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March Newsletter

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Pastor Walther

Psalm 103

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103)

Aristotle was still 600 years away from hypothesizing that the earth was round, and Galileo 2,200 years away from discovering that the earth revolved around the sun.  It would be three millennia before mankind finally left earth’s atmosphere and took to the stars.  And so, when David poetically spoke of east and west, he knew of no place where they ever met.  When he marveled at the heavens hanging over the earth, they would have forever seemed unreachable.  It led David to understand God’s love in a personal way.  Though his past was tainted by covetousness, theft, adultery, even murder!… still he lived with joy and not just guilt.  That’s because David saw he was still loved by God.  It’s what David expresses in Psalm 103:  God had removed his sin from him so completely that it was in a place that was literally impossible for David to get to.

It’s really no different today even when mankind has made it to space.  Our universe only stretches farther with every new invention that enables us to measure farther.  When the James Webb Telescope first went into operation to replace the Hubble Space Telescope, it famously fixed its eye on the deepest, darkest, most distant corner of the universe.  What did it find?  In a patch of sky that covers approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length, there were thousands of galaxies.  Each with millions of stars. 

Now take those most distant galaxies floating 13.5 billion light years away.  It would take approximately 200 billion human lifetimes strung one after the other to travel there!  Oh, and that’s assuming we discover a way to travel at the speed of light.  With our most powerful rockets right now?  Increase that number to 200 trillion human lifetimes.  And when the next telescope discovers things even more distant?  Yeah, you get the picture… and we haven’t even discussed going in the opposite direction!

God does the same for you and me also.  He places our sins in a place that is literally impossible for us to get to.  Jesus carried our sins to that distant place through his work on the cross as our scapegoat.  Then he returned back across that infinite void of death when he rose from the grave to restore life to us.  It’s why you can be certain God loves you.  He has removed every sin from you.  As far as the east from the west and the heavens above the earth.  

Not All Lions in the Bible are Bad!

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“Judah is a lion’s cub ….the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the one to whom it belongs comes.  He will receive the obedience of the peoples.”  – Genesis 49:9a & 10

Not All Lions in the Bible are Bad!

When I was a young reader, I remember being captivated by the character of Aslan, a king in the C.S. Lewis book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Aslan was a talking lion, known to be kind, wise, and noble.  He also, without giving the entire plot away, proved to be forgiving and humbly sacrificial to the undeserving.  He freed his followers of stone, gave them life, and brought them triumphant victory.  As I describe such a lion-leader, you may be picking up on the parallels to our Savior Jesus in the Bible.  C.S. Lewis, through storytelling, taught children about the saving work and characteristics of our God.  His book made an impression on me.  Maybe it did for you as well.

Moving from fiction to fact, we hear Jesus described as a lion throughout the inspired Scriptures.  In Bible times, much of the Middle Eastern world was familiar with the lions.  We find them in locations like Babylon where Daniel’s life was spared by God in the lions’ den.  They were often depicted as a regal symbol of the earthly king.  They gave the impression of might and authority.  How fitting for Jesus, the eternal King of kings, to be described in such a way!  The power, majesty, and wonder of his kingdom is never ending.  

Victory over our sin, death, and the devil are his as well!  Jesus was born in the tribe of Judah as foretold by Jacob.  Micah the prophet reminded God’s people that through Bethlehem, the town of David, in Judah, the scepter would remain for “the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel.  His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.”   The book of Revelation, which pictures Jesus as the Lamb of God, worthy as our sacrifice for sin, also says this in chapter five, “Stop weeping.  Look!  The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed and is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  

Our life, both now and forever, remains under the capable control of Jesus.  He is on his throne.  The scepter is in his hand even today.  We can rejoice in the security he alone gives to us.  During the season of Lent, we find Jesus suffering and dying on a cross for our sins.  And keep watching!  Look as the Lion rises to rule and reign!  And watch for Jesus’ arrival on the day when all will hear him roar.  For on that day we will join him in heaven and spend eternity before the throne of our risen king Jesus, the lion of Judah.