Francis Harper Message for 3/23/18

From: Francis Harper
wbfrmsup@iowatelecom.net


Francis Harper Message for 3/23/18

Dear Ones,

As we approach the season of Passover and the Resurrection, our minds should be focused on the words of John the Baptist, and of John, the beloved apostle. “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “. . . the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

We need to remember the words of Jesus: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:13-14). In the book, Fundamentals, by F. Henry Edwards, pages 120-121, a story is shared which beautifully illustrates sacrificial love.

“There is a story of a little girl whose mother was a singularly beautiful woman except for her hands, which were badly disfigured. One evening, in an outburst of affection, the little girl said, ‘Mother, you are beautiful, and I love you very, very dearly.’ Then, wishing to be honest, she added, ‘Except for your hands.’ Drawing the girl closely to her, the mother answered, ‘Daughter, let me tell you a story. Many years ago, when you were just a little girl, my hands were as beautiful as my face. One night, when I came back from visiting some friends, I was horrified to find our house on fire, and the fireman apparently unable to do anything about it. Of course, the first thing I said was, Where is my little girl? Somehow, everyone had taken for granted that you were safe, but I soon realized that you were still in that blazing building. I am not sure what happened during the next few minutes, although I remember the firemen trying to hold me, and saying that I could not go into the house. But I pulled away from them, and after a few terrible minutes of groping through that blazing furnace, I was back again in the cool night air, and I had you with me. My poor hands were terribly burned, and I have never looked the same since; but for some reason I have not minded nearly as much as you would expect.’ The little girl was quite silent for a moment; then she said, ‘Mother dear, you are beautiful, and I love you more than I can tell. Your hands are the most beautiful of all.’”

The death of Jesus, as ugly as it was, becomes beautiful when we see his crucifixion as an act of love. Some of the words of the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” come to mind: “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, . . . love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

The crucifixion of Jesus is more than fiction. It was an actual historical event, which happened in Jerusalem, on the “preparation of the Passover” (John 19:4). God arranged to have his Lamb; the Son of God, slain at the right season, on the right day [the day of preparation] at the right hour [3:00 p.m.], when all the Passover lambs in Israel were being slain.

It was by the blood of a lamb smeared on the doorposts of each home that the children of Israel were spared in Egypt. Likewise, it is by the blood of the Lamb of God that we can be made fit to dwell with God in his eternal kingdom. After the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God on Mount Moriah, in Jerusalem, Jesus said, “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood . . . Ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit (3 Nephi 4:49).

And so at this season, as in all seasons we, as his prodigal sons and daughters, need to “come to ourselves” and return to our Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. He will receive us with open arms. This is atonement; becoming one with the Father and Son. As Jesus prayed, “That they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

My love to all,
Francis Harper

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Remission of Sin

I asked the Lord, "Why did Jesus have to die in such a cruel way?" He answered, "Without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Sin is a universal problem. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Therefore being justified only by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth to be a propitiation [payment for sin] through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past . . ." (Romans 3:23-25). Sin is like a cancerous growth which will destroy our physical bodies, unless by some means remission is attained. Quite often after a period of time the cancer will return. Likewise, after our sins are remitted [forgiven] we must constantly strive to retain a remission of our sins. King Benjamin described the process of receiving a remission of sins: "And they viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying, O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ, that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified: For we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words, the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith they had in Jesus Christ . . ."

(Mosiah 2:2-6). Isaiah also spoke of the remission of sins and the atonement; the reconciliation of sinful man with his Creator: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Some subscribe to the "once saved, always saved" theology. This is fallacious thinking. Peter warned, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Peter 2:20-22). Paul also warned, "But I keep . . . my body, and bring it into subjection; lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians, 9:27). King Benjamin counseled: ". . . humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith . . . And behold, I say unto you, that if ye do this, ye shall always rejoice, and [will] be filled with the love of God, and [will] always retain a remission of your sins; And ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true" (Mosiah 2:21-23).