Yesterday I shared this story in the sermon. Joe Head, part of our Grace family, loves hymns and he shared the link with me that detailed Dr. McAfee’s experience. (https://www.staugustine.com/article/20160218/LIFESTYLE/302189922) I’ve copied some of it directly for you…and added a beautiful rendition by a one-man quartet–a native Zambian who can sing all the parts, yes all the parts, by himself.

This is a tragic story. However, a wonderful song was born during the human suffering and sadness told about in this narrative. It took place in Parkville, Missouri in the early 1900s.

Dr. Cleland McAfee (1866-1944), a Presbyterian minister who served for many years on the faculty of Park College, a church-related school, was also a pastor who served several churches.

He found that unexpected problems or crises may come into our lives. We often cannot escape the pressures and shadows that accompany those problems. However, they can be faced with spiritual strength, which God provides. This is the message expressed in the song told about in this story.

When tragedy struck a family, it was natural that they would turn to McAfee, the pastor, for consolation. The affliction told about in this story came much closer to his heart and it was two-fold.

In 1903, two of his brother’s young daughters succumbed to diphtheria. They died within 24 hours of each other.

The double catastrophe broke McAfee’s heart. However, the situation was made even more difficult by the fact that his brother’s house had to be quarantined to prevent the spread of terrifying diphtheria. People were unable to go inside to express their condolences, and the family could not be permitted to leave the house to attend funeral services. You might ask, “How could it have been worse?”

McAfee sat up very late, praying and pondering what he could say in a sermon the following Sunday and what kind of music he could compose to bring comfort to his family and the congregation. The wonderful hymn presented in this story was the outcome of his meditation.

The choir learned the new song at their regular Saturday evening practice. From there, they went to the quarantined home of the Howard McAfee family and sang the new hymn beneath the darkened windows. They also shared the song with the congregation at the Communion Service, the following day.

Here are the lyrics:

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

By Adrian Early, Pastor of Students and Leadership Development

Breathing. We typically think nothing of it and take it for granted. That is until we have a hard time with it, or until someone we love is on their last breath. When this happens we are saddened and grieved–because the last breath means death. The last breath brings life to an end. However, when we hear the last words of Jesus before He breathed His last, there is a different emotion that should come over us. His last words were…

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Leading up to these words was a battle for the souls of humanity. From the garden of Gethsemane to the cross, Jesus had been feeling the separation from His eternal Father. This separation caused by the sin of humanity, punishable by death, was placed squarely on the shoulders of the perfect Son of God.

While hanging on the cross Jesus writhed in pain because of our sin. While hanging on the cross Jesus felt the consequences of sin for the billions who have walked this earth–and have yet to walk this earth. Yet His last phrase brought life and hope.

On the cross Jesus took His last breath, so that we could breathe our first. 

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-30

The spiritually dead cannot be raised to live unless someone who is able can raise them.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Because Jesus committed His spirit to His Father in death anyone who  commits their life to following Him will have the Spirit of life breathed into them. 

As we look forward to Resurrection Sunday let the words of this song, especially this phrase, “By Your Spirit I will rise, from the ashes of defeat; the resurrected King, is resurrecting me” bring joy to you, and exaltation to Jesus.

by Mandi Pittman, Director of Outreach

After this, Jesus, knowing all that was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” (John 19:28, ESV)

“I thirst”, two small words that totally show Jesus’ humanity. He had endured a trial before Pilate and His accusers, had been beaten by soldiers and then nailed to a cross. These events all took place in a single day. Now, hanging on the cross for six hours you finally hear his cry of distress. He felt the moment of exhaustion and dehydration, fulfilling the words written almost a thousand years earlier:  “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws, you lay me in the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:15, ESV)

Jesus had fought our battle, taken on our sin and shame before he ever thought of Himself. He made sure scripture had been fulfilled and He had accomplished His purpose before saying, “I thirst.” We see this from two different vantage points: a physical thirst and a spiritual thirst. Not only was Jesus physically thirsty, he also craved to be one with His Father again! He was thirsty for the only thing that could quench that deep thirst… reconciliation with the Father.

