oasisCHURCH

Pardon & Paradise

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43, ESV)

As we read in our Bible, there were two criminals who hung there beside Jesus, one on each side. One of them mocked him and hurled insults at him (refusing to believe). The other, knowing that he deserved the punishment that he was getting, felt the overwhelming power of saving grace (He believed).

In Luke 23:42 he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And then in Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

This should encourage all who hear about Jesus and his sacrifice not to put off their decision to believe and accept Jesus as savior, until the last hour. In Luke 12:40, Jesus says: You also must be ready, (for his second coming), because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Hanging there on the cross was most likely the first time the thief had the opportunity of knowing anything about Christ.)

At the time you believe, accept, and repent, you are filled with the Holy Spirit to guide you here and now, and the promise of being with Him in paradise forever.

[Devotional thought written by Bill Lawless]

Forgiveness

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23:33-38, ESV)

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship."

Jesus' first recorded words from the cross were words that he had been speaking since the first days of his earthly ministry. He taught forgiveness in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:12). When asked by Peter, how many times should we forgive someone, Jesus answered seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). At the Last Supper, Jesus explained his crucifixion to his Apostles when he told them to drink of the cup: "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28).

In this word from the cross we come face-to-face with man's greatest and primary need. The first and most important lesson any person must learn is that we are all sinners, and as such, not fit for the presence of a Holy God. Everyone has their own ideas for how to do what is right. We all make resolutions, and adopt rules to live by. In our own way we humans try our best to deal with the "sin problem". But our attempts to develop good character and our efforts to please God while there is still sin between Him and us are nothing but vain efforts. What good is a treadmill to us if our legs are paralyzed? What use are glasses if we are blind?

The question of the forgiveness of my sins is the basic, fundamental, vital question of all of life. It does not matter one bit that I am highly respected, famous, prominent, or loved by a wide circle of friends if I am still dead in my sins. It does not matter one bit that I have developed success in business or career if I remain an unforgiven trespasser in the sight of God. What will matter most in the hour of death is, Have my sins been forgiven by the blood of Christ?

[Devotional thought written by Chris Stewart]

Jesus' Seven Statements from the Cross

One thing we know about the crucifixion of Jesus from reading our Bibles is that while he was hanging there during those 6 hours on Friday, he spoke a few words. We often talk about a person's dying wishes, or their last words just before death. Usually a person's final words before death are important, key moments to remember.

Likewise, it has been a tradition in some churches to use the seven statements of Jesus from the cross in Good Friday services, where the members will take some time to reflect on the particular aspects of what Christ said during the last hours of his earthly life (or better said, the last hours before his death by crucifixion; as we know and believe, Jesus died but he returned to life again).

So this week we are going to do something similar. We are going to reflect on those seven statements made by Jesus during his time on the cross. I have invited seven different Oasis members to read, ponder, study, and write a few brief thoughts about one of those words in particular. Every day this week there will be a new post here, focusing on the word of the day, and leading us to the culmination of what is known as passion week, the greatest event in human history, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We hope you will be inspired, challenged and edified by each of these daily devotional thoughts this week.

Go to the Worship Section....

If any of you worship leaders out there want to know how to play "The King"...simply go over to our Worship Resources web page and check out the top article.  There is a downloadable lead sheet as well as a downloadable chord sheet that will show you exactly how I play the chords in this song.  It's all in PDF format.  Let me know if you have any questions...and if you need to hear the song you can download it just a few posts down the page from this one.

The King: Lyrics and How to Play

In listening to the version of "The King" that I recently posted something dawned on me.  In the chorus it sounds as though I'm saying...Praise Him like A king...Praise Him like A savior...that's not how the line goes nor is it what I sang.  For some reason the "th" in "the" is getting lost.  I know this has largely to do with my annunciation.  I simply wasn't pronouncing the word with enough clarity.  So to avoid any confusion I wanted to post the lyrics here:

I am sure neither death nor life nor angels nor powers
Nor things here and now nor things yet to come

No depth no height nor anything else in all creation
Can separate us from the love of God
In Jesus Christ our Lord

So praise Him like the King
Praise Him like the Savior
For all these things He is
And forever His name must be lifted

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
To reconcile to himself all things

On earth or in heaven
Making peace by the blood of His cross
None can separate us from the love of God
In Jesus Christ our Lord

If you want to know how to play "The King" keep your eye on the "Worship" section of our website.  I'll be posting an article about the tuning and the chord shapes very soon.

I want to thank everyone for all your affirming comments about this song.  May it continue to help you glorify our great and wonderful King.

The King

Hey everybody...

Below is a link to a new song that I've recorded.  For those of you at Oasis it will be familiar.  For those of you new to the site it will be your first time hearing it.  I pray that it is God who receives all the glory.  This song is called "The King".

Download "The King"

Wait 'til you hear this!

I just got through listening to a "rough mix" of one of the songs Chad has written in the past year. He sent me the recording and asked me what I thought, and I told him this. "Dude, you need to finish that thing ASAP and get it out to our people because they will absolutely DIG it!" I'm not kidding you. It is incredible. Now I've put some pressure on him to finish it. :)

In all seriousness, we sometimes do not stop to realize the blessings we have that come in the form of people. PEOPLE are the greatest blessings, because God uses people to bless His people. Chad's gift of creating fresh and new worship music for our church is a blessing that a majority of churches in the United States never get to experience. I thank God for my brother and partner in ministry.

Keep an eye out for an MP3 download titled: "The King."