“Choose Which Side You Are On!”
During the War between the states, an advance column of the Confederate Army was proceeding along a country road in southern Pennsylvania. An irate old lady, “Aunt Hattie” stood firmly in the middle of the road, threateningly brandishing a stove poker. The troop cavalry brushed her aside, fortunately without harming her.
Later, as she would recount the story, friends would gently tease her and say, “Well now, Aunt Hattie, you didn’t really think you could stop those soldiers did you?” “No perhaps not,” she would reply, “but I sure let them know what side I was on!”
In the struggle between good and evil, between the Lord and His enemies, on whose side are we? Do we have the courage to stand valiantly for Jesus Christ? The test does not usually come concerning the “great” matters of our faith. No police state is requiring us to deny Christ. The tests come in the daily decisions, the attitudes we show, the words we speak, and the things we choose to see and hear.
God’s Word says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1: 8-10).
These words from the Apostle John speak much to us about the season of Lent. One cannot enter this holy season without doing some self examination. The Apostle reminds us that if we think we are without sin, or that we can stand before God based on our own worthiness or merits, we will be disappointed. In fact, we make God out to be a liar and show that His Word has no place of importance in our lives.
Lent not only reminds us of our sins, but also of the high price God paid as He sent His Son to Calvary to be the supreme sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
Even though we may be saddened over our past sins, the message of Lent is also a message of hope and comfort. Because of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, we who claim Him as Lord and Savior know that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
This year for Lent, we are in the series called, “The Sign of Jonah.” Plan to join us at 1:00pm for the services that started on February 17th with Ash Wednesday. May God bless us and strengthen our faith in Him who has taken away the sins of the world!
Your brother in the Lord,
Pastor Jeffrey Potter