Jesus knew his suffering had a purpose, and He submitted to it. The writer of Hebrews says that, “For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2) What good came out of it! Our very salvation!

When so many things in your life are not being satisfied because they are suddenly denied, even outlawed, allow this to reveal your thirst for God. We can rest in His peace, protection and strength. He gives living water from which we will never thirst again!

by Christina Redman

Jesus’ fourth saying from the cross came at the 9th hour and darkness had filled the land since the 6th hour. It had been dark from noon until 3pm. Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

This question has stumped many over the years. Why would Jesus ask this question even though He knew this was God’s plan all along? He also knew that He would be raised on the third day. He knew how this would all end yet He still cried out to the Father, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” Here David is crying out to God. Today that might sound more like, “God where are you? Why have you left me?”

Jesus cries out because He was truly forsaken. He was bearing the weight of the sin of the world, the weight of my sin, and the weight of yours. Not only was experiencing separation and abandonment from the Father, but He was experiencing the full wrath of God. It wasn’t just the nails of the pain of the cross that caused Him agony, His deepest agony was caused by experiencing the wrath of God.

His cry is more an expression of his anguish than an actual question. He knew this was the plan all along. He knew what would happen, but still He cried out to His Dad. He asked a question and expressed what He was feeling.

So often we don’t express what we’re really feeling to the Father because, “We should know better.” Our faith should be stronger, and we feel shame over our thoughts and feelings. We see the other Christians posting inspiring quotes and passages on Facebook and we waver. We know in our mind Romans 8:28, “that for those who love God all things work together for good,” but the things we’re living with are hard, our hearts are in anguish, and we may even wonder where God is in the middle of it all. Broken marriages are hard, depression is hard, abuse is hard, COVID-19 is hard, isolation is hard, death is hard, loss is hard.

But our hope is in a Savior who has felt what we’ve felt. 

Jesus was forsaken so we wouldn’t have to be. Jesus asked the hard questions, so we can ask the hard questions.

I pray in this Holy Week that we meet with Him, that we draw near to our suffering Savior, and ask the hard questions. 

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

He already knows our thoughts, and the cries of our heart, and He is a loving Father who wants to hear from His kids.

By Leslie Hester, Preschool Ministry Director

As a mother you spend years not only protecting your children, but also wondering if everything you are doing will help them become the person they are meant to be. You spend long nights praying for their future and hoping the help and advice you’ve given will be enough. As they grow you look back at “the hard years” thinking they were never going to end but they seemed to have passed little by little. You realize that those sleepless nights, when you and your baby are alone–you holding them, rocking them, are irretrievable. You will never get them back.

As they grow into school age years one day you wake up and realize they don’t need your help getting ready because they have gotten ready without you. Oh you would never dress them like that, but you’re proud of their independent spirit! Then you think to yourself, “If I could have just one more opportunity to help them; to tie their shoe, fix their lunches.”

Fast forward to the teenage years, you argue as they begin to grow into their own person and you wonder if you will both survive. Despite all of those disagreements and not seeing eye to eye as they leave your home, you often long wrap your arms around them and protect them from hurt while at the same time wonder if you have done enough to prepare them for what is to come. You think to yourself, “If I could just hold them one more time.”

Now put yourself in Mary’s shoes.  From the time she found out she was going to have a baby, she knew he was to be great and that he would be the savior of the world. She knew from her conversation with the angel in Luke that he would be great despite the mistakes all parents make… I mean they did leave him at the temple only to go back and find him not scared and looking for them but teaching. Although Mary was worried, she knew this was all part of what the angel had told her. In Luke 2:51 we are told that “she treasured all these things in her heart.”

Fast forward to where Jesus is grown and starts performing miracles. If you’re a parent, you know how proud Mary must have felt, not in a prideful way but a “that’s my boy way” as he ministered to people through his healing and teaching. Then everything changes. The crowds who once followed him turned on him. The ones who shouted Hosanna now shout “crucify him!” Mary’s son is beaten, mocked and crucified.

She is there through all of it. Does she longingly reflect on memories of his childhood, teen years (yes, Jesus was a teenager!), and his young adulthood? Regardless of our temptation to dehumanize Jesus, he was the son of a mother who loved him deeply and cared for him compassionately.

