Silence…
Father, I am grateful for our relationship. It is further down the road than we have ever been. It seems that for a very long time I was trapped in a never-ending cycle of struggle – defeating struggle. I can’t say things don’t come to mind of my past struggles but, Father, because of our relationship, I am able to stand firm. And when I am tempted, I call out to You…and You are there. Every. Single. Time. I realize that my journey is not over…but, Father, I praise You for my victory and for the promise and the hope that I can only find in You!
Matthew 27:11-14 (<<click to read the passage)
Reading this passage made me think of an old Spiritual, He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word. There is a lot of history behind the song itself but His story is so, so much more important.
In reality, we are just at the beginning of many hours of what has become known as Christ’s passion – the beatings, the crown of thorns, the whipping, the nails driven into his hands and feet, the spear thrust in His side.
What would our response to any of these things be? Anger? Cursing? Crying out? Whatever they may be, our first response would probably not have…silence.
“Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” But Jesus did not reply to him, not even to a single accusation, so that the governor was greatly astonished.
Jesus had spoken…many times and they had not listened. His words would make no difference to the outcome now…and He knew it. Now he lived out His love…it’s what He had come to do… AMP
Lord, as we enter this season of celebrating Your birth may we never lose sight of why You came. Amen.
If you’d like to ponder this just a bit more, click on the link below. It is simple. It is beautiful. It tells His story…
Dec 6th, 2018, Thurs, 8:30 pm
Do Our Words and Actions Match?
A very full day of normal things, Father, but it has still worn be out! May our time tonight be productive in a way that would bring glory to You. Amen.
Luke 22:21-23 (<<click here to read the passage)
Not too long ago we grabbed a bite at one of our favorite eateries, Skyline Chili. We don’t go there too often anymore but it was a treat!
Shortly before we left a family of 6 came and sat in the booth behind us. We were in the last booth on one wall and they were in the last booth on the other wall so I could plainly see their interactions.
The father was a big burly man and I quickly saw that he was in charge…and not in a nice way. Before they all got situated, very quietly he spoke to the oldest child, a boy. He spoke softly but I could tell from the boy’s flinching that what was being said normally came with physical contact – not a hug but probably a slap.
As they got seated the father made the boy move to the other side of the booth while he got a highchair for the youngest child. Before the server even made it to the table, he laid into the oldest boy again – once more it was in a voice just above a whisper, but the boy’s face communicated that he was being berated. His eyes were downcast in shame. And reading the father’s lips, he was ready to drag them all out of the restaurant right there and then. The whole time, the mother’s eyes were downcast, and her face was straight but strained. The server saved the day by her arrival and things seemed to settle after that.
It was a very disturbing interaction and it was not the least bit surprising that when the server arrived, the father was all smiley and jovial, even, as if nothing at all was wrong with his “happy” little family.
How often do our words and our actions not match? Others see one thing and reality is something totally different…and most distressingly it may very well be something so very wrong.
Jesus reclined at this last supper with those whom many would have called his closest friends, and many were…but one was a traitor. The traitor knew it. Jesus knew it. But none of the others had a clue.
Read what my study Bible* had to say about Mark 14:19 (a parallel to today’s passage).
“It is easy to become enraged or shocked by what Judas did; yet professing commitment to Christ and then denying him with one’s life is also betraying him. It is denying Christ’s love to disobey him; it is denying his truth to distrust him; it is denying his deity to reject his authority. Do our words and actions match?”
That is one great thing about a regular observation of Communion – we should come face to face with answering that question in our own lives. Lord Jesus, do our words and actions match? And if they don’t, if they are askew in some way, that is when we should make amends and set things right with the One we have hurt the most…our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
July 25th, 2019, Thurs, 9:39 pm
Mystery in the Midst of It All
Father, as we come together this evening, I do so humbly. The utmost of respect is due You for You are my God. There is no one higher. All praise to You God Almighty!
Luke 22:14-20 (<<click here to read the passage)
So, what do you call it? When we had in-person worship we observed the Lord’s Supper monthly and I noted it in the bulletin as The Sacrament of Holy Communion. My study Bible* notes had this to say in regard to Matthew 26:17-30 (a parallel to today’s passage).
Each name we use for this sacrament brings out a different dimension to it. It is the Lord’s Supper because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with his disciples; it is the Eucharist (thanksgiving) because we thank God for Christ’s work for us; it is Communion because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should be quietly reflective as we recall Jesus’ death and promises to come again, grateful for God’s wonderful gift to us, and joyful as we meet with Christ and the body of believers.
It is vital to believers everywhere to partake and remember. Some churches observe it quarterly or maybe once a month. Many partake of it each Sunday. It is so important! It links us to God. It connects us to each other. But there is a mystery in the midst of it all. How Christ accomplished what He did as symbolized in the act of observing Communion.
This is one area where, as a pastor, I struggle. Over the years, I have observed this special time together many ways but for me, at least, I never feel like I do it justice. And honestly, I can’t really put my finger on it to be able to say why specifically. …and maybe that is the way it should be…
I am humbled every single time I stand in front of my congregations. How am I worthy to administer such a holy thing? After all, I am who I am, and that is far from perfect…far from holy…far from worthy. But once again the mystery is in the midst of it all.
In and of myself, I am not perfect or holy or worthy but, ah, in Christ – by He choosing to associate with me by my coming to Him for forgiveness – I can be perfect and holy and, shockingly enough, worthy!
Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are the reason that I am. You are the reason that I am who I am. You are the reason I am able to be who You want me to be. Work through me. Use me. I am an instrument in Your hands. Amen and amen!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 11th, 2018, Sun, 7:08 pm
Cheerios Under the Fridge
A surprise day together, Father! Snow days are always welcome, and we have just enjoyed it so much! Thank You for out-of-the-blue gifts!
Luke 22:7-13 (<<click here to read the passage)
I don’t know how you do it, but our home is vacuumed and dusted weekly…whether it needs it or not. Life happens and though we may not intentionally dirty our home, it gets dirty just by living here.
In today’s passage, Jesus directed Peter and John to prepare for the Passover. In some of my research I discovered that Passover isn’t a week or even a day, but a meal…
Peter and John had to buy and prepare the lamb as well as the unleavened bread, herbs, wine, and other food.
But what I would like to emphasize in this passage is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. At twilight following the Passover meal, the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. Interestingly enough, no matter what day of the week Passover took place – it was always to be the 14th day of the month of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to a date in March or April on our…calendar – the feast would begin on the 15th.
The feast began with a Sabbath and ended with a Sabbath – and this was different from the weekly Sabbath (Saturday), but this is the part of this feast that points us right to Jesus.
When the nation of Israel made their exodus from their years of slavery in Egypt, part of God’s command would be that they were to get rid of any leaven – or yeast – from their homes. God used the fact that they didn’t have time to let their bread rise to symbolize the ridding of sin from their homes and their lives.
Jesus often referred to the “yeast of the Pharisees…” (Luke 12:1b NLT) and He equated it with their sin.
It would be a chore to rid our lives of leaven. Beyond the cakes or packages of yeast, you may have, think of everything that has yeast in it. If you had to get every last crumb of it from your homes, that would take some effort. You can easily find loaves of bread and boxes of crackers but how many young parents with toddlers could find every single Cheerio in your home? How many would they find between the cushions and under the fridge?
In the same way, it’s easier to get the big, obvious sins out of our lives, but more difficult to get the hidden, seemingly small ones out before they fester.
In Jesus’ timeline, this is the last week before His crucifixion. Understand that there are no coincidences with God. Everything was planned out to the very smallest detail. His last week very purposely overlapped the time for attempting to remove every last speck of sin from our lives. But is that even within the realm of possibility? We are after all sinners by birth, so even though we can’t get all of the sin out of our lives, we have Jesus to cover them all. Though we should still strive to live in a way that pleases God, if we believe in Jesus as our Savior, he even forgives the sins we’d rather leave in the dark places under the fridge. Even if the “home” of our life is sparkling clean, chances are that there’s some leaven hiding somewhere. *
I realize that we’re coming up on Christmas and not Passover, but just like Karen makes sure our home is cleaned regularly, it would be of great benefit to make sure our lives are clean of sin even more regularly.
Lord Jesus, help us to rid ourselves of all that so easily entangles us. May we strive to search out even the nooks and crannies, and those areas that we might rather leave untouched. And when all is said and done, may we allow Your grace to take care of the rest. Amen.
*The Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. Passover: What’s the Difference?
Dec 1st, 2020, Tues, 6:59 pm
A Camel’s Nose Under Your Tent
Our first snow of substance and it is beautiful, Father. The love is in the little things. All praise to You!
Luke 22:1-6 (<<click here to read the passage)
Here’s one you may not have heard before,
Do not allow a camel to put his nose under the edge of your tent, for soon you will have a camel in your tent. – an alleged Arab proverb
How often does this concept play out in our lives? There is not one of us who has not struggled with some temptation or another. And from experience I know that quite often it can be something almost imperceptible…at least to others around us. If we shut it down right away, we can just move forward. But any leeway given, and we have a camel’s nose under our tent!
Yield to one little thing and then it’s easier to yield to that thing again…and again…and again. Then something more impacting comes along – something more damaging – and our defenses are lowered enough that we succumb to that next level of temptation. That impulse conquers us much more readily. It starts with the camel’s nose but then, little by little, we allow other body parts to enter until the camel is entirely inside our tent and at that point, we have to deal with the whole camel!
I don’t think that “Satan entered into Judas Iscariot” out of the blue with no warning bells going off in his heart and mind. It must have been a gradual thing. Jesus had spoken several times of His pending death. There were confrontations with religious leaders. Many things said, many things done but “things” weren’t heading in the right direction – at least to the mindset of an Israelite chafing under the heavy hand of Rome. Especially when hopes had been raised.
So, what was Judas’ motivation for betraying Jesus? The Bible doesn’t clearly spell it out. Satan may have played a part, but as my study Bible* says, it does not remove any of the responsibility from Judas. By his betrayal, Judas may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand and make him use his power to prove he was the Messiah. Or perhaps Judas, not understanding Jesus’ mission, no longer believed that Jesus was God’s chosen one.
Regardless, it is very possible that one single stray thought on Judas’ part led to another then another until eventually, he allowed more than just the camel’s nose under his tent. Satan got his foot in the door and kept nudging and pushing until he had complete control.
But in reality, Satan nor Judas even began to understand what they were messing with. They thought God’s plan would be thwarted but little did they know, their actions set the last parts of His plan into motion.
Lord Jesus, help us to keep that old camel’s nose out of our tent. Fill us with Your presence to the extent that everything that shouldn’t be there can’t even fit in because we are full to overflowing with You! Amen.