Father, fresh on my mind is our trip home from Newark. Thank You for Your guiding and protecting hand as we navigated through waters flowing over our way. With a van full of loved ones, it was challenging but we got home just fine!
Mark 11:1-11 (<<click to read the passage)
Over this last week, we enjoyed having Karen’s brother and his family visiting from Texas. We ate lots of good food and there was more than enough laughter to go around!
One fun thing I got to do was teach my niece, Lynden, how to play Sudoku. If you’re not familiar with it, it is a game composed of 9 blocks, with each of those blocks being composed of 9 blocks. Each big block has one each of numbers 1-9 in each block. Also, each column and row cannot have more than one of the numbers 1-9 in them. It’s challenging and stretches my brain to try and go through different levels of difficulty as I fill in the blanks with numbers 1-9. Lynden had never had anyone explain to her how to play and now she does!
We like filling in the blanks in many aspects of life but much like Sudoku quite often not just anything can go into those blanks. Each box must have a specific number put in it or the puzzle cannot be completed correctly. But…it turns out perfectly if you follow the rules.
At this point in Jesus’ ministry, we are at the beginning of the end as such (though in reality, we are at the end of the beginning – with the ending being out of this world!) Over and over again, Jesus has proclaimed what was going to take place. Just a few short verses back Jesus, for the third time, said to His disciples,
“Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans).” Mark 10:33 (AMP)
But unfortunately, repetition got Him nowhere. They thought they knew the answers and filled in the blanks as they pleased. But many – OK, most – of their answers were wrong. Their willy-nilly answers led them astray as to the correct answer to the puzzle of life and eternity. They misconstrued the rules and until they put their trust in the Master Puzzle Solver they would be doomed to fail.
Lord Jesus, help us, even today, to avoid just filling in the blanks with what sounds good. Our lives are a jumbled mess and no matter how hard we try, we cannot even begin to fill in the blanks with what will give us the answers to all of life’s questions. For truly all of those blanks must be filled with You for as You said in John 14:6 (AMP),
“I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Amen.
June 19th, 2019, Wed, 11:10 pm
