April 12, 2008 … The Unjust Condemnation

Passage of the Day: Matthew 26: 65 – 66 … 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.

My Journal for Today: Sad, sad, sad! An angry, selfish “mob,” whipped into a frenzy by the Sanhedrin, the Hebrew religious and judicial leaders, … attempting to eliminate the One Whom they could not recognize as the Son of God. As I’ve said earlier, … it’s not that much different today with many worldly forces trying to “kill off” the Name of “Jesus” and “God” from the pubic consciousness. And it’s so sad because the truth of the words John, the Baptist in John 3: 36 …

SCRIPTURE: John 3: 36 … “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Oh how God would rather bring these “enemies” into a binding and lasting relationship with Himself; but by their anger and rejection, they bring down the very wrath of God on themselves.

Jesus was innocent then; and He is innocent now; and yet the crowd cries out, then and now, that He is “deserving [i.e., worthy] of death.” Oh the ironic horror that awaits those who surrender to this mob mentality. They cried then and they cry now for Christ’s elimination; and not believing in Him as Savior and receiving Him as Lord condemns them to a forever separated from the very God they reject … condemned into the very fires of hell itself. And to think that a little over a quarter of a century ago, I was one of those who chose to reject “God” in my life; but praise the Lord, His grace overcame my ignorance and stupidity. And my Lord, the Hound of Heaven, sought me out for brokenness so that I could come to see and receive Christ as my Savior and Lord. And here I sit, in my quiet place, seeking to know my God and my Savior as intimately as I can.

Yes, … some would say, “I just don’t believe in hell!” And to such I would respond, “You don’t have to understand or believe in gravity for it to be real; but if you fall from a 30 foot ladder, you will be convicted by the truth of the law of gravity.” One can reject hell, … out of misunderstanding or ignorance or simply, denial; but it’s reality will be there for those who are not willing to believe in it or it’s antidote … the blood of Christ, shed on the cross. Jesus is the Son of God whether you believe it or not. But I pray you do; and I pray you have accepted Him as your Savior and Lord. For one day we will all know the difference between heaven and hell … FOR SURE !!!

My Prayer Today: Your truth, Lord, is my assurance! Amen

Special Blogger's Note: It’s a special day for yours truly – my “re-birthday.” It was 28 years ago TODAY that I was, like Peter, allowed to repent and be restored from an angry agnostic who had lived in habitual sexual sin for over two decades and was seeking spiritual strength and renewal into my now life, almost three decades later, as an ordained Minister of the Gospel. Perhaps you can see why I identify with Peter so much. And any of us, as lost souls or backslidden believers, in need of repentance and renewal can run to our Prodigal Father, and receive the restoring love He has waiting for us. If you need that love, I pray that you will come to the Good Shepherd, our Abba Father, running into the open arms of the loving and merciful Good Shepherd and hear Him say, "I love you; ... now go and feed my sheep."

April 11, 2011 … The Unjust Conspiracy

Passage of the Day: Matthew 26: 59 … The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put Him to death.

My Journal for Today: The hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders involved in this travesty of justice exposed in Matthew 26 reached its zenith as the Sanhedrin completely perverted the Mosaic system of justice which their Covenant had sworn them to uphold (see Deut. 16: 19 - 20). Mark’s gospel account of this scene (see Mark 14: 57 – 59) even notes that the bogus witnesses who were called to testify against Jesus were not able to be consistent, which would have been required for Jesus’ conviction under Hebrew law. Therefore, this was an outright and blatant – AND illegal – attempt to eradicate Jesus of Nazareth from the social/political scene. But these players on God’s stage of life, in their faithlessness, were blinded to the reality that the very hand of God had them all in His script of the drama of the ages.

And today I must say that I can see many of the same “faces” at play in our world, pushing forth a worldly agenda to eliminate the Name of “God,” especially “Jesus Christ,” from every vestige of the public arena. Time and time again, with utter disregard for the Spirit of law and justice – even at times the letter of the law – these forces are figuratively “hell-bent” on the eradication of any public display of Judeo-Christian thought. We even see proponents of this thought movement proposing that the use of the Bible should be outlawed as “hate speech” when it comes against such a politically correct agenda as the “gay movement.” It has happened in Sweden already; it is happening in Canada; and it it’s definitely on the move in this country.

I fully expect to see this Sanhedrin-like movement here in this country to intensify in the near future; and we may see Christians in America being vilified, if not jailed, for expressing their beliefs and standing for truth as did Christ in the public arena. And the closer we get to Christ’s return, the more we will see this antagonism develop.

My Prayer Today: As Your last word says, Lord, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Amen

2010 – June 29 – Knowing What To Fear

Study from God’s Word… Isaiah, Chapters 7 – 9 … Passage for Reflection: Isaiah 8: 12 – 13 … NIV 12 "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The LORD Almighty is the One you are to regard as Holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, …

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith, my devotional teacher, posits an interesting premise today; and it centers on how we can tend to get wrapped up in conspiracy theories, which become fueled by fears of – and human empathy with – human greed and desire. We can buy into human conspiracies because we are all sinners and we know how mankind can become greedy to the point of being involved in conspiracy.

