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What, is Ascension Day? Well, after Crucifixion and Resurrection Days, it’s the most important day to remember all year.

How is that? Ascension Day is the day Jesus left the visible earthly realm in the presence of his disciples and sat down to rule the universe at the right hand of the Father. See Acts 1. It’s an important day for Christians to remember. With no Ascension, there is no man in heaven. There is no man ruling in heaven. Our future with God is in peril.

If Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven, then Pentecost didn’t happen, and there is no Holy Spirit on earth, filling us, guiding us, leading us, strengthening us, helping us, interceding for us with the Father, etc.

Without the Ascension, Jesus is not at the right hand of the Father, meaning Psalm 110 didn’t happen: “Yahweh says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” The Apostle Paul must have gotten it wrong in 1 Corinthians 15:25, “for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

Without the Ascension, the resurrected Lord Jesus never ascends into heaven in Revelation 5 and takes the book from the hand of the Father. It means that Satan still rules the world and he didn’t get thrown out of heaven in Revelation 12.

Without the Ascension, there is no Jesus in heaven hearing and acting upon our prayers and the psalms we sing.

Without the Ascension, Jesus is not exercising all the authority and power given to him over heaven and earth to bring about the Great Commission.

That’s why Satan wants us to forget Ascension Day. He wants us to forget who rules the world. To that I say, “Just Don’t Do It!”

Some theological reflections on the resurrection of Jesus, as we contemplate his coming Ascension on May 9.

God made his covenant with Adam. When Adam sinned, the curse of the covenant (death) fell upon him, and upon all those in union with him (the whole human race). The covenant is reestablished through death and resurrection, so that the covenant in its new form (the New Covenant) is inextricably tied to the resurrection. Christ passes through death unto resurrection life, and as He does so He takes His people with Him. Christ was born “under the law” (Gal. 4:4), took the Old Adamic Covenant law and curse to Himself, and died under it. Christ embodied the law, so that Colossians 2:14 can say that He “cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” It was not the law which was nailed to the cross, but our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus arose, the covenant rose with Him, for the covenant is in Him. The covenant is now the New (Resurrection) Covenant, and brings life instead of death.

— James B. Jordan, The Law of the Covenant, p.47

You’ve probably heard it said that “every Sunday is Easter,” or “Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday,” usually to stress the ongoing blessing of Easter, so as not to limit it to one day a year. And they are correct, of course, because each week we eat the Lord’s Supper and we are confronted with the fact that He is not with us physically, but in heaven at His Father’s right hand. He is the Resurrected Lord. He is absent in body but present to us and in us by His Spirit.

But they are also correct that each Sunday is a resurrection day because as we proceed through the liturgy, every Sunday we are cleansed from our sins by the death of Christ being applied to us once again in the Confession of Sins. We confess our sins which He died and covered with His blood. Our sins killed Him, but when His blood is sprinkled upon us, it shows the Father that a sacrifice has been made, and that our sins are removed in and by His holy blood, and that we are in Christ.

To be cleansed, therefore, is to undergo a resurrection. This is the meaning of the cleansing rituals in Leviticus 11-15, and other places. You’re dead because of touching unclean animals or because you are a walking dead man with leprosy, where your skin has turned to dirt, cursed ground, symbolic of your dead and evil heart issuing forth visibly. But when sprinkled by the blood of the sacrifice, and washed by the blood and/or water, you are made alive, resurrected, and can now go live in the camp of the holy saints. You are raised to new life!

That happens to us every Sunday, as we confess our sins but also Christ’s death and His resurrection for us. As we hear His word and eat His body and blood, we are united to Him in His resurrection. His life becomes ours!

The Athanasius Presbytery Spring meeting was held last Monday and Tuesday in Birmingham at Trinity Presbyterian Church. Spring meetings are more focused on fellowship amongst the pastors, elders, and mission church planting staff (pastors, elders, or laymen putting together a church plant), with little business.

Monday evening was a dinner and social get together at Christ Church Branch Cove (Odenville), 30 minutes east of Birmingham. After dinner we had the rousing singing of three or four hymns/psalms, without accompaniment. You can’t beat 60-70 men singing loudly and vibrantly. Especially when our Council Presiding Minister, Uri Brito, leads the singing!

Tuesday morning’s breakfast and social time was followed by an ordination Presbytery exam of Gage Crowder from Trinity Reformed Church, coached and trained by our own Brian McClain. His exam was sustained.

Pastor Shade’s transfer exam followed, comprised of an introduction by Pastor Joe, a short summary by Pastor Shade of his pastoral-life excursions so far, and followed by brief questions from a few pastors. Having been already been ordained, it was mainly a “meet and greet” moment.

Uri Brito gave a report on the growth of the CREC (130 churches, worldwide) and global interest in the denomination. He noted that the CREC’s choosing to become a fully self-conscious paedo-communion denomination at the last Council meeting has sparked interest from various churches of all persuasions.

Pastor Mike Pasarilla of Christ Presbyterian Church of Knoxville was recognized for his achievements over the last thirty-three years of pastoral ministry. He retires in June.

