Easter: The Wounds of Unfailing Love

I want the first voice I hear in the morning to be the voice of God in the Scriptures.

There is something so important for my soul happened in those first moments of not rushing through God's work.

I try not to read customer and I want to linger over elsewhere. Welcome to family life today where we want to help you pursue the relationship that matter most kind and often they will soon and you can find us@familylifetoday.com or on our family life. This is family life today, so the Lenten season is starting and I was thinking about you to go to church on Easter when he remember the most about those Easter services as a kid growing up I remember I had to go. His mom said it's Easter were going to church, which she said every Sunday, which I didn't go so it was a good thing your mom there were times that I want to go but you know my single mom did a phenomenal job of bringing Jesus in my life and I didn't even really know it or appreciate it. But I do remember sitting there even know from a little boy to a teenager, not understanding the story like how does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean anything to me and to our world right now.

I just sat there and never could connect the dots. I think that's true for a lot of people when, especially when they didn't grow up in the church and you had a chance to sit down with David Mathis who wrote the book rich wounds and excited for our listeners get to hear this conversation yeah because what David did as he connects the dots and in his book rich wounds is all about the wounds of Christ and what that means for us, but also the triumph of Christ over the cross and the resurrection. David is the Executive Director of desiring God.org and a pastor of cities church in Minneapolis. Also husband's got four kids as well, and I'm telling you what you talk about a theologian who's going to dive deep into understanding not only the life and death but also the resurrection of Christ. That's David. So it was a great conversation.

I'm excited for listeners to hear.

So tell us about your your thinking is your writing this book.

I know it's you knows the beginning of Lent. How are you hoping dreaming they would sorta use this this book. I think I may be wrong about this, but I wonder how many Christians have a real detailed sense of all the glory. All the beauty that there is to see in the person of Christ. I think sometimes we can be content with pretty thin canned recycled messages about Jesus. So I've heard of Jesus I know about Jesus, but there's so much more to know and experience about Jesus, then I think the typical Christian today often has from just from preaching or from reading in the Gospels, just as morning is written in Genesis 45 Jacob son Joseph is been sold to slavery God's favors on them.

He blessed them, he comes through Potiphar's house.

He comes through prison.

He comes to Pharaoh and the brothers find out that this is Joseph MacArthur scared and they go back to Dell Jacob, we have found your son Joseph is alive and he is Lord over Egypt is a Genesis 45 Monday verse six in the narrative reports that Jacob was numb in heart, and he did not believe that I pause there and stop this news that came to Jacob from his sons that Joseph is alive is so good that he has a hard time believing it. And so one of the brothers do if you tell somebody such good news that there numb in heart and have a hard time believing what you do next and what the brothers do is they tell him all that Joseph had to say. So when somebody get such good news. But there numb and hard.

They don't believe what we do next is with you.

Tell them give more details like I don't believe just gives more details me tell you more about it and that's my hope. In the book it let me tell you more about Jesus, we tell you more details about him. If we linger in the Gospels and if we try to get some help from church history and people who have observed the life of Jesus through the Scriptures in different times and places. There is so much more to learn and to glean and to marvel at about Jesus you know is I was reading rich wounds.

That's what happened to me and I was gonna say that's what happened to my soul. It was the beauty I guess I cannot. I'm now pastor been preaching on Easter for over 30 years and the death and the resurrection of Christ.

I picked up your book and I know I'm read it before Easter so not like read it during Lent.

It was rich and of course that's in your title, but it was brought out the beauty of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and I did know you know but I found on the very beginning that even the title.

I should recognize right away is a line from what are your favorite hymns right around him with many crowns and is it true that you know when you hear that's on your your kids a dad at your face but there's a couple I also love Jesus on my cross have taken, which is like the epilogue of the conclusion of the book, it probably would be have to be said that my favorite is Crown him with many crowns like you know I got a guitar all right our listeners are going like this because I'm not. You know I'm not Chris Tomlin or you know some professional artists so when I when I read that in your book that you know this is your him and really this the title rich wounds come from aligning crowning with many crowns.

I can't marry last time I sing this song and so I pulled it up, got my guitar and was sitting there like what you doing I'm missing this dinner broadcast with the David tomorrow. This is my version.

I just made up. This is pretty little thing. And trust me listeners. I will do the whole song okay but I want to get to the line that really inspired this book around him.

