Without Words Wednesday

It Is Finished!

We all too often have a tendency to leave things unfinished. We have unfinished books on our shelves. There are unfinished projects around the house. We have unfinished goals for our lives. And most of these things were started with great drive and passion only to later fall by the wayside and simply be left undone. Thankfully Jesus is not like us. He does not leave things unfinished, but completes every task that He sets out to accomplish.

The night before Jesus’ death on the cross He prayed to the Father and said, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). As Jesus looked back at all He had accomplished and as He looked forward to all He would do the next day, He was able to confidently proclaim that He had finished the work that God had given Him to do. No last minute regrets. No loose ends that needed to be tied up. No details left undone. The work was complete; it was finished.

Soon after Jesus prayed those words He was taken captive by the hypocritical religious rulers of His day, given several unjust trials through the night, condemned to die for claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God (Luke 22:66-71), and turned over to the Romans for His execution by crucifixion. After a severe beating the innocent Jesus was nailed to a cross to die.

The Bible preserves seven things that Jesus said during the painful and torturous hours He was upon the cross. He spoke words of forgiveness to God on behalf of those that abused Him (Luke 23:34). He spoke to a dying thief and assured him that his eternity was secure with Him (Luke 23:39-43). He made provisions for His mother to be cared for after His death (John 19:25-27). He cried out in anguish as God the Father punished Him in the place of condemned sinners (Matthew 27:45-46). He fulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament by asking for a drink (John 19:28-29; Psalm 22:15; 69:21). And He entrusted His life to the care of the Father as He died (Luke 23:46).

But there is one word that Jesus spoke on the cross that victoriously proclaimed the completion of His work. Jesus said, “It is finished!” and bowing His head he died (John 19:30). “It is finished” is the translation of one Greek word: tetelestai. This word was used by servants when they came to their master to declare that their assignment had been completed. It was also a word that was used by merchants and meant “the debt is paid in full.” The word simply meant that everything that needed to be done or everything that needed to be paid had been fully taken care of.

But what exactly was finished? What did Jesus mean when He cried out those words? What was completed at that crucial moment in history when the Son of God died? Maybe He was referring to His life. After exclaiming, “It is finished!” He gave up His spirit and died. Jesus lived about thirty-three-and-a-half years on this earth. He was born in a miraculous and supernatural way and now His life had come to an end.

Possibly He was referring to the pain, suffering, and agony of the cross. Crucifixion was the cruelest and most hideous form of execution known to man. Jesus endured this torture, but as He exclaimed “It is finished” His suffering and pain came to an end.

But while both of those things are true, that is not what Jesus meant when He exclaimed it is finished. His was not a cry of agony, or defeat, or even relief. His was a triumphant shout of victory! Through Jesus’ death He had finished, completed, and accomplished the work of redemption where He died for the sins of the world. When Jesus said, “It is finished” He meant that the payment for mankind’s sins had been made and that it was paid in full with nothing remaining. He meant that sins had been atoned for and that the wrath of God for our sins had been borne. When he said, “It is finished” He meant that now weak and wounded and lost sinners like us can be reconciled to God because of what He did.

And if it is finished then there is nothing that you can add to it. Anything that you would seek to add to the finished work of Jesus actually minimizes His accomplishment. What could possibly be added to something that was carried out with such precision and perfection?

Jesus left nothing undone, nothing unaccomplished, and nothing unfinished when it comes to salvation. Now God simply calls us to trust in the work of His Son because it is finished. That makes this a really Good Friday!

Without Words Wednesday

A Letter to Parents

Adoniram Judson was the first missionary sent from America. He and his wife Ann served faithfully among the peoples of Burma in the early 1800's.

As young Adoniram was preparing for the mission field the then Ann Hasseltine caught his eye and he immediately fell deeply in love with her. Ann's father served as part of the newly formed mission board that was planning to send Adoniram to Burma.

As Adoniram prepared to ask for Ann's hand in marriage he sent the following letter to her parents. As you read this letter try to put yourself in the shoes of Ann's parents. Parents with hopes and dreams and aspirations for your young daughter and her future. Adoniram wrote:

"I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of Burma; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God?"

Her father's reply was that it was up to Ann to make this decision. Later, Ann replied with a resounding, "Yes."

As I read this letter I thought, I want to raise up daughters like Ann that are willing to say, "Yes" not just to the proposal of a future husband, but are willing to say "Yes" to whatever sacrifice is set before them for the sake of the Gospel and the unreached people of the world.

And I also thought that I want to be a parent that, when the time came, would hold my children loosely and fully entrust them into the hands and the care of God. A parent that, through tear filled eyes, could read a letter like this and rejoice at the heart of God.

In many ways Adoniram's letter to Ann's parents was prophetic. Ann did indeed die on the mission field in Burma in 1826 of smallpox. Her life was filled with adversities and hardships that she likely would not have experienced had she remained in America. But it is equally likely that she would not have been used of God in the way that she was had she stayed home. Not only did she faithfully serve alongside her husband, but Ann also wrote a catechism in Burmese and translated the books of Daniel and Jonah into Burmese. She was also the first to translate any Scripture into Thai when in 1819 she translated the Gospel of Matthew.  

May God be pleased to raise up more Adoniram and Ann Judsons. And may He also be pleased to raise up parents who rejoice in their children and release them to the care and service of a faithful God "for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God."

Without Words Wednesday

Filled With Thankfulness!

Last Friday we sent out an e-mail asking for folks to pray for us. It was looking very doubtful that we would be able to attend our pre-field training at the Center for Intercultural Training (CIT) in June because the classes were near capacity and we had still yet to reach our needed 60% of monthly financial support that would allow us to attend.

To bring you up-to-date, yesterday we registered and were accepted into CIT for the Summer classes that begin in June! As of Monday morning we were close enough to 60% of our support that the leadership of United World Mission gave us the green light to attend. Then when we registered there was enough room left for all of our family members. We praise God for this and rejoice in His answering our prayers in this way. While we would have rejoiced and trusted God had He answered with "wait" we are very thankful that His answer was "go"!
     
We want to thank those that prayed for us and those that gave financially in support of our ministry. It is very humbling to have you all be a part of what God has called us together to do in reaching the people of southern Senegal with the Gospel. We also especially want to thank the Body of Christ at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Bryceville, Florida. Hearing of our need, Sunday evening they committed to give $500 per month to our ministry. This commitment bridged the gap and God used it to move us closer to training at CIT, but more importantly, to move us closer to Senegal!

Thank you all again and we ask you to please continually remember our family and the people of southern Senegal as you pray.

With Great Thankfulness,
The Boyd Family
Philippians 4:19-20 

Without Words Wednesday