-Still Empty!-

The other day I got a text from a friend…with NOTHING in it. Most of us have received those. I’m sure, like me, you’ve gotten emails with no
content. I even got a package once…you guessed it…EMPTY!

There are a lot of things you don’t want to find empty: a bank account, your refrigerator, your gas tank, your memory during finals! On the other hand, there are a couple of things that I’m very thankful are empty.

The Cross is EMPTY: Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, 51 but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock Luke 23:50-53 NLT


I’m thankful Jesus didn’t stay on a cross. Someone had to take the penalty for our sin; Someone sinless! Jesus was the Sacrificial Savior. At His death He cried out, “It is finished!” The phrase in Greek was ‘Tetelestai’. It meant: ‘completed’ or ‘finished’, but was an accounting term that was affixed when a debt was settled & meant, “paid in full.” Our sin debt was paid on the Cross. To ‘seal the deal’, however, Jesus had to overcome death, hell, and the grave.

When the Apostle John (the Revelator) saw Jesus on Patmos, Jesus told him to write down things to come. John had fallen on his face in awe & fear. Jesus said,
I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. Rev.1:18
He didn’t just die, He overcame death!

I’m extremely glad the Tomb is EMPTY. When Jesus’ disciples came to anoint His, presumed, dead body, an angel was waiting to set the record straight for them:

“Why are you looking among the dead for Someone Who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again on the third day.” Luke 24: 5-7 NLT

Jesus was crucified almost 2000 years ago (accounting for the glitch in the Gregorian calendar that had Him born around 4-6 B.C. & the 33 years He walked on earth). He was placed in a tomb & on that Sunday He conquered death, hell & the grave!

I’m thankful that there is an EMPTY cross & an EMPTY tomb or else our faith, our hope, and our lives would be EMPTY!
For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
I Corinthians 15:13-19 NLT

Across the globe there are graves, mausoleums, sepulchers, & tombs encasing the bones/dust of dead religious rulers. Jesus not only claimed He would overcome death, He walked out of His grave! Because of what Jesus did for us-the empty cross & tomb-our lives can truly be full!


Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.

-Tale of the Tree-

I’m not a big horticulture guy, but I gotta say I love dogwood trees. This time of year there are dogwoods blooming all over town & are beautiful. There are several right outside my door & they are such a great picture of God’s redemption story.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard it, but there is a wonderful story behind the dogwood. It’s called the Legend of the Dogwood & goes something like this:
Legend has it that 2000 years ago, a tall, strong species of tree grew in the Middle East. Its thick, straight trunk was sought after by the Romans - the rulers of Jerusalem - for building crosses for executions. One day an officer of the Roman Court came to the forest and ordered the woodsmen to construct an extra large cross from the best of their trees. "Make it strong and heavy," he said. "The King of the Jews is to be put to death." It was soon delivered.

Shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus, the chief woodsman was alarmed to see that all those great trees had begun to whither and die. In several more years, an amazing transformation had taken place. The great oak-like dogwood trees were gone and in their place were thousands of flowering bushes with short, twisted trunks. You see, the once proud forest giant was mortally anguished. The crucified Jesus in healing pity said, "Never again will you grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth, your trunk will be thin and twisted, with white blossoms having four petals in the shape of a cross. The outer edge of each petal will show nail prints stained with red, and the center will be like a crown of thorns as a reminder to all."

So ends the Legend. But as we know, at Eastertide, Dogwood blossoms burst forth in glorious beauty. In the Fall, the dogwood produces clusters of blood-red berries, each shaped like a drop of blood!


We’re not sure if that Legend is true. As with most legends, some argue either way. It’s still a poignant reminder of what Jesus did for us on that hill called Calvary some 2000 years ago. We all sin & have a broken relationship with God. A penance, or sacrifice, had to be made to redeem us back to God.
Jesus stepped forward to redeem us, or buy us back, with His own sinless life. He literally became the Sacrificial Lamb that had been symbolized all throughout the Old Testament of the Bible.

No one is perfect, so no one could live sinless enough to be good enough to go to heaven on their own merits. No one could satisfy a sin-debt except someone perfect: a God/Man. That was Jesus. He stepped from heaven’s halls into our world, and made a bridge to heaven using an ‘old rugged cross.’

Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Galatians 3:13 NLT

It’s amazing to me, legend or not, that dogwoods bloom at Easter. Easter is as late is it can be this year. Yet, the dogwoods are just coming into full bloom. It’s a simple reminder, in nature, of Jesus’ sacrificial death on a ‘tree.’

Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.

-Gadgets & God-

What’s your favorite gadget? Most of our lives are filled with all sorts of electronics & computerized gizmos. You are reading this on your computer or smart phone in: an email, facebook note, myspace or blogspot blog, or on one of the websites. If not, then you’re reading a hard copy composed on a computer, sent through a network & printed on a printer.

Think about all the technology we have now! We have climate controlled vehicles with GPS navigation, smart phones, computers with streaming video, I.M.’s, Skype, text, fax, email, SAT phones, handheld notebooks, Satellite TV, DVR’s, BlueRay players, surround sound stereo systems, and that’s just a few communication conveniences. Look around your house & think of all the techno advances we have in the past 25 years alone.

I was visiting someone in a surgical center today (another advancement) & nurses had a new wand type device they swiped across the guy’s forehead to find his temp. Reminded me of Star Trek or something. Can’t TELL you the medical advances I’ve seen in 30 years of ministry. I’m very thankful for all these.

So what does all this gadgetry have to do with God, anyway? Well, I mentioned several communication advances. There is one you may not have heard about that Mission teams are using across the globe to share the message of God with remote tribes & people without a bible: it’s basically a ‘Godpod.’ It’s a solar-powered or windup device akin to an Ipod. Missionaries can load an audio-bible or other messages to the device & it can be shared with locals. No particular charge or batteries needed as it is solar-powered or windup.

No matter how many gadgets we have or how much we advance in technology, we STILL have to hear from GOD. Just about the time we think we have THE latest device, no more than you take it from the store, it’s old news & out-dated. The only One that never changes, is never out-dated or out-moded is Christ. The writer of Hebrews said this, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Sometimes all this stuff actually overloads us with noise to the point we can’t hear that ‘still, small voice’ of God. Kind of like the Bing search engine commercials where folks have sensory overload! I do audio/video regularly & see the audio waves on screen before me. When there is a great deal of surround, or ‘ambient,’ noise around a recording is gets muddy. It is basically noise pollution that can almost cover the intended recording. Sometimes life can get that way. So busy & noisy we can’t hear God! It’s not particularly that we CAN’T hear Him, but rather we are not listening, perhaps.

I challenge you to go ‘unplugged’ some. Turn off all the noise & distractions around you. Pull out a bible & ask God to speak to your heart.
“…Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”
Romans 10:17 NLT

I’m definitely not against technology & all the cool gadgets. I’ve got tons of them. I just want to remind us to remember gadgets come & go, but God is eternal. He has an eternal message to us. My prayers go out to the missionaries who are utilizing gadgets to share the timeless word/message of God to a world that needs to hear!

Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376 Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.