"Therefore When Pilate Heard That...."

"Therefore when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid."  (John 19:8)

The reason Pilate, "was more afraid," was the Jews' statement, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."  Now the ever-increasing fear in Pilate began in the previous chapter where we read that Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you a king then?"  Jesus answered in the affirmative.  So here we have this Roman politician, this Roman governor facing, "the carpenter's son," hearing claims and assertions which he was hearing for the first time.  The claims, and more importantly and fearfully, the Man in front of him, the One Who had caused Pilate's wife to have, "suffered many things...in a dream because of Him," told Pilate that he was also facing Truth Himself.  What a moment in history.  The time Jesus was before the Jews and Pilate reveal religious and political fear, the Jews, because Jesus claimed to be, "the Son of God," and, "The Christ," Pilate, because Jesus claimed to be, "The Son of God," and, "The King of the Jews."  No wonder some guards once said, "No one ever spoke the way this man does...."  A hearty Amen to that.

We can only pray that the, "was more afraid," would come upon all humanity, from presidents, prime ministers, kings, to family, neighbors, the "average" citizens of every nation.  I can only imagine in a small way what Pilate must have gone through in those moments before Jesus.  At times there was wonderment, at times, mocking, at times genuine confusion and fear.  Maybe this is a description of our lives before we surrendered our lives to Jesus.  If it is, it was good, was it not?  The journey from Gethsemane to the Garden Tomb and Resurrection was for you and me, for, "every kindred, tongue, tribe and nation."  Because of the Triumphant Life, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, you and I can lead a Triumphant, overcoming, victorious life, day by day, moment by moment, the right-now moment.

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You so much for all You did and do.  Amen.
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Obama mocked Russia as a "regional power."  Read how misguided he is at: jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"See, I Come Quickly"

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."  (Revelation 22:1)
If I may add my opinion of the Bible , what an absolutely marvelous closing to the, "Words of God."

At one chapter a day, it takes me 86 days to go from Philippians 1 to Revelation 22; so here we are, the last book of the Canon.  Please take a brief journey with me through these marvelous "last words" of God to us.
Verse 2:     "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
Verse 3:     "There shall no longer exist there anything that is accursed (detestable, foul,                      offensive, impure, hateful, or horrible...." (Amplified)
Verse 4:     "They shall see his face...."
Verse 6:     "These words are faithful and true."
Verse 7:     "See, I come quickly!" (Phillips)
Verse 12:   "See, I come quickly!"       "
Verse 13:   "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and                     the End."
Verse 16:   "I, Jesus,..am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning                     Star." (NIV)
Verse 17:    "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'  And let him who hears say,                             'Come!'  And let him who thirsts come.  Whoever desires, let him take the                     water of life freely."

You know as well as I do that there is so very little talk in the modern church of the "after life," or of that which Paul describes in Romans 8, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  I thought I share with you a little of that.  I can still see the look on my Grandpa Barnette's face, when his last words were, "The other side is looking better."  I can say with the song writer, "What a day that will be...."  It will.  The "through many dangers, toils and snares" of which Newton wrote will be worth it; yes, they will.  If we believe/accept these, "Words of God," our life can be full of such anticipation, such longing expectation, such, "joy unspeakable and full of glory."  Jesus is coming, my friend--------------- and we are "going"!

Father, in Jesus' Name, I certainly do not deserve what You have prepared for me, but I do so thank You.  Amen.
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* "Our idea of God is not God.  Instead, we ought to begin with God's idea of God, and God's idea of God is Christ."  (Jones)

* New prophetic articles at:    jhs58.blogspot.com
* Please remember to pray for our May mission.  We are not sure Sarah will be able to go with me.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Noah, a Preacher of Righteousness"

"Noah, a preacher of righteousness...." (2 Peter 2:5)

There is a film here in America called, "Noah." I have heard a lot of varying opinions of it.  Regardless, the Noah of the Bible was, "a preacher of righteousness," but not just, "a preacher."  He was a living testimony of, "righteousness."  How do I know this?  God told him to do something, something which made absolutely no sense to the worldlings around him, but, as Hebrews 11 tells us, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved...."  Now we could stop here.  This is the joy-filled life of faith.  Jesus speaks; we move.  It is just as Abraham, "By faith Abraham obeyed....And he went out, not knowing where he was going"; and neither did Noah.  He had never seen rain.  He was not near a large body of water which could support the size of a boat God told him to build.  Nonetheless, "By faith Noah...moved with godly fear, prepared an ark.., by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."  Noah heard, "The Word of God."  He heard Jesus, and in that hearing and obeying Jesus, he, just as you and I, "became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith," aka, "obedience."

Noah loved the Living Triune God Who had spoken to him in Jesus.  His life was geared to the Lord God, not his own pursuits.  He is mentioned in Hebrews 11, and thereby is a part of the same "people of faith" as you and I.  He is in the, "cloud of witnesses," and all in this, "cloud," are no personages but lovers of Jesus, people who ran their race, "looking unto Jesus."  The Amplified Bible uses some interesting words as to the working of Jesus in the lives of those mentioned in Hebrews 11, "Prompted, actuated by faith,..urged on by faith,...For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, who Architect and Builder is God....Abraham, when he was put to the test [while the testing of his faith was still in progress],..gladly received and welcomed [God's] promises....[Actuated] by faith Joseph...gave instructions....[Aroused] by faith Moses refused...the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life....[Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him...."  I can imagine that during those many, many years of building, Noah too experienced, "[while the testing of his faith was still in progress]." 

