David holds dual earned academic Doctorates; a Ph.D. in Philosophy/D.Th. Additionally, he has two earned Master's degrees (M.A.) with Honors. Currently, he is available, by appointment, for writing/journalistic projects, speaking engagements, training seminars, personal growth workshops, college lectures and media interviews.
~ When the Good Shepherd becomes the Lamb of God and our sacrifice in our place for our sins and salvation.
~ Did You Know?
Almost every single biological animal on planet earth will strike back and defend itself, but not a lamb? Christ is ‘the Lion of Judah’ but became ‘like a lamb slain from the foundation of the earth’ for you and for me so that we could be saved, forgiven and granted the gift of eternal life. Nowhere in history does a ‘Lion’ become ‘a Lamb.’
~ Food for Thought: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if He had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.” (Revelation 5:6). The Apostle John’s personal vision of Christ in heaven.
~ Prayer: “Thank You O Lamb of God for sacrificing Your life for us, in our place, out of Your sheer mercy & grace, to forgive us and grant us eternal salvation attainable in no other way but through You! May our gratitude and praise never cease for Your great love for each of us You call to Yourself by name, our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
As we enter into 2025 Holy Week, we pray it will be a time of reflection as we meditate on the great historic truths of all Jesus Christ our Lord & Savior did for us, out of love and mercy, for our eternal salvation. “He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.” While the gift of eternal life, according to the Scriptures, is free, the cost was certainly not. His cross was no beautiful piece of jewelry for us. But, today, we remember His triumphal entry into the great City of the King, Jerusalem, to fulfill Old Testament prophetic Scripture regarding the Messiah. While hundreds of thousands of worshippers shouted, “Hosanna to the King!” today, the same crowd, would be yelling, “Crucify Him” on Good Friday of next week. Remember the debt He paid for us, on our behalf, in our place.
The famous Christian poem about walking on a lonely beach, often associated with the “Footprints in the Sand” poem, is: “One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. And as the waves crashed, I saw two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one belonging to the Lord. Then I saw that for the most difficult and painful memories in my life, there was only one set of footprints. Turning to the Lord, I said, ‘Lord, when I needed you the most, why did You leave me?’And God replied, ‘those were the moments I carried you.‘
When we are going through any life challenge, adversity or difficulty, be it personal, family, financial, health, job, friends or worries about the future, it’s so tempting to rely on one’s ‘feelings’ instead of ‘walking by faith.’ Truth is, often God isn’t always ‘felt’ but that doesn’t mean, my friends, that He isn’t there. We have to ask ourselves, “Are we only going to trust God when He makes His presence ‘felt’ or are we going to believe His promises in His Word regardless of our emotions? Huge question. God’s Word is very clear on this, “The Scripture “we walk by faith, not by sight” is found in 2 Corinthians 5:7. It emphasizes relying on God’s promises and trust in His guidance, even when circumstances seem unclear or difficult.
What are you facing today my friend? I strongly encourage you to dig deep down inside and “lean into” God’s power within you, through His indwelling Holy Spirit the Lord Jesus Christ promised to all His followers. After His resurrection, before His ascension into glory, Jesus faced His disciples on that hill and said to them, and to you and to me as well, recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” If you truly know Christ, at times, you may ‘feel lonely,’ but mark my words, you are never, ever alone, per God’s absolutely dependable promises in His Word! May they give you the strength, the guidance and comfort you need regardless of what trial you may face today or tomorrow.
“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring.” —Bernard Williams, philosopher
“Ask the Lord for rain in the Springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.” —Zechariah 10:1
Today, a Delta Airlines plane flipped upside down upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and ended up on its roof Monday, injuring 19 people fortunately no fatalities. The airport confirmed on X that an “incident” occurred with the Delta flight from Minneapolis and that 76 passengers and four crew are accounted for. Delta said in a statement the accident happened at 3:30 p.m.
In (Acts 17:6) we read, “And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, ‘These that have turned the WORLD UPSIDE DOWN are come here also.”
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
In (Acts 17:6) “turning the world upside down” refers to the idea that the teachings of the early Christians, particularly Paul and Silas, were so radically different from the established social norms and religious beliefs of the time that they were perceived as causing major disruption and upheaval, essentially “turning the world on its head” by challenging the existing power structures and introducing a new way of life centered on the Lordship of Jesus Christ; this phrase is often used to describe the powerful impact of the Gospel message on society, even if it is sometimes used negatively by those who oppose it.
This challenges me. “Is my personal Christianity potent enough that someone could say the same about me?” “If not, how can it can?”
Our world today is hopelessly broken is so many ways. No matter what fire is put out where, another always crops up, in spite of our best intentions. Our world and our lives are turned downward, the wrong direction of hate, violence, abuse, war, greed, lust, selfishness, idolatry. Yet, the Good News of Christ ‘flips the script’ — upends the wrong and turns things Godward, the right way, the “way, the truth and the life” that Jesus declared He is. Christ is our only hope and He has promised in His Word to return one day to ‘once and for all’ gloriously heal this world of rebellion against God and transform planet earth into a place of perfect peace where God and man will enjoy the love, the flourishing and the absolute pristine of harmony all of nature has cried out for down through the ages. Jesus can do that for you today if you will open your heart and life to His work for you at the cross and His resurrection. This is the awesome Good News that shocked the ancient world and still does even now!
