Everyone Needs A Barnabas, A Paul, And A Timothy, Part II

Everyone Needs A Barnabas, A Paul, And A Timothy
Part Two

Acts 26:12-18
“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority
and commission of the chief priests.
At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven,
brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground,
I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,
‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand upon your feet,
for I have appeared to you for this purpose,
to appoint you as a servant and witness
to the things in which you have seen me
and to those in which I will appear to you,
delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—
to whom I am sending you to open their eyes,
so that they may turn from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins
and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

Everyone Needs A Paul

Before Jesus changed him
no one could resist him
as an unholy fire burned
hot within him threatening
the faithful, scattering
them from Jerusalem
with the power of his
murderous persecution.

After Jesus changed him
no one could resist him
as God’s Holy Spirit burned
hot within Him declaring
God’s gospel message
of salvation in Jesus—
neither the angry Jews
nor the murderous Romans.

For God had a call on
his life, this onetime Saul
blinded on the road
by the glory of his Lord,
granted more than the
sight he had known—
now the Love of His
Savior afire in his heart.

It is an eternal necessity—that is, for each of us to reach the point in our life when we lay ourselves down at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him to be the Lord of our life. So, God has always had His eternal Gospel plan—having Jesus come to live among us on this earth. In so coming among us He lived the perfect life to reveal the ways of God among human kind. In so living He demonstrated how to walk in God’s Presence every day, looking and listening for His direction, seeing, hearing, and obeying His perfect Will. In loving God and every person, Jesus made clear the perfect Way. And then came His ultimate purpose—to willingly, obediently, and lovingly lay down His life for us, so that our sins might be forgiven. Then, Jesus arose victorious, declaring for all time the defeat of sin through Him. And so, the decision is in our hands and in our hearts. We must decide for Jesus or against Him. We must choose Heaven or Hell. So, the Holy Spirit draws us towards our ultimate decision. 

By God’s Grace He raises witnesses to the Gospel, who declare with their lives and with their words, the necessity of yielding to the Holy Spirit and making Christ Lord. This is precisely why we all need a Paul. For God raises up Paul and His similarly burdened brothers and sisters gifted with Gospel burning hearts, who proclaim the Jesus path we must follow if we would discover and accept the claims of Jesus, our Savior. How thrilling to hear Paul’s testimony. How blessed to see how Jesus caught him on the road to Damascus. How amazing to see how He spoke God’s Truth into Saul’s troubled heart. How profound to see the absolute change the Spirit brought in Saul’s life once Jesus confronted him, and won the surrender of his heart, mind, and strength to His loving Lord Jesus.

We all need a person or people in our lives who have experienced this miraculous transformation achieved by Jesus. We need people in our lives who speak the deep and troubling truth concerning the hopelessness of our present lives. We need bold and honest souls who love us too much not to interrupt our present course which leads us towards eternal death and destruction. We need people like Paul who will use the mighty Word of God to speak the truth we must heed lest we die forever. We need people like Paul who worry little about what we think of them, so that they say the hard things about our sinfulness we need to hear. We need people like Paul who stick with us as we come to Jesus and begin life in His service, so that when we falter, they point us to Jesus and His outstretched, loving hand to take our own and raise us up, dust us off, and lead us back onto His pathway leading towards Heaven, blessed eternally, in the presence of Jesus.

I believe you are blessed as I am, to look back on life and recognize those people like Paul God placed along your way. I still thank God for my own Father and Mother, who invited our Pastor to talk with my older brother and me about our need for Jesus. He came to our house and explained in a way we could understand even as young boys, our need for Jesus as our Savior. I do not recall his actual words, but I do know he did so clearly and that he neither frightened nor confused us. He simply gave us the Gospel facts. That very day the Holy Spirit opened up Ray’s heart, and he made his decision to make Jesus His Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit continued working, based on our Pastor’s witness, until the words of the hymn, “Oh, why not tonight?” one Sunday evening, pierced my heart with my need for Jesus. And so, that very night I prayed with the Pastor and gave my life to Jesus.

Not only did I need the Pastor to show me the way to Jesus and salvation. I needed those who would lead me and guide me in Jesus’ perfect way for me. Not only did Paul show people in his life the way to Jesus and salvation. He taught them  and exhorted them to follow in the path the Lord Jesus laid before them. When they wandered from truth, He forcefully and lovingly showed them the way back to Jesus. Even in the life of the Apostle Peter, and in the life of his dear friend and co-laborer Barnabas, Paul proclaimed clearly the truth about the Jesus Way, and corrected them if they wandered. In my long life I have needed such bold and loving correction, and God has, of course, provided Paul’s to admonish me. I praise God for pastors, certainly (including my present pastor), Bible teachers (including one presently teaching a group of us in Galatians), missionary colleagues, Nigerian and Nigerien Christian brothers and sisters, and my dear wife, just to name a few. They have not allowed me to wander far, and have kept me on the Jesus path, the only path to the life filled with obedience and joy in our blessed Lord Jesus.

I Needed A Gospel Witness

There was a time in my life
when I was in danger
of choosing the wrong
and the dangerous,
self-centered way
rather than God’s loving,
His perfect Way for me.

I needed a Gospel Witness
who would in obedience
take the time to show
me God’s perfect way in
Jesus to center
my heart Making Him my
Lord on the Way to Heaven.

And as I have walked all these years
along His Good Way blessed
with further witnesses
He has lovingly kept
leading me back
when I’ve wandered—so
I praise Him forever.