This is the Life in Jesus.  This is relational "religion," not something which soothes our longing to be "better people" for our own pride.  You and I can live as Noah, who, "found grace in the eyes of the Lord."  There can be other interpretations, but I think it all centers in a simple surrender to Jesus Christ, Who He Is, and whatever He says, and, in whatever life "hands out."  When you and I, "fix our eyes on Jesus," we can still walk in continual victory, "while the testing of...faith [is] still in progress."

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for bringing me into such a wonderful family of faith.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Who Has The "Increase" In Your Life?

"He must (literally, 'it is necessary, inevitable') increase, but I must decrease."  (John 3:30)

The, "necessary, inevitable," puts a whole new "slant" on it, doesn't it?!?  In the vernacular, "It's a done deal."  Make no mistake; whether you or I are involved, it is, "inevitable," that Jesus will continue to, "increase."

If people walk away from me with good thoughts about me, then I increase.  If people walk away from me with good thoughts about Jesus, then Jesus increases.  After a noted professor heard Charles Spurgeon preach, a friend asked him, "Well, what do you think of the prince of the pulpit?"  The friend responded, "I don't know; but Jesus Christ must sure be a wonderful person."  Spurgeon was a living example of the inevitability, "[Jesus] must increase."  

Jesus said, "You shall be witnesses unto Me," literally, "for Me," not to, or for myself; this can happen so easily.  If my testimony of what Jesus has done for me magnifies me, then I increase.  If my testimony of what Jesus has done for me magnifies Jesus, then Jesus increases.  From what I see in the Interlinear Greek, there is a very real sense in Acts 1:8 of, "I will continue to witness to the world in you, my People, My Church."  Jesus is indeed, "the Author and Finisher/Perfecter of our faith," i.e., our life style; Jesus is "The Prime Mover."  As E. Stanley Jones once said, "Jesus is the Word become flesh, and the Church is the Word which continues to become flesh;" therefore, since Father's sole purpose was/is to reveal Himself to lost, but very loved humanity in Jesus Christ, you and I are commissioned with the continuation of that purpose.  "It is necessary that Jesus increase, but (it is also necessary that I) decrease."  If we are to "win" the world to the Living Triune God, this, "is necessary." 

If Jesus is not the center of our lives, our teaching, our worship, our songs, then we are not the of, "the faith of Jesus."  Muslims use the term, "god," every bit as much as does Christendom.  The lost know no difference; hence, the ever popular assertion, "We worship the same God."  Such talk, however, is speaking only of a god.  None but the lovers of Jesus testify to the words of Jesus , "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  If all we hear in our Church gatherings is talk of "God" and songs about "God," any who come in among us could rightly think that we are all, with the world, one big happy religious family.  How many thousands in Christendom still sing, "Imagine"?

"He must increase."  According to the NAS Exhaustive Concordance, this literally means, "to make to grow," or as Strong's says, "to be made to increase."  This tells me that our "call," our responsibility, our mission is to see that Jesus is literally magnified to the world.  "....but I must decrease."  When you and I are witnesses to Jesus Christ, we decrease.  When we talk of God without speaking of Jesus, we increase.  Why?  Uncertainty about that to which we refer will always bring people back to us, because apart from Jesus Christ humanity can only see God as a concept, an idea of their own making.  This is not true, however, when the Church speaks of Jesus as, "Emmanuel, God with us."

This is the work of the Holy Spirit, "He will testify to," literally, "about, concerning, around Me."  This is it, my friend.  Do you want to know "the will of God for your life?"  Do you want to know your "purpose in life?"  Do you want to know joy, peace, and happiness?  You need not hear another sermon or read another book about it.  "....Bear witness about, concerning, and around [Jesus Christ,]"  When we so live, then our "increase" will come------------ in Jesus.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I glorify Your Name, the Name of Jesus.  Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

One

"....Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism (confession); one God and Father of all...."  (From Ephesians 4:3-6)

Quite frankly, some of the divisions among congregations in localities are as ridiculous as the joke about the two Presbyterian churches which were located on opposite sides of a street.  When a visitor asked the reason for the division, a local replied, "Well, that one claims Pharaoh's daughter found the baby Moses in the bulrushes.  The one over there says, 'That's her story.'"  Beware the "church" which promotes itself by disparaging any group or personages not their own. 

Seven times the word, "one," appears in the first few verses of Ephesians 4 and the word, "unity," appears twice.  And, yes, the word, "one," means, well, one.  And the word, "unity," means "one, unanimity," i.e., "agreement by all people involved, consensus."  I have heard over the years some people say that this is not what unity means, inferring the impossibility of the implication, but, sorry; the words mean one and unanimity.  Now the only reason we do not see this in Christendom is ego.  Everybody thinks their "statement of faith" and the way they do "church" is better than the others'.  This is why you hear people say, "This is the best church in town."  There is only One Church in a city, town, village.  In the New Testament it was not "The First Pentecostal Highway of Holiness All the Gifts in Operation Here Church of God at Corinth," and "The Second," and "The Third" of the same. 

Most people who say that the purpose of the fivefold minstries in the Church is to, "equip the saints," stop with that phrase.  Rarely, if ever, have I heard them give the "complete" context, "His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints..., until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him" (Amplified).  Do not allow yourself to accept anything less than this.  This is the "Perfection" of the Perfect One, Jesus Christ, His purpose for His Church.  Make it your purpose for "your" Church.  Contrary to what the Enemy would lie to us, this is for our best, the best for the Church, and the best for the world.  Many "blessings" have illuded congregations and individuals because of the disunity in Christendom.  I wonder if it has ever occurred to anyone in a town what that town could be like, if the Church of Jesus Christ walked in today's text.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I cannot do this in my own strength.  If I have in any way contributed to perpetuating the scandal of a divided church, I ask forgiveness.  Grant me grace, Father, that I may walk, "in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2