When You Belong To Jesus, Grace Belongs To You! It Is Always In Your Possession. You Cannot Forget It, You Cannot Leave It At Home, You Cannot Replace It, You Cannot Lose It, You Cannot Throw It Away, And You Most Certainly Cannot Run Out Of It!

When You Belong To Jesus, Grace Belongs To You! It Is Always In Your Possession. You Cannot Forget It, You Cannot Leave It At Home, You Cannot Replace It, You Cannot Lose It, You Cannot Throw It Away, And You Most Certainly Cannot Run Out Of It! He has assigned His Grace the Charge to Keep Us! God Is Saying His Grace & Mercy Belongs To You, Because You Belong To Him! Knowing This; I Just Want To Praise Him!

Hebrews 4:16, “Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [HIS AMAZING] GRACE to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].” (AMP)    

Grace reminds us of an ambulance coming to treat someone with a medical emergency. The paramedics aided the victim on the spot. They dispense immediate grace to the most serious symptoms. Then they slide them into the ambulance, which is equipped with more grace—by means of more medical equipment—to deal with the problem. And as the paramedics are administering more grace to the patient, the ambulance races to the hospital where even more grace awaits, in the form of a host of medical professionals with varying years of experience, specialties and learning, extensive medications, and available rooms and even larger and more proficient equipment to save and sustain life. And once the patient is admitted, the hospital keeps dispensing grace to meet the need until the problem has been addressed and the patient can go home again.  

As the beloved hymn goes: “Twas Grace that brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home.” 

Are you grateful for grace? No matter how bad your disease of sin may be, grace is there with her scrubs on ready to go to work on your behalf. Whether your hurt is physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual, grace is always there: Saving, Healing, Delivering, Stabilizing, and Restoring Your Entire Being Back to Good Health! 

Well, one day Jesus heard our emergency call for help, it sounded like this: “I am a sinner, and I need a Savior.” Or better yet, in the Words of Scripture:  

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).  

Aren’t you grateful for the grace that heard our emergency calls and answered every one of them?! 

Jesus Himself came to earth, found us dying in sin and reached down to save us. And as our High Priest, He also transported us from where we were, to a place that has all the grace we will ever need as long as we live, until we are finally and fully restored at the resurrection and go home with Him. How amazing is the love of God towards us? How amazing is His undeserved and yet abundant grace that is bestowed on our behalf?! 

Please know this with blessed assurance, today, if you draw near to Him, He will meet you where you are, and continuously dispense sufficient grace! “But He said to me, my grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP). Can you imagine being so covered in sufficient grace that you can even rejoice in your weaknesses and infirmities, because Grace has you covered?! Do you realize that His Grace is so Glorious, that it is Strong enough to Handle Our Every Weakness?! Grace is Amazing because it gives weak infirm individuals like us, Power and Strength and Mercy and Favor and Sufficiency! All of that simply by the Lord’s Grace! I always love hearing the song “Amazing Grace” but experiencing it and living under it cannot compare! And Grace covers a lot of Ground too! Do you realize that you cannot hide from Grace? It follows you, it walks with you, it talks to you, it covers you, it surrounds you, it shields you, it supplies you! God’s Grace Sticks Closer Than Your Own Shadow! 

Grace is already on every street, road, path, valley, hill, mountain, alley, cliff, dead-end, wrong turn, that you will ever find yourself on! The Father loves His children so, that no matter where we go or what we do, He has assigned His Grace the Charge to Keep Us! If we have never been grateful before, today is a good day to be grateful that God’s Grace towards us is still Amazing, Abundant and Available!  

Peter said, “God is patient...he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.” (2 Peter 3:9 CEV). This is why Outreach is so important and vital for the church. Even God Himself is patiently waiting for the lost to seek and to find Him. He desires their salvation. Now if the truth be told, far too many of the unsaved sit next to us on the bus, on the train, walk pass us in the grocery store and laundromat, get their hair and nails done in the same salons, and we have yet to share the Good News with them about an Amazing God dispensing Amazing Grace! And to take it a step further, some of the unbelievers have heard about Him, have sat next to you in the church pews, but have yet to confess and accept Him! That is where we must become more fervent in reaching them. Why? Because too many are too close not to make it in!  

There are many unbelievers right at our fingertips that are in need to God’s Grace and all the blessings and benefits that come attached to it. Will you honestly keep looking out at a harvest field that is ripe for the reaping, and yet you sit on your harvest hands instead of extending them to the work?! 

The Beauty of Grace is sitting by awaiting to fulfill the Scripture, “...He will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4). Someway, somehow, you pass someone unsaved...Everyday! And do you know that even though cosmetics are a multi-million-dollar empire, it still cannot compare to the beauty of salvation? And yet we selfishly keep such a fountain of youth beauty secret to ourselves! 

Listen: Grace can be simply defined as ‘’the free and unearned favor of God.’ In other words, it does not cost you a thing! So why not share the Free Grace of God with someone today?  Truth is, you received it and certainly you did not earn it, and neither can any of the rest of us. However, we can each lead a thirsty soul to the living water that overflows with abundant grace! Why not take a moment today to lead someone to the refreshing wells of grace?  

In a nutshell: Let someone else encounter and experience what it is like to be so low to the ground and have grace come in like a crane-operator and pull them up!  

Cranes like God’s Grace is an out-stretched arm that sustains and supports what it carries! Reminds me of Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).” (AMP). Just imagine all the stuff that people are carrying that has them so weighted down in life. They are carrying unemployment, sickness, fear, marital distress, family discord, church division, peer-pressured children, bad habits, decisions and addictions, anxiety, depression, loneliness, hurt, and sins of every sort. And now imagine you telling them about your Jesus who is always wrapped up in Grace, that desires to extend itself to them and carry them and that which they are carrying. Don’t you think someone near you would love to have that experience, just as you did? 

The Crane is also described much as a neck that stretches itself to see! And much like Hagar, I am so glad that I can see Him, but more importantly, even in my lowest of states He can see me! “So, she called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, you are a God of Seeing, for she said, Have I [not] even here [in the Wilderness] looked upon Him Who Sees Me [and lived]? Or have I here also seen [the future purposes or designs of] Him Who Sees Me?” (Genesis 16:33 AMP). Like I said, His Grace is Amazing, and so is Crane’s as an Analogy! 

Today it is my prayer that you will determine to find a brother or sister and share with them the Amazing Grace of your Amazing God! Today, you are God’s Crane! Look around you and see who needs God’s Grace extended towards them. Where should you look? In your own home, in your own family