That’s the radical flip the world and we desperately needs at this hour.
I knew a man in another city who began to suffer some health problems. Unfortunately, they got worse and he lost his good paying job. Shortly after that, his wife decided she didn’t want to be married to him anymore, so she left him. Unable to make his mortgage payment, he was forced to sell his house and move in with other family members many States away. But, the only thing he didn’t lose was his faith in God. Like Job of the OT, he refused to abandon God, no matter what adversity hit him.
One day he stopped to watch some stone masons work on huge church. One of them was carefully chiseling a circular piece of stone. “What are you going to do with that?” asked my friend.
The workman said, “See that little opening way up there near the top of the spire of the church? Well, I’m shaping this stone down here so it will fit up there.”
Hot tears filled my friend’s eyes as he slowly walked away, for it seemed that God had spoken through that stone mason to explain why he was going through so much painful loss and trouble in his life, “I’m shaping you down here so you’ll fit up there.”
“You as, living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for the Lord’s glory.” (I Peter 2:5)
Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.” (John 13:7)
With the winter weather all around us and the New Year spread before us, our thoughts naturally reflect to wondering what 2025 might hold for any of us. The good news is that God has a great plan He is unfolding for the year ahead and you and I are part of it, whether we realize it or not. But, just as sports teams need to have and know where their goal is, so we must as believers if we are going to make progress and be blessed.
The Apostle Paul realized this, but he didn’t write or say these things to try and ‘earn his salvation by good works.’ He was very clear to get to heaven, to have your sins forgiven, to be saved, to be adopted by God is a total free gift of God’s grace and mercy in Christ, because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, not because of anything we might do. Good works should follow our commitment and personal relationship to Christ, as a result, but never as a cause of receiving eternal life. That’s a gift we must receive by faith in Christ.
Pastor Greg Laurie was talking about this the other day when he said, “Philippians 3:12–16 reads, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made” (NLT).
So, How Are You Doing? How did you do in 2024? Have you got off track, or are you running for the gold?
Have any relationships or things slowed you down in your pursuit of God?
The moment you believed in Jesus Christ, this race began for you. Some of you are just beginning, while others have been running for quite a while.
My son Christopher has already finished his race, and his old dad is still running! As I get older, I think about finishing this race more than ever.
And not everyone is finishing well. I know of some who have not finished their race with joy (see Acts 20:24 NKJV). People who seemed strong in the faith but have “crashed and burned” in the race of life. They got off track or, in some cases, even self-destructed.
We see this in the Bible as well.
Biblical Figures with a Weak Finish King Saul comes to mind. He would have been a good politician: tall, handsome, charismatic, and I might add, anointed by God to be the king. Prophesying with the prophets, he had incredible potential.
Everything was going Saul’s way, and if he had just obeyed God, it would have been great. But he disobeyed God repeatedly and allowed pride—and eventually paranoia and jealousy—to consume him. This led to a series of sins, causing God to reject him.
The once-great King Saul met a tragic end at the battlefield having, in his own words, “played the fool and erred exceedingly” (1 Samuel 26:21 NKJV).
In the end, he really had no one to blame but himself. He started his race well, but his finish was a disaster.
Or we think of the mighty Samson, supernaturally blessed with super-human strength, and able to vanquish his enemies with relative ease.
But, like all people, Samson had his vulnerabilities. He was a “He-Man” with a “She-Weakness.” A series of compromises took place in his life, starting with marrying a non-believer and ending up with a prostitute that took him down “Hooker, line, and sinker.” It culminated in a one-way trip to Delilah’s Barber Shop.
He, too, did not finish his race well.
Biblical Figures with a Strong Finish I could go on with the stories of men who did not finish the race of life well. But Paul wanted to be in the company of those who “finished their race with joy,” joining the ranks of those who finished in God’s “winners circle.”
Men like Caleb, whose incredible story is found in Joshua 14. Or Daniel, who wouldn’t compromise, even in his 80s.
Let’s commit ourselves to finishing what we have begun, remembering this: The race of life is not a quick sprint but a long-distance run. The Christian life is “the long look” at life, keeping our feet planted on the ground, in this life, with our eyes on Jesus & eternity, our hands lifted up in prayer, prayer and worship as we seek to serve the Lord by being a faithful, good witness for Christ and seeking opportunities to serve His people in a million different ways depending on the spiritual gifts, talents and abilities He gives us that we will, one day, stand personally accountable for. Let us be faithful, passionate, energetic and bold with our expression of our Christian faith in our rapidly changing world this year, alright?
So run well this new year, and every year after, especially in 2025! May God help you run your race this year in ways as only He could, by His grace, His power and His presence in Christ Jesus our Lord & Savior Amen!
David Crews Ph.D. Author & Speaker 