LEARNING FROM OUR PAST!

Good bye 2011!! 2012 Beckons!

We all have some regrets about the past in 2011 and try to forget our misdeeds and mistakes. At best we turn to our old trusty cupboards where those hidden skeletons are best kept. The term “sweep it underneath the carpet” is not new to us either.

Linus a famed character in the Peanuts comic strip, had this to say, “Maybe we should think only about today.” Charlie Brown’s instant reflex reply to this,

“No, that’s giving up. I’m still hoping
  yesterday will get better.”

Since we can’t change what occurred yesterday, we might as well learn from it and riding on God’s love, forgiveness and ability use that knowledge to make a better tomorrow. Yes, learning from yesterday’s or past mistakes.

John Mark is a good example. His early missionary years with Paul and Barnabas hit a bad spell when he abandoned them and returned home, when they entered Asia Minor. 

Asia Minor

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41)
³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

No reason was given why he did this, but it sure didn’t go well with the apostle Paul.

At some point later Mark, must have changed and reconciled with Paul. He became a co-worker of Barnabas 

When Paul was in prison awaiting execution, he bid Timothy to come along with Mark. Paul further stressed Mark was important to his ministry.

2 Timothy 4:11

¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

In the old testament in Jeremiah 22:24-30, God pronounced a judgement on Coniah (Jehoiachin) and his family line. God had said that even if Coniah was a signet ring, He would still pull him off.

²⁴ “As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin^[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. ²⁵ I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.^{[b] 26} I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. ²⁷ You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”

In ancient times, a King who wanted to mark or secure a document with his seal used his signet ring by pressing it into molten wax or softened wax and allowed it to harden into an unbroken seal that bore the mark of his ring. The signet ring represented the honor, authority, and personal guarantee of the king, hence its esteemed value.

Incredibly, years later, God said to his grandson Zerubbabel, I would make you like a signet ring.

Haggai 2:23

 ²³ “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

 ²⁸ Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,
   an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled out,
   cast into a land they do not know?
²⁹ O land, land, land,
   hear the word of the LORD!
³⁰ This is what the LORD says:
“Record this man as if childless,
   a man who will not prosper in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring will prosper,
   none will sit on the throne of David
   or rule anymore in Judah.”

Because Zerubbabel led a group of Jews back to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, because of his obedience to God and his effort to rebuild the temple, the Lord referred to Zerubbabel as a valued signet ring.

Value has a value only if its value is valued by God

Sin carries its consequences. But we must never forget God is also merciful and blesses those who do what pleases Him. Zerubbabel through his obedience pleased God and overturned the impending generational curse.

When we are obedient, we too can experience the joy of being His signet ring.

We cannot erase yesterday’s mistake. But if we take our sins and mistakes to the Lord and seek His help, having learned from it, we can be better today and tomorrow.

"I’m still hoping
  yesterday will get better in 2012.”

Blessed New year!

 

SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE

 

" For as he thinks within himself, so he is" Proverbs 23:7

The first principle for success is to begin to soar in your thinking. The keynote scripture Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as you think within yourself, so you are."

There is an imminent link between how you think in your mind and how you perform as a person. As you see and perceive yourself, so you become the person that you see yourself to be.

People with low self image, people who continually put themselves down, rarely achieve anything great in life because they have deemed themselves unworthy and have robbed themselves of the crative capacity to see themselves as God does.

True humility is not putting yourself down, but seeing yourself from God's perspective, His Word. As Christians, you've been bought with a price, you have been justified, you've been made in right standing with God. Therefore, you are in a position to think about yourself in a correct manner, as an achiever, as one with potential, as one who is able to do all things. The bible in Ephesians 3:20 says that God wants "to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think."

What a dynamic thought! God wants to do in and through us even more than we can think or comprehend! Therefore, think about what can be, not what cannot be. Major on the possibility, not on the impossibility.

When you were born again as a new christian, you were born into a land of opportunity. New frontiers of aplenty is now your playing field. It is exciting to be a Christian because you can realise your desire. You can do anything and be anything. Many, because of confusion and being misinformed, vacillate between two possibilities, not knowing which one is God's will. But regardless of how spiritual either possibility is, if you're not sure which one is God's will, you're not doing anything thus resulting in stagnancy.

The bible has something to say about people who are torn between choices; "UNSTABLE IN ALL YOUR WAYS AND ARE DOUBLE MINDED". James 1:8

God's will is what you want to do. This sounds shocking at first; it does not sound spiritual enough, nor does it sound tangible enough to possibly be God's will. But the bible explicitly says in Philippians 2:13 that "It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." There it is. God Himself is working in you to will. As you pray, read His Word, fellowship with His people, and are open to His counsel, He is working in you to will. His will is entwined with yours in tandem, and your will is becoming His. So taking this verse' mystery aspect out of the equation, one should now confidently embark wholeheartedly on the will and desires of the heart that was placed there by God, in the process seeking to please Him always.

Yes you can do anything and be anything. Grasp it in your spirit as you soar. Begin to see yourself as God does. And catch the vision of a life of fulfillment. Begin to soar in you mind right now. Allow God to drop that vision in you and give you a goal, a dream, a new desire. Your vision, dream, goal and desire evolves into reality when you begin to SOAR, when you begin to think "I don't have to be sick," "I don't have to fall into bankruptcy," I don't have to be depressed," and "they're not God's plan for me." It's a simple act of faith; yes simple as a toddler's early steps, faith of a mustard seed.