Everyone Needs A Barnabas, A Paul, And A Timothy

Everyone Needs A Paul, A Barnabas, And A Timothy
Part One: Barnabas

Acts 4:36-37: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus,
whom the apostles called Barnabas
(which means “son of encouragement”),
sold a field he owned
and brought the money and
put it at the apostles’ feet.

Everyone Needs A Barnabas

Everyone needs a Barnabas,
a loving and faithful believer
who joyfully serves our Lord Jesus
while encouraging, teaching,
believing, inspiring, caring,
challenging and building
your faith in the Master
as you become His Disciple.

Even the great Apostle Paul
needed His brother in the Lord, His
fellow Apostle in Antioch, 
His missionary companion
living in the midst of travels,
travails, welcoming new
 believers, establishing
churches, facing persecution. . .

. . .Challenging each other to stand
on the Word, even in declaring
God’s Truth, pointing together 
the Church to faith in Jesus over
works of the Law—remaining 
true to the Gospel to defend
Gentile believers in Antioch
before the leaders in Jerusalem . . .

We all need a Savior, indeed. What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus. He loves us. He calls us. He welcomes us. He redeems us. He leads us. He prepares us. He takes us home to Heaven. We will spend eternity expressing our gratitude forall He does. 

He does not leave us alone. He surrounds us with His own people, gifted and equipped and called to walk alongside us in the mystery of growing in Him toward maturity in His Kingdom of Love and Light and Life. Bible teachers often express this by saying we (as believers) need a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy.

I am going to rearrange that order, beginning  with Barnabas, rather than Paul, and finally Timothy. While we all definitely need a Paul, I believe we would never find our own Paul, for they are rare, indeed; if there were no “Barnabas-es” to provide fellowship, encouragement, support, and camaraderie. I am reminded of the new believer, Saul, who had terrorized the church in Jerusalem and beyond—in many ways making himself their chief persecutor. Then, after Jesus literally blinded him with conviction, and he came to belief in Damascus, Saul needed someone to stand up for him among the Disciples in Jerusalem, Barnabas did stand up for him. And when Barnabas needed a co-laborer in Antioch, he went and found Saul in Tarsus.  Surely he was sent by the Holy Spirit on a divine mission to bring into ministry Saul who would become the mighty Apostle Paul.

Because Paul’s redemption had been so startling, the church leaders in Jerusalem found it difficult to believe that their greatest persecutor had now become a sincere believer, himself. So, we read in Acts 9:27; Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. Barnabas put his good reputation on the line to stand up for Saul and the genuineness of his faith in Jesus. 

Acts 11: 25-26: So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Later, as Barnabas worked with the church in Antioch, he realized he needed a co-leader, so he went to find Saul in Tarsus. He brought him back, and they led the work together as God did amazing work using the two of them in seeing many called into ministry through the church where believers were first called Christians. In Acts 11 and 12 we read that Barnabas and Saul were sent with gifts to help feed the believers in Judea during a time of famine. Then they returned to Antioch together, with John Mark, thought to be a cousin of Barnabas. 

Acts 13:1-4: Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seluecia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. So, amongst the prophets ministering in the Antioch church, the Holy Spirit called two of them to become missionaries in Cyprus and beyond. Interestingly it seems that as they began their work, Barnabas was the leader, but as they moved more and more into the Gentile world, Saul was called by his gentile name, Paul, and assumed more and more of the leadership role. Yet, they worked as a team, along with Mark, who accompanied them. Those who take the Gospel around the world today still find that pairs of missionaries generally do better than those who work alone. 

I know I have certainly been blessed to have “Barnabas-es” supporting, encouraging, correcting and pushing me to fulfill the Call of God in my life. I think of Marsha Eichenberg Cooke, who mentored me through four years of summer missions. Something like a Drill Instructor, she taught me how faith acts through the Grace of God in the midst of troubling circumstances. Next Norman and Carolyn Mock in Ludowici Georgia, two of the “loving-est” folks I have ever known, helped me grow up as I lived and taught and served alone for the first time. In Nigeria one of my first discipleship group members, Mike Tosan, taught me how deep, deep faith can overcome all obstacles, and bear fruit for God. And then as Becky later joined me there, Don and Gwen Reece both loved and challenged us to see how far God would take us in serving Him. In Niger an eighty year-old volunteer who deeply loved God’s Word, Jim Kelly, taught me so much about the faithfulness of God. Each of these, in his or her own way, did what Barnabas did for Paul—they modeled for me how we can and must depend on God as He calls us into and develops us for His service.

Even as God the Father, Son and Spirit, exhibit so beautiful a manifestation of His Oneness in dynamic Love of our great God; even so, we never stand alone in our worship and service to our Maker. Each of us is but one within the Body, the Church; and so we deeply depend on each other as we grow in knowledge, in fellowship, and in service to our Maker, Savior, Spirit—three-in-one.

God Knows Us, He Sees Us, He Empowers Us

GOD KNOWS, HE SEES, HE EMPOWERS 

Where does a man go when he has been anointed by God’s own prophet Samuel to become the King of Israel after her first King, Saul? Where does he go even though he, himself, has delivered Saul from the great giant, Goliath? Where does he go when he, himself, has sung God’s soothing Psalms to quiet Saul’s tortured and disobedient spirit? Where does he go when he has performed Saul’s disgusting quest and earned the hand of the king’s daughter? Where does he go when in all matters he stands in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the people as a worthy successor to the king? Where does he go when he is the very best friend of the present king’s heir apparent? Where does he go after the king tries to pin him to the wall with a spear? Well, in this case, David labeled as “a man after God’s own heart,” flees into the wilderness. Often he finds himself escaping Saul “by the skin of his teeth,”as we might say. And yet he also finds himself choosing to spare Saul’s life, even when the king wanders into circumstances which would seem to give David the opportunity to avenge himself upon Saul. David refuses to harm God’s anointed king, even after these long years of fleeing so many attempts by Saul to catch and assassinate him. Finally the king, completely depraved, is slain by the ungodly Philistines, along with his sons, including David’s best friend, Jonathan. 

