Storms

Storms 

I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” (Psalm 55:8 NIV)

In the Upper Room I read the devotional titled Safety During The Storm. It was written by Sharon Braner who lives in Oklahoma. I can relate to her devotional as I was born and raised in Oklahoma. She talked about their storm cellar, as a safe place, that protected her family from raging tornadoes.   Our neighborhood had two storm cellars that our neighbors would gather for protection during storms. 

My parents had a safe room built in one corner of their garage in their senior years as health issues kept them from being able to go to a shelter when tornado type storms approached. Cellars and safe rooms are necessary to survive dangerous storms. 

On our journey of life, we encounter many storms: terminal illnesses, our children making poor choices, financial crises, drama & conflicts.  Fear takes hold of our hearts and minds. Psalm 55:8 addresses God as "my hiding place". God alone is our spiritual and emotional shelter. Worries, and fear drive us to hide in dark despair. God comforts, turns chaos into peace, darkness into light, renews our strength, removes our doubts and puts love in our hearts.  Sometimes God graciously removes the storms. 

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

When you face storms, seek God, pray and trust His promises. He is our hiding place. 

Remember God loves you and so do I. 

The Broken Branch - King

The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”  (John 19:2-5 NIV)

There is a power struggle between the Jewish authorities, who demand Jesus' death and Pilate, the Roman governor who uses the occasion to humiliate both them and Jesus.  The focus of debate is the claim that Jesus is a King. 

This scripture begins with Pilate having Jesus brutally whipped by the solders. The whips were embedded with pieces of bone or metal to increase the pain and bodily harm.  The Roman legionaries are desensitized to violence. They are know for their cruelty and are feared by the Jews. They carry out Pilate's orders, but take their brutality further.  They weave a crown of thorny branches and jam it onto Jesus' head.  The thorns were most likely two-inch long and came from the acacia bush.  Even if Jesus had a full head of hair, that would not protect Him from the thorns penetrating His scalp.  Then the soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus to add to this mocking coronation. The robe was a costly garment and signifies that their cruel fun was quite serious.  Now they disrespect Jesus further by pretending to honor Him as the King of the Jews as they strike Him.  They are mocking both Jesus and the Jews at the same time.  

What is it about human nature that tempts people to "join the crowd" in wrongdoing?  How do you resist that temptation?  Exodus 23:2 - You shall not fall in with the many to do evil. . . 

John 19: 1-6 brings tears to my eyes.  Here is a man who has done nothing wrong, by Pilate's own admission.  Yet He orders Jesus to be horribly abused, and presents Him as an object of ridicule. 

How will you help people behold the man Jesus this week as he lives in you?

(Maybe by doing acts of sacrificial love, and by the words you say)

Oscar Wilde is credited with defining a cynic as "a man who knows his price of everything and the value of nothing". Pilate demonstrated this trade-off. He coldly weighed the price to himself of allowing an innocent man to go free when his Jewish subjects wanted the prisoner crucified. Pilate set aside the bigger picture of the value of Jesus, the value of right judgments, etc. 

Will we do the same thing, or will our behavior testify that we value our relationship with Christ more than the earthly price of following Him (Acts 5: 27-29, 40-42). 

Pilate and Jesus were real men. The soldiers were sadistic brutes. The blood on the pavement was really that of Jesus. The crown of thorns caused real pain. This all really happened. Even the forty lashes. 

Did Jesus have to become flesh?  Did He have to become light?  No He didn't have to.  He could have given up.  So why didn't He?  Because He is LOVE!  He did it just for you and for me!

Remember God loves you and so do I. 

Killing Jesus

Killing Jesus: A History
By Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

This book is packed with historical facts, Biblical truths, gives the reader an understanding of what Jesus accomplished and how He paid with His life.

Why do you think thousands of common people sought Jesus?  Most of the people couldn't get close enough to hear His message.   Christians believe Jesus' popularity was due to His message of love, hope, and truth. Of course the miraculous headings attributed to His popularity.

Think about people who have achieved worldwide fame.  They had outside resources to promote them. Not so with Jesus and His disciples. They depended solely on charity of others for food and shelter.

Did you know that in A. D. 313 the Roman Empire legalized Christianity?  This allowed Christianity to spread into every part of the Western World.   Did you know that until 610 Christianity didn't have any real competition?  In 610 Muhammad began the Islamic religion. This was the first meaningful competition in terms of numbers of followers.

Since the death of Jesus and His resurrection, He has played a continual role throughout history.

• George Washington used Christianity as a rallying point for his colonial army. 
• Abraham Lincoln referred to Jesus after visiting the graves of all the lives lost in the Civil War.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Based his entire ministry and civil rights struggle on the teachings of Jesus. 
• President Ronald Reagan picked up on the theme: Jesus showed how far our love should be ready to go - All The Way. He made it clear that he believed in the divinity of Christ. 

If you haven't read this book, I recommend that you do.  It will help you understand that nothing can stop God's plan for the universe.  You will understand the importance of Jesus Ministry. 

Remember God loves you and so do I.