SOAR like an eagle on the wind of God's Spirit, wherewith from the heights you get a clear perpective.

"A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions." Marcus Aurelius

"To break the stalemates in our lives and begin to think and act creatively, we must first recognize that although the body is doomed to decay, this is not so with the mind. Your mind and thoughts are capable of infinite growth and development. Right up to the moment you die, your thoughts can be alert and growing." Selwyn Hughes

GOD NEEDS OUR HANDS

GOD NEEDS OUR HANDS TO DISPLAY HIS GRACE TO THIS WORLD

At the end of World War II a group of soldiers offered to help the people of a destroyed village in any way they could. But instead of asking for food, money, or farm equipment, the townsmen asked for help in restoring a statue. For years their proudest possession had been a statue of Christ in their own town square. Now it lay shattered into many pieces. Could the soldiers help put it together again? It was a difficult task, chips and pieces lay all over the square. Finally the statue was repaired except for two missing parts that the soldiers could not find. Finished, they covered the statue with a silken parachute, so that it could be unveiled in a ceremony before the townspeople, even though it was incomplete. On the occasion the mayor of the town gave a speech and pulled the cord of the silken drape... It dropped from the statue, showing a Christ withouthands.

At first the townspeople were shocked. Then they looked down at a sign which the soldiers had put at the feet of the statue. It said: "I have no hands. Won't you please lend me yours?"...
Matthew 25:40 says: "Whenever you did something for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me." 

 

AMOS THE MINOR PROPHET

One of Amos' many profession was that of a Cultivator of Sycamore Fig or the False Fig.

Figs are known to have a soft shell whilst the False Fig (Sycamore Fig) had otherwise. At the given time Amos would go about with a long pole with a piercing mechanism attached to puncture these sycamore Fig. By doing so, the Sycamore Figs's shell becomes soft and easy to prise open to eat the contents. Amos' profession was a fore-shadow of Christ the Messiah.

SYCAMORE FIG OR FALSE FIG

The fig often denotes the people of God or Israel. And this act of piercing has a parallel drawn to the hardened condition of the heart of His people.

The bible in Hebrews 4:12 says the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Luke 19:1-10
Going forward several hundred years later we hear of another account of the sycamore tree. Jesus was passing through and this man of small stature called Zacchaeus, a hardened tax collected climbed up the sycamore tree to peak at the Lord Jesus. In those days the tax collectors were despised by the general poorer public who had to pay exhorbitant taxes. When the Saviour passed that way He looked up and said, "you come down, I'm coming to your house to stay". The rest of the story mentions how this hardened tax collector repented from all his evil ways and followed the Lord. Doesnt that hardened man Zacchaeus akin to a hardened Sycamore fig, when pierced by the Word of the Lord, became a viable instrument of the kingdom?

Link on Zacchaeus:http://www.gracevalley.org/sermon_trans/Jesus_Finds_Zacchaeus.html

Sycamore Tree

The piercing by the Word of God in ones life is a must to bring about change and restoration. The old will make way for the new creation within you. You denote the Fig. Just like Amos piercing of the False Fig to restore its likeness to the original Fig


If you are bogged down by the old ways, heart so hardened and struggle to break away, call on the Lord Jesus, Who is the living Word of God(John 1:1 & John 1:14), and He will pierce the hardness in you and create in you a New Creation. Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks (Revelation 3:20). If you on your own free will and accord will allow Him in, He will then come and take residence in you, recreate you anew, just like He went to abide with Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was a dishonest tax collector, a short little man, but he wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed into a sycamore tree. After Jesus ate with him, Zacchaeus became the most honest man in Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35--19:28).

Amos' act of piercing the Sycamore Fig depicts, Jesus looking up to the hardened fruit in Zacchaeus up on the Sycamore tree. When spoke to little Zacchaeus obeyed, came down and opened up his heart and home for the Saviour's abode.


ITS SIMPLE OBEDIENCE, TRUST OR FAITH AND LITTLE ACTION 
....................................................................... 



Some things you need to know about Amos
The meaning of the name Amos (which is from the Hebrew verb amas = "to lift a burden, to carry") is "burden-bearer." He was a native of the southern kingdom of Judah, from the town of Tekoa -- about six miles south of Bethlehem, twelve miles south of Jerusalem, and eighteen miles west of the Dead Sea. Tekoa was the center for a large sheep farming district.

Amos describes himself as one who had three different occupations:

Shepherd (Amos 1:1) --- This is the Hebrew word noqed, which was a word used to describe a man who tended a particular small, rugged, speckled variety of sheep (called naqod) which required less food and could live well in the desert, and which produced a wool of superior quality and of great value.
Herdsman (Amos 7:14) --- This is the Hebrew word boqer, which refers to one who raises or tends cattle.
Cultivator of Sycamore Figs (Amos 7:14) --- This was the wild fig (siq-mim in Hebrew) which exuded a ball of sap when nipped at the right season, and which hardened into a sort of edible fruit which the lower classes were able to afford. This tree was found at a lower altitude thanTekoa, so Amos undoubtedly had to do some traveling (perhaps down to the Dead Sea region) to tend these trees.

"These occupations made it necessary for Amos to do a large amount of traveling to the wool and cattle markets of Israel and Judah. In this way, he learned firsthand the military, social, and economic conditions and practices of rich and poor alike" (John T. Willis).