Surely, then, the wording of David’s Psalm 139 comes as no surprise when this mighty King and gifted poet, David, examines the role of Almighty God in rescuing himself, and the Kingdom of Israel, itself. In fact David serves as an excellent example of God’s involvement in each of our lives. We can say, based upon David’s spirit-inspired comments in Psalm 139,  God sees us. God knows us. He empowers us. 

GOD KNOWS US

How good it is that our incredible, our omnipotent, our omniscient, our omnipresent God, Creator of the Universe; takes time, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by day to know us. In fact He knows us much better than we know ourselves. He opens up paths before us according to His perfect knowledge. His love gives us the choice to follow Him. God knows our every need. He knows His provision for us in the midst of our greatest need. So He came to this world as Jesus to live among us, to show us the way to follow His path for our redemption. In fact, He actually gave Himself-in-Jesus upon the cross to cover the penalty for our sin and disobedience. Then He gave us redemption and deliverance when He arose victorious on the Cross. Praise God. He knows us.

GOD SEES US

Not only does God know us, He sees us. He walks so close beside us, He sees even our smallest, our most personal joys—He stands behind every bit of joy.  He also walks right beside us on the darkest days and becomes the light which gives us hope just when we need it the most. Wherever we go He never leaves our side. He knows our thoughts, our feelings, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our doubts, and our despair. His Spirit indwells our hearts deepening all that is right, but also strengthening, cleansing, and perfecting us as He deals with all that is wrong within us. He sees us always. He proves to us that He is always the same; yesterday, today and forever. Praise God. He sees us.

GOD EMPOWERS US

From before we were born, throughout all our days on this earth, and even as we
are delivered into His eternal Presence, God empowers us to complete the course He sets before us. We are so precious in His sight.  He is intricately involved as we are formed in our mother’s womb, molding and shaping every cell within us to become perfect in His sight. Each glorious day He writes into the book of our lives, a beautiful testimony to His Love, His Mercy and His Grace. Surely, the more we understand the depths and the goodness of His touch upon our lives, the more we have cause to praise Him forever. No wonder His thoughts become precious in our sight. No wonder the blessings He bestows on us overwhelms us like the grains of sand on the sea shore. No wonder we grow to reject all wickedness and blasphemy in His sight. Praise God. He empowers us.

When we experience the truth of David’s Psalm 139, we find ourselves, like him, overwhelmed with praise and gladness as we consider God’s eternal greatness and His overwhelming, personal love expressed inside of us and all around us.

HE MOST TRULY KNOWS AND LOVES ME

I can but join David as I praise Him,
I can but raise my heart and sing
filled with joy and conviction
as I raise my voice before His glory
and His knowledge and His power—
for my God most truly, faithfully,
He most truly knows and loves me.

Just like the shepherd David found Him 
in the valley as He guarded his
father’s sheep, and as he lay
by night under those stars who joyfully
praised Him, and as David found Him
ever faithful even as he faced
a lion attacking his helpless sheep.

Even as David found himself in the king’s throne
room playing his own harp,  the
Spirit used his sweet psalms to soothe
Saul, troubled by his own disobedience—
then he stood before Goliath
with nothing but a sling, five stones,
and his trust in the Lord, Israel’s great God.

Even as He sat accused on Israel’s throne
by God’s angry prophet caught
up in adultery and murder,
his heart broken by his guilt, sorely punished,
then redeemed and cleansed, redeemed by God’s pure
love and grace, exemplified
in a cleansing, dutiful sacrifice.

All throughout His life in the depth of valleys
filled with death’s fearful darkness and
on the mountaintops when God’s own light
so filled his heart with pure joy and at all
those times which seemed somehow in between 
both the best and worst of all his
days, God always loving him, proved faithful, 

I can but join David as I praise Him,
I can but raise my heart and sing
filled with joy and conviction
as I raise my voice before His glory
and His knowledge and His power—
for my God most truly, faithfully
He most truly knows and loves me.

Praise God! He loves me!!!

Proverbs For Life: Part Two

PROVERBS FOR LIFE: PART TWO

Our good God cares how we live. He made us for His glory as we are blessed by Him, and as we serve as witnesses to His Goodness before the world. So, as we consider these proverbs, we will see how He guides us through His Wisdom, and how He so perfectly blesses us and others. For instance, in Proverbs 17:22 He explains; the cheerful heart acts like potent and beneficial medicine—giving us spiritual, emotional and physical health. Then, as He often does, He contrasts His blessing with the pitfalls of following the world’s way of thinking. Those who do so find their spirits crushed by their own pride. Without Him and the perfect wisdom which comes from trusting God’s Word,  we are doomed to become, even as we live, like dried up, dead men’s bones. There remains only lifeless nothingness—our lives literally perish without His Wisdom and His Love.

We who know Him discover that everything we own belongs to Him. God places everything we have in our hands so we can offer it back to Him in loving service. He chooses to bless us. In following Him we choose to bless others with all we have, for He  has freely given all of it to us. He fills our barns to bless others. He blesses our every source of plenty—for He has others He wants to bless through us, and the gifts we have because He has given us so much. Jesus reverses this picture in the parable he tells about the rich man and his barns. This rich man continues making bigger and bigger barns for himself. He never finds the blessing of sharing with others, but when he dies he loses all of his control over the wealth he has hoarded. God freely gives good gifts to us. Then our first act in gratitude and worship is to share with others. In sharing we do so with delight, for he has given us the opportunity to share His blessings. 

