Just a Matter of Time
A solid day of work in the office today, Father, in preparation for Sunday. Please, continue to direct my thoughts and heart as I ready myself for sharing Your word with Your people, both for Sunday and as we come together this evening. Amen.
Mark 15:16-20 (<<click to read the passage)
It is just a matter of time.
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 2 Peter 3:8 (NLT)
All the atrocities committed against Jesus, every person involved – and keep in mind it is not just the disciples and the Jewish leaders and Pilate and the entire regiment of Roman soldiers – but it is every, solitary individual that has ever walked this planet, including you and including me, we all will be held accountable for our actions.
Isaiah 53:7 prophetically spoke of Jesus at his point in His life.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers,
So He did not open His mouth. (AMP)
We all have oppressed Him. We all have afflicted Him. And the Apostle Paul goes on to state,
For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 (AMP)
My Life Application Study Bible makes an excellent point in its notes.
When you feel that unjust people who control and viewpoints hostile to Christianity are carrying the day, rest assured that Jesus holds the highest place and will return in glory.
Regardless of what happens on this dusty ball flying through space, Jesus will, without the slightest bit of doubt, have the final say, no ifs, ands or buts. And one of the most assuring things to me is He will be fair and He will be just. It will all be black and white and there will be no gray.
Lord Jesus, may we confess our sins to You. May we be ready to stand before You at any given moment. Burden our hearts with the need to bring along as many as we can reach to join us, for we must all be ready! Amen.
Aug 29th, 2019, Thurs, 9:25 pm
Nudge Me All You Want
Oh my, Father, it is much later than I had anticipated it being. Many things were accomplished today and it has just taken this long to get to this point. I know You are with me whenever I can sit down with You. Thank You for Your love, for I surely love You, too!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Today I had the opportunity to interact with a friend. We took care of some important business but then we interacted on a more personal basis. My friend’s son is going through a difficult time and, like any parent worth their salt, my friend is going through it right along with him.
My heart aches for them and I have thought of them several times as the day has moved on. I am so glad that I pursued that personal interaction. I could have just wrapped up our business and left but our lives are so much more than that. My friend had not hinted whatsoever about their ordeal but I feel that the Holy Spirit gave my heart a nudge and He used that time to impact someone for Him by using me.
It’s important to act on those nudges. At the time, we may not think a whole lot of it but looking back we can see that God’s hand was in it. If I had ignored His nudge, it may not have been a travesty but who knows what He will do with the words He gave me to speak. It may make a difference and it may not. God alone knows. But we must be willing. We must be obedient. We must take action when prompted to do so.
Proverbs 3:6-7 from The Message, a personal paraphrase of the Bible by Eugene Peterson, states: “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God!”
Lord Jesus, I am humbled that You can use me. I am an imperfect vessel that You choose to use to touch others with Your word for them. Make me all the more sensitive in my interactions with others. Nudge me all You want. “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10b
Aug 28th, 2019, Wed, 10:43 pm
Transparency
Father, thanks for walking alongside me this day. It was a good day and everything went smoothly. You bless me in abundance! Praise Your Holy Name!
Mark 15:6-15 (<<click to read the passage)
In 1837 Hans Christian Andersen published a short tale entitled “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” It is about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent – while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are invisible to them. When the emperor parades before his subjects in his new “clothes”, no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid. Finally, a child cries out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” (Wikipedia: The Emporer’s New Clothes)
Oh, how humiliating to be caught out and about in your skivvies because you were a fool! The emperor’s “transparency” showed him for who he truly was.
In today’s passage, the leading priests truly believe they had everyone fooled…but they were the fools. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to be transparent, but their transparency showed them to be all we strive not to be – self-seeking, hypocritical, envious, etc., etc.
Pilate may have interacted with them to some degree but regardless he saw through their thinly veiled “righteousness” to the heart of who they really were. He attempted to sidestep them but because of his own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, he broke and yielded to the pressure the leading priests placed on him, as well as the pressure of the people they pushed to call for Jesus’ execution. Pilate was transparent as well – he had no true desire for justice. His one and only desire was to cover himself.
As I wrote earlier, as followers of Christ, I believe we are challenged to be transparent. When we hide who we really are and the truth comes out, everything we have said about who we are comes under scrutiny. Proverbs 28:13 states,
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. (NLT)
In Numbers 32:23 we find Moses stressing to the Israelites that must do what they said they would do – transparency – and if they didn’t he said: “you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (NLT)
The Apostle Paul in his writings to the church in Corinth used himself as an example of transparency.
