An advantage is something that puts you ahead. An edge, a position of strength, an opportunity to benefit yourself. In business, people look for leverage. In relationships, we sometimes hold onto control, status, or the upper hand. Having an advantage feels secure and powerful.
     On Palm Sunday, Jesus had every advantage. The crowds were with him. They shouted his praises. From a human perspective, this was his moment. He could have seized power, rallied the people, and taken Jerusalem by force. And from his divine nature, his advantage was even greater. This is the Son of God, the one who could call down legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). No one could have stopped him.
     But Jesus chose not to use his advantage for himself. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing…” (Philippians 2:6–7). He set aside his glory, his rights, his power, and became a servant. He walked the path not to a throne, but to a cross. Not for his benefit, but for yours.
     Now consider your own life. Where do you have an advantage in knowledge, authority, position, or influence? And how might you use it? Christ calls us to something higher. Not to cling to advantage, but to surrender it in love. To serve rather than to win. To seek not our own good, but the good of others.

5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7)

God Gives Us Back the Life That Was Taken Away from Us
    The room was quiet. The boy lay still on the bed lifeless. He was gone. Elisha, the prophet, entered, shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. And then, life returned. “Take your son,” Elisha said (2 Kings 4:36).
     That moment is striking because of how rare it is. Even in Scripture, resurrections are few. In our world, they seem impossible. One well-known American preacher claimed a resurrection at one of his campaigns in . . . . Africa, but later had to admit that he was not sure if the man had actually been dead or not. It’s such a bold claim to say you raised someone from the dead that most won’t even attempt it. How could you fake that? So many conclude that this life is all there is. We live, we die, and that’s the end.
     But this account is not just about one boy in ancient Israel. It is a window to what God is doing behind the scenes all the time. Death entered the world through sin (Romans 5:12). It took from us the life God intended. But God does not give up on us.
     Through Jesus Christ, something even greater happens every day. Souls dead in sin are brought to life through faith and awaken in glory with God. 
     Forgiveness restores what sin stole. Christ’s resurrection is not uncertain or hidden. Many witnesses saw him, and Scripture records it for us.
     Jesus gives this promise: “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). The boy in that room received his life back for a time on earth. In Christ, you are given back your life forever.

32When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord…. 36Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” (2 Kings 4:32-33,36)

     How can we see something and yet not really see it?
     Psychologists once ran a famous experiment. People watched a video of two teams passing basketballs and were asked to count the passes made by one team. In the middle of the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked right through the scene. Surprisingly, about half the viewers never noticed the gorilla at all. They were so focused on counting that they missed what was plainly in front of them.
     Something similar can happen in our spiritual lives.
     The Lord once lamented this about his people: “You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen” (Isaiah 42:20). God had revealed himself to Israel again and again. He had shown . . . . his power, his mercy, and his faithfulness. Yet many people saw the works of God without really absorbing them in faith.
     The same danger can touch us. We hear God’s Word week after week. We see evidence of his blessings in our lives and in his church. However, we can become so focused on other concerns like our schedules, worries, or plans. And we fail to truly notice what the Lord is doing.
     The good news is that God himself opens our eyes. Through his Word he promised to send a servant to open eyes that are blind (Isaiah 42:7). Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Spirit enlightens the eyes of your heart (Ephesians 1:18).
     Ask the Lord to help you see! God is at work all around you, showing grace to you and bringing others to faith in Christ. Give God and his Word your full attention, and rejoice in what he is doing.
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.” 21 It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. (Isaiah 42:20-21)

     We have some colorful place names here in our state. Last Chance, Colorado got its name because it was the final stop for travelers to get gas, food, and supplies before entering the long, empty stretch of the eastern plains. Steamboat Springs got its name when French trappers heard a chugging, whistling sound. They thought a steamboat was nearby, but found out the sound came from a natural geothermal spring. Independence and Independence Pass point to the discovery of gold in that area on July 4, 1879.
     Place names often tell stories. In Exodus 17, Moses gave a desert location two names: Massah and Meribah. Massah means “testing.” Meribah means “quarreling.” You can . . . . guess what happened there. The Israelites were desperately thirsty in the wilderness, and thirst is a real need. But the problem was not their need, it was their attitude. They demanded water and accused God of abandoning them. They asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
     Instead of trusting, they tested the Lord. We can fall into the same pattern. We test God when we expect him to act according to our timetable or our plan. We complain when life feels uncertain. We demand proof that God is still with us.
     Notice God’s response. The Lord told Moses, “Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” God provided water for his people—even when their faith was weak. That’s grace!
     We are invited to bring every need to God, not with demanding hearts, but with trusting ones. The Lord truly is among us. Through Jesus Christ, God has come to dwell with and save his people. Remember daily his promise: My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19).
5The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Exodus 17:5-6)