PROVERBS 22:1

Actually, then, we discover in living our lives open-handed, always looking to give rather than to hoard, the depth and the breadth of God’s riches completely surrendered to Him and His purpose in blessing His world. Then His glory grows in the eyes of the world, and our own reputation shifts from pointing to ourselves into multiplying opportunities to praise Him before the world. Even when we earn a reputation before the world—we make it our testimony to point people away from us and to Him. He deserves our every act of love. He deserves our unselfishness. He deserves our acts of unselfish service given to those who need it most—all accomplished by His grace and for His glory. Then, as is His true Nature, He stretches our hearts to receive more and more so that we can share with others more and more until they, too, find that their hands are full, so they can share, even as He has shared with us.

You know, words are a particularly noble gift from God. Surrendered by our imperfect hearts to His perfect heart, they become a blessing for healing in the midst of those stumbling through the pain of grief. He alone can take our words and fill them with power to restore and to rebuild spirits broken by the cares of the world. He can miraculously take our words as a proverbial “anti-match,” neither sparking the fire of anger nor spreading the wildfires which threaten not only ourselves but those around us. How blessed and how calming come HIs Spirit-inspired words of peace. How blessed come those cooling and refreshing showers which bless when love’s declaration dampens the most deadly fires of out-of-control anger. God’s Love becomes the damper which conquers all of the Enemy’s fires so that we and all God’s children receive release and then recovery from the Enemy’s angry and dangerously flaming words—all his lies.

Ultimately, as the Lord’s Spirit strengthens the sensitivity of our hearts seeking His glory, we discover how dearly we are blessed by His own people who become our friends. Those who walk especially close by His side, often speak Truth they have received from Him. Even if such words, which come upon us hot from the altar fires of worship, seem to sear us with their holy heat. They destroy and ultimately heal any imperfections in us. And when the Lord does so, we find ourselves always stronger, better and certainly healthier than we have ever been. So, as we read in Proverbs 27:6 the wounds of a friend-in-Jesus are faithful, helpful, bountiful—overflowing with His rich blessings.

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible records in the midst of God’s Story of Redemption available to all human kind, deep, abiding wisdom, which guides us clearly in God’s path for our blessing and His Glory. When we carefully consider these Proverbs, and pray for God’s Holy Spirit to use them, they inspire and direct our hearts. We find ourselves walking His perfect path for us. May we allow God to accomplish in us His Purpose in Proverbs, and in all of His Blessed Word, so that His perfect light illuminates all our days. As we are so blessed, may we fulfill His desire to richly bless His beloved world while His Spirit works in and through us. Amen!

Proverbs For Life

PROVERBS:GOD’s WISDOM:Part One

When we read Proverbs we are reading the basic book of God’s wisdom for His people. We are reading the holy, the inspired written record of God’s advice for living good lives in this world. We are reading deeply spiritual truth for those who seek to live lives that fully honor God. We are reading solid advice for living day-to-day in obedience to God. So, as we read, we must do so with our heart’s keen hunger for living as God directs. 

TRUST THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Proverbs tend to be direct and straightforward. Proverbs 3:5-6 challenges us as people seeking God’s Way to give our trust to God with all our hearts, with everything we are. We are not to rely on our own understanding. In living our lives we are to choose God’s Way over our own. In everything we think or do or say, we are to turn from our self-dependence, and depend solely on God. Then we are promised: God Himself will make our paths in life clear and secure.

FEAR THE LORD: DISCOVER KNOWLEDGE

Surely God’s people recognize His being all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere-present. So, Proverbs 1:7 reminds us to fear the Lord; and to recognize His power and His greatness. We must never forget how utterly small we are as we stand before Him. If we remember our own inadequacy, we begin to understand the mystery and the grandness of His Way for us. Then as we follow in His Way, we discover how faithfully and truly He leads us. However, we are clearly warned: We prove ourselves fools when we reject His godly wisdom, and suffer for our foolishness.

PRIDE FIRST, THEN THE FALL

Proverbs declares; a person’s pride predisposes that person to fall disastrously. A pride problem always precedes destruction. Big pride problems push us over the precipice as we trip over ourselves and fall into the deadly chasm of fools. Enormous pride leads toward a cataclysmic catastrophes. When our very spirit unwisely chooses haughtiness, we set ourselves up for a fall that will certainly humble us, and might also destroy us. God has made us to glorify Him and not ourselves.

PROVERBS WARNS: GUARD YOUR HEART

Proverbs emphasizes the centrality of our heart in choosing which way we choose to walk, the way of Heaven or the way of the world. In our hearts we make choices which affect the daily direction our lives follow. So we must guard our heart, or perhaps, more accurately stated; we must call on God to guard our hearts—for only His righteousness can overcome our personal weaknesses. Where we are weak, He is strong. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) I am wise to look to Christ, and not rely upon my own strength, but rather, to guard my heart and and all that proceeds from the purity only He can bring to my heart.

STRENGTH WALKS IN PATIENCE

Proverbs teaches us that patience and self-control provide success in battle. Whatever form a battle takes, the patient and self-controlled soldier will hold the upper hand. Whether our battle be physical, mental or spiritual; allowing God’s Hand to have full control over our preparation and follow-through, bringing victory in the end. Goliath had no idea what He was facing in his final battle. David most surely did. He trusted in God, self-controlled and patient, and we all know who saw victory that day. There was surely fear in the heart of David, but there was no panic, because he patiently looked not to himself but to God. When we allow God to control our battles His victory will surely follow.