The low be hold his hands and rich as though no way to see again in the news so let's talk about that that line rich wounds, yet visible above in beauty glorify.

That's the title of the book. What is it about that phrase that idea that hit you that when you hear the song your your kids are saying that is your favorite what is it that you want to draw out of them.

They like you said is again heard the song in years and I don't know that it's a song it's been especially en vogue in the recent wave of unit worksite music and what you're here to big conference and I love some Chris Tomlin stuff but have a fresh version of the cell you know and so for me when the song we do sing in church it's bridging a gap of times I grew up with this him in Spartanburg South Carolina in my Southern Baptist Church and then moving to Minnesota and being other churches for years. There was a gap there. I didn't hear for long time and just recently we we brought it back in our church into their some profundity to the song in several dimensions.

One is gratitude for what I was raised in an analysis saying and appreciate these treasonous and fresh way. But that relates the phrase rich wounds. Wounds is a word that is probably being used more today than it was 1020 years ago, but that word has not passed out of usage. We talk a lot about our wounds and often is not the physical ones that were talking or troublesome, emotional, psychological, father wound yet wounds of our pastor family some trauma. The way that we been emotionally wounded or or what it would be so there's a lot of talk about wounds today and usually the connotations are very negative. We'll talk positively about wounds and was so remarkable about this phrase in the song adjective rich that his wounds are rich and because his wounds are the wounds by which you are healed.

He has carried our griefs in our sorrows. He was wounded, not by some accident he was wounded because of his disobedience or his sin.

He was wounded because of powers he carried our griefs. He carried our wounds in his wounding and so his wounds because they are saving because he rescues us with his wounds. His wounds to our eyes are glorious their marvelous wounds. They are rich wounds and we might think okay. When we get to heaven. Any scars that we have will be gone but his scars are that part of the old age, and God will heal and be and get rid of all scars well into the Gospels talk about some scars on the glorified resurrected body of Jesus that aren't gone when it comes to doubting Thomas to put your hands in my wounds knew they see the wounds on his resurrection body and you might think. Is this a defect he's risen again, God get rid of the wounds, only to be scars there only to be part of the future store his scars are glorious to those whom he saved by his scars. I don't think that when we get to heaven and see Jesus face to face. The scars will be gone at that point I think we will seek glory in the scars. The scars ever are a reminder of our richness for your center-right. The rich notice of the wounds is not just Christ that the riches is what we get the inside of his life, his death, though he was rich he became poor for our sakes that in him, though poor, we might become rich because of his blessing his favor that we are rescued because of the sacrifice of himself evidenced in the ones let's talk about the book being used during Lent euros 40 days you got 30 chapters obviously don't need to read one every single day. But, you know, as I think about this, and even the image I had of you in church with your kids. You have four kids sit beside you, you know, sort of remark and you about him that you're saying and I'm thinking of a family going through this journey with rich wounds.

So how would a family walk through this. What do you hope would happen as a walk-through sort of 30 days of 40 again you have to read every single day, which gives you some grace for what you hope and what happened as a father or mother, or a blended family walk through this and experience Lent and the rich wounds of Christ in their family. Ideally, Christian families today would have a meaningful deep wonderful time of family gathering around God's Word every single day of Lent every single day of the year that what happens in your house. We are so serious about Advent. I do hope there's that there's a kind of realism in this personally the Bible reading plan that I've done for years is 25 days a month. That doesn't mean I intentionally take days off, but it is nice when when you use the inner zone when arrived today so you have the grace it's disciple journal reading plan for navigators and is 25 days a month and so you got it. If you stay on schedule you some extra days to review or whatever Escott hope with this book, Lent is 49 Sundays plus the Sundays so I calculate it. Lent is about 46 to 47 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday and maybe 30 meditations would be a good thing for you personally for you in a small group for your family and then in particular when you get down to the last eight days so me personally.

I mark those last eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, with particular joy and vigilance. The last eight chapters in the book are meant to be that daily walk with Jesus from riding into Jerusalem on the donkey to the final conflicts with the false teachers. The Diversey of the Sadducees with leaders in Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane to Golgotha to the waiting of the disciples on that long Saturday and then to the joy of Easter Sunday. So I would commend the readers maybe is nailing it every day for you personally or your family is is unrealistic right.