Fall meeting is on October 7-8, to be hosted by Christ the King, Greenville, SC.

We are now in that 40 day period between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the throne. Ever wonder why “40 days” and not 99 or 23 or 77? Well, you know the answer. Think biblically; not American-ly.

How many days did it rain, testing Noah and family while they relied on Yahweh for the re-birth of the globe?

How many days was Moses on the mountain, talking with God and receiving the law?

How many days did the spies take to spy out the land for conquering?

How many days was Elijah in the wilderness, being readied for his last duties?

How many days was Jesus tested by Satan in the wilderness, before beginning his ministry?

How many years was Israel in the wilderness, being prepared to conquer the Holy Land? (And how many years was Moses tending sheep before going back to Egypt?).

See a pattern? These periods of forty were not just periods of testing, but of great and various kinds of instruction for the coming task(s), for whomever it was in the days of forty.

But don’t take my word for it! “He [Jesus] presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1.3; see 1-3). The Apostles were being prepared for the task at hand: Pentecost and the explosion of Christ’s kingdom all over the Roman world! Apparently, they listened well to Jesus; see the book of Acts!

“Where is Jesus?”

Reflecting further upon the resurrection in Mark 16:1-8, who is notably absent? Jesus. In Matthew, Luke, and John’s accounts, each of them records Jesus making some form of appearance, whether to the women (Matt. 28:9), the disciples later (Luke 24:13–49; John 20:19-23) or Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18), but not Mark. Granted, in his addendum in 16:9ff. Mark makes mention of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and two disciples, but these verses are not part of the resurrection account proper and were likely added by him at a later time.

So why might Mark write an account of the resurrection that doesn’t include Jesus? Why construct the narrative without the main character of an event that forever changed the course of human history? Let’s appreciate how Mark is telling the story. The young man tells the women, “He is not here. See the place where they laid Him,” providing them with word and sign, as well as a mission: “Go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee”. The same was true for the first recipients of Mark’s Gospel, the early church, as it is for us. We don’t see Jesus either, yet we’re called to follow Him in the way in which He’s gone ahead of us. So let us recognize our place in the story along with the women and go forth by faith after the unseen yet risen Christ, trusting the word and signs (sacraments) as we fulfill the mission we’ve been given. That’s the life of discipleship and has been since the resurrection took place.

It’s Easter! It’s Resurrection Sunday! Has Moses come to mind this morning?

He hasn’t? Well, he should! As a pre-figure/type of Jesus, we can learn a lot about what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection by looking at Moses. After all, Moses died the night of Passover, holed up in the pit of his house, only to rise the next morning to save the nation. In fact, the whole nation was united to his resurrection as they were baptized into him in the cloud and sea (1 Corinthians 10).

And Joseph? He died in a pit and gloriously rose to save the nation with bread!

And Samson? He died when his hair was cut off (Holy Spirit departed him), but he repented and was once again filled with the Spirit to save his nation in crushing the head of the serpent by killing all 4,000 Philistine lords in one fell swoop (pun intended).

And the three young men? They died in the fiery pit, but through their faithfulness and resurrection saved their people since Nebuchadnezzar made a decree to leave them alone, and not say anything against their God.

So we learn what Jesus’ resurrection means as their fulfillment: he died to crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3.15), gave his blood to cleanse his people, and rose to life that we all might live in him! In union with him as the resurrected savior, he died for our sins and justifies us before God; in him, we are made right and have life with the Father! “…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom 4.25).

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

The book of Lamentations is the book for Lent.

Not just for the people in Jeremiah’s day to reflect on their sins that landed them in famine, plague, destruction, and exile, but also for the church today. The church today, and individuals in the church, often place false hope and security in institutions that they believe will give them stability in hard times, rather than placing that trust in Jesus their savior.

Lamentations chapter four gives the reader false securities that God ripped out from under Judah to bring them to repentance: #1, Gold and precious stones, that represented the glory of the Temple and their priestly service (vs 1-2); #2, Stability and care of the family (3-4); #3, Trust in nobility and those with wealth and power (5-6); #4, Trust in holy men/ Nazarites (7-8); #5, Trust in abundance of food (9-10); #6, Trust in Fortress Zion (11-12); #7, Trust in the Religious Order (13-16); #8, Trust in nearby foreign powers to save (17-18); #9, Trust in their anointed King (19-20); #10, Trust in Brother Edom/Esau, their relative (21-22).

In whom do you trust? In what do you trust? In what do we as a church, a culture, a nation, trust?

If Lent is for introspection and self-examination, surely our sins of false trust and in false securities top the list. Trust in American military might, the American economy, the government social structure, the political system, the courts, the family, personal wealth and career, etc., is falsely placed. These all fall short as secure foundations. You cannot hide behind them against the Lord’s judgment.

Your trust must be in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. He alone is true security.

What is the theme of God’s story in the Bible, and of human history? Maturity. The story starts in Genesis with the creation of man. The first man, the first Adam, was immature. There’s nothing particularly wrong with being immature. Everyone starts off in need of training and knowledge.