Proverbs proclaims the depths of spiritual truth built on the strong foundation of complete faith in God. Proverbs takes God’s perfect Truth and gives clear, down-to-earth advice which serves as our sure foundation for godly and productive lives for His glory and for our good. Wise folks listen intentionally and obediently to these Proverbs inspired by God’s Spirit. As we follow His direction in Proverbs, we discover His path for us. If we follow Him we will discover His blessed, His loving, His perfect wisdom.

Here Is A Story

We live in troubled times. Politicians and their partisans shout louder. Countries fight rather than finding common ground to serve all their people. Tyrants rule with prideful, selfish intent. In all these ways and so many more, the divisions in life have become much harder. It seems we see less and less cooperation and more and more competition. It seems the world’s “Win at all costs!” has replaced Heaven’s, “ . . . and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And so we find ourselves more and more separate and more and more alone. I believe it’s time to pray for more and more and more of God’s Way and less and less of the world’s. So, I offer this humble story for us to pray over and the condition of our hearts and souls in the midst of our strife-ridden earth. 

Here Is A Story

Here is a story
told in all kinds
of ways so filled
with hopes and with
dreams—no one can
hear it without
taking away
the very best
for tomorrow
and possibly
for our always,
forever.

There was a valley
and there was a
mountain and those
from the valley
were skeptical
about those from the
mountain while those
from the mountain
were doubtful about
those from the valley—
they lived separate
forever.

Then One came among
them both in the
valley and upon
the tall mountain
and He loved them
and taught them and
healed them and fed
them and brought them
together and joined
them as sisters
and as brothers
forever.

But storms blew on
the mountain and
and deep in the
valley and a
voice dark and ugly
raised questions about
Him—can you trust
One who gives
such gifts up there
or down there to
your enemies
forever?

And those on the
mountain and those
in the valley were
blinded by the storm
and turned away
from Him who had
been their very
best friend—He
He had blessed them
and loved them and
and called them His
together.

Then those in the
valley and those on
mountain forgot
their family
on the mountain
and their family
in the valley
as they suffered
alone in the darkness
through long nights
which seemed to last
forever.

Then again rose the
sun both up high
on the mountain
and deep down in
the valley and
the One sang them
a song which joined
them together
so beautiful,
so holy, so
joyful
forever. 

Come join Me
you people down
in the valley and
up on the mountain,
come Love your God
with all of your heart
and all of your strength
and love each other
for here are your
sisters and here
are your brothers
forever.

There Is A Wholly Beautiful Uniqueness

There Is A Wholly Beautiful Uniqueness

There is a wholly beautiful uniqueness
about each and every person’s life
lived right here upon this earth
day-by-day with faith in Jesus
who is the Son of God and the Son of Man
Immanuel (God With Us), the very
Lamb of God, the great I AM,
who died, was raised victorious
eternally over death and sin and
lives in every believer born again
a conqueror empowered
by the Holy Spirit who breathes
into every redeemed soul God’s
individual redemptive flame
lit as a light for the darkened  world
even as the Creator placed each
star in the heavens to dance their praises
for the glory of their Maker, the One
who not only lovingly
makes them but calls them by name.

************

God’s Holy Church mirrors the wonders of the galaxies and the stars in the heavens above. As each galaxy and every star has their precious and precise place in the glorious dance across the heavens, so every member of God’s family has their place in His living, growing, glorious Church. And every person’s unique place fits exactly in God’s eternal Purpose. We discern this from Scripture:

Genesis 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs it course with joy.
its rising from the ends of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

***************

And so, I take joy in looking around me throughout my present and my past from my own experience within my own faith family. I am so blessed as I  identify and appreciate the uniqueness, the shaping and the molding and the perfecting of gifts within my church family. Each individual fits just right in the midst of the beauty and  glory God reveals while the Holy Spirit unifies and perfects our shared testimony to our Savior and His Gospel—the salvation and glorification of His own children, His people as we worship Him and serve others in the world around us. It is His Glory and His Gospel and by His Spirit that He works within us as He draws people to Himself and His Salvation.

Even so I praise God for Bible teachers who so love the Word, they dig deep and seek the Holy Spirit’s leading as they discover God’s Truth to share in all its glory, revealing the truth for the Church, which challenges, corrects, encourages and uplifts us and His disciples. In so doing, God uses them to prepare us for His declaration and manifestation of the Gospel all around us in our community, and beyond us throughout the world. Both in the present and in the past we have been blessed by those who answered this calling and gifting in their lives among us, pastors, teachers, and disciplers.

And again, I praise God for prayer warriors, who both in their private closets and within our faith groupings pray as if the life of our church depends on God’s gift of prayer. IT DOES! Faithfully, day-and-night they praise God, they seek His Face, they pour out their hearts’ concerns for His people and for His world. They thank Him for every blessing He bestows as He in joy answers their Spirit directed prayers. They pray both individually and in community with others. Before all, they pray. Throughout all, they pray. About all, they pray. Anticipating all, they pray. God uses their prayers gathered in His Holy Hands as He strengthens, as He inspires, and as He guides our Church.

