Is Jesus Necessary?

Dear Fellow Children of God,

Is Jesus just a good idea for some people, or is He really necessary for life, for a full life, for eternal life?

If you have read or watched the news lately you heard that the Matanuska Maid Building burnt to the ground on Monday.  What a shame to lose this historic landmark for the city of Palmer and the Matanuska Colony!  Reports say that the Fire Marshall is investigating what might have been the cause of the fire in this abandoned building. 

But, perhaps you don’t know of other fires this summer that were assuredly arson.  At the end of June the parents and players for the Palmer Little League were faced with a real inconvenience.  Someone had set fire to all the port-a-potties at the Little League baseball field, and also at the soccer field.  For a short time there were no facilities, and new port-a-potties were significantly more expensive to the Little League.

Then on Tuesday our Administrative Assistant, Judy Stahancyk, let us know that some mail we had attempted to send was burnt up in the drive through mail box at the Palmer Post Office.  We are told this fire was caused when someone threw a flare into the mail box.  Post Office employees returned to us what was left of a letter and package we were sending to a St. John member in marine basic training.  The post office told us the perpetrator had been caught.

I can think of no way to say that such acts of destruction are good or acceptable or helpful.  Such acts as arson affect many others in ways that cause loss of property and disruption of lives.  Sometimes people are hurt and killed in such fires. 

I am writing this, not only because a sudden a rash of suspicious fires have occurred, but also because these fires point to a truth that many find difficult to accept these days.  Evil and sin are part of the world in which we live.  Our lives are all impacted in negative ways because of the selfishness and sin of others.  Our lives are all impacted in negative ways because of our own behavior which rebels against our Creator or hurts other people. 

Yet, today people don’t like to talk about evil.  In fact, to mention the word “sin” is often considered backwards, old-fashioned, or insensitive.  However, look at the trouble in the world around us.  Is there any spiritual truth that is more easily observed than the truth of evil and sin?  Humans can seek to overcome results of sin.  In some cases, when we admit a problem, we can make it better.  But the pain and destruction and loss caused by sin are still there, ultimately showing the affect of sin in our lives through death.  This is not just some small inconvenience, or the suspicion of backwards people. The stark reality of sin and evil affects our lives every day.

And, once we admit the existence and affect that evil and sin have on our lives and on the world around us, we then come to another realization that goes contrary to popular thought today. We need a way to deal with the sin and evil that is so pervasive.  We need to be saved from our own struggle with selfishness, rebellion, and sin.  We need a Savior!

That is what makes God’s gift of His Son such good news.  Jesus told us in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  God works in Jesus’ humility in becoming human.  God works through  Jesus’ sacrificial death and in His victorious resurrection to save us from the evil that we can fight but we can’t overcome.  Since sin is a reality, Jesus, our Savior, is a necessity. 

I pray that the arsonists are caught and the destruction is stopped.  But, ultimately our real hope is found in Jesus.  We need Jesus, and God has in love sent the gift of his Son.  Maybe Christians can share this hope even with the arsonists.  Jesus changes our lives for the better, now and eternally.

A Child of God, Thankful for my Savior!

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here is a picture of Jonathan with friend, Ron Hawkins https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/LongTimeFriendsAndFishingAdventuresJuly2012#5774790998367758946.

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

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