Maybe you could mail holy week for eight days. That would be really good thing yeah and so you broken it up in the three sections I love to hear some your thoughts on, you know, start with where you start with his life. What are you hoping that we glean out of these readings about the life of Christ. This right is the three sections leading up to that last part on holy week right section 1 about life section 2 about his death. We linger there section 3, the resurrection, and holy week and.net first section there is so much to linger over in Jesus life and by that my focus is on his life up until holy week so the gospel accounts are about around 50% me a little less than 50%, but about half of the Gospels deal with his last week cc the import in the weight of the last week of Jesus life from Palm Sunday to resurrection and ascension, but that leaves about half the Gospels that are telling us account precious glorious accounts. There are glorious to see about Jesus in this 50+ percent of the Gospels that are about his life and ministry. What I do and that first part is linger over some of those often overlooked glories and try to see the kinds of things that are there for us from God through the apostles in the Gospels and enrich our appreciation of Jesus life and he didn't just come and go straight to the cross he came in lived Ms. amazing 30 years plus in obscurity in Nazareth. People in first century Manoa. Nazareth was with such small town he lived all that time, God himself among us living in obscurity.

You don't have to be famous to have a fulfilling human life, God himself shows it, and then his 3+ years of ministry at the end and the gleanings in this book are particular to his his season of ministry. I rehearse there some themes may be often overlooked, like Jesus own personal habits of devotion.

That's where you start I found that again like he said to the places you went. I didn't see coming, and it was really itching as you start with his habits.

His time alone with God. I was challenge myself to think I'm out, I read Jesus didn't just retreat, but invited his disciples to join him and so at the end of each little section, you sort of challenge us as the reader and today is the listener to say okay what he would he do with your time alone with God. How would you encourage followers believers to captivate or to energize at time we get to spend a long look at modeling after Christ, an amazing thing to observe. In Jesus life is his pattern of retreat and then re-entry into the world.

Once you see the theme in the Gospels if she just easy all over. But when Jesus he retreat from the situation. The crowds are coming around or print since that first day in Capernaum when he healed Peter's mother-in-law and they're bringing all of the people and to be healed by him and they go to sleep. You know that night like this is the best night of Peter's life.

Jesus in Peter's hometown.

The crowds are swirling everybody excited and they wake up the next morning and they can't find Jesus. Peter must've flipped like where it is my hope, my hometown is outside the door waiting to be healed. Waiting to hear his message and Jesus has retreated to a time of prayer and over and over again we see in the Gospels that some of the most chaotic time sometimes in the crowd. Your biggest Jesus gets a way to prioritize meeting one-on-one, face-to-face with his father and he also draws the disciples into that rhythm a couple big themes. We also see in Jesus life is he is a man who has memorized and is saturated in God's word, and so again and again, Jesus quotes Scripture, have you not hurt or what you do about the passage of the Bush when he says I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He reasons with the Scriptures when he confronted his enemies he quotes and alludes to the Scriptures as he teaches his friends and so you observe a kind of Scripture saturation in the life of Jesus that is very significant and should be an encouragement to us today. Yeah I don't know what your daily life looks like. Back in Minnesota. Your husband and your dad you've got kids, what does that look like in terms of your habits as a husband and dad time alone with God. Time in the word.

Give us a glimpse into your life like your leading a family here in ministry. How do you live this out over the years but you're right on spot like dude you better. They live in is our right and I don't mind execs did a book on the book on this of years ago I called habits of grace were tried be a little bit personally revealing his as well as talk to people about it but I don't mind talking about this very private thing. It's a risk I get it. You know why I asked you the question knowing you have an answer.

It is guilty. Well, actually I don't. I mean, because you know our kids are watching. Yes, the tri-are wiser watching the communities watches like it's one thing to know and talk about the life of Christ, do we live it out. So what's it look like in terms of rhythms and habits in your life first thing in the morning is so important and so precious.

I found over the years. I don't need as much sleep as my wife.

That's an opportunity, at least for me. Yeah, my dad starts with getting myself to bed on time and not letting some screen keep me up longer than it should, and then waking up in the morning. I want the first voice I hear in the morning to be the voice of God in the Scriptures so I set my alarm to go to bed before my typical kids rising time and make a beeline to my Bible and coffee for life.

I got a hot cup of coffee and I got my Bible open and those are some of the most precious moments in mind I don't want to minimize the preciousness of my time with my wife or my kids or what God called me doing the rest of the day, but there is something so important for my soul that happened in those first moments of not rushing through God's word.

