Glorious Prism of Color
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
….Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Psalm 34:1-3 NLT
Luke 24:1-12 (<<click here to read the passage)
Reading through today’s Bible study notes, a humorous meme popped into my head. I looked up keywords thinking a story might be behind the meme. Well, I don’t know if this story started it all, but I have to say I was surprised, to say the least, at what I found!
I found the “story” on the website of MeatEater, Inc. (<<click on the link to check it out), an outdoor lifestyle company that appeals to hunters and non-hunters alike on topics of hunting, fishing, recipes, and conservation. The morbid article I skimmed through was entitled WHEN HUNTERS FIND DEAD PEOPLE…uh, yeah… It basically talked about how hunters regularly find bodies, many times helping to solve mysteries of missing persons, some who died for fairly innocent reasons and others who had fallen victim to nefarious ne’er-do-wells. The following quote is from the article.
Police say hunters are more likely to spot things most people overlook in the woods. “Good hunters have the game eye,” said Kyle Rustick, a policeman in Antigo, Wisconsin. “They won’t see a ketchup bottle in front of them inside the fridge, but they can pick out a buck’s antler tip at 200 yards and identify anything out of place in the woods.”
In other words, we see what we want to see. In today’s passage Luke the women who had journeyed to the tomb where Jesus and been laid were surprised by “two men…clothed in dazzling robes” (recollections found in other Gospels referred to them as angels). These “men” asked,
“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? v5
The rest of the Bible study note is what caught my eye!
Often we run into people who are looking for God among the dead. They study the Bible as a mere historical document and go to church as if going to a memorial service. But Jesus is not among the dead he lives! He reigns in the hearts of Christians, and he is the head of his church. Do you look for Jesus among the living? Do you expect him to be active in the world and in the church? Look for signs of his power—they are all around you.
As we live our everyday lives, can we answer those last two questions in the affirmative? We plod through life, day after day, and for many of us our goal is just to get to the end of the day in one piece – and oft times that is challenging enough. How many of us see the world in grayscale, when in reality life is to be lived in a prism of color? In the last half of John 10:10, Jesus makes this glorious statement,
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. AMP
We may expect Jesus to be active in our world but, and here’s what it really boils down to, do you look for Him in your life? Do you look for His activity in your home? At school? At work? In the grocery store? At the post office? Everywhere!
Or are we so blinded by the blandness of life that we have come to expect to find only grayscale visions? Jesus extends to us so much more if we will but see. Let the glorious prism of color fill our lives!
Jan 18th, 2021, Mon, 8:36 pm
Just Pennies
I will praise the Lord at all times.
….I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
….let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
….let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:1-3 NLT
Luke 23:55-56 (<<click here to read the passage)
Do you still pick up pennies if you find one in a parking lot or on the sidewalk? I do! Yeah, by itself it’s not worth a whole lot but add it to ninety-nine other pennies and you have a dollar! I have one of those jars that adds coins up as you put them in. Admittedly I’ve put in nickels, dimes, and quarters along with pennies but at the moment I need just 561 more pennies and I’ll have $100!
There are many examples in Scripture that speak of how small things and small people (at least in their own eyes) make great impacts in God’s Kingdom. These two verses in Luke 23 speak of just such an instance.
The characters in this passage were of little significance to the world around them but they chose to do what they could. To many, what they did was of little consequence but over 2,000 years later we know what they did because what is done for Christ is eternal, not just temporary. And Luke inspired by the Holy Spirit, included their acts in his writings so that we can remember.
My Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation has this to say about them.
These women could not do “great” things for Jesus—they were not permitted to stand up before the Jewish high council or the Roman governor and testify on his behalf-but they did what they could. They stayed at the cross when most of the disciples had fled, and they got ready to anoint their Lord’s body. Because of their devotion, they were the first to know about the Resurrection.
There are people in our world who have made great, eternal impacts on the Kingdom. We all know of John Wesley, Fanny Crosby, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Graham, and a myriad of others who did just that! But we can all name people in our own lives who influenced us. And probably none of them are remembered by anyone for swaying multitudes.
