What he wrote...

January 8, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: Inscription written by Pilate; Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-22

BBE: John Chapter 19
[19] And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
[20] The writing was seen by a number of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.

The Jewish leaders got mad at Pilate. They wanted him to change the words, and he would not.  He said that what he had written was what he had written.  The words are important.  They tell us what Pilate thought of Jesus. yes, Pilate had to kill Jesus, there could be no king but Cesar, and he realized the Jewish leaders could have let this go, so he told them that as far as he was concerned, yes, Jesus was king of the Jews.

And He was, and it was said in all the languages.

And Pilate did what I should do. Declare Jesus kingdom to all that will listen.


Read for next time: "Forgive them…"; Luke 23:34

What is the truth

November 4, 2011
The Life of Jesus; read today:  Jesus before Pilate; Matthew 27:1-14; Luke 23:1-7; John 18:29-38

ESV: John 18:38. Pilate said to him, What is truth? After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him.

In verse 37 Jesus had just said His reason for coming, to bear witness to the truth.  Now I am sure that Pilate knew who Jesus was. I am sure that the politics of the era were all to familiar to him. Having followed what was going on I am sure he understood the teachings of Jesus, or at least have heard about them.  So he asks an interesting question. "What is the truth?"

That is a question that we all must ask.  As a Christian I believe I have the truth, not a truth. Some may say that I am judgemental because I believe that way. My answer is that I am not the one that judges, God does.

I may present the truth to some one and they may choose to ignore it.  It is no longer my problem.  Pilate asked about the truth and he had it in front of him.  All he does with it is to try convince the people not to kill Jesus.  He does nothing to try to stop what is happening.  Likewise when people hear the truth they can accept it as the truth, understand that it is a truth, or reject it.  My job is to present it, there choice is theirs.

Read for next time: Jesus before Herod; Luke 23:8-10

Secret Service

May 11, 2011

The Life of Jesus Today; Read - Final public appeals to unbelievers; John 12:23-50


John 12:42 ESV

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;

Years ago I was part of a start up church that met in a strip mall.  We had a long set of windows that let in a lot of sunlight.  Rather than spend a lot of money on blinds the pastor put up solar film on the windows.  This had a rather unique effect.  During the day time the light would be reflected and people could not see inside the building as they walked by.  At nighttime though, the light inside would reflect back into building and people walking by could see in but we could not see out.  The pastor one time joked that if you did not want to be seen going to church, that coming Sunday morning to the ‘secret service’ would be the one that you should attend.

It was not much different in Jesus day. There were people who wanted to believe in Him but did not want the world to know.  They lived in fear of what was going to happen to them if they did get find out.

In my day to day life, do I live in the ‘secret service’? Do people know that I am a Christian? Or do I look out for my self, and how I think people will see me?


Read for next time:  Plot to kill Jesus; Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2

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Unknown

October 15, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today:  Jesus goes to Judea by the Jordan; Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1

Matthew 19:1 (English Standard Version)
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

At this point in time Jesus was leaving His hometown of Galilee and moving on.  In fact, He had to though or around Samaria to get where He was going. My guess is that He went through it just as He had done for the woman at the well.  It was a shorter trip.  It is the area beyond that is interesting to me here. Beyond the Jordan was the political area of another Roman leader, Herod Antipas.  

Jesus was forever reaching out to all that would come to Him.  He could not let a different political climate stop Him from doing what God has told Him to do.  While I do not feel God is leading me to do so, people I know and love dearly have been called to do so.  Though I have concern for them, it is not my place to stop them.  The unknown cries out for them to go to and help.  

Read for next time:  Multitudes follow Jesus; Matthew 19:2
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One day

September 3, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Synagogue Officials Oppose Jesus; Luke 13:14 - 17

Luke 13:14 (ESV)
14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Seems to be that the ruler was a bit of a fake. He would help his donkey but not a fellow Jew.  I guess I am better.

I mean, I make sure that I help at and give to the church so that those that can find Jesus will have a place to go to find Him.  Or maybe I should be doing the work.  Maybe I am as much of a hypocrite because I do not tell others about Jesus.  Rather than make people come on the one day I should be going to them.  


Read for next time: Parable of the Mustard Seed and Leaven  Luke 13:18 - 21

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Be Blessed

August 10, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus Privately Blesses the Twelve; Luke 10:23-24

Luke 10:23-24 (English Standard Version)
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

What a time we live in.  I can only imagine what we would seem like to the disciples.  We have the capability to send Jesus message around the world. But for all that it is worth, they had the advantage on us all. They saw what happened when Jesus spoke. They did the works themselves.  If there were some way that we could combine what happened then with the technology from now, then we could see the world change.

The problem is, we have that ability.  Miracles still happen today.  People choose to see them or not, no matter if we use the technology or not.  People still have the choice not to choose Jesus.

So we still are blessed and we must do what we can to take Jesus to others, with or without the technology, so that they can see and be blessed.  


Read for next time: Lawyers Test Jesus; Luke 10: 25-28
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Are you fishing in a barrell?

