He is Risen

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Listen here: http://nethymnal.org/htm/c/t/ctlrisen.htm

It is Finished

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Listen here: http://nethymnal.org/htm/w/h/e/whenisur.htm

Aslan Is On The Move

Dermot looks forward to Spring.

As I’m sure many of you have now already seen Narnia, the epic movie adaptation of CS Lewis’ much loved book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you are no doubt familiar with the quotation in the title above. Mr. Beaver, in his conversation with the Pevensie children, imparts to them a measure of hope and wonder with these few words, “Aslan is on the move.”

The presence of Aslan, the Christ figure in the Chronicles of Narnia series, in the frozen world of Narnia threatens the domination of the self proclaimed ice-matriarch and the world begins to thaw.
As many of us can testify, there once was a time in our lives when we lived in a frozen world similar to Narnia. A world where there was always winter but never Christmas. But then someone came to us with a message of hope, “Aslan is on the move.”

This week we will be celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; the one who came into our wintery world and brought to us the hope and wonder of spring. Our children at New Vision City of Refuge hear that message of hope constantly; through the encouraging letters of their sponsors, weekly in church, nightly at devotions and daily by us and our staff. Some are still choosing to live in winter but others are learning to experience the thaw. We are hopeful for the soon coming spring, keep praying; “Aslan is on the move.”

On A Hill Too Far Away

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suff'ring and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain. -George Bernard
Two thousand years ago on a hill called Calvary our Savior willingly died on a rough wooden cross. In his book, On a Hill Too Far Away, John Fischer presents the cross of Christ in all its trueness and begs the question, is the cross obsolete; is it simply a decoration on the wall of our churches or an ornament around our necks, or is it more?
John Fischer writes of a particular cross in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. It is 10 feet tall, made of rough, untreated wood and it is bolted to the floor inside the sanctuary right in front of the platform. This cross is no mere decoration, it is an obstruction. The pastor can't preach without acknowledging the cross and the congregation can't gather at the altar without accommodating the cross. It's big, it's ugly, it's rough and it's in the way.
But maybe that's the way it should be.
Have you ever heard someone complain about the cross they bear? Usually they are talking about a person; an obnoxious boss or an uncooperative spouse. After complaining a little about how awful their lives are, they roll their eyes, let out a sigh and exclaim, "I guess that is the cross I have to bear."
No, it isn't.
Christ didn't call us to pick up a person and follow him, he commanded us to pick up our cross and follow him. The cross is not a problem I bear, it is the place where I die. "Simply put," John Fischer says, "the cross does for us what it did for Christ. It kills us."
And if you haven't noticed, dying does not appear to be fun. In fact, it looks like it hurts. Especially if we are talking about death on a cross. And that is exactly what we are talking about.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). We must bow at the old rugged cross to find life, we must cling to the old rugged cross to nourish our life, and we must pick up our own rugged cross to make our life's journey with Christ.

I Dared to Call Him Father

“…but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry ‘Abba, Father’” Romans 8:15
The above declaration is the title of a compelling book by Bilquis Sheikh, a Muslim who encounters Christ through the startling revelation that God is her Father.
As a woman in Pakistan it is unthinkable for her to consider God as someone as intimate and personal as her father. But indeed he is.
“In order to understand the relentless tenderness and passionate love of Jesus Christ we must always return to his Abba experience,” says Brennan Manning in his book, The Signature of Jesus. “He experienced God as tender and loving, courteous and kind, compassionate and forgiving. Abba, best translated Papa or Daddy, opened up the possibility of undreamed-of, unheard-of intimacy with God.”
“Lord, teach us to pray,” plea the disciples. “Our Father in heaven,” replies Jesus. The Lord sets the tone for our relationship with the Divine. “Abba, Father,” he cries out in agony from the Garden. “Father, forgive them,” he speaks compassionately on the cross. “He who loves me will be loved by my Father,” promises Jesus.
Our hope and prayer is that the children of New Vision City of Refuge would not miss out on this “undreamed-of, unheard-of intimacy with God.” May we all experience God’s “relentless tenderness and passionate love” and dare to call him, Father.