I try not to read God's word in a hurry.

I want to linger over God's words of the Bible itself talks about meditation.

Psalm what he meditates on the law of the Lord day and night in meditation is at least this kind of slow reading at the pace of the text so in the hurry of modern life, probably the single most important thing I do to hold back the tides of hurry and rush is to have unhurried time in God's word in the morning and I want to linger over what he's had to say. I tie just by referencing his go my Bible reading plan of Dunford. 20 years now that I just love I fall into the habit of using this Bible reading plan mute your four different places in Scripture and I'd I just take my time, lingering over those passages. It takes about 70 hours to read the Bible cover to cover, which is less time than the average American spends in front of the television in a month, not counting screens. Yeah, that's right. If you if you discount screens that is an eight or nine hour day average very quickly talking 10 days and you can read the Bible and if you take text that you could read about 15 minutes and spent 3035 and 40 minutes working through them slowly meditating on this text. Praying them back to God as you receive them from God. From his own voice. By the power of the Spirit in the Scripture. It will change your life and change your day did gets the day off to the right start start my day with the voice of God. I remember you know in the pandemic first started, like the first couple months I found myself you made me think of it when I wake up because my daily rhythm habits were much like yours I'd start with the word, prayer, meditation, try to slow down, take a deep breath. I found myself because of where the world was opening my phone and going directly to the latest news what's going on with pandemic where the case is whether numbers what's a enemy I'm like in there was like several days probably maybe 10 or 14 days on my crime I don't know is like. I literally started with the voice of the the world and news, not the voice of God.

And guess what my heartfelt society fear, uncertainty, and I remember thinking that cannot be the way I start my day and it never was. And because were in a different reality. It change where and a member thinking I get to start with the word of God. It's got to be number one because it will affect who I am is a man who I am is a husband is a dad how I leave my family, how I engage with my family.

So what you just said.

I mean, and you know you've given us a resource of the great when used to relet start like Jesus started.

Time alone with God. Time with the word memorizing that it will like you just said it will change your life and what changes are life changes are family/Triton others in terms of the content they were exposed to in modern life, and we we see the right, it did at the hotel. I walk in and CNN's on down there, serve in the breakfast that meets all of our news here all the time. Room bombarded by news in a content if it is a mere quantity battle of the words of God and of Christian teaching and of words that are going to bring us near to God and to Jesus or the so-called words of the world. We have a chance in modern life. Yeah, what's so important is the quality aspect in those early moments with the kid still sleeping. I can pay quality attention to God's words with a slow unhurried meditative lingering over Scripture that CNN's not going to get for me that I may hear that I may be confronted by the things on the day but I'm going to give the most quality focused, slow, enjoyed attention to God's words to start the day and it makes a significant in the busyness of life we can find ourselves come in the in the middle of this competition between screens in the hurriedness in the business of the world and then meeting with God getting quality time with the Lord and David Mathis is reminded us that we need to fight for it. We need actually put our time in our effort and energy into battling for time with Jesus rich uninterrupted time with the Lord. This is the beginning of the Lenten season. As we look ahead to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Easter and David Mathis has written a book called rich wounds. This is a devotional with 30 short, profound reflections that help you meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus as we are in this season. Looking forward to worshiping the Lord in fresh new ways because Easter is coming. We want to make David Mathis's book rich wounds available to you for a donation of any amount if you head over to family life to a.com and make a donation. We want to send you a copy of his book. As you may know, if any, like today is listener supported and when you donate your making this program possible and available in your community. Go over to family life to a.com and make a donation of any amount or you can make a donation by calling us at 1-800-358-6329 that's one 800 F as in family L as in life, and then the word today. Thanks in advance for your support and we hope you enjoy the book and find helpful. This Lenten season is this content today by David Mathis or any of the family like programs have been helpful for you. We love you to share today's podcast with a friend or a family member where you get your podcasting can really advance the gospel effort of what were doing it. Family life.

If you scroll down and rate and review us now tomorrow Dave Wilson is gonna be talking again with David Mathis about what it means to walk with dignity.

God said belongs to us as his children. That's coming up tomorrow on behalf of David and Wilson.

I'm shall be added. See back next time for another edition of family life family like to days production of family life accrue ministry helping you pursue the relationships that matter most