Jan 21, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Teaches at temple in the morning; John 8:2

A wise man once said to me, if you want to fish, you are not going to find them in a barrel of water, you have to go to where the fish are. Now I do not fish, I do not like to eat them and I figure why catch them if I am just going to throw them back in, but the words are still true. As Christians we to often try to get our conversions in church. Why are we fishing in the barrel that has no fish in it, or t best, very few. We need to go to where the people are.

Quite a few years ago, a pastor in the Tulsa area started a non-denominational movement to bring all the churches together to make October a month to win souls. Why October in Tulsa? Because in October we have the Tulsa State Fair, Oktoberfest, college football and a few other things. The idea is to go to where the people are to get them saved. Is there a model of that in the Bible? Yes:

John 8:2 VW
(2) And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

Jesus was at the Mount of Olives for the night. Why didn't He just gather those who were around them and teach to them. He wanted to reach many people not just a small amount. If you want to catch fish, go where the fish are. So He went to the Temple. Why? Was it because it was a great place of Worship to His Father, God. I do not think so. He went there because that is where the people are. The Temple is where the people would gather.

Where are you fishing at?

Read for next time: Adulterous woman brought to Jesus; John 8:3-11

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Irony

Jan 19, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Judgment of Nicodemus; John 7:48-53

John 7:48-49 GNB
(48) "Have you ever known one of the authorities or one Pharisee to believe in him?
(49) This crowd does not know the Law of Moses, so they are under God's curse!"

What perfect irony in today's verses. Here are the people in charge, the ones who know the law as they teach it over and over again. They do not believe in Jesus. And they curse those who do believe in Jesus because they do not know the law.

If they knew the law so well, then why did they not search it to find the existence of the scriptures that would have pointed to Jesus? Why? They had an interest in keeping things the way they were. They did not want to see what was right before them. People are like that, then and now.

Read for next time: Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives; John 8:1

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Wished we all been ready

Jan 8, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: People afraid to speak publicly of Jesus; John 7:11-13

John 7:11-13 BBE

(11) At the feast the Jews were looking for him and saying, Where is he?

(12) And there was much discussion about him among the mass of the people. Some said, He is a good man; but others said, No, he is giving people false ideas.

(13) But no man said anything about him openly for fear of the Jews.

We often wonder why the first thing any angel does when the first see a human is to say 'Fear Not'. These people, who lived with and knew Jesus were afraid to talk about Him.

As I am writing this I had a song playing on my computer. The late Larry Norman's song, 'I Wished We All Been Ready".

I Wish We'd All Been Ready

Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

A man and wife asleep in bed,

She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone,

I wish we'd all be ready,

Two men walking up a hill,

One disappears and one's left standing still,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready,

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

How could you have been so blind,

The Father spoke, the demons dined,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

There is no time to be afraid, there is a world that will be lost if we do not help them get ready.

Read for next time: Jesus in the temple mid-feast; John 7:14-15

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What is the time?

Jan 1, 2010

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Peter's question about forgiveness; Feast of Booths at hand; John 7:2

John 7:2 CEV

(2) It was almost time for the Festival of Shelters,

Almost seems like a throw away verse. The ones following it talk about how Jesus' brothers want him to go to Judea and show Himself. but Jesus says it is not time.

So what is the Festival of Shelters. It took place at the end of harvest time. It was meant to have the people remember that they lived as wanderers in the desert. They did this by constructing tents (booths) and living in them for one week. It was one of the three events that all Jewish men were to celebrate in Jerusalem every year. The general attitude during this celebration according to the historian Josephus was one of fun and merriment.

Jesus came to teach the people. It was His time to take His message to them and He would take it to them in His way. This would be a good time for Him to do so. People receive a message better when they are happy. And all the people would be there.

God will give you the times you need to tell others of His Son. Be ready to grab at the times when He does.

Read for next time: Brothers advise Jesus to go to Judea: John 7:3-8

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20 years later

January 25, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: The 1st temple cleansing; John 2:13-25

In an earlier reading, we discovered Jesus was quoting scripture to the Jewish leaders when He was 12 years old, in Jerusalem, in the Temple. They remarked at how much wisdom that this child had. The next time our Bibles record Jesus going to Jerusalem, He again quotes scripture, but it is to the people around the courtyard He speaks.

John 2:14-16 ESV
14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.
15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.”

What a difference that approximately 20 years make. When we last saw Him there he was the darling of the leaders. Now He comes, and with all the wisdom and strength He has, He clears the Temple of these crooks. Were they there when He was 12? Most likely they were. Jesus however is ready to start His ministry. He is not afraid to get the attention of people in a way that might be considered wrong. In fact they later ask Him why He has the authority to do this.

God, give us the wisdom to know they time to step out for you as Jesus did, and the strength to be able to do it.


Read for tomorrow: Nicodemus meets Jesus at night; John 3:1-21

Am I fertalizier?

