Category: Bible Reading

  • Murder – death of Jesus for our sake

    four crows on a tree branch

    Today, I saw a murder of crows in the tree. In case you don’t know, a murder is the formal name for a gathering of crows.

    Seeing the crows brought murder to mind. I started to think about all the murder mysteries I have watched and read over the years. They all had something in common, besides the body. In all of them, as far as I can remember, the victim was unable to prevent his own murder.

    There is one murder, however, that I know of, where the victim willingly submitted to being murdered for a greater cause. I’m Speaking of course, of the murder of Jesus, planned by the Jewish leaders, and carried out by the Roman rulers.

    The Jewish leaders perceived Jesus as a threat, and when they could not discredit him, they planned to kill him. They used Pontius Pilate to have him crucified, a most ignominious death.

    Let’s set the scene, before Jesus was taken to Pilate, one of his disciples betrays him and shows up at the Garden of Gethsemane with troops to arrest him

    Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled. Matthew 26:50-56 ESV

    Jesus willingly goes with them and submits to being convicted in a kangaroo court on completely fabricated charges. He is mocked, rejected, tortured, and eventually killed on the cross.

    Why would the God of the universe permit himself such indignities? Because he loves us. He humbled himself, set aside his rights, and came to earth to die.

    “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8 ESV

    If that thought doesn’t amaze you, you need to stop and think about what he has done for you.

    Praise God for all his mercies.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    For the Birds – God’s provision
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

  • Those Darn Rats

    a rat eating seed

    Our neighborhood is located directly below a large hill that has several acres of brush and grasslands; immediately beyond the hill used to be a farm. For many decades, it was a prime habitat for rabbits, deer, raccoons, birds, and, of course, rats and mice.

    When clearing started on the farm, we saw less wildlife; that’s to be expected. Now they are cleaning up the hillside for a future park, and the rodents have no place left to live. Our neighborhood is having a minor rat epidemic, and people are doing their bit to eliminate the problem.

    Now, I don’t have a fundamental issue with rats. They’re kind of cute, inquisitive, and smart. They can even be friendly to a degree, and I’m told they make great pets. I do, however, understand that they can cause a lot of damage and can often cause health issues, so it’s undesirable to have lots of them around. That means they must go. I found myself wishing for a mythical pied piper to lead them away (without taking the children later).  We’ll get them in time.

    The rats sneaking in remind me of the way false prophets can creep into a church. They typically come in innocuously enough, but soon the poison can spread through the entire congregation, causing incredible damage.

    It isn’t a new problem

    But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3

    Now, not everyone who comes into the church who has wrong thinking is a false prophet with a dangerous agenda. Many can be corrected with sound teaching and/or church discipline.  True false prophets need to be found out and removed from fellowship.

    The pastor, the under shepherd of God, acts as a sheepdog to help keep the bad ones at bay. 

    He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus 1:9

    The pastor can’t be everywhere at once or hear every conversation, so the sheep must also learn to be vigilant.

    How do we know who a false prophet is? By knowing the truth ourselves. That comes through regular bible reading and study, listening to grounded preaching, and learning good theology ourselves.

    We must do our bit to be aware and discerning. Let us be diligent to ensure we know the truth.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Some other choices

    Read the Word – choose truth over error