For whatever reason, I don’t remember a lot of things from my youth. But some things do stick out in my mind. These names won’t mean a thing to any of you, but they mean something to me.
- Miss Fleshman – my first-grade teacher in Quick, WV
- Bob Paris – a mattress factory owner and leader in my church in Archdale, NC
- Zelma Woodruff – I mowed her grass. She was a leader in my church in Mason, OH
- Ernie Carr – a faithful, loving man who loved and served his pastor and family in Parsons, WV
- Tom Lasley – the first pastor I had the privilege to serve under – Brandon, OH
In the world’s eyes, these people may be just pennies. They may be small, or after all these years later, nonexistent but that is not the case in God’s eyes. Each and everyone one of them is (not just was!) a cherished child of His!
As believers, we may feel we can’t do much for Jesus. But we are called to take advantage of the opportunities given us, doing what we can do and not worrying about what we cannot do. God will bless our efforts for Him, big or small.
Jan 17th, 2021, Sun, 7:58 pm
Disdain for the Opposition
Another day has passed and here I sit before You once more, Father. It’s hard to believe that five and a half years have gone by since I started this adventure. Thank You, Father, for the inspiration to continue to move forward. Bless and multiply Your gift to me! Use it as You will.
Luke 23:50-56 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the most disturbing things about the culture in which we live is that we are extremely divided. And to make matters worse, many feel free to share their preferences and utter disdain for those who disagree. Another bad aspect of this mentality is that we have a great tendency to throw everyone in the same pot.
For example, regardless of one’s political affiliation, we have nothing good to say about anyone that associates themselves with the party that opposes our party. We don’t care to know them. We just automatically dislike them!
The same goes for collegiate competition. Pick your team and there is going to be a rival team who many would have absolutely nothing positive to say about them. It’s crazy to me but many of Ohio State University’s fans lump the entire state of Michigan onto their “bad” list simply because the University of Michigan has been a major rival for years! (And to beat all, some OSU fans took offense at me thinking that that isn’t really something they should be doing!)
In today’s passage, for the very first time, we meet Joseph of Arimathea. He was a good and righteous man but (GASP!), he was a member of the Jewish high council i.e., the Sanhedrin. “What? But those are the bad guys! They opposed Jesus at every opportunity! He can’t be one of them (said with dripping disdain) and be a “good guy”. That’s just not possible!”
Well, if that’s what you think…then you’d be wrong.
Now throughout Jesus’ ministry, Joseph might have been a “secret” follower, but when it really counted, he stood straight and true. (Make sure you don’t miss the fact that for the most part, those closest to Jesus – those who had followed by His side for years, His nearest and dearest friends – were nowhere to be found!)
Though he was affiliated with those who opposed Jesus, he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come and he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders.
Regardless of what it might cost him, Joseph took the chance and spoke to Pilate about giving Jesus a proper burial…no one else did – though remember that his compatriot Nicodemus helped him in his task of love and respect for the Man who had truly shown them the ways of God. (John 19:38-42)
So, as we find ourselves in the midst of divisions and strife, don’t automatically throw everyone into the same pot. Guilt by association is not something a follower of Christ should apply so readily. Remember Jesus was a friend of sinners (Matthew 11:16-19, for example) and we should follow His example. Amen?
Jan 14th, 2021, 8:21 pm
No More Curtain!
Well, Father, I’m grateful that You know what is going on! We trust ourselves to Your eternal love and care. May we keep our eyes fixed on You. Amen.
Luke 23:44-49 (<<click here to read the passage)
After Karen and I had been dating for some time, I would occasionally stay at her home when school was not in session. My home was several hours away whereas she, being a local girl, commuted from about 15 minutes away.
I shared a room with her brother, Chuck, who was still in high school at the time. I didn’t stay there too often because Chuck would often yell out in his sleep and when he did that, I couldn’t get back to sleep.
One incident that took place when I wasn’t there – thankfully! In the middle of the night, he got to dreaming that he was trying to lay hold of a calf that had gotten loose! When all was said and done, he had pulled his curtains clean off the wall! Too much excitement for me!
