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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Kevin Corbin

  • Murder – death of Jesus for our sake

    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
  • Complaining? Turn it to praise.

    Complaining? Turn it to praise.

    We live in Abbotsford, BC, in the Lower Mainland. That means rainy winters, and it’s raining this morning. A few people at church yesterday (including me) were complaining about how wet the weather had been. So, I set myself on a quest to find out how much rain we had so far this year. Okay, not really a quest per se; I went online and looked.

    In January, we had 178mm (7 inches) of rain. That’s enough to fill 1.5 average Vancouver umbrellas. That’s a lot of moisture, but…

    The average rainfall for Abbotsford in January is 200 mm, so it has actually been drier than average. I guess we had no real reason to complain. Then I remember where we used to live and converted the rain to snowfall, about 5 inches. That’s enough to bring the Lower Mainland to a full stop if it fell at once, and it’s hardly noticeable in many places.

    Either way, there was no reason for complaining. It amazes me how often we can fall into complaining, even over first-world problems. There is something in the fallen human condition that seems determined to look at the world through darkened lenses and tell one another how bad things are.

    It’s nothing new. The Israelites in the wilderness complained about hunger. The Lord visibly and miraculously provided their daily bread. They still found reason to complain and wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. We are fickle people.

    Compare that to the way the Bible tells us we ought to be.

     Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5-18 ESV

     “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”  Psalm 136:1 ESV

    “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” Job 1:21 ESV

    We often forget or fail to notice the many things we have to be grateful for. Some people keep a gratitude journal, where, at the end of the day, they note all the blessings, large and small, for that day. Others post an image of something they are grateful for on their social media page daily.

    There are many things to be grateful for. Even our street people have better living conditions than many people in the world. By and large, North Americans are still wealthier than the majority of people worldwide and across generations.

    If we are believers, our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God. We are the recipients of His love and mercy. He walks with us in all our trials. The Spirit can intercede for us and more.

    It’s time to take some time and reflect on our blessings. As the old song says, “Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings and see what God has done.”

    Instead of being people who complain, let’s remember how blessed we are, despite our circumstances, and praise God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Grateful in every situation

    Some thoughts on finding a good church

    Find a good church

    Live in Abbotsford? There are many good churches. This is where I attend.

    Rebound Stronger – How trials build unshakeable faith