And then I praise God for those who powerfully declare God’s Truth. Our hearts, individually, in small groups, and as a faith family, sorely need God’s Truth—inspired by the Holy Spirit to lift us up when we are down, to correct our path when we go astray,  and to challenge us when we need to claim new territory for our Lord. How blessed we are for these who often speak the Truth that we must hear, whether  it sounds dear in the midst of our troubles, or even though it seems hard in the midst of our wandering. How blessed we are by their careful seeking out His Truth for proclamation, for the way they open their own souls for both inspiration and correction. How blessed we are by the long hours they spend in His Word, and in prayer, making sure they have correctly discerned His message for each of us and all of us in the midst of our need. How blessed we are as He feeds them, His servants, and all of us through them.

Praise God for gifted, called, and surrendered worshippers who so clearly reflect His glory before us. Praise God for their sincerity and for the beauty of their musical offerings of thanksgiving before Him. Praise God for the inspiration of their testimonies which lift us up as they invite us to join them in worship. Praise God for the power with which His Holy Spirit speaking in and through them draws us in our hearts before His Throne. Praise God for their willingness to stand before us and declare the goodness of our Lord. Praise God for the way God uses their offerings to open up our minds and prepare us for the declaration of His Word. Praise God for the way in which their songs touch us when we find joy even in the face of sorrow. Praise God for the way His voice uses theirs  to bring us healing when we feel hurt, discouraged, or lost. Praise God that we can join with these worshippers lifting up His Holy Name for all the goodness He displays.

Praise God for those who walk humbly and lovingly among us, ministering by their gifted spirits and personalities, serving us when we are in need. Praise God for how the Holy Spirit sensitizes their hearts to know when we need a word, a touch, a smile, a laugh, a shared tear, a helping hand, or a prayer.  Praise God for how they uplift us when we need His touch through them and their genuine and caring hearts. Praise God when their courage in ministry inspires our own as they walk beside us. Praise God when God’s own assurance of His Presence right there beside us becomes so obvious through the caring “hugs”  they share. Praise God for their knowing and obeying His Call when He summons them to love us from afar, or right up close beside us. Praise God for how their loving care testifies to God’s own loving care. Praise God, for such as these, His humble servants, are always there.

Praise God for those who heroically and faithfully and beautifully testify with their day-to-day lives how God makes all things possible through Jesus our Savior. Praise God for those who over the years never falter, though their paths through life may be more complicated than others. Praise God for those whose strength in facing this life lies outside the common path. Praise God for how He uses these blessed pilgrims as they inspire us and help focus our eyes on Jesus. Praise God for the privilege of knowing and serving and loving precious souls such as these. Praise God for how He reaches deep into our hearts and teaches us humility and gratitude and obedience through such inspired lives as these. Praise God for their genuine smiles and their absolute lack of guile. Praise God for their lives reminding us daily how we each must depend on Him and His faithful Love.

Praise God for those among us who keep our eyes from focusing only on ourselves and those close around us. Praise God for those who remind us that God calls each of His children in taking the Gospel to ALL the world. Praise God for those who remind us that He expects our full participation in Great Commission obedience throughout the world, through prayer, through our witness, through our ministry, and through our obedient giving. Praise God for those who remind us that God’s vision always takes us beyond acting as if we begin with our own, and then if we have a little left over; share with those beyond us. Praise God for those who go themselves beyond us, and calls us to support with our prayer and gifts their going in obedience to their Gospel calling, because in reality, their calling is our calling, also. Praise God for those who call us never to be satisfied until all people everywhere in the world have heard the Gospel for themselves.

Now, I challenge you to spend some time remembering and recognizing before God those who fit within your own faith family, these categories of those who bless you and others also. Thank God by name for those who share your own faith walk, who represent the different blessings which add to your daily walk with Him. Think present and past. Think of those close beside you. Think of those who challenge you. Think of those who inspire you. Think of those who confront you. Think of those who encourage you. Think of those who comfort you. Thank God for them, all of them. Thank God for Jesus who has saved and transformed them. Thank Him for the Holy Spirit who indwells and inspires them. Thank God as He continues to grow and bless and use your faith family in accomplishing His Eternal Gospel Purpose.

May this be our prayer, now and forever. Amen!

What Else But The Gospel?

What Else But The Gospel?

What else but the Gospel
in these turbulent times
can hold our hopes and dreams
in the midst of chaos and of strife?

What else but the Gospel
proclaimed on every page
through the Bible can open
up our hearts and minds and strength?

What else but the Gospel
recalls us to the Garden and
our relationship with God
based on obedience and trust?

What else but the Gospel
demonstrates with the Law
how in ourselves there can be
no holiness without sacrifice?

What else but the Gospel
gifts us with the Prophets
pointing forward to the One
who would fulfill God’s Promise?

What else but the Gospel
brings us the Living One
our Messiah to fulfill every
promise faithful to the End?

What else but the Gospel
lived and walked among us
illustrating God’s perfect Love
as he fed and taught and healed?

What else but the Gospel
lay down His perfect life
our lamb to bear our sin
and heal our broken hearts?

What else but the Gospel
rose triumphant from the
grave victorious over sin
and pain and tears and death?

What else but the Gospel
in Holy Spirit power
renews our battered
hearts and makes us new again?

************

Indeed, what else but the Gospel? What else but the Good News?
Jesus said it best. Just read His words in John 14:1-7:

”Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
I will come again
and take you to myself,
that where I am
you may be also.
And you know the way to where
I am going.”
Thomas said to him,
”Lord, we do not know where you are going.”
How can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him,
“I am the way, 
and the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
If you had known me,
you would have known my Father also.
From now on you do know him
and have seen him.”