On the cross, all that changed. She couldn’t stop this. Jesus was dying for her! Her son was also her Savior. Her once newborn would now give her new life. The one who depended on her for food and a roof over his head would become for her the bread of life and go to prepare a place for her. Everything changed. Everything.

In the middle of the greatest and most awful moment in human history, Jesus remembered her. Dying for the sins of humanity (and Mary’s too), Jesus made sure she would now have a roof over her head and food on her plate. Looking at his best friend, John, he said, “Woman, behold your son.” In other words, Mary, John will take care of you now. 

What humanity and divinity–Jesus, the God-man dying for Mary his mother.

Woman, behold your son.

Do you know the most compelling evidence to me of who we are in Christ? He is unnamed. We’re not exactly sure the crime he committed. We just know that it wasn’t by accident that he was scheduled to be executed the same day Jesus was crucified. Most executions were not attended by crowds. Most crucifixions didn’t cause a stir. For this unnamed criminal, his most embarrassing moment became his most exhilarating. His most confining moment became his most liberating. He was crucified…and rightly so. He was guilty of crimes.

Jesus was crucified right beside him…and for no good reason. He was falsely accused.

This unnamed criminal, hanging naked, bleeding, writhing in pain on the cross, saw something in Jesus that the Romans soldiers refused to see. He saw something in Jesus that the Jewish leaders refused to see. He saw something in Jesus that the other thief refused to see. He also saw his sinful self.

Do you know what happened? That day, the naked, destitute, friendless, guilty criminal became a saint. What grace from the cross when Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” He had no time to join the church, no time to mend fences, no time to make restitution. He didn’t have to. He was crucified with Jesus…literally…and he was crucified with Jesus spiritually. He had a new relationship.

From criminal to citizen. From outcast to insider. From a thief to a saint. In just one moment.

If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, that’s what happened to you.

I know. It’s scandalous.

Grace is.

This week the blog will focus on six hours one Friday–that fateful Friday when Jesus hung on a cross, suspended between heaven and earth, between God and us, dying for our sins. In those hours, Jesus made seven statements. We all lean in to hear what someone has to say in their dying hours. Thankfully, the gospel writers recorded Jesus’ last words.

Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing. 

Ben Poteat and David Grindstaff wrote a song that says this better than I could.

Last week I was asked to submit a simple prayer to be used on 106.9 The Light’s impact days. This week John Owens, General Manager, sent me a recording of all of us (the others who had been asked to pray too). I think you will find it comforting and encouraging.

It’s 11 minutes long…but worth it.

In case you don’t recognize some of those praying, here is a list:

Pastor Bruce Frank – Biltmore Church, Arden NC
Chip Ingram – Living on the Edge
Will Graham – Evangelist/Executive Director of the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville
Clayton King – Crossroads Summer Camps and New Spring Church
Chuck Bentley – Crown Financial Ministries
Dr. Don Wilton – First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, SC
Greg Laurie – A New Beginning
Pastor Jerry Lewis – Grace Community Church, Marion, NC
John Fuller – Focus on the Family
Pastor Jim Dykes – Brookstone Church, Weaverville, NC
Anne Graham Lotz – Living in the Light

When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! (2 Samuel 16:5-7, ESV)

O LORD, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul,

“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah (Psalm 3:1-8, ESV)

You are no match for the many in your life, but God is.

Your many are no match for your one God. He is a shield. He is the lifter of your head. Your walk of shame is his opportunity to show you mercy. If you slept last night, somebody stayed awake and watched over you. If you’re awake this morning, somebody woke you, but breath in your lungs and hope in your heart.

Your many are no match for your one God.

After reflecting on his one true God, David has courage. His language changes. Though his own son is chasing him out of his beloved Jerusalem, though Shimei is hurling insults and stones, David writes these words: I will not be afraid of many.

Many things are unraveling in our world. Our health is at stake. Our finances are in peril. Pressure on families in tight quarters produces anxiety. Fear is rampant. You have your own list of many. You don’t have to think hard to list them.

Salvation belongs to your one God. He will smack your many on the face; he will punch your many in the teeth (David’s words, not mine)

This song was written from Psalm 3. Worship.