October 26, 2008

While God wants us to be harvesters, know that not all people will be saved. Some people will continue to hear the word but ignore it and they will not produce the fruit in their lives. Look at this parable that Jesus teaches:


Luke 13:6-9 DRC
6 He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.
7 And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore: whycumbereth it the ground?
8 But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.
9 And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.


God plants some people where they can hear the word. It is up to them to take the nourishment that He provides and follow Him. At one point, God will turn to the Holy Spirit and say, waste no more time on that person. The Holy Spirit will say, let me try one more time, I know from the people praying for him that he needs this salvation. If it does not work, they we will remove him from the garden.

You may know some people that are on the edge. God may have given up on them but prayers are still being made. So the Holy Spirit fertilizes him and tries to get the growth.

Will all grow. No, but a second chance is given. If you see someone near the edge and God prompts you to witness to them, do not be scared to do it. You may be the fertilizer that person needs.

Read through the Bible in historical order
Today

Luke 12:1-13:35

Tomorrow
Luke 14:1-15:32

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'I only want to see you there...'

October 16, 2008

I have led a fairly quiet life as a Christian. One day a song by the late Keith Green hit me square between the eyes. In it he is telling the story of trying to (unsuccessfully) tell his family about Jesus. A haunting verse says 'its only that I care, I really want to see you there.' The next time I was home to the Boston area, I knew that I had to try to tell my family about Jesus and my relationship with him. We grew up Catholic so I knew how they felt already, I had acted the same way with the 'crazy Christians' that had come my way. And it was perdictable. A quick, you go your way I go mine, and all these years I have done it this way and you want to tell me I am wrong? My grandmother, and this was the last time I saw her, who was Irish Catholic told the family to leave me alone, she was happy I had found God in my own way. From her, I was shocked, from the rest I expected it.

As I went back home to Tulsa, these verses came to mind.

Matthew 10:24-25 ALT
(24) "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above his lord.
(25) "[It is] enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his lord. If they called the master of the house Beelzebul [i.e. a Philistine deity, used as a name for the devil], how much more the members of his household?

Jesus was called crazy by his own family. Was I better than Jesus? In reality, I got off better than Jesus did, at least one family member had supported me.

I continue to pray for my family. About a year and half ago, my mom told me that someone led her to Jesus, that she did not have to leave the church she knew to accept Jesus. My brothers I still pray for. I am willing to be called the nutcase for their salvation.

How does your family/friends/coworkers see you?

Read through the Bible in historical order
Today

Matthew 9:1-10:42

Tomorrow

Matthew 14:1-36, Mark 6:1-56, Luke 9:1-17

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Compliments

September 14, 2008

So often when we do something and people thing we do a good job we like to take credit for it. I mean, did we not do all the work? Maybe we went to school and studied heard to be able to do that job. But do we really deserve the credit?

Daniel 2:27-28 UPDV
(27) Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, psychics, sacred scholars, nor astrologers, show to the king;
(28) but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

The king said to Daniel I hear you are wise, can you tell me your dream. Daniel could have said, yes, I can. But even though he was in a godless land he knew who gave him the ability to make it through.

How about you? Do you take a compliment as a time to tell others about Jesus? Or do you lap it up for yourself?




Read through the Bible in historical order
Today
Daniel 1:1-3:30
Tomorrow
Daniel 4:1-6:28
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Getting the nations to know God

May 12, 2008

Want to know the quickest way to get the kingdome to spread?

Psalms 67:1-2 GNB
(1) God, be merciful to us and bless us; look on us with kindness,
(2) so that the whole world may know your will; so that all nations may know your salvation.


We must live for God so He can look on us with kindness. Then when He does, the world will notice and many will come to know Him.

Read through the Bible in one year in Historical order
Today
Psalms 65:1-13, Psalms 66:1-20, Psalms 67:1-7, Psalms 69:1-36, Psalms 70:1-52 Samuel 11:1-12:31
Tomorrow
2 Samuel 11:1-12:31, 1 Chronicles 20:1-8
http://tinyurl.com/24beby for a daily reading tool

Mar 31, 2007 - Why Can't I Go?

Mar 31, 2007

Luk 8:38-39 VW
(38) Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
(39) Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.


I have often wondered why Jesus told this man to stay home and tell everyone about what Jesus had done for him. I mean, he told many others not to tell about how they were healed. He was always telling people to come and follow Him. So why tell this man to stay home?

A little background. This was a crazy man who ran around naked and they could not keep him chained. Jesus cast the demons out of them and they went into the pigs in the area. The pigs being smarter than the people in the area ran into the water and drowned, and the people came up and told Jesus to leave. I guess they wanted pigs more than salvation. This is where we pick up, the man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to stay.

These people did not want Jesus. But Jesus wanted to get the message to these people. The best thing He could do was leave behind someone who, when they looked at him, would say Jesus was here and He healed me. This man was to be a walking billboard for Jesus. The people were never going to be able to get away from him.

Sometimes God puts us in places that we do not want to be so that we can be witnesses to those who need him. We need to be more like this man and be a witness for Him where ever we are.

Scripture verses from
VW-Edition 2006

A Voice in the Wilderness
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