When  asked by Thomas to show him and the other disciples the way to where He was going, He clearly identified Himself, not only as the Way to God, but also as the truth about God, and also as the life in God. He went on to explain to Thomas and the other disciples that it was only in Him, Jesus,that they could come to God. Then He said, to know Jesus was to know the Father. And finally He explained, to His disciples, and so to ourselves, that we all could come to know and see God in Jesus. In truth Jesus was pointing to Himself as the Incarnation of God upon the Earth, come among the people on the Earth to provide the Way to God, the Truth of God, and the Life in God. This is the heart of the Gospel: God loved the world so much that Jesus came among us, so that if we place our trust in Him, we experience the wonders of eternal life—that is, life in God now and forever.

God gave the Prophet Isaiah an incredibly vivid
picture of Jesus and His suffering on our account.
We read this in Isaiah 52:13-53:12:

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle  many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many, 
and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

It is no wonder so many Bible scholars refer to Isaiah as a fifth Gospel, or as the Old Testament Gospel. This prophet and poet beautifully explores the role of the suffering servant as the Lamb of God. It is no wonder John the Baptist so labels Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Isaiah identifies this servant as the one who bears our grief and our sorrows. In Isaiah’s words, this One seems to be stricken and afflicted by God.  But, he explains, this One is pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. As we know from the Old Testament sacrificial system, the sacrificial lamb, had to be perfect and without blemish. So, Jesus was sacrificed not for any sin He had committed—He had no sin. It was for us He was slain on the Cross. This is at the heart of the Gospel. Isaiah explains—everyone of us has failed to obey God’s Law, so Jesus paid it all for us all, once and for all.

Then, in Psalm 22 David provides a heart wrenching description
of Jesus and His suffering on the Cross for our sin.
In fact, Jesus, is recorded is having quoted this
devastating cry:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man, 
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him;
 it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.”

In this unforgettable Psalm David opens his horrific depiction of suffering as the suffering servant cries out to God with the plea, “Why have you forsaken me?” Here again is the heart of the Gospel: Because every one of us has forsaken God’s Way, we need a Savior. That Savior is Jesus upon the Cross. It must be Jesus because only He has remained sinless throughout His LIfe. Only He can pay the price for our forgiveness. That price is heavy. There is intense  physical pain. There is horrible mental anguish. There is intolerable humiliation. But most of all there is the experience of being separated from the perfect Love of God for the first time in all of eternity. This is the harshest punishment of all—the one that brings to our Savior’s lips that haunting call; “Why have you forsaken me?” Only He can know the depth of this spiritual agony.  Only He can know the suffering of having lived forever in perfect harmony with God, only to experience the loss of that precious reality, that peace, that joy, that love shared together as God, the Father, the Son, and the Sprit. It is a suffering much greater than we can fully comprehend. It is a suffering so great it caused the earth and the heavens, both to be shaken to their core. Herein is the dramatic Love of God acted out on the Cross of our Lord Jesus. Herein we discover the depths of the Gospel.

In perfect Love Christ died for our sins.
In perfect Love Christ was buried.
In perfect Love Christ rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures.
Truly, truly, fully, forever we are blessed.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Praise God! It’s Spring!

Praise God! It’s Spring

Song of Solomon 2: 11-13

. . . for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig trees ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.

What is this beautiful bravado
a daffodil displays like a forward platoon
as if defying the coldness of winter
and declaring the warmth of spring’s arising?

Can You Imagine?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no daffodils hurrying
with their bright blossoms
rustling bravely in the freezing
breezes while winter ends?

And what of the whitening pride
of the pear trees bright white
all in a line mirroring the clouds
shimmering silver singing sweet psalms reflecting the sun?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no pear trees whitening
like clouds in the heavens,
glimmering as the sunshine
glorifies the horizon?

Then come those glorious tulips
trumpeting the news: the Resurrected rules
while every garden rejoices
resounding with fresh, reborn, exultant praise.

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no tulips resurrected,
risen, their alleluias
resounding across the
world, joy arising?

What about the dogwoods so delightful
proclaiming Jesus’ parable, His death and
his rising sharing His Good News
scattered happily all around?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with all the redbuds and all
the dogwoods flaunting their
splendid array of pastels
scattered across the forests?

And then I think of azaleas
every blossom a jewel majestic
among multitudes of sisters
singing their choruses of glorious praises.

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers;
azaleas, begonias,
irises, eventually
lilies and gladiolas,
dancing for God’s glory.

An iris rises elegant and lovely
like some princess royal, holy to the Lord
bold witness to His glory magnificent
resplendent yet worshipping His Goodness.

Can you imagine a springtime
triumphant over one more winter
without this vast display busting
forth in resurrection
power, God’s reminder His
own Son has indeed arisen?

It seems like gladiolas stretch
their bright blossoms to the sky
reaching toward the One who
makes them all for the beauty of the earth.

Can you imagine the awful
price the Son as the Lamb has paid
carrying the heavy weight of sin,
enduring the absence
of the Father’s own Love
so we might in Him, live?

For us every flower abounds in praise
placed precisely in His Garden
a beauty among the beauties
who each and every lovely one
in joy bows down to the King of Kings.

Holy Week

     JESUS THROUGHOUT HOLY WEEK

(You may perhaps enjoy using these Scriptures and
thoughts day-by-by day this Holy Week
while we walk with Jesus
His last week upon the earth.)

Keep Your Mind On Jesus

My name really doesn’t matter.
As a Levite I am used to doing
the task assigned
by the Priests;
I am trained to do their bidding
while I serve as a scribe writing
down their lofty
opinions.

But this one time I am writing
about Someone more important—
I am simply
writing down
this Holy Week what I have
seen and what I have heard
in tribute to the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

************
On Sunday He entered on a donkey
as solemn and as grand as the grandest
of kings, as the
Prophet Zechariah
had written prophesying how Messiah
would come into holy Jerusalem
in God’s Timing—
His Kingdom Come.