Amos was not a "professional" prophet, but a common man utilized by the Lord to deliver His Word to His people. "I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet ... but the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.' And now hear the Word of the Lord!" (Amos 7:14-16). He had no special training; he was not a graduate of the School of the Prophets (variously referred to as "bands" -- I Samuel 10:5, 10, and "companies" -- I Samuel 19:20, and "sons of the prophets" -- I Kings 20:35); nor was he descended from or related to any prophets.

He was not even a citizen of Israel (the northern kingdom), but rather of Judah (the southern kingdom). Nevertheless, God sent him to Israel to proclaim the Word to the people of the northern kingdom. He was not a man of wealth, yet was sent to warn the wealthy; not a man of luxury, or one who was lazy, yet sent to those who were both. All of this was designed to separate the MAN from the MESSAGE. There was to be nothing about this man which would attract a personal following. It was the message God desired the people to focus upon, not the messenger!

Amos did most, if not all, of his prophetic work (the totality of which probably did not last over a year or so --- Amos 1:1) in the city of Bethel (Amos 7:10), where he was denounced by Amaziah the priest and forbidden to preach further in Israel.

"Someone has described Amos as 'the first Great Reformer.' He was not of the school of the prophets, who by this time were disposed to cry what the people wanted ..... There was not in Amos the sympathy, warm love, and feeling of the statesman or citizen, but a cold sense of justice and right. He was the stern prophet of justice and righteousness. Hosea's spirit was summed up in the word lovingkindness; Amos' is summed up in the one wordjustice" (Homer Hailey).

"The dark days in which he lived called for a man of sturdy moral fiber and fearlessness. Such was Amos. His character, molded in the harsh terrain of the wilderness of Tekoa, enabled him to stand before the priest and the people, proclaiming the word God had given him" (Expositor's Bible Commentary). "At the call of God he left his home in Judea as a mere layman to proclaim a hostile message in the proud capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Without any status as a recognized prophet, he braved the prejudice of the Ephraimite public to carry out faithfully his commission from God. A man of rugged convictions and iron will, he could not be deflected from his purpose even by the highest functionary of the Samaritan hierarchy" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr.).

DATE
Amos 1:1 gives us a fairly accurate picture of when this prophecy occurred. It was during the days of King Uzziah (792-740 BC), and King Jeroboam II of Israel (793-753 BC). His mission to Bethel was also more precisely dated as occurring "two years before the earthquake." This was a very severe earthquake in the reign of Uzziah which was remembered for centuries afterward --- "You will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah" (Zechariah 14:5). As a result of this information, most scholars date his prophetic work somewhere between 760 and 755 BC.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This was a time when the fortunes of the northern kingdom (Israel) had reached one of their highest points of prosperity and peace. Jeroboam was able to extend his borders almost to those of the old Davidic kingdom. There was also peace with the southern kingdom (Judah). "After a long period of conflict during which Judah was in many respects subservient to Israel, there was now a spirit of co-operation and mutual enterprise resulting in a flow of trade and commerce between the two kingdoms" (New Layman's Bible Commentary).

It was a time of great economic well-being and national strength. The increase in wealth also led to extensive building programs. The simple brick of earlier days gave way to buildings of hewn stone and ivory decorations. They had "winter houses" and "summer houses" (Amos 3:15). They had "houses of ivory" (Amos 3:15), and "houses of well-hewn stone" (Amos 5:11). They reclined on "beds of ivory" (Amos 6:4); sprawled on couches; ate and drank to their fill; anointed themselves with the finest oils; were surrounded by music (Amos 6:4-7). In short, they were "at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1).

"Concurrently with the increased wealth there was an associated rise in those social evils which characterized the prosperity of Solomon's reign; the rich became very rich and the poor became even poorer" (New Layman's Bible Commentary). "As their economic well-being and national strength continued to foster their security, an internal decay was eating at their vitals" (Expositor's Bible Commentary).

There was a complete lack of social concern in the land. The rich would stop at nothing to increase their profits, including economic exploitation of the poor. Even the legal system was corrupted, and the poor had no recourse even in the courts. "The rich enjoyed an indolent and indulgent existence, urged on by the rapacity of their wives who demanded more and more luxuries" (New Layman's Bible Commentary).

"Back of all moral, social, and political corruption there lies a basic cause: Religious decay and apostasy" (Homer Hailey). The people werereligious, but they were far from being spiritual. Their religion consisted of external acts --- they were putting on a show for God, but He was not fooled. "They prided themselves in their expensive 'church buildings.' They boasted of the numerous sacrifices which they offered, and of the fact that they offered them exactly as the Law prescribed ('legalism'). They gloried in their perfect attendance record at the worship services. They were well pleased with their efforts to sing praises to the Lord. But, by way of contrast, Amos rejected the idea that quantity, numbers, and external showwas really religion!" (Willis). Some have criticized Amos for being a preacher of a "social gospel." However, "God made it clear that the heart of religion was to love God with all the heart, and to love one's neighbor as himself. Without these two elements, any number of external acts are meaningless to God" (Willis).

"The prophets had degenerated into time-servers, blinded with the complacency of the nation. Religion certainly flourished in the nation but it was a religion that was completely divorced from reality. There was a great deal of activism and outward show with crowds thronging the shrines at the times of the great festivals. Ritual was elaborate, but there was no true life and no evidence that real spiritual values had any place, and Yahweh was patronized with a presumption bordering upon arrogance" (New Layman's Bible Commentary).