Yes, conspiracies do exist. We’ve seen them being perpetuated in our times as greedy men/women plot to take the retirement incomes in companies like Enron and others. We’ve heard many, many conspiracy theories being put forth about how JFK was assassinated or about how the lunar landings were staged by a Hollywood conspiracy being put forth to make the America believe we had landed on the moon. And there are those who believe, fueled by political fears, that there was no holocaust; … that it was all a conspiracy by the Jews to put down the Arab nations.

Conspiracy theories are birthed and thrive in overtones of fear. And we remember the words of FDR, who said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself;” and then he ironically used fear to conspire to incarcerate a whole nation of Asian-Americans into internment camps. Go figure the way we allow fear to drive our minds to believe the worst about mankind.

But as Dr. Smith shepherds our thoughts today, and in his words to put twist on what FDR said, ”We have nothing to fear but God Himself!” … But, … do we? … I think not.

I think we’re far too willing to buy into the fears of mankind; and to minimize what we should call “the fear of God.” If we but feared God the way we should, we would never have to be subject to fearing mankind or his conspiracies. My friend, I hope you realize, believe, and live out the truth that “… in the fear of the Lord is … the beginning of all knowledge …” [Prov. 1: 7]; “… is the beginning of wisdom …” [Prov. 9: 10]; “… is the fountain of life …” [Prov. 14: 27]; and … “… is riches, honor, and life.” [Prov. 22: 4]

But we don’t get it; do we? Certainly ancient Israel and Judah didn’t get it; and see what happened to them. Their conspiracies and political intrigue, spread by human and sinful fears, broke up the people of God and ultimately led to the judgment of God being visited on them by their enslavement and dispersal throughout the world.

But God has His own conspiracy going down. And He is perpetuating that great scheme in the form of His plan of salvation and redemption for His people; and a grand “conspiracy” it is for sure? And Isaiah prophesied about God’s grand conspiracy to save His people by bringing a sacrificial Lamb to be slain so that the shedding of His blood would atone for the sins of all mankind; and that is the only conspiracy truth (not theory) which mankind must hear, understand, and believe. Because when we do, we are saved!

It is the “Gospel Conspiracy,” my friend; and I hope you know it, believe it, and live it!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I believe in the greatest truth conspiracy of all times; and because I do, I will be with You in eternity. Amen

2010 – June 29 – Knowing What To Fear

Study from God’s Word… Isaiah, Chapters 7 – 9 … Passage for Reflection: Isaiah 8: 12 – 13 … NIV 12 "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The LORD Almighty is the One you are to regard as Holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, …

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith, my devotional teacher, posits an interesting premise today; and it centers on how we can tend to get wrapped up in conspiracy theories, which become fueled by fears of – and human empathy with – human greed and desire. We can buy into human conspiracies because we are all sinners and we know how mankind can become greedy to the point of being involved in conspiracy.

Yes, conspiracies do exist. We’ve seen them being perpetuated in our times as greedy men/women plot to take the retirement incomes in companies like Enron and others. We’ve heard many, many conspiracy theories being put forth about how JFK was assassinated or about how the lunar landings were staged by a Hollywood conspiracy being put forth to make the America believe we had landed on the moon. And there are those who believe, fueled by political fears, that there was no holocaust; … that it was all a conspiracy by the Jews to put down the Arab nations.

Conspiracy theories are birthed and thrive in overtones of fear. And we remember the words of FDR, who said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself;” and then he ironically used fear to conspire to incarcerate a whole nation of Asian-Americans into internment camps. Go figure the way we allow fear to drive our minds to believe the worst about mankind.

But as Dr. Smith shepherds our thoughts today, and in his words to put twist on what FDR said, ”We have nothing to fear but God Himself!” … But, … do we? … I think not.

I think we’re far too willing to buy into the fears of mankind; and to minimize what we should call “the fear of God.” If we but feared God the way we should, we would never have to be subject to fearing mankind or his conspiracies. My friend, I hope you realize, believe, and live out the truth that “… in the fear of the Lord is … the beginning of all knowledge …” [Prov. 1: 7]; “… is the beginning of wisdom …” [Prov. 9: 10]; “… is the fountain of life …” [Prov. 14: 27]; and … “… is riches, honor, and life.” [Prov. 22: 4]

But we don’t get it; do we? Certainly ancient Israel and Judah didn’t get it; and see what happened to them. Their conspiracies and political intrigue, spread by human and sinful fears, broke up the people of God and ultimately led to the judgment of God being visited on them by their enslavement and dispersal throughout the world.

But God has His own conspiracy going down. And He is perpetuating that great scheme in the form of His plan of salvation and redemption for His people; and a grand “conspiracy” it is for sure? And Isaiah prophesied about God’s grand conspiracy to save His people by bringing a sacrificial Lamb to be slain so that the shedding of His blood would atone for the sins of all mankind; and that is the only conspiracy truth (not theory) which mankind must hear, understand, and believe. Because when we do, we are saved!

It is the “Gospel Conspiracy,” my friend; and I hope you know it, believe it, and live it!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I believe in the greatest truth conspiracy of all times; and because I do, I will be with You in eternity. Amen