Pastor's Corner — Everyone loves a comeback

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The title of this article is very true, but for this NFL football fan it was far from the truth on a fateful Sunday afternoon in January 1993. It was on this day that the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history took place. The Houston Oilers (my team!) entered the middle of the third quarter with a commanding 35-3 lead. It was obvious that the Oilers would easily win this game and take the next step in their quest to play in the Super Bowl. The one problem was that somebody forgot to tell the Buffalo Bills this.

Led by their quarterback Frank Reich, a relatively unknown second stringer who was playing in place of injured Jim Kelly, the Buffalo Bills began a stellar and historical comeback which ended with a field goal in overtime which not only won the game for Buffalo, but also began what many believed to be the end of the Houston Oilers, who would a short time later move to Tennessee and become the Titans. Houston fans like myself would never be the same again. Although I am crying again as I write this article, America loved this story and rightly so. Not only was it a great team story, but the story of Frank Reich and his heroics is an all time favorite for those of us who love the underdog.

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Comeback Story Number Two

The man named Jesus, a teacher and rabbi and one who claimed to be the Son of God had been crucified by order of Pontius Pilate and by recommendation of the Jewish religious council.His actual crimes were blasphemy and stirring up insurrection against Rome. It was a half-baked trial with a faulty judgment and a timid verdict yet still they took Him, scourged Him, and crucified Him according to the tradition and practice of Rome. After He died He was laid to rest in a Jewish tomb provided for by a wealthy religious leader. The Bible tells us plainly that three days after His death an amazing thing happened.

“And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.’” Matthew 28:2-7

That’s right! Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God. We will celebrate this wonderful truth this coming Easter morning. The truth that Jesus was raised form the dead is without doubt the greatest comeback story of all time.

For Christians everywhere it is the pinnacle event of all history and time. Scripture teaches that it is the essential event for our salvation and our forgiveness and our ultimate union with Christ.

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Comeback Story Number Three

He earned his money, lived as he wished, did what he wanted and made his own way. Through his life he had children, grandchildren, friends and relationships. Many of those relationships were broken beyond repair and the truth is that at 64 years of age there was much of his life that he would say was just fine, however there was a great part of him that was unsure, questioned, doubted and simply found it hard to believe that he could be forgiven. There were broken relationships, ruptured lives and dreams unfulfilled. He had stated on many occasions that when his time would come and he would face judgment he would simply hope for the best and trust that he had done all that he could.

He was not a bad man, in fact, he was a pretty good guy who had a litany of mistakes he had made in life - just like you, just like me. Yet on a Easter morning in 2008, having attended a Baptist church for a couple of years, during the morning service he heard the gospel message in a way that he apparently never had before. He heard about resurrection, he heard the story of new life.

He heard that there is a second chance. At the beginning of the song of invitation he stood up, rushed to the front of the church and took the preacher by the hand and placed his total faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

His hard heart was broken and rolled away just like the stone which covered the tomb of the one he was placing his trust in. He was baptized the next Sunday and to this day he has walked with Jesus. He plays in the praise band at his church, leads a small group and loves and supports his pastor and his church family. He loves Jesus when before in many ways he only loved himself. He is today a follower of Jesus - a Christian.

He is also my father. It was my hand he took on that Easter morning and it was I who baptized him.

News, Pages 2 on 04/20/2011