"Extravagant religious ceremonies and rites were manifested on every hand. Tithes were offered every three days; free-will offerings were abundant and the amounts advertised (Amos 4:4-5). Religious fervor was high, but true spiritual devotion to God was utterly lacking" (Homer Hailey). "It was a religion which was empty in content, though full of ritual. Amos insisted that God had no time for ritualistic religion without heart" (New Layman's Bible Commentary).


THE MESSAGE OF AMOS                                                                                                                       

The book of Amos falls into three major divisions:



Chapters 1-2 --- A series of oracles against "outside" nations, ending with similar oracles against Judah and Israel.
Chapters 3-6 --- Condemning various sins which were prevalent in Israel.
Chapters 7-9 --- Some information concerning the call of Amos, and five visions which reflect some of the basic themes of his message.

Sycamore Tree

The Oracles Against the Nations:
Damascus --- 1:3-5
Gaza --- 1:6-8
Tyre --- 1:9-10
Edom --- 1:11-12
Ammon --- 1:13-15
Moab --- 2:1-3
Judah --- 2:4-5
Israel --- 2:6-16 "The significant thing about this series, which in general denounces atrocities of war, is that Amos announces that God is concerned with sin wherever it occurs. He is the international God of Justice, punishing sin wherever it occurs" (Jack P. Lewis).

In the Five Visions of Amos we find the main themes which God wanted this man to emphasize. They are basically visions of doom!

The Locusts (Amos 7:1-3) --- Locusts in Palestine were uncontrollable and considered "an act of God." Amos saw in them the threat of God's punishment, and by pleading for the land was able to convince God to relent.
The Great Fire devouring the land (Amos 7:4-6) --- Some see this as a famine or drought. Again, the prophet pleads with the Lord, and He relents.
The Plumb Line (Amos 7:7-9) --- The doom of the house of Jeroboam is announced. Amos pleads no further.
The Basket of Summer Fruit (Amos 8:1-3) --- Prophets frequently convey their message by puns not intended to be humorous. From the similarity of summer (qayits) and end (qets) in Hebrew, the Lord teaches Amos that the end is at hand. "The end has come for My people Israel" (Amos 8:2).
The Lord Standing Beside the Altar (Amos 9:1f) --- The command is given to smite the Sanctuary and to destroy the sinful people of the land. "The point of this last vision is that when God finally sends the Assyrians to overthrow Israel, that there will be no way for sinners to escape punishment, no matter how hard they try"

Contemplating the journey to Golgotha this Christmas

My Christmas Gift for YOU

Contemplating the journey to Golgotha this Christmas

I would love to join the chorus of yuletide greetings, raise a glass or two, as is always the case in this time of the year. The festive mood is clandestine in effect. In some ways it robs us of the definite, intrinsic and paramount  value of the birth of Christ  the Lord. It is not another birthday party, with candles to blow, cutting a cake, donning party hats, flashing lights on the decorated tree (the decorating of the tree is in essence a medieval occultic practice) and the serenade of certain carols which has no relevance to the Lord Jesus (like Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town etc). Gazing at those lovely pictures of the manger scene, with the infant Jesus all so cuddly and cute, angels with trumpets and shepherds and noble men alike  with gifts, muddles the writing on the wall of an impending and disastrous collision course mankind was destined to – Eternal Death. So Christmas minus the purpose of His birth is not  that  joyful after all. Today, the writing is on the wall, its not Christmas Greetings but Seasons Greetings flashed in advertisements, banners, cards and buntings.

Perhaps if you and I can look at the beginning from the end, would we then, up the tempo in celebrating the Lord’s birth differently or with an increased measure of REVERENCE?

"God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This Saviour was the brightness of His Father's glory and the express image of His person.

I have this question to ask of you but you can answer this later on

Will your heart melt for this Fella?

God’s blueprint for redemption

Because of limited ideas of the sufferings of Christ, many place a low value on the great work of the atonement and the implication of His birth. The glorious plan of man's salvation was brought about through the infinite love of God the Father to the fallen human race, as is manifested in the gift of God, His  beloved Son. For this reason it was prophesied in Psalm 22:14-18,  the angels heralded His birth, and the shepherds were the first to behold Him in a lowly manger.     

He was equal with God. "It pleased the Father  that in Him should all fullness dwell." "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, even born in a lowly manger: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, so that man, by a life of obedience, might escape the penalty of the law of God”.

The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of His Father's law in punishing the transgressor, in that He consented to suffer the penalty of the law Himself  to save fallen man from its curse.

From His own divine lips are heard the words: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." The death of Christ justified the claims of the law.

Christ’s mission was to reconcile God and man, to unite the finite with the infinite. This was the only way in which fallen men could be exalted through the merits of the blood of Christ, to take on a human nature, to understand man's trials and sorrows, and all the temptations wherewith he is beset.

Christ condescended to take man's nature and was tempted in all points like as we, that He might know how to succor all who should be tempted.

Being human, He felt His need of strength from His Father. He loved to hold communion with His Father in the solitude of the mountain. In this exercise His holy, human soul was strengthened for the duties and trials of the day.

He required all the stronger divine support and comfort which His Father was ready to impart to Him, to Him who had, for the benefit of man, left the joys of heaven and chosen His home in a cold and thankless world. 