When a Gift Is Truly a Gift
     “Here you go. It’s a gift!” There is something beautiful about receiving a gift given freely, with no strings attached.
     But is a gift always a gift?
     In our world, it gets complicated. Courts debate whether certain “gifts” to politicians are really expressions of gratitude or hidden obligations. If something is given after the fact as a “thank you,” is it still innocent? If someone shows “personal hospitality” to a person whose influence could benefit them, is that kindness or a strategy? The line can feel thin. Much depends on the intentions of the heart.
     Even in everyday life, gifts can feel . . . . complicated. When a friend buys you coffee, lends you a tool, or watches your children, don’t you feel at least a little tug of obligation? “I’ll have to repay that someday.” We are used to a world where favors create debts and kindness creates expectations.
     Romans 4 speaks of a gift that truly is a gift: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (v.3). Abraham didn’t apply for the promise or earn it. God simply found him and declared blessing over him. God promised descendants, land, and ultimately the Savior. Abraham had nothing to offer in return. He simply trusted what God said.
     Abraham must have been just as amazed as if someone found us and told us we’d be the first colonizers of Mars. “What, me? Why? I haven’t ever prepared for that mission, or even thought about it!”
     Paul explains: To the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation (v.4). Wages are earned. They are owed. But to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness (v.5).
     God justifies the ungodly. That includes us. If we are sinners, what could we possibly pay? What could we offer? Forgiveness and heaven are not wages. They are not payment for effort. They are a pure gift flowing from God’s heart of love.
     Christ died for us without being asked. Jesus paid what we never could. And now we simply trust and rejoice that his payment is enough.

3What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:3-5)

     The devil’s first words in the Bible were “Did God really say … ?” (Genesis 3:1). His initial temptation of the humans God created was to sow just a little doubt about the words of their Creator.
     God had spoken clearly. Adam and Eve enjoyed plenty of freedom in the beauty of the garden. Just the one boundary – honoring the Lord by following his command to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
     God’s boundaries in the laws of Scripture are for our benefit. They guard a good and holy life that brings us joy and fulfillment. The same question of the serpent arises in all hearts, even . . . . those of Christians: “Did God really say that?” “Did God really mean it?”
     Beginning to negotiate with God’s clear words is the slippery slope that leads people, societies, and, yes, some churches away from God and true life. There has been so much playing with the meaning of marriage, sex, gender, family, eternity, wealth, and purpose in recent times. None of these “new” ways are bringing us a better life. They are bringing us instead more anxiousness, loss of direction, self-centeredness, and lack of hope.
     God also speaks words of promise in this reading. One from among Eve’s offspring would save. God did say how we should obey. And he also did say what he would do when we failed. He repeated that promise through the centuries and fulfilled it in Jesus Christ. On the cross the serpent struck his heel, but there the serpent’s head was crushed.
     When doubt asks us, “Did God really say?” we answer, “Yes. He did.” And his Word in both command and promise still stands.

Now the serpent … said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
14So the Lord God said to the serpent, … 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

Are you drawn more to a clever story or a true story? It doesn’t have to be only one or the other.

There’s no doubt the Harry Potter books are clever, whatever other opinions you might have about them. That’s a big reason they’ve sold millions of copies. You can even learn some life lessons about friendship and courage and the struggle between good and evil from them. Yet they aren’t the account of people who saw God in the world. They’re fiction, not eyewitness records.

Peter wants us to see the difference. He would not base his ministry and hope and endurance in persecution on a made-up story, no matter how clever it was. His whole life was guided by personally knowing and believing in his Savior.

One of the most impactful events he saw with his own eyes was the Transfiguration, when Christ revealed his glory as . . . . God on the mountaintop a short time before his death and resurrection. Some thirty years later, writing under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, he goes back to that moment. “We were there.” “We saw it.” “We know Jesus is truly God and able to give the only sacrifice for sin and then rise again.”

Your eternal hope in Christ, your whole reason for living, your persistence in trials, and your guide for morality are all in the Word. The authors tell us what they saw and heard from God himself. The greatest story is the one that is true in every letter – the account of Jesus Christ, our Savior. That’s a story you can build your life around.

16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)