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

2009 – Day 216.Aug 05 – Life Is Difficult, … No, Unfair

Blogger’s Note: Today I follow Pastor Swindoll into his study of the life of Job in Great Days with the Great Lives. I look forward to another study of Job, … one character in the Bible whom almost anyone can identify. We’ve all had challenges and difficult circumstances in life. Well, maybe they weren’t as horrid as Job’s; but how he reacted is a study in faithfulness and how believer’s can grow closer to God through trials and tribulations. I hope you’ll consider coming along daily with me in this study.

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Passage of the Day: Job 1: 1 – 12 … Linked for study …

My Journal for Today: You may have studied this amazing character study in the Bible before. Preachers often use it to teach on faith in the face of trials or tribulations. And that is primarily because almost everyone can identify with Job. We all have experienced some of what Job is going to experience in upcoming portions of this Scriptural account. We’re just introducing the man today; and one thing becomes quite apparent.

Job didn’t deserve any of what he’s about to face in his life. So, not only, as my title for this devotion implies, was Job’s trial to be DIFFICULT, it was downright UNFAIR. And often that’s how we find ourselves, … facing circumstances which come against us which we don’t deserve. And here was an exemplary believer in God, one who walked the walk of faith, … not just some of the time, but all the time. He was the best of God’s best; … and yet, we look what happens to him.

Satan is given an almost free reign to take away almost everything from our hero, Job; and as we’ll read, Job becomes homeless, penniless, childless, and physically broken. And as Swindoll, points out, when you read the entire book of toil for Job, God goes silent and doesn’t show up again in the Book until chapter 38. And anyone who’s ever read or studied Job has to ask himself or herself, “How would I respond if I were Job? … Would my faith remain as his did if I lost some, let alone all, of what God had given me?”

We’re going to be exploring some of those issues in forthcoming study. But today, let’s just establish the precedence that life can be unfair; and we’re going to face trials and tribulations, many of which we may not deserve. And so, as we study the life of Job, in some degree we’re looking into a mirror of truth about life and our own personal trials. And through Job we can rehearse, by identification, some of the circumstances of loss we may experience and much of the pain of separation from God we may feel in such moments. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather do this in a biblical study of Job rather than have to learn the lessons first hand through the realities of being like Job.

Therefore, on this first day of my probe into the life of Job, I must admit, that I will pray never to be like Job. I’m a chicken! However, I will pray to respond as he did in the face of trials; and, … I do know it’s purposeful and productive to undertake this study. So, if you come along, let’s pray that we grow closer to God and become more like our Lord through this study.

My Prayer for Today: Father, to some degree I know what lies ahead; and I will never pray to be as Job was in circumstances; but I will ever pray to be like him in faith. Help me grow from this study, Lord. Amen