Through the day He labored earnestly to do good to others, to save men from destruction. He healed the sick, comforted the mourning, and brought cheerfulness and hope to the despairing. He brought the dead to life. He frequently continued His petitions through the entire night.

If the Saviour of men, with His divine strength, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, should sinful mortals like us feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer! When Christ was most fiercely beset by temptation, He ate nothing, fasting instead whilst committing  Himself to God.

As the Son of God bowed in the attitude of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the agony of His spirit forced from His pores sweat like great drops of blood. It was here that the horror of great darkness surrounded Him. The sins of the world were upon Him. He was suffering in man's stead as a transgressor of His Father's law. He had taken the cup of suffering from the lips of guilty man, and proposed to drink it Himself, and in its place give to man the cup of blessing. The wrath that would have fallen upon you and me,  was now falling upon Christ.

oute to Golgotha’s from a Medical viewpoint

Route to Golgotha’s from a Medical viewpoint

Medical experts, historians and archaeologists have examined in detail the execution that Jesus Christ voluntarily endured. 

   

For this reason this young lad came, that we might live. All agree that he suffered one of the most gruelling and painful forms of capital punishment ever devised by man.

Here is a brief summary of some of the things we know about his last hours from history, archaeology and medicine.

Carrying the weight of the world upon His shoulders

Severe stress, even before the abuse began

 Jesus had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Jesus' journey to the cross began in the Garden of Gethsemane. Realizing His time was coming to pay the price for our sins, He took His disciples into the garden to pray (Mark 14:32).

After a period of prayer, Jesus went to the disciples, awakened them, and told them He was about to be betrayed. Moments later, Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples, arrived to betray Him with a kiss. The kiss was the method of identification used by Judas so Christ's enemies could select Him from among the group. Luke 22:48: "Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" Can you imagine the hurt Jesus must have felt realizing He'd been betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, the price Judas was paid to deliver Jesus unto His enemies? His sufferings begins.

Even before the crucifixion began, he clearly had physical symptoms associated with severe stress. The night before the execution, his disciples reported seeing Jesus in “agony” on the Mount of Olives. Not only did he not sleep all night, but he seems to have been sweating profusely. So great was the stress that tiny blood vessels were rupturing in his sweat glands and emitting as great red drops that fell to the ground (see Luke 22:44). This symptom of severe stress is called hematohidrosis.

Jesus was physically exhausted and in danger of going into shock unless he received fluids (which he apparently did not).

After His capture, Jesus was brought before the High Priest. While being interrogated, Jesus was abused as seen in Matthew 26:67. He was spat upon, slapped, and mocked by the Jews. All of these things bore both physical and emotional pain.

                      

                                      

During one of the beatings at that location, they blind-folded Jesus and slapped Him asking Him to prophesy as to which one of them was going to hit Him next (Matthew 26:28). Jesus could've spoken a word and freed Himself from their custody, but He instead chose to suffer knowing more intense pain was coming. Jesus spent the night with these tormentors and likely had no sleep at all.

Jesus was undoubtedly tired, bruised, battered, and dehydrated when the next morning He was taken to the office of Pontius Pilate, the Roman in charge of the region. Pilate questioned Jesus but did no harm to Him initially. Rather than punish Him, he elected to send Him to King Herod, the local government's ruler.

Upon Jesus' arrival, Herod was pleased to s

Undoubtedly, Pilate must've been amazed to see Jesus returning to him for punishment for crimes Pilate didn't think worthy of punishment. Frustrated, Pilate elected to have Jesus chastised and released upon the second visit, but Jesus' captors asked for Pilate to release Barabbas, a murderer, in accordance with a tradition concerning a feast that was taking place at the time.

Pilate, wanting no part of harming Jesus, reasoned with them, but they yelled, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" In Luke 23:22 Pilate responded, " Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go."

Pilate eventually surrendered to their wishes, ordered Jesus killed, and released the murderer Barabbas. Jesus was betrayed by His own people to the extent they begged for the release of a murderer to insure He would be killed. Can you imagine the pain and betrayal  He felt inside? In spite of His pain, He endured for our sake! Yours and mine! This is the man that the Jews and later the roman soldiers tortured.

Torture by beating with Roman scourges

Having previously been beaten and ridiculed  and shamed by the Jews, it was now the Romans' turn. The beatings administered by Roman soldiers are well known to be very bloody, leaving lacerations all over the body. Romans designed their whips to cut the flesh from their victim's bodies.

 These beatings were designed to be painful to the extreme. It would also cause a fluid build up around his lungs. In addition, a crown of thorns was forced into his scalp which was capable of severely irritating major nerves in his head, causing increasing and excruciating pain, as the hours wore on.

In Christ's severely stressed condition, these beatings were easily enough to kill him. His body was horribly bruised, cut and bleeding. Having had no nourishment for many hours, and having lost fluids through profuse sweating and much bleeding, Jesus would have been severely dehydrated. This brutal torture would certainly be sending him into what doctors call “shock,” and shock kills.

In addition, Jesus was forced   to carry the the wooden beam on which he would die. Imagine the effect of carrying a heavy weight if you were in that condition. Imagine the rugged surface of the wooden cross rubbing against the open wounds throughout His arduos climb up Golgotha’s hill. Tried walking with a broken blister beneath your feet?

As a result of the terrible beatings He had received, Jesus struggled to remain upright as the soldiers made Him carry the cross He was to be nailed to toward Golgotha. Simon, a man from Cyrene, eventually had to carry Jesus' cross for Him due to Jesus' weakness. Jesus was already in terrible physical condition from his numerous injuries, but He pressed onward for us.

