Judges 17-18; Mark 15; Psalm 89

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) Mixing elements of true worship of God with practices unacceptable to Him is man’s attempt to bring him God’s favor. In dry times when I cannot feel God or hear Him, I try desperately to control my negative thoughts, often using the coping strategies so common now. I listen to calming music, practice breathing techniques, and use muscle relaxation exercises to ease the tension that grips my shoulders. Yet only when I meditate on God’s word do I receive the physical relief and quietness of soul that I seek.

There are other times, however, when the pressures of work, concerns for family, and health issues pour over me. I can relate to the lament of Ethan the Ezrahite in the Psalms. “Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” (Psalm 89:47-48) My fears rise, and I am in danger of becoming despondent and disillusioned. In answer to my cries for help, God’s Holy Spirit prompts me to look to God for deliverance, to surrender to His will, and to wait.

I am strengthened and reassured once more remembering how God demonstrated His faithfulness and fulfilled His promises to save us. Not at our expense, though we may suffer. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son paid the ultimate price for our ambivalence and unbelief, to deliver us from the power of the grave, and without a doubt, to show God’s favor to us all.

For Christ was arrested while praying in a garden to God the Father; charged with blasphemy by religious leaders, condemned though innocent by political rulers, scourged by soldiers to the point of death, mocked, spat on, and forced to wear a thorny crown. This before dragging His own cross up a hill where He was nailed to its wood and hung there until dead. (Mark 15:9-33)

Of course, crucifixion was not the end of an historical account of Christ…nor are my troubles left hopelessly in the dark. But remembering the darkness of that bitter Friday is as necessary to me as envisioning Christ’s brilliant burst from the tomb. For through it all, my spirit is lifted with that as the Apostle wrote, “…neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, 39)

Father God, I cannot fathom the love You have for me. You would allow Your own Son to suffer to bring me near to You forever. I adore You; I trust You; I worship You. Please forgive me if I fail to obey Your prompting or to speak Your word. Let the strength of my testimony be that You have saved me and filled me with Your steadfast love. Christ Jesus, there is no other name but Yours by which I am saved.

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Mark 14:12-15:47

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.” Mark 14:22-25 NLT

This is such a familiar scene that I can miss the significance of it. Images of paintings come to mind of Jesus sharing an intimate meal with the disciples before his death. He is inviting me to the table as well. To sit in His presence and remember His sacrifice. To feast on His goodness.

“And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!” Mark 15:37-39 NLT

Dear Father, thank you for making a way for me to enter your presence. You love me with an everlasting love. I pray that I would live from the place of being your Beloved. Amen.

Jesus said, “I Am.” And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Mark 14:62 NLT

Amy(amyctanner)

Deuteronomy 28; Mark 15:27-47

I have a hard time convincing some of the people I talk to that God is a loving Father who desires to give us the very best of His love through salvation, spiritual gifts, material gain, family, friends, honorable positions, victory over enemies, and just through being called His own people.  Even though anyone can read these promises in the 15 verses of Deuteronomy 28:1-15, there follows 42 verses of curses outlined by God that a majority of people identify Him with – just waiting to act out these curses on them. To be honest, when I read these curses, I shudder to think the God that I am in love with could write such horrible pronouncements. Take verses 53-57 which describe how when a town is besieged by the enemy that the fathers will eat the flesh of their own children; what could be worse? Yet, history of Israel reveals that this event actually did happen during a dark period of turning away from God.

So why does God spend only 15 lines of conversation to woo us, only to pound out 42 verses of what will happen if we try to walk away?  I think the answer lies in the story of the Crucifixion.

If we focus on the agony of the Cross which Jesus Christ suffered, we may understand the hellish torture that he withstood until all was accomplished.  The purpose of the Crucifixion, as planned by God, agreed and performed by Jesus Christ, and energized by the Holy Spirit was for Jesus to take on all these curses of disobedience for our sakes.

