Wednesday Thought -- June 20, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“Some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.  When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’  So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.  And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.” (Matthew 28:11-15)

For an honest person to remain in unbelief he must find a way to deal with the resurrection.  If the resurrection is true, then there really is no choice but to follow Jesus.  But if you can explain away the resurrection, then you can reject Jesus.

The chief priests weren’t honest men.  They didn’t find a way to explain away the resurrection, they created one!  Contrary to all the evidence, they chose to remain in unbelief.  Why would anyone do that?  It comes down to this, what they wanted to believe was more important to them than what was true!

Jesus told Pilate during His trial, “I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)

Don’t follow Jesus because your parents did, or because your friends do, or because it helps the country.  Follow Jesus because it is true -- He is true!  Jesus said, “I am the truth.” (John 14:6)

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- June 19, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples:  “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.”  Now I have told you.’” (Matthew 28:1-7)

The greatest event in all of human history, and Matthew tells it in just a paragraph or two!   Jesus was crucified, dead, buried.  His followers were grief-stricken, hopeless, coming to care for His body.  But God had other plans!  They should have expected it, even His enemies knew He had predicted it and made arrangements to guard against it.  But it was so unbelievable, so beyond anything imaginable, that until it happened they could not believe it, and even then it was not easy!

It’s not easy for us to believe it, either.  We’ve seen death.  We’ve been to funerals, buried loved ones.  Death is permanent.  People don’t just come back alive again.  But Jesus did!  History records it.  The disciples testified to it.  Changed lives confirm it.  The church proclaims it.  Jesus -- died -- came back to life!

That is the core truth of Christianity.  It is the one act of Jesus that divides people.  Believe it, and you must follow Him, what other choice is there.  Don’t believe it, and you cannot follow Him.  “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:14,17,19-20)

Christ has been raised from the dead.  So follow Him!!!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- June 18, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.  Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.  He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.” (Matthew 27:57-61)

Joseph had a lot to risk by becoming a follower of Jesus.  He was a wealthy man and Mark calls him a “prominent member of the Council.” (Mark 15:23)  His power, his position, his wealth, his respectability were all at risk by openly showing himself to be a follower of Christ.  But Joseph was willing.  He couldn’t be a secret follower of Jesus.

Jesus said that the risk was worth it.  Whatever we lose for the sake of the Gospel will be returned many times over.  “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

And even more important, if we’re willing to take a public stand for Him, no matter what the risk, He promises to take a stand for us in the presence of the Father!  “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

There may be risks involved in being a public follower of Jesus, but He’ll see that the benefits always outweigh the risks!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- June 15, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ -- which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’  When some of those standing there heard this, they said, ‘He’s calling Elijah.’  Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge.  He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  The rest said, ‘Now leave him alone.  Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.’  And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split.  The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.  When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:45-54)

Jesus lived uniquely:  He spoke with authority.  He accepted worship as God.  He healed the sick.  He raised the dead.  He exercised power over nature.  In these and many other ways, Jesus lived uniquely.

Jesus also died uniquely:

The temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom.  A fitting symbol to say that access to God had been opened to man, and God had done it Himself.  Man did not rip the curtain from bottom to top to force his way in, God ripped it from the top down to allow man into His presence.

An earthquake shook the world.  Many earthquakes cause death, but this was the first death that caused an earthquake (and the last)!!!  His death shook the very foundations of the world.

Tombs of some of the dead opened and they came out alive.  The way to life, eternal life, had been opened by Jesus’ death.  These were but the firstfruits of the many who would be raised to eternal life through His death -- including you and me.

So unique were the things that surrounded Jesus’ death that even the soldier at the cross knew there was something powerful about Him.

But the most unique thing about His death was yet to come.  In just a few days His death would be proven temporary!!!

There is something very unique and very powerful about Jesus!!!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- June 14, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!  Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!  He’s the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God.  Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’’  In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” (Matthew 27:39-44)

The insults hurled at Jesus while He hung on the cross contained elements of truth.  “He saved others, but he can’t save Himself.”  He did save others and they knew it.  But it wasn’t that He could not save Himself – it was that He would not save Himself!  He knew why He was on the cross and despite the pain and torture of what He was going through He kept His resolve to accomplish it.

“The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.” (2 Peter 2:9)  God does know how to rescue those who are His from suffering.  He has proven His strength to do it in many ways and at many times.  But God does not always rescue His children from suffering, even as He did not rescue Jesus from His suffering.  Sometimes what God desires to accomplish can only be accomplished through the suffering of His children.

Jesus willingly went through the suffering because of the “joy set before Him.” (Hebrews 12:2)  The joy was found in what God would accomplish through His suffering.

I wonder if we are willing to accomplish God’s will if it means suffering in our own lives?  That is the example Jesus set for us to follow.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- June 13, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).  There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.  When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.  Above his head they placed the written charge against him:  THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.” (Matthew 27:32-38)

Simon, the soldiers, and the two robbers were just bit parts in the greatest drama of all time.  They had no idea what was happening that day.  They must each have been wrapped up in their own world and their own problems.

Simon was just an innocent bystander.  Was he there as part of the crowd calling for Jesus’ death?  Was he a curious onlooker wondering what all of the excitement was about?  Was he just someone passing by who got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time?  Who knows why he was there or whether he left the scene after he’d done his duty without ever realizing what he had been involved in.  He probably grumbled the whole way about the interruption to his plans.  He was next to the King, carrying His load for Him, and yet Simon may well have never known it.

The soldiers were just doing their jobs.  It was a horrible job, executing criminals, but it was their assigned duty.  Some of the difficulty was eased by the chance to gamble for the clothes of the executed.  Mostly it was just a boring job, filled with cries of agony.  Little did they realize that day that the cries they heard came from the Son of God.

Simon and the soldiers were so close to Deity, but they probably never knew it.  I wonder how often we miss something God is doing around us because we are so wrapped in our in own world and our own problems?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- June 12, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.  At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you:  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’  For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.  While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message:  'Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.’  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.  ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor.  ‘Barabbas,’ they answered.  ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked.  They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’  ‘Why?  What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” (Matthew 27:15-23)

It was the most horrible miscarriage of justice in the history of the world.  An innocent man was to be executed.  And what made it even worse was that the judge knew the man was innocent and sent him to be executed anyway!

Pilate was a very weak man.  He knew there was no evidence against Jesus.  His wife had warned him about the innocent man.  But Pilate was not willing to make the crowd angry.  He relied too much on the support of the crowd in order to keep his position.  If the crowd turned against him, Caesar might well remove him from his place, or worse.  And so, he gave in to what the crowd wanted.

He was on the judge’s seat.  A judge who pronounced judgment based upon what the crowd wanted.  That’s not the kind of judge I want!

Thank God that we have a Judge who will pay no attention to the crowd.  The only voice He’ll listen to is the One who pleads on our behalf!

And remember, the crowd is often wrong.  But there is One who will never lead you away from what is right!

His, by Grace,

Steve