Ever tried walking uphill with your best shoes and attire on? Did your heart palpitate, were you gasping for air and a moment to rest and to quench your thirst?

Crucifixion

Hung completely naked before the crowd, the pain and damage caused by crucifixion were designed to be so devilishly intense that one would continually long for death, but could linger for days with no relief.

While He suffered, the Romans placed a sign above Him which read: "Here is the king of the Jews." To add to Jesus' humiliation, they hung Him between two thieves. As He hung there in agonous pain, soldiers gambled for His clothing, passers-by mocked Him, and the priests said (Matthew 27:43), "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God." Here we see Jesus was challenged to prove Himself to be the Son of God as He neared death. For our sakes, Jesus didn't reveal Himself. Why?

In the Old Testament, our Father in Heaven established death as the punishment for sin. This is why we see the sacrificial death of animals used as an atonement for sin in ancient Jewish religious traditions documented in the OId Testament. It is also why we see Jesus referred to in the Bible as the Lamb of God. Jesus came to surrender Himself to death on the cross so none of us would have to experience eternal separation from God as a result of our sinful nature. Jesus knew, while He was hanging on the cross, He had to complete His mission and die for us.

According to Dr. Frederick Zugibe, piercing of the median nerve of the hands with a nail can cause pain so incredible that even morphine won't help, “severe, excruciating, burning pain, like lightning bolts traversing the arm into the spinal cord.” Rupturing the foot's plantar nerve with a nail would have a similarly horrible effect.        

                                                   

Furthermore, the position of the body on a cross is designed to make it extremely difficult to breathe.

Frederick Farrar described the intended, torturous effect: “For indeed a death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly—dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds—all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the suffer the relief of unconsciousness.”

He gazed at you with the look of love while you laughed,

ridiculed, mocked and denounced Him.

One doctor has called it “a symphony of pain” produced by every movement, with every breath; even a slight breeze on his skin could bring screaming pain at this point.

Were you just watching?

Medical examiner, Dr. Frederick Zugibe, believes Christ died from shock due to loss of blood and fluid, plus traumatic shock from his injuries, plus cardiogenic shock causing Christ's heart to fail.

As Jesus neared death, His suffering was so intense He felt He had been forsaken by the Father. The Bible tells us in John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

We also are told the Word (Jesus) was made flesh (John 1:14).

Imagine if you can for a moment how badly Jesus, who'd been at the side of the Father throughout all eternity prior to mankind's creation even to the point of His crucifixion, must've felt when He said as seen in Matthew 27:46, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" For the first time in the history of eternity, Jesus felt separated from the Father! Jesus, having taken the sin of the whole world (yours and mine) upon Himself on the cross, knew for the first  time the anguish sin brings.

This pain was likely worse for Jesus than all the other pains combined! He had lost contact with the Father!

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”

James Thompson believed that Jesus did not die from exhaustion, the beatings or the 3 hours of crucifixion, but that he died from agony of mind producing rupture of the heart. His evidence comes from what happened when the Roman soldier pierced Christ's left side.

The spear released a sudden flow of blood and water (John 19:34). Not only does this prove that Jesus was already dead when pierced, but Thompson believes it is also evidence of cardiac rupture. Respected physiologist Samuel Houghton believed that only the combination of crucifixion and rupture of the heart could produce this result. There is no question that it was painful beyond words.

Biblically, it is clear that Jesus chose and willed His moment of death. That moment was induced not by pain, emotional stress, heart attack, or any other, but by His will. Though fully human, He is also fully divine. As God, He could not die from external sources, but only of His own volition and will.

Near the end, a criminal beside him mocked, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.” Little did this sinner know that the man he was speaking to hung there voluntarily. He was speaking to our Creator, capable of releasing all the power in the universe and beyond, and easily saving himself. Jesus remained in this agony and shame, not because he was powerless, but because of his incredible love for humanity. He suffered to provide the needed way of salvation for you and me.


The tremendous suffering and agony Jesus endured for us should never be forgotten, taken lightly, or ignored. Having reviewed the events of His death, how can we not worship Him? There is no name under heaven more precious than the name of Jesus! Through His shed blood and death at Calvary, we've all been given the right to be called the sons and daughters of God! All He asks in return for the terrible suffering He endured on the cross is for us His sheep to believe in Him, and return to Him!

Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Galatians 3:26: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
God required a price to be paid for sin. Jesus paid it for each and every one of us through His journey to the cross. His sacrifice made on behalf of all of us is why those of us who believe in Him will someday be gathered around His throne in heaven as seen in Revelation 7:12 saying, "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

Will not your heart melt for Him?

You would for the forlorn canine atop

The Saviour lovingly gazes at you through the barrier  of pain and a broken heart. Were you there along the street leading up to Golgotha? Did you cast a stone at Him, hurl and or insult, maybe worse, did nothing?

Taking Stock of Self

He died for our sins of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Every time we wrong Him this day, we are party to; splashing him with hyssop (vinegar) on His open wounds and  ruptured lips, reviling, slapping  and kicking  Him, labeling Him a child born out of wedlock (like the jews did) , drive that whip that tears at His flesh, pierce His side, spit at Him, mock Him relentlessly, turn our face away. Did you know the One who created time itself, transcended through time into the future, taking the blame for every wrong you and I will or about to commit, so that the work on the cross for once and for all be complete?
Will you walk through with me over instances or incidences,  we at some point of time would have been susceptible to?