But Adam compounded immaturity by falling into sin. This was a setback to the theme of maturity. Now Adam and the whole human race’s growth was stunted. The rest of the story then, the thread through the whole Bible, is God directly intervening in the course of human affairs to spur His people toward maturity; to rescue us from our enmity with God and our perpetual desire to remain in sin and immaturity. God the Son put on human flesh to become the once-for-all sacrifice.

And at the end of the story, which we are privy to in Revelation, man is matured in the second Adam. The perfected bride is presented to the mature second Adam.

As you consider this Lenten season, and the culmination which draws near very quickly now with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord, consider to what end He did these things. Of course he redeemed you from your bondage to sin and death. But redeemed to what? To maturity. One of the purposes of this season is that you may reflect on those things which hinder your maturation and ask God for wisdom, guidance, and the Holy Spirit to help remove those things from your life. Remember, James tells us in 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” So ask God for wisdom and maturity, and trust Him, for He will give it to you liberally!

In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, and then encourages them to do the same to one another. What are we to make of that?

Foot washing does occur in other places in the scriptures. Abraham washes the feet of his three visitors in Genesis 18, Lot offers the same to the two angels, water is given for the feet of Abraham’s servant at Laban’s house, and Joseph gives water for foot washing in chapter 43. Jesus scolds Simon the Pharisee for not offering water in Luke 7, and a requirement for church-supported widows is that they have washed the feet of the saints, 1 Tim 5.

What’s the importance of washing feet when entering someone’s home? What is dirt/dust symbolic of ? The curse in Genesis 3. So as people come into your house, you are offering them purification from a cursed-setting to one of blessing through the door of your house. You are “escorting” them from one world to another, to a world clean of the curse, symbolically speaking.

So Jesus is escorting his disciples into his house where men enjoy cursed-free communion. In other words, he’s elevating them to his station. He is, in effect, anointing and purifying them into the same ministry he has been performing: bringing people into communion with the Father.

But Theologian Brian Moats has suggested another line of thinking as well: washing/purifying the feet of those who will soon crush Satan under their feet, (Romans 16:20) even as Jesus will soon do on the cross where he crushes the serpent’s head, Genesis 3:15 and Psalm 110:6. “The disciples’ feet are being purified for the same purpose as their Lord — to crush Satan under their feet, to take up their cross and follow Him.”

So during Lent, remember who you are: a descendant of the Apostles, who is in communion with THE head- crusher. And when you look at your own feet, reflect a little and ask yourself: how have I crushed Satan’s head today?

Let’s face it; the bumper sticker is correct: Life is Good.

We live in a stable society, we get paid regularly, the electricity is always on, and we can count on life being pretty consistent. Yes, some have illnesses and people get sick and don’t recover, but Life is Good.

So in this season of Lent, it may be hard to grasp the seriousness of sin, particularly your sins that would send Jesus to the cross. Does the Father really get upset about sin? Yes, He’s holy, but my sins are low-key and I’m not that bad of a person; I’m struggling to plumb the depths of my sins and God’s justice upon Jesus on my behalf.

Where do you turn for help? How about re-reading the book of Lamentations in one sitting? The book is about Yahweh’s wrath and destruction upon the city of Jerusalem and daughter Judah at the end of the kingly era. While the structure of the book highlights that the destruction is not total, it is monumental. It cuts deep. Society is ripped apart because of Judah and Jerusalem’s sins of faithlessness and false worship. Destroyed. Demolished. “Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy…her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her end; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter” (2.8-9).

Yes, the Lord takes sin seriously. He is jealous for his bride, and He will act to bring her back to himself. Because God’s people would not consider their end, he ended their future: “My eyes are spent with weeping…because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. They cry to their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?…as their life is poured out on their mother’s bosom” (2.11-12).

Look in the mirror of Lamentations, and struggle no more. The necessity of Jesus’s death for you is real.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. But let steadfastness have its maturing effect, that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
— James 1:2–4

This past weekend, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birmingham hosted a conference, the theme of which was, “Courageous Church, Hostile World.” And as we considered the trials of the church in Acts, and compared it to the present day, one couldn’t help but think of the words of James.

James wrote his letter to the brothers and sisters undergoing quite severe persecution as they were scattered across the region fleeing the threat of death. But the thing is, the harder the enemies of Christ push against the church, the more the church can and should rejoice. James instructs joy in the face of trials and persecutions. For in the trials the church is strengthened and matured.

Maturity, in fact, is a major theme of the book of James. And the means to bring it about is not something we usually look forward to readily. And yet, as the world around us moves into a more hostile stance, the joy that we show in the face of it should convict those around us.

Remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16. Though they faced trials, hardships, and false accusations, for which they were imprisoned, yet they sang hymns as the other prisoners listened. And in the end, through their joy and maturity in the face of trials, the entire household of the jailer was baptized into the faith.

So as we begin to see the trials taking hold around us, count it joy, for God is working to mature his church. We do not know what God will work through us!