A Way that Seems Right...

John 18:12-27, Luke 22:54-62

      "...I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered."  Mark 14:27

     That night Jesus was arrested and led away. "...one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand..", "Then they all forsook Him and fled." (John 18:22, Mark 14:50)

     God's will, God's timing, fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

     God's will is not always what I expect, most often not my own will. If I had lived in Jesus' time I would have expected Him to stay on earth until He was old. Until all the sick were healed, and all the sinners made clean. Maybe until He had established an earthly kingdom utopia.  My vision would have been limited by my understanding of His purpose. 

     "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord." Isaiah 55:8 We are limited by our inability to see beyond the very second we are living, for surely the expectation of what we believe will happen next can be interrupted by any number of circumstances! 

     Peter was ready to fight to the death rather than stumble that night. He spoke brave words and drew his sword. But when God's will was done, and Jesus was led away, Peter denied Him - just as Jesus said he would. 

     For all our brave words, for all our determination to stand for Christ - no matter what that might involve, we too will stumble. We may deny. Because God's will may involve things we don't expect.

     If God allowed us to determine what was best, it would result in anything and everything but the best. Proverbs 14:12 says, " There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  Our will, our understanding of what needs to take place in order that we may spend eternity with God, can result in our spiritual death. There are not many ways to God- only one, Jesus Christ, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). There are no works good enough to open Heaven's door, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God..." (Ephesians 2:8).

     It was God's will that Jesus died for our sins. It is His will that we believe Jesus died for our sins. So we are left with a choice - do we accept God's will?

     

     

Darkness, Anonymity & Betrayal!

John 18:1-11

     In the anonymity of darkness a crowd bearing weapons, sent by the chief priests and Pharisees, come to forcibly take Jesus away. In the lead, His betrayer, Judas. Day after day they had seen Him, some may have listened to Him teaching at the temple, or eaten the bread and fish He miraculously  provided - now, only under the cover of night, brave enough to attempt this hostile act against Him.

     Not that the religious leaders hadn't attempted to lay hands on Christ before. In John 10:31-39 we find, " Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him." However, "...He escaped out of their hand." What made the difference this time? The darkness? A larger, well armed, group?

     Just prior to His betrayal, Jesus had spent an agonizing time of prayer with His Father. Some of the prayer is recorded in John 17.  Luke 22:41 tells us that He also prayed, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Jesus would obey God's perfect will. It was all about the timing- not only would God's will be done, but in the way He had foretold His prophets in the past!  "But all of this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:56) The hostile crowd could take Him now because it was the right time, God's will would be done, and prophesy would be fulfilled.

     Evil will still use the cover of anonymity and darkness to do its work. Ugly words that may never be spoken in person will find their way to the inbox of an unsuspecting reader. The dark of night works well to hide a thief going about his business. An anonymous tip may reveal the name of a Christian believer in a country where Christianity is forbidden.

     Darkness, however, will not prevail over light. John 1:4 tells us that Jesus is life, and His life is the light of men. The men that came to take Jesus away and crucify Him could not keep Him in the dark grave. Jesus rose again to bring light and life to all that believe in Him!

   

One Heart and One Soul

John 17:20-26

     I recently read a report that claims 78.4% of the people living in the United States profess Christianity as their religious affiliation. Within this 78.4% we find a multitude of denominations, and diverse views on most religious, social and political topics. In fact, we are hard pressed to find a subject that all Christians agree on.

     Jesus prayed that, "they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." Jesus is praying His follower's will have unity of the same type He and His Father experienced. A oneness in Him. So that the world will believe that Jesus came from God.

     So, how do we become one in Him in the midst of this battleground we Christians find ourselves on?

     How did the early Christians, from diverse backgrounds socially and economically, find unity? Acts  4:31-32a tells us that, "...when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul...".

     In order for the body of Christ, Christians, to have unity, we must begin with prayer. Prayer for forgiveness from our sin, and confession of Christ as our Savior. Then we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, living to obey God rather than our own selfish desires. One way we are to obey is by boldly telling the world that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind and is the only way to God. (Matthew 28:19, John 14:6). If we follow the example of the early church, it seems this is the way to be "of one heart and soul", as Christ intended.

     It is easy for us to be divided on the issues of our day. Our view of these issues should be formed by time spent studying God's Word, seeking wisdom from God in our prayer, and desiring God's will be done here on earth - even when His will isn't in line with what we consider our "rights". Perhaps then we will begin to know the unity that Christ desired for His followers.

    And...maybe then the world will know that Christ is the One sent from God...