While in office, were you content with the 99 sheep, thinking it was too much of an inconvenience to look for that  perennially mischievous  one? Was there a moment you decreed, the distressed sheep deserved being so?
When called on for help and vindication was it easier to pass the buck to someone else without remorse and not wanting to know the outcome?
Did you allow a situation which decries the very office you are placed in?
Did jealousy creep in and obscure your judgement?
Are you so individualistic, an island refusing to be a part of the larger family of God?
Are you so inundated with multiple portfolios, distressed sheep are unable to see you, when in essence the Shepherd of Love would readily wait with arms outstretched?
Were you the one to slight another  person  and did not bother  to make amends?
Did you think your prolonged silence when an answer is imminent, refusal to address a pressing issue, abdicating a moral duty is an accepted norm?

Instead of being one (Gal 3:28), is championing color and ethnicity denying you heaven’s residence? Are you inadvertently or subtly advocating racism?
Have you cared to secure that broken back door in your congregation, instead of being content with the largeness of the front door?
Are you content with the routines of a bible study, home group  or prayer hour, but lacks the presence, leading and the drive of the Holy Spirit?
Are your sheep struggling in these meets, barely contributing, having to contend with fatigue, sleep and  boredom?


Are the charges under you still in  stagnant  mode since  the day of their salvation, and still being spoon fed?
As a person in office, do you provide that spiritual covering to your flock? Do you and your flock come back defeated after  ministry outings like missions, evangelism, witnessing & tracting? Are these ministries mere activities?
Are you caught in a vicious cycle of bondage and not wanting to reach for help, counsel and prayer of deliverance?

Are you in a habit of complaining about how much you have to do or sacrifice and yearn to abdicate? Is the routine of servitude intensifying with unhappiness instead of a glad and willing heart?
Do you usurp or question  the authority placed  above you?
Was there a moment you professed, “I am a chinese, indian or asian first, thereafter  a Christian”?
Is your own bitter life experiences preventing you from seeing His?

Are you in a habit of complaining about how much you have to do or sacrifice and yearn to abdicate? Is the routine of servitude intensifying with unhappiness instead of a glad and willing heart?
Do you usurp or question  the authority placed  above you?
Was there a moment you professed, “I am a chinese, indian or asian first, thereafter  a Christian”?
Is your own bitter life experiences preventing you from seeing His?

How many would hold up the Prime Minister of the country when summoned, but would stroll leisurely during a sunday worship giving little value or concern to the ONE  who holds eternity in His hands?
Does the belief system or rituals passed down the ages hold more importance to you rather than the sure instructions of the Lord?
If you are found wanting on any of the above, then, you are one of those lined along the street that lead to Golgotha, joining the  vile crowd of that day to the Savior’s sufferings. He gazes at you with the deepest of despair and a broken heart, trudging haphazardly,  while carrying  a heavy cross on which He will be crucified, so that  you will live.

 

If you're already a Christian, I hope you'll take a moment, reflecting  on Jesus'  journey to the cross and His sacrifice made on our behalf. More so to make amends and abide in Him.
In the many experiences in churches, I have seen great beginnings in the early years, but that changes quickly when the baton is handed to the next batch of leadership. Probably because the dynamics of a supernatural experience by the pioneers is no longer first hand in the successors. Sometimes it is down to failure to scrutinize the people appointed to office, which is a difficult task in large churches.
Eventually it whittles down to an  administrative like environment  running the affairs of the church.

The value of the original vision becomes a distant  thing  occasionally remembered. Like Jesus,  going  into ardent prayer is the only way for the church to do  great exploits in the power of the Holy Spirit. That call is now made to you and I.

Many would tend to think that none of the above has any bearing on us. Allow me to relate  a true story of a woman who had not shed a tear for 18 years. Her case was physical, not emotional and put down to a condition called Sjogren’s syndrome. For reasons unknown, antibodies attacked her tear glands as if they were undesirable foreign organisms.
This reminds me of a spiritual problem amongst the people of God who should and could cry but don’t. They need to learn what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). To be mindful of changes that need to be made but refusing so, instead going about the norms of sunday worship with lifted hands, partaking at the Lord’s table as routine, holding office as if it’s another social obligation, in the process disarming the very act of the Holy Spirit to convict and to bring us to our very own gethsemanes, avoiding that tear that would break us at the altar. James tells the Christians to weep over their sins (James 4:9)

Dry Eyes

Literal tears are’nt the real issue. What’s important is the attitude of the heart and  how deeply we sense the implications of our misdemeanors. Are we filled with godly sorrows? Are we pained by the tragic consequences our actions creates in our relationships with others? Are we willing to turn from it? Or do we have dry eyes? It saddens me more when  infants (new believers) take sides in a losing battle. Are we so stoic in our flesh, we tend to write-off certain problems as little mishaps? Do we say hurting that one person is of no consequence as he or she is insignificant?

Do we have dry eyes?

Pebbles , Not Mountains Stumbles Us

Sir Francis Drake, the 16^th century English explorer who had sailed around the world, was crossing the Thames River when a violent storm threatened to capsize his boat. He cried, “Shall I who have endured the storms of oceans be drowned in a ditch?”
Another individual who had overcome obstacles in his walk from New York City to San Francisco had this to say when asked what his biggest hurdle was. He said the toughest part of his trip wasn’t walking up the mountain or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. “The thing that came closest to defeating me was, SAND IN MY SHOES.”