This is our [reason for] proud confidence: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world [in general], and especially toward you, with pure motives and godly sincerity, not in human wisdom, but in the grace of God [that is, His gracious lovingkindness that leads people to Christ and spiritual maturity]. 2 Corinthians 1:12 (AMP)
Lord Jesus, help me to live a life of transparency. May I never misrepresent You. May what people see in me – hear from me – may it be a genuine reflection of You in my life. If they hold me up to the light, may they see You shining through! Amen.
Aug 27th, 2019, Tues, 8:11 pm
Resolved
Father, I almost forgot to sit down with You this evening! Karen and I have spent the day working on a fun project together, while I prepped for an outpatient procedure for tomorrow. May our time together be profitable. I am so glad You reminded me!
Mark 15:2-5 (<<click to read the passage)
A favorite hymn of mine from years past is entitled, “I Am Resolved.” Here are the words of the second verse and refrain.
I am resolved to go to the Savior,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.
Refrain
I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
Resolved. Dictionary.com defines it as firm in purpose or intent; determined.
I may be “resolved to go to the Savior” but Jesus was by far more resolute than I could ever possibly be. In these few verses, it is obvious He has resolved Himself to the mission He was born to complete. Ephesians 1:4 tells us,
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (NLT)
He knew what we would do. He knew, even before a single one of us had been formed in our mother’s womb, that we would turn from Him and go our own way and do our own thing… But He still brought us into existence. All the while knowing that the only way we could ever be reconciled in our relationship with Him was for Him to give up His own life so the price for our rebellion – our sin – could be paid.
Why, when Pilate prodded Him to respond to the fabricated charges being brought against him by the pompous leading priests, did He just keep silent? It was time for Him to complete the task that had been set before Him. And at this point, nothing He would have said would have made any difference. And honestly…it didn’t need to. He was fulfilling the Father’s call upon His life and absolutely nothing was going to stop Him.
Lord Jesus, I grieve knowing that my disobedience brought You such pain. But I also rejoice, knowing that Your choice bought my salvation. I could not pay the price but You could and…You did! All praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! “He is the true One, He is the just One, He hath the words of life.” Amen!
Aug 26th, 2019, Mon, 9:49 pm
OVERCOMER
School will quickly be upon us and this week ahead is full but this has been a good weekend, Father. Thank You once more for the blessing of family and church.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
I feel the need to put out a plug for a new faith-based film that has begun showing in theaters this past weekend. It is the newest film to be released by the Kendrick brothers who brought us FIREPROOF, COURAGEOUS, and WAR ROOM. Their newest film is entitled OVERCOMER.
For the most part, the media has not been overly kind in their portrayal of followers of Christ. They tend to be far out, Bible-thumpin’, whack-a-doodles or total psychopaths set out to eliminate, by whatever means necessary, whoever does not meet God’s requirements – at least according to how they see it.
If you are a faithful reader of this blog, you realize that followers of Christ – those of us who call ourselves Christians – are just regular people. Where the difference lies is that many of us have given ourselves totally over to Jesus. We diligently strive to seek His direction in our lives. We are by no means perfect. We sometimes outright fail! But we get back up, and with God’s help, we dust ourselves off and get right back at it.
In their movies, and OVERCOMER is no exception, the Kendrick brothers clearly portray who followers of Christ are. Our lives are not excluded from pain and loss. We are impacted by sin just as every other person that has ever walked the face of this planet is…but we have a relationship with Someone who enables us to become victors in the daily battles we fight. In and of ourselves, we can not do it. Only in His strength and in His power can we be the overcomers that He has planned for us to be!
The Apostle Paul, in writing to the church in Ephesus, said,
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Ephesians 6:12 (AMP)
We battle on, but again we do so in Christ. Another huge point is that along with Him by our sides we have each other – to cheer and encourage one another to persevere. And movies like OVERCOMER excel at that! Other believers struggle. Other believers fail. But there is a never-dying hope! We must be there to lend a loving hand to help each other stand once more. May we all be the overcomers that Christ calls us to be.
If you don’t find OVERCOMER showing in your local theater, here is the link to their website to find out where you can see it.
https://www.overcomermovie.com/
Don’t miss out, the more people see it in the theaters, the louder the message that is sent to a hurting and dying world that needs to hear this saving word!
Aug 25th, 2019, Sun, 8:19 pm