That would have been startling for sure but that was nothing compared to what took place in the Temple in Jerusalem the hour Jesus breathed His last.
After 3 hours of darkness when the sun was obscured – that would have been a terribly scary occurrence all by itself! – and right before Jesus exclaimed, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” …the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two [from top to bottom]. AMP
The word veil in our understanding in no way communicates what it was like. It was by no means a thin piece of cloth. Chuck Bumgardner, of the Orchard Keeper blog (<<click on the link to check out the entire post) put out these statistics according to the research he had done on this “veil”. Interestingly enough the Bible gives no specifics on the veil (the curtain) in Herod’s Temple but Bumgardner’s research took him to several sources of Jewish documentation of antiquity. Here are some of the interesting facts.
It took three hundred priests…to draw the veil (of the Temple) aside.
…the thickness of the veil was a handbreadth (that’s about 4 inches or so)
It was woven of seventy-two cords, and each cord consisted of twenty-four strands and was wrought in 72 squares
It was forty cubits long and twenty wide (Roughly 60 by 30 feet)
…it was made by eighty-two young girls, and they used to make two every year
and it took three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it.
That was some curtain! Nothing could have torn it in two [from top to bottom] but the very hand of God!
So, what is the significance of it? Basically, in the Holy Place of the innermost part of the Temple, the curtain cordoned off the Holy of Holies. In this Holy of Holies one priest once every year would enter to present a sacrifice to the Lord for the sins of all the people. It was so sacred that according to Rabbinic tradition they tied a rope around his waist in the event he was struck dead for some offense while performing his duties, ensuring they could pull his body out!
That’s pretty serious stuff but upon Jesus’ death, the curtain no longer served a purpose. Since that day we all have access to God. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life for us all! No more curtain! Amen and amen!
Jan 13th, 2021, Wed, 8:00 pm
Seeing Clearly
We put our hope in the Lord.
….He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
….for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
….for our hope is in you alone. Psalm 33:20-22 NLT
Luke 23:32-43 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the stories my father has told me from his youth is that early on in school he struggled with reading the chalkboard. His teacher kept moving him closer to the front and finally suggested that maybe he needed corrective lenses.
Sure enough, after his parents took him to an optometrist, they discovered that he needed glasses. Shortly thereafter he got them, he stepped out on a clear night, looked up, and asked, “What are those white things in the sky?” They were stars! His vision had been bad enough that he had never seen them before!
Of all the people, good and bad, that witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, only one could see. Blindness was rampant throughout the crowd that day. Some were blinded by hatred, others by pride, or power, or possibly fear or grief. Some gathered there had known Him from the day of his birth. Some had walked with Him day in day out for over three years. Some had regularly clashed with Him. Yet not one of them, at least at that point, perceived what one single individual saw. And of all people to see what was going on, it was one of the two thieves hanging on his own cross by Jesus’ side. Who knows if their paths had even crossed until that very day.
The one thief was blind like all the rest and kept hurling abuse at Jesus, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!” v39 AMP
But the other thief rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, [please] remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” vs40-42 AMP
He saw himself for who he was, and he saw Jesus for who He was. He honestly acknowledged that he was getting what he deserved for the life he had lived. He also plainly saw that Jesus was innocent. On all counts, he saw clearly.
The note in my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation rings true.
The dying criminal had more faith than the rest of Jesus’ followers put together. Although the disciples continued to love Jesus, their hopes for the Kingdom were shattered. Most of them had gone into hiding. As one of his followers sadly said two days later, “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel” (Luke 24:21). By contrast, the criminal looked at the man who was dying next to him and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” By all appearances, the Kingdom was finished. How awe-inspiring is the faith of this man who alone saw beyond the present shame to the coming glory!
Lord Jesus, open our eyes that we see ourselves for we are – criminals (sinners) guilty and deserving of death but most importantly of all may we clearly see You for who You truly are – our Lord and Savior!
Jan 12th, 2021, Tues, 9:23 pm