Grasping at Straws
Thank You for today, Father. Thank You for Your inspiration yesterday, and every day for that matter! You are an awesome God!
John 18:19-24 (<<click here to read the passage)
Most of us are probably familiar with the idiom “grasping at straws,” but just as a point of clarification. Idioms Online states that the phrase means to be willing to do, say, or believe anything that offers even the slightest hope in a desperate situation, even though there is almost no chance for success.
The idiom is said to have come from a proverb found in “Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation” written in 1534 by Thomas More – a prominent lawyer and statesman in England in the early 1500s. (He served King Henry the VIII – and that didn’t work out so well for More!)
The proverb states, “A drowning man will clutch at straws” which refers to the reeds that would grow alongside a river. If you’re drowning, you’ll grab for anything that might save you, no matter how hopeless doing so might be.
And that’s what Annas, the priest, and all the other Jewish leaders were doing. They hated Jesus with a passion and even though He was now in their clutches they had absolutely no grounds on which to prosecute Jesus. They were grasping for straws. They were trying to nail Jell-O to the wall with not much success!
Just reading verse 19 clearly shows they had no idea what they were doing. All they knew was that Jesus was a splinter up their fingernail and they wanted Him gone. Verse 19 says,
…the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. NLT
Like, duh! Jesus’ retort pointed out the foolishness of Annas’ questioning,
“Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.” vs21-22 NLT
But as the above definition states, they were willing to do, say, or believe anything that offered even the slightest hope in the desperate situation in which they found themselves, even though there was almost no chance for success, at least from a human perspective.
They wouldn’t have gotten this far, but again it was only because it was all part of God’s plan! These events had to transpire for Jesus to be able to offer Himself willingly in our stead. Even with all their hate-motivated conniving, they had no power whatsoever to take Jesus’ life – He gave it willingly.
Remember Jesus said back in John 10:17-18,
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.” AMP
The Jewish leaders were both shallow and empty. Their self-satisfying mentality had caused them to totally miss out on God’s greatest gift to mankind. They definitely pulled the short straw on that one…
Oct 26th, 2021, Tues, 6:26 pm
It Starts with Something Small
What a mess of Your intended perfection we have made of Your world Father. I am grateful to find solace in You, despite it all.
John 18:12-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
This past Sunday’s sermon dealt with struggling to follow Jesus even though His death and resurrection have given us the ability to be victorious in it all!
Most of the time, we don’t just jump headfirst into the deepest sin. Our problem lies in the fact that we have this very bad habit of giving way to something small on the outskirts of the main thing that we are really wanting to give way to. But we pass it off as a small and unimportant act that we commit. That then leads to something a little deeper and of course that leads to something deeper yet. Eventually, we are in over our head, and we are about as far as we can go in the deepest sin.
I for one enjoy watching video clips, i.e., parts of movies, compilations of accident-prone people, dashcam footage of highway accidents, animal antics, guys power washing filthy sidewalks, all kinds of things. Facebook has a video section you can click on with a wide variety of things, some of it very mind-numbingly entertaining. But there are also things on there that as a follower of Christ I avoid.
I have to be very careful. Amongst the mostly innocent videos lie serpents in waiting. Edgy videos that though not “technically” explicit push the envelope without a doubt. If I do go video surfing, I have to make sure that I am mentally and spiritually prepared to quickly bypass all the garbage that flashes on my screen. I dare not linger or I could be in trouble!
And that’s just one example. Maybe that’s not a weakness for you, but gossip, or “small” acts of thievery, or harboring bitterness against an “enemy”, or passing along little “white” lies, or readily speaking hurtful words to loved ones is.
None of us is anywhere close to perfect, no matter what others may think. We all have our Achilles heel…our weak spots.
The Apostle Peter talked big but when it came right down to it, he could not keep up that persona. And just as Jesus knows our weaknesses and loves us still, He knew Peter’s – He even told Peter beforehand how he would fall. And in spite of it all, Jesus loved Peter, as well.
Verse 17 of our passage says,
Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” AMP
It was just a small avoidance of the truth…right? At least, I’m sure that’s what Peter told himself. But much to his later chagrin, that lie…that denial, led to another and before all was said and done, he had repeated the act three times! Mark’s Gospel in particular shows Peter’s reactions becoming more heated as they progressed.
Something small quickly turned into something overwhelmingly huge! And a wall was set between Peter and Jesus…and Peter knew it. But Jesus wouldn’t let it stand. A short time after His resurrection, Jesus purposely gave Peter the opportunity to reconcile himself with Him.
Jesus does the same for us. The walls we erect, He can readily raze…if we humbly and honestly come before Him seeking forgiveness. And I for one am grateful that He does…
Oct 25th, 2021, Mon, 5:46 pm
Who’s in Charge!
It was a full day despite the rain, Father! Thank You for Your protective arm around us in our comings and goings. All praise to our Almighty God!
John 18:1-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
This particular passage is a critical point in Jesus’ story. Things have been building and building and this is the moment where the hill is crested. It has taken years to get here but from this time it will be just a matter of hours until “it is finished” (John 19:28-30).
But even before Jesus’ betrayal and arrest transpire, I had to chuckle a bit. And I do not believe it to be an inappropriate response. Now what happened from a human perspective made sense but from a heavenly perspective, it was ludicrous.
Before I go further, I want to quickly interject an Old Testament story. The King of Aram was seeking to overrun Israel but every time he set out to do so he was thwarted. He suspected a traitor but was told that Elisha, God’s prophet, was giving a heads up to Israel’s king. So, he went after Elisha.
