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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Bible Reading

  • God’s Story

    God’s Story

    The Bible - God's Story

    I recently listened to a sermon that had so many personal anecdotes and unrelated attempts to be relevant to the pastor’s audience that it lost almost all relevance to the Bible. Instead of being God’s story and letting the Scripture speak, it became the preachers’ story.

    God works in us and through us, but He should always be the main event. It is, after all, God’s story. It often happens when we share our testimony, and it becomes all about us, rather than about what God has done.

    I’m sure every preacher has done it to some degree. I know I’ve done it at times with Gleanings. I’ve often heard it done in personal testimonies. We’ve all been guilty of doing that.

    The Bible is God’s story. It reveals Him to us and tells us of His expectations and plans for us. It doesn’t hide from the truth or embellish.

    The bible wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us. We have a place in God’s incredible story, but we are not the main characters. The world revolves around Him, not us.

    Now, please don’t think that I’m saying your story or mine is unimportant. Our Lord loves us, died for us and filled us with His Spirit. We matter far more than we can imagine. It just isn’t all about us.

    There is a sense in which we are like extras in an old-time epic movie. The movie wouldn’t be complete without the extras, but our roles are not the center of the story.

    From the opening scene,

    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day Genesis 1:1-5

    To the closing credits,

    He who bears witness to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21

    It’s about Him.

    We are blessed to have small but important parts, but the whole story is designed to bring attention and glory to God.

    Let’s try to keep that in mind, as we live under His blessings and tell our small parts.

    To God be the glory.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

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  • Gospel of Barabbas

    Gospel of Barabbas

    gospel manuscript

    Let’s talk about the gospel of Barabbas. It’s not some new book that’s been found; in fact, as far as I can research, historically, such a book has never existed.

    The gospel of Barabbas is the name I’m giving to a profound passage that appears in all four gospels. It doesn’t really have anything to do with Him, but it’s a great visual of the gospel of Jesus Christ played out in the life of Barabbas.

    It’s the night Jesus faces the mock trials and is condemned for crimes he did not commit. The Jewish leaders have pushed him before Pontius Pilate and Herod, demanding his death. Pilate and Herod don’t want anything to do with the situation, but the crowds become dangerously unruly and Pilate gives in.

    But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. Luke 23:18-25

    Barabbas was a bad dude. A rebel against Rome and a murderer, essentially a murdering terrorist. Yet the religious leaders would rather see him free, and Jesus killed. Further in the text, we see that it is fulfilled.

    Jesus dies so that a guilty man can go free. That’s a physical manifestation of the gospel. Jesus came to die so that you and I would be reconciled to God and set free from the penalty of our sin.

    We don’t know what happened to Barabbas after he was freed. The Bible doesn’t tell us, and his name isn’t recorded anywhere else. Did he change his ways? Did he continue as a terrorist?

    That’s also the way of the gospel. Jesus has done His part to set the guilty free. What becomes of that sacrifice depends on what we do with Jesus. We can accept or reject his offer of freedom.

    Perhaps, we’re not murdering insurrectionists. Yet, we are all guilty of sinning against the Lord, and without Jesus, there is no way for us to be free.

    If you haven’t already done so, allow Jesus to free you. If you are a believer, give Him praise and thanks for what he has done.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
    What about the “new gospel”?