Wednesday's Internet Edition, August 20, 2008.
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One of Junction’s tennis legends is 1984 JHS graduate Shelly Spiller, who won the state doubles title as a freshman at JHS with partner Lou Zane Kothmann (Burleson). The next year, Spiller took second place in state and then won state in singles as a junior, with an impressive 135/4 win/loss record. As a senior, Spiller won 44 more straight matches and won the state title. Shelly has recently moved to Oregon, but intends to attend the “Legends and Legacies” Tournament on April 20 and 21 if at all possible.
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- As the new pastor of First Baptist Church and newest pastor in town, I was asked to write this article by the good folks of The Junction Eagle for the good people of Junction on the subject of what Easter means to me.
Easter, to me, is one of the most, if not THE most important celebration in all of Christendom. It is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the PROOF that all of the claims and promises that Jesus had made to the world, both in His time and ours, were and are reliable and can be trusted.
The resurrection was the proof that He had the power over death and life. When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me,” He was not concerned about being “politically correct.” He was concerned about speaking the truth as to how a person could be restored to an eternal, saving relationship with God. He is the only way to the Father because He was the only one who died on the cross for my sins and for yours and THEN rose again to life on Easter morning. That is why Easter ranks as probably the most important celebration we have as Christians.
Too often we are worried about offending those who have chosen NOT to believe the message of the cross. I do believe that the very heart of the Good News is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that any one who believes this will live eternally in heaven. We have no reason to be shy about our message. The resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter morning was the assurance to all of us that the message we proclaim is true.
No other religion in the world offers the promise of eternal life by grace through faith as a gift from God. All of the other religions require the follower to earn or work his or her way to heaven which is impossible because none of us will ever be good enough.
What God has done for us by having Jesus die for us is truly an act of love and divine justice that is beyond our comprehension. Therefore, it is a personal act of faith to recognize that we are unworthy to stand before a holy God and to believe that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, personally, when He died on the cross.
Thirty-seven years ago, I expressed that faith in a simple prayer by asking forgiveness for my sins and asking Jesus to be the Lord of my life. At that point, I realized that my life had been redeemed by God, and I began to walk each day in light of the resurrection. My new life in Christ is fulfilling and blessed because I know that Jesus loved me enough to die for me.
I also believe Easter is a time for us to love and forgive as we have been loved and forgiven. It is a time for new beginnings, maybe a time for a “resurrection” of your faith, a time of commitment and dedication of yourself to live and walk in the newness of life that the resurrection so loudly proclaims.
Both my wife, Galen, and I consider ourselves privileged to serve the Lord at First Baptist Church and in this community. We are looking forward to getting to know everyone.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has been making us feel so welcome. We know that we are being blessed every day, and our prayer is that we will be a blessing to everyone we encounter as our paths are allowed to cross. Thanks so much for extending to us a warm hand of friendship.
By His Grace,
Ken Bolton, Pastor
First Baptist Church