Elisha and his servant were in the town of Dothan. Aram’s army surrounded the town and when Elisha’s servant got up the next morning that’s what he saw! He freaked out and ran to Elisha, yet Elisha didn’t even flinch! Instead, he said,
“Don’t be afraid… For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 2 Kings 6:16 NLT
The servant must have thought his master had lost it but…
Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:17 NLT
Yes, Aram’s army was there but Heaven’s army was there as well!
When Judas came back on the scene, he knew where Jesus would be and led his contingent right to them. But it wasn’t just Judas and a few Temple guards, the leading priests and Pharisees had obtained a Roman cohort to accompany them all.
The Amplified and New American Standard Bibles both use the word cohort which normally consisted of 600 men! They were prepared, and then some, for whatever Jesus had to throw at them. They could handle it and He wasn’t getting away this time!
But Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.
“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.
When Jesus said, “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!” vs4-6
(There’s another one of those I AM statements!)
And that is what I found to be amusing! They literally put together a contingent of warriors – hundreds of men – to ensure they got their man, and they fell apart with an utterance of three words!
Their power was nothing! If this had not been part of God’s plan, it wouldn’t have happened. If there had been a need Heaven’s army would have been there in the blink of an eye. Every Roman soldier in existence could have been there to see the job through and it would not have made one bit of difference. No matter how many of them were there, God – and God only! – was totally in charge!
God’s will would be fulfilled! And there was nothing anyone could do to force it or change it in any way!
“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too difficult or too wonderful for You…” Jeremiah 32:17 AMP
Oct 24th, 2021, Sun, 6:48 pm
The Missing Piece
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
….that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
….so that I may honor you. Psalm 86:11 NLT
John 17:22-26 (<<click here to read the passage)
I have a couple of friends that enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles. They will often post pictures of their completed efforts on Facebook. I have enjoyed them in the past, especially on those cold and long dark nights of winter. (Several years ago, I completed a puzzle that is a montage of lighthouses in the shape of a lighthouse. I glued it together and hung it in my office here at home.)
One of the biggest frustrations is to get to the very end and realize that there is a single piece missing! We search everywhere and cannot find it. And, at least for me, that was the end of it. I’d box it up, for what good was a puzzle that was missing a piece?
Well, recently I saw a video on how to recreate the missing piece! Several videos on YouTube will walk you through the whole process if that is your goal.
We can grasp a basic understanding that though the Heavenly Father is God, and Jesus Christ is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, that they are not three separate Gods but are all the same God. They are three in one.
In verse 23 of this passage Jesus speaks of His followers, both those with Him at that time and those to come – us! He refers to the unity that He and the Father share and His expectation that we too will share in that oneness. That verse reads,
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.
That is what is expected but, in reality, we don’t see it lived out too frequently. What caught my attention in this statement is that Jesus is praying that we may be perfected and completed into one. We are complex. We have all kinds of pieces and parts, and they are not just physical. Mental and spiritual aspects factor in as well.
And I will tell you this, if you are trying to be in unity with others, you will fail. Even people we love and would do anything for, grate on us over time, and far too often our unity begins to crumble. Our absolute only chance of succeeding in our efforts is to yield to Jesus’ control. Only in His strength, only through His love, only with His compassion and wisdom can we begin to be perfected and completed into one. Jesus is the missing piece of our huge mixed-up puzzle and no matter what we do we cannot replicate Him. We have to have the genuine article – Jesus Christ!
Oct 21st, 2021, Thurs,
Avoiding Clogs
I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
….for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
….But let them not return to their foolish ways. Psalm 85:8 NLT
John 17:13-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
Intersecting our property is a ditch that drains water from the fields across the road from our home. Not quite halfway through our lot, it veers onto our neighbor’s lot and from there it eventually flows to a very large pond that sits quite a way back behind us all.
On that side of our lot, we maintain to where this ditch crosses onto our neighbor’s property. But there’s a problem, over the last several years the ash trees on our land have all died due to an insect infestation. More recently some of them have fallen inhibiting the ditch from draining as it should. Over the years heavy rains have pushed leaves and branches down the ditch where the trees have fallen. In so doing they have clogged the flow of water. Water still gets through, but it backs up pretty badly.
Periodically I put on my boots and grab my handy garden rake and begin pulling out great piles of leaves and other debris. It’s the only way to open up the blocked ditch allowing it to flow freely once more.
In reading today’s passage my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation had some inspirational thoughts about verse 17,
Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. v17 AMP
A follower of Christ becomes pure and holy through believing and obeying the Word of God.
For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 AMP
He or she has already accepted forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death.
It was fitting for us to have such a High Priest [perfectly adapted to our needs], holy, blameless, unstained [by sin], separated from sinners and exalted higher than the heavens; who has no day by day need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices, first of all for his own [personal] sins and then for those of the people, because He [met all the requirements and] did this once for all when He offered up Himself [as a willing sacrifice]. Hebrews 7:26-27 AMP
Unlike my drainage ditch, which gets infrequent attention, and clogs up regularly, it is imperative that we daily keep our spiritual channels clear of debris. By daily applying God’s word to our lives, it purifies our minds and hearts. If we skip days or weeks, the debris of sin begins to choke our spiritual growth. We need the Word’s benefits of pointing out the sin in our lives and then we can address it through confession. In so doing our relationship with Christ is renewed and we can live our lives more fully in Him and for Him.
Lord Jesus, may it be so!
Oct 20th, 2021, Wed, 5:36 pm