I hear this in the description of Christ dying on the Cross as told by Mark. Christ called out several times in a loud voice.  He did not say, “Oh, my hands, my feet, my head – they hurt!”  He cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” He could barely speak due to the swelling of His tongue, so He cried out, “I thirst.” When He said, “It is finished,” he did not whisper it, but “Jesus cried out with a loud voice” before breathing His last.

At least once a year, I watch the Mel Gibson movie version of the Crucifixion called The Passion. I do this, not because I enjoy watching the re-enactment of this traumatic event, but because I choose to shock my soul and mind with the reality of my Savior’s terrible death. The curses that I want to hurl at the mob, the false religious leaders, the Roman military, and the sarcastic individuals that dogged Him issue out of my helplessness to do anything about what happens to the Son of God.  Yet we are told that Jesus Christ voluntarily submitted to the torture, the travail of spirit, and the moment of earthly death.  He laid down His life when He was ready. We hear that even Pilate wondered how He could be dead so soon (Mark 15:44).

So even though it may be hard to understand how the supernatural love of God could utter the curses of old, I recognize that these curses and more, including the ones I brought on myself, were experienced in this Son of Man-Son of God who cried out in a loud voice.  A voice loud enough to be heard by the crowd.  A voice loud enough to split the veil in the Jewish synagogue from top to bottom.  A voice loud enough to wipe out the curses of old, restore the human soul, and usher in this age of Grace.  Grace to the very ones who deserved all the curses. If you fear the God who told us we would experience the consequences of disobedience through these curses, remember that this same God took on all these curses for us the day that Jesus died on the Cross.

Deuteronomy 26, 27; Mark 15:1-26

And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. Mark 15:12-15; 25

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And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. Deuteronomy 26:10-11

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And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” Deuteronomy 27:5-8

An altar. The Cross.

Was, and is, and always will be…

The greatest sacrifice…made by God…made for me.

Extraordinary silence against accusations spat in His face.

A broken body swathed in purple; a barbed circlet on His bloodied head.

The weight of my sin on His shoulders.

A heavy burden to carry.

The King brought low, brought to death. Perfection crucified.

Giving everything of Himself. Always willing. Always loving.

His death, His life, a gift of grace, a first fruit offering.

Redemption. Restoration. Relationship.

He gives all, and all He asks of me is all of myself.

A living sacrifice, prepared to worship, ready to rejoice.

Remembering His goodness. Recalling His faithfulness.

No longer bruised and battered. No longer a slave.

Suddenly, His reaffirmed treasure.

Suddenly, holy unto Him.

Walk into the land of milk and honey.

Enter into God’s promises. Enter into His peace.

Blessings – Julie (writing from Sholavandan)

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leviticus 18-19; Matthew 27:32-66

The description of the world’s inhumanity towards Jesus is dark and horrific. There’s pure meanness directed towards this sinless man who had been beaten, tortured and now has his body hanging from nail pierced hands and feet. First it comes from the Roman soldiers, then the passersby, the chief priests, rabbis and elders. Lastly, the insults come from the two thieves dying next to him on their crosses. What was to be gained from such cruelty? The extent of Jesus’s suffering is too much to comprehend. I can’t even begin to understand the pain of those who loved him and followed him to his death on the Cross. When I read and meditate on these passages, I am overcome with personal sorrow.  This is the God I love tortured and  hung to die on a cross.

Our earthly lives are precious, measured and finite. Two years ago, I sat beside my father-in-law as he fought for every breath before dying. He treasured his life on earth and did not want to die. His death left me realizing the enormity of what Christ has done for me. It would be unthinkable to ask an ordinary man to give his life for mine, yet the very the Son of God did that for me. Jesus chose the path of suffering and death so that those who put him on the Cross could choose eternal life and enjoy the blessings of knowing God. His death and resurrection broke the power of all the cruelty man could heap upon him. Everyday, His love for me breaks the power of the sin that once claimed my life.

Matthews words send my heart back to an old hymn I remember sung during Good Friday services, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Isaac Watts says so well what my heart knows to be true.

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast save in the cross of Christ my God;

All the vain things that charm me most- I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small:

Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life my all.

klueh