Holy Week

"Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and struck him with their hands." John 19:1-3, ESV

The notes in the Reformation Study Bible states, "the roman scourge was cruel and sometimes fatal. The whip had metal or bone fragments in it to tear the flesh."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible says that "Christ's wounds take the sting out of ours" and also "see here the wickedness and injustice of the soldiers. Thus Christ's holy religion had been wickedly represented , dressed up by bad men at their pleasure and so exposed to contempt and ridicule...but see here and admire the invincible patience of a sufferer, the invincible love and kindness of a saviour."

Last night men attempted to ridicule Christ again with the program on the "Gospel of Judas." Don't be fooled. The real Jesus is not found there, but in Matthew, MArk, Luke and John. Worship him.

More on the Gospel of Judas by MArk Roberts and Al Mohler

Truth for Life

Listen to Alistair Begg’s daily broadcasts. His opening prayers alone are worth your time.

Please Stay Awhile

In Luke 24:13-49, Luke tells the story about the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. After they had talked about the prophecies fulfilled by his death, "they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.' So he went in to stay with them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight."

For all my family and friends today I pray that our first and strongest desire would be to urge Jesus to stay with us for awhile, to sit down and talk to us, to open our eyes and help us to recognize the treasure we have in him. We have to desire his presence more than mother, father, spouse, child, grandchild or friend.

Stay with us awhile, today, Lord and open our eyes.

What kind of Christian are You

This post asks the question, “What kind of a Christian are you?” It’s a very broad question, but the context is political. I’d consider it a privilege if someone called me bible-thumping in any sense, but very few people in my life know how often I read the Bible because I’m usually alone when I read it. However, bible-thumping has a negative connotation. I want any confrontation I have to be marked by love and kindness. I want to be the kind of Christian who according to John Newton, “believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of spirit.”

In his book entitled “The Roots of Endurance,” John Piper states that Christians should be “strong and durable as redwood trees, and tender and fragrant as a field of clover- unshakably rugged in the ‘defense and confirmation’ of the truth (Philippians 1:7) and relentlessly humble and patient and merciful in dealing with people.”

I want to be the kind of Christian who brings honest dialogue into my public life about the political issues in our world. I try to listen to those who disagree with me to see if there is any common ground from which we can attempt to make a consensus. I like to ask questions so that I can understand their point of view. I don’t intend to browbeat someone with the truth, but rather point them to the way of learning it for themselves so that it becomes a part of their thinking and habits.

My nonreligious friends have some idea that I’m a Christian although I rarely talk about it. They ask me to pray for them and they seek me out for advice. When I give my word to be confidential they trust me in that. I’m not very bold about coming out and talking about God, but I think I should be more free to talk about the most important relationship. It is easier to talk about politics and leave God ought of the conversation, but that’s not how I want it to be.

With my Christian friends I easily talk about my sins and faith. In fact, I choose friends who are serious about God and want to know Him. We don’t talk about the latest fashions or TV or movies. Rarely do we talk about politics.

I feel strongly about education, welfare, abortion, marriage and the role of government in my life. I am a Republican, but I don’t agree with all that they do. I pray more than I talk about these things. But I want to speak up more than I do. My concerns for our country are that we have actually taken diversity away by making our speech sanitized and inoffensive to all. Inclusive language has dulled our writing and made it awkward. It was so much easier to consider us all men.

But I am not defined by a political party and I do not want to be remembered as a good republican. I want to be known as someone who loves people no matter what they think or believe. I want to be able to speak the truth to those I meet and have them know at the same time the love I have for them in my heart. Because I know that the son of God died on the cross for me as well as them. I’m one sinner helping another sinner find the way home.

“A nominal Christian is content with proving the way of salvation by a crucified Redeemer. But the true Christian loves it, delights in it, glories in it and shudders at the very thought of glorying in anything else…Let all your joys flow from the contemplation of his cross. “ Charles Simeon

In John 17, Jesus' last time with the disciples he talked about love. I want to be known for the way I love so that his name is known:

"I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Think about it: this love caused a sinless Jesus to go to the cross for sinless me and you. We have easy lives with very little sacrifice. The least we can do in Jesus name is love our political opposites.

Simeon, Newton and John Piper quotes from John Piper's The Roots of Endurance @ 2002 by Desiring God Foundation.

Embrace the Mystery

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord,
Or who has been his counselor?"

Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid.

For from him and through him and to him are all things,
To him be the glory forever. Amen. " ESV Romans 11:33-36

It's not about why God is doing something, but what he is teaching us through the circumstances of our lives. "We will never understand God's ways... We can wander and wonder or we can worship...Embrace the mystery of who God is" James MacDonald

"Be still and know that I am God." Ps 46:10

Listen to James MacDonald on God's mysterious ways.