That’s how we can be spiritually defeated by  what  begins as a little irritant. We let an unkind word, a small setback, or a misunderstanding get us down.  Instead of being determined to avoid evil,- big or small (Proverbs 4:14-27), we compromise. We neglect to go to the Lord for forgiveness and help. Remember it is little pebbles that stumbles us, not mountains.
We would be wise to ask ourselves, Shall I, who have come so far by faith, be defeated by ‘sand in my shoes?’ We must answer with a resolute no!

Rededicate

Ezekiel 34:23-24: "And I will set up ONE shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even my servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a Prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” David is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus for King David has been dead some 400 years when this was prophesied. Yehovah, the Father tells us that Jesus, will be the shepherd of His people. Men, whatever their position are only under-shepherd’s who serve under the great Shepherd and bishop of our souls, Jesus.

1 Peter 2:25 tells us; “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and B ishop of your souls.”

God reveals His Son to us as the Head of the Church. If we see the Head, if we know the Good Shepherd, we will come to know the Body and the Flock. We cannot say we love God if we do not love our brothers and sisters. We cannot maintain communion with the Head if we are separated from the Body. When we follow One Shepherd as One Flock then we will be in one accord. If we are one with the Head, we are one with the Body, even if we are not gathered together. But, if we are not one with the Head, we are not one with the Body, even if we are gathered together in the guise of unity.
We can only come to the unity of the faith through the revelation of Christ. All who see Him will be like Him, for they will see Him as He is; and as He is, so are we, in this world. (1 John 4:17).
Today, God's heart is One Flock with One Shepherd, with the Son filling all in all. May the Church fulfill His desire.
The Lord wants us to mourn our sin and to grieve what pains HIM. If the sorrow changes us, our tears won’t be in vain , so that blind eyes may be opened, deaf  hears, the lame walk, barren womb opened, the mute declare His glory, the loss redeemed  and healings aplenty.

Do not wait for the time is now.

Pray with me:
O Lord, I had You with me, and I strayed.
I turned my back on You and went away.
But now I see the error of my ways,
And now I want to turn again to you.

I pray that You will come into my life,
As Lord and Saviour, ruling over me.
I know that You are truly Son of God,
I know that You have risen from the dead,
I know that only You can save my soul.
I need Your guidance, and I need Your love;

I want to follow everywhere You lead.
I truly do repent of all my sins;
I feel remorse for evil I have done;
I know that only You can make me clean.
I turn my back on sin and look to You.
I am forgiving all who did me harm,
As You are now forgiving all my sins.
And now as I commit myself to You,
I pray that You commit Yourself to me.
I pray that You will take me as I am,
And draw me, step-by-step, into Your arms.
In Jesus' holy name I pray, Amen.

Accepting Jesus as Your Savior

Are you one who has for the first time contemplated the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Did this pictorial journey of the suffering Christ switch on a light bulb within you? Is there a faint or intense knudging deep within you to receive Jesus as you Lord and Savio r?

If you have never asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your  sins and be your Savior, I pray you'll do so this day.

Acknowledge that Jesus Christ shed His blood and died on the cross. Confess Him as the risen Savior of your soul.  Repent of all your past ways and renounce all form of idol worship. Proclaim He alone is the Living God and there is no other name given by which one can be saved unto eternity.

Receive Him as you Lord, Savior and Master and determine to follow Him from this day onwards. Romans 10: 9 & 10

Pray with me:

Father God, I come to You right now, in the name of your most Holy Son, Jesus Christ, asking You to accept me as a Christian.

You say in Your word that if I confess my sins and ask forgiveness, You are faithful and will forgive my sins and remember them no more.  You will not hold them against me and You will give me everlasting life.

Father, I confess that I have sinned against You.  I have not followed Your commandments and I have broken Your laws.  I repent of my sins and ask for Your forgiveness.

Father, I believe that Jesus Christ, Your only Son, came to Earth and was born, that He lived among us, and that He was crucified to pay for our sins and for my sins.  I believe that You raised Him from the dead and gave Him power over all creation.

Lord, right now I accept Your Son Jesus as my Savior and as the Lord of my life.  Send the Holy Spirit to guide me, protect me, lead me and counsel me.  Send Your angels to gather around me and protect me. Protect me from Satan and his evil forces.  Help me grow in wisdom, knowledge and love for You and Your ways.  Give me the strength and courage to change my ways and resist the Devil and avoid sin in the future.

Lord, I thank You for sending Your only Son to die so that I can live.

Jesus, I thank You in that You died for me while I was still a sinner and had not yet accepted You.  I thank You for forgiving my sins and for bringing me to a saving knowledge of You.  Please bless me and protect me.  Teach me to pray.  Guide me.  Increase my faith, and make me sure in the knowledge that I can rely on You, no matter what may come.  

Lead me to a good church where I can learn Your word and the Father's will, where I can fellowship with Christians and grow in my knowledge of You.

I ask these things in Your most holy and precious name, and I thank You for making me a Christian. Amen!

“This is how I wish to greet you and your loved ones this Christmas! By telling you what He had in mind when He came”

“Merry Christmas”!

And “Thank You” for your Exhortations, Feedbacks and many Contributions thoroughout 2012!

Jason T