As a lazy kid, I always wanted to finish all my chores at all costs. In the 1970s, we did not have cartoons 24 hours a day. During the week, they were on after school until 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon. My father hated this and saw it as a waste of time, making kids lazy (he was right).
One way my father combated this was to give us chores after school after homework and, on Saturdays, a long list of chores that had to be done before we could watch cartoons. If we worked hard, we could get 30-60 minutes of TV before they went off for the day.
So I loved to say to my father, “It is finished,” when I was asked if the list of chores was complete. No matter how incomplete my work was, I always claimed, “It is finished.” My father, wise to lazy boys, always inspected my work and often told me to turn off the TV and do the job again.
I am sure that you might be more familiar with the phrase “It is Finished.” as the words that Jesus cried out on that Cross just moments before He gave up His life. These famous words are not words of defeat but words of victory! Jesus was not saying that death had won; Jesus was saying He had defeated death.
Satan thought he had won, but he lost it all. Jesus, as He bled out on that Cross, became the Passover Lamb for anyone who called on His name as Lord and Savior. When Jesus cried out, “It is Finished,” guess what he said to me?
Pornography has no more control over you; your anger no longer controls you. All the pain you experienced from your childhood has no more power over you. When Jesus says, “It is Finished,” he says I am set free! The old has gone, and the new is here. That I am a new creation, the old is gone! I have been set free!
Are you free?
Come this Thursday at 6 p.m. to reflect on what Jesus has done and give thanks.
Join us this Sunday to celebrate the Empty Tomb at 9 & 11 a.m.
In Him,
Pastor Chris
P.S. The above image is a painting hanging in my office, titled “It Is Finished.”