll find your own examples. A question is, of course, “Am I contributing to the problem or the solution?”

 

Are we bridging the chasms or deepening them? Are we building walls or opening doors?

 

The Word was made flesh (John 1:14) so that God could make eye contact with us. The Incarnation is God’s great “look you in the eye” offer of a firm handshake with fallen humanity; His offer to return us to relationship with Himself and with one another. (We cannot have one without the other.)

 

If we claim to know Him, then our calling is to lift others up, to look them in the eye with the reconciling love of God in Jesus Christ, to identify with them, to embrace them, to love them, and to suffer with them.

 

If the eye is the window of the soul, then what do our eyes communicate to others?

 

Violence, hate, rejection, judgment, disdain?

 

Or compassion, love, care, understanding, and an offer of relationship?

 

Let there be no mistake, we must not walk through life with our eyes diverted from those around us, as if they did not exist. To do so is not only to reject our identity in God and in Jesus Christ, it is also to ignore the fact that the Eye of God is watching us.

 

If we live in eye contact with Jesus, we will learn to live in eye contact with others.