Mark 11:15-17

And they came to Jerusalem.
And he entered the temple
and began to drive out those
who sold and those who bought in the temple,
and he overturned the tables of the money-changers
and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
And he would not allow anyone to carry
anything through the temple.
And he was teaching them and saying to them,
“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all the nations’?
But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Psalm 69:9

For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who
reproach you have fallen on me.

************

Oh, He looked like a mighty champion
for our people when, with the whip
in His hand as He
drove out the thieves
who had turned our sacrificial system
into no more than a scheme to grab
our coins for the
powerful.

And though they were my betters, so-to-speak,
in the Temple, I knew they would
hold His attack
against Him,
for they profited from the sacrilege
going on all all around us as
money changers
did their business.

Mark 11:27-33

And they came again to Jerusalem.
And as he was walking in the temple,
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them,
“I will ask you one question; answer me,
and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?
Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another,
saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say,
‘Why then did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people,
for they all held that John really was a prophet.
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you
by what authority I do these things.”

************

I must confess I rejoiced in my heart
as Jesus stood toe-to-toe in arguing
about His actions
in the Temple;
they demanded where He got His
authority, and then He proved His
wisdom when
He asked them;
”Where did John get his authority
for his baptizing for baptizing?”
Well, what could
they say?
For they had clearly doubted John
had Heaven’s blessing as he did,
but the people
admired him;
so they could not question John
as if he were some charlatan—
so they could not
answer Jesus.
Then He would not answer their
question for they had refused
to answer his—
He had them,
and these proud and pompous men
had to leave him with the people
who knew He won
this battle.

Matthew 26:6-13

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,
and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant,
saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold
for a large sum and given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman?
For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,
what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Matthew 26:14-15

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”
And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.

************

As the days passed by I marveled at all
that Jesus did and said, and at the
refusal of some to
see His Glory;
even His disciples seemed worried
and confused as He continued
to demonstrate His
Love for His own—
for when Mary overcome with her
great love and her gratitude
anointed His blessed
feet at Simon’s house,
they reacted to the price she paid
rather than precious love she
demonstrated
for our Lord.

And on this very day Judas, among
His twelve made his deal, selling
His Master for
twenty pieces;
I cannot imagine such a darkened
heart that would barter with such
enemies
for his Lord.

John 13: 2-9

During supper, when the devil
had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon’s son, to betray him,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments,
and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him,
“What I am doing you do not understand now,
but afterward you will understand.”
Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you,
you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him,
“Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

John 13: 34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:
just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

************

Such a beautiful setting for such an extraordinary
commandment for the Master to give to HIs disciples:
He began by washing
their feet,
and then He  challenged them to love each other
even as He had shown them a servant’s love;
acting  in love
as He served them.
John never forgot that powerful parable
(as He explained much later to me)
as his own
actions proved.

Indeed, God’s Kingdom being established
through the shocking events of this
week that would
change the world
would continue conquering nations through
perfect, sacrificial love, but not
in the ways
of our world.

John 19: 4-6

Pilate went out again and said to them,
“See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”

John 19: 12

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out,
“If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

John 19:14-16

Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover.
It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

John 19:30

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,
“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

************

It is almost too much to bear, the horror of it all:
As the trial proceeded I could not believe it.
The Governor
tried to save Him,
but His very people demanded His death—
How could they not see He was our
Messiah Promised
by our God.

Even Pilate could see He was no guilty man,
He was an extraordinary person like no other
he had ever
met before.
But our leaders acted like an ugly mob and
even proclaimed Caesar their king while
screeching
“Crucify Jesus!”

Pilate, the pagan, somehow recognized
the nobility of this persecuted man,
but it did Him
no good,
for the governor did not have the strength
to stand against this rioting mob—
He surrendered
to their demand.

But Jesus knew, He knew why He bore this
burden for all these people, good and bad
and He finished
God’s task for Him.
He knew the weight of our sin.
He knew the penalty for our sin.
So He took it
upon Himself.

Luke 23: 55-56

The women who had come with him from Galilee
followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment

************

The Apostle  John told me about these faithful women,
faithful in love for our Lord, and in obedience
to the Sabbath
Law of God;
they were looking forward to the first day of the week,
even from the day of preparation in the midst
of their greatest,
harshest grief,
for they had stayed and watched with His mother
and the Apostle John until the very end when
He surrendered
at last to death.

Ironically His chosen disciples were gathered
hidden, terrified in their grief and shock,
together alone
without Jesus;
focused upon the danger they sensed since
they were known to be His followers
who had best
known Him.

I recall myself how I felt the agony
of wondering how it seemed so wrong,
the opposite of
my hopes
now that the One who appeared so fully
the Messiah, promised for our people
lay now dead and cold
in Joseph’s tomb.

Luke 24: 1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb,
taking the spices they had prepared.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold,
two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground,
the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you,
while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb
they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James
and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,
but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home
marveling at what had happened.

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”He is not here, but has risen.” Here is joy
I believe with all my heart. Here is joy
bursting forth
like sunrise
filling up and overflowing all my soul:
here is joy that seemed too good
to be true,
but it’s real . . .
He is risen! Jesus my Lord and my Savior,
He is risen! I have seen Him! He is risen indeed!
And because He lives,
I live!
I live inspired by His loving power
bursting out from His borrowed tomb,
and because He lives,
I live.
Death could not hold Him, death could
not keep Him from His eternal glory,
and because He lives,
I live.