As it happens in nature, God wants to bring it about in your heart and life, and in the hearts and lives of all Native peoples; a sunrise of healing to replace all that the darkness of sin has brought about. Call upon the name of the Lord, and let the healing begin.

Plants can aid in health, but there is another tree to which people go for healing and life.  We do not know the species or genus of that tree, although there is a legend it was the dogwood.  We do know that this tree was used as an instrument of death and not life. Yet, because of the One who died on that tree, it does bring healing and life.  Healing from the curse of eternal death due to sin, healing from fear, guilt, and other conditions of the human heart.  When the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ, died on this tree, He represented the entire sinful human race.  He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us as His mittens (hands) were nailed to a tree!

God’s intervening story informs our stories. So many of our Indigenous peoples are wrestling with God and man. The sins they have committed and those committed against them, the fallen-ness of humanity, addictions, the loss of culture and family values have all left our people struggling. 

The Good News is that, in the struggle, God shows up in the face of Christ Jesus and does not prevail against us!

The statement my dad made, “that not many people hear and listen,” I hope is not true of us. I want to challenge everyone to take the salvation message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to heart. The world needs to hear this message.

Recently, I stood at the side of a grave and sang at the top of my lungs. A respected Cree elder had passed away. There was deep grief, but there was also the hope of the resurrection. We sang with all we had because we believe we will see him again. 

What makes you sing? For me, it is the great hope we have in Jesus.  Life has true and ultimate meaning because God himself will not leave us in the grave.  As the Psalmist declares.  “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”  (Psalm 146:2)  And, “I will sing praise to my God with my dying breath.” 

It is interesting that the first thing Jesus says to the disciples was words of assurance, the words “peace be with you,” not “have no fear” or “you are safe now.” Why? Because the real fear of eternal death and the danger of eternal separation from God is now gone. In the words of our resurrected Lord, “Peace be with you!”

Here we are in a world of need, and some Christians are stretched out in sacrifice, so that lost people on their way to an eternal darkness may see the light of Christ through the Gospel and be saved.  What about you?

At the steel picnic table, in a drab battleship grey room, sat a young man about 25 years of age.  I introduced myself and the man unloaded his regrets and his fears.  He had gone out one night, gotten drunk, and did something awful.  He told me he had four children at home between the ages of ten and one.  

He had been given a Bible and had been reading it.  He told me he knew that Jesus had died for him, and he was forgiven.  Yet, he needed to hear it from someone else.  I assured him it was true.  He went on to say he wanted to be with his family and friends in order to warn them not to follow in his ways.

One of the members of our congregation, who once struggled with alcoholism (but has been delivered by God’s grace), shared his testimony with another young man going through the same trials. He said, “What Christ has done for me, He’s also done for you, just don’t be stubborn and refuse it!” 

Yes, there is Good News! Through God's eyes, what may appear to be hopeless is a field ripe for the harvest!

If you scour the Gospel accounts, you will find next to nothing about Jesus’ physical appearance. When there is nothing said, the general rules of literature tell us there must have been nothing exceptional about Jesus’ looks. You might even say he was quite ordinary and plain; no descriptive adjectives required. Isaiah invites us to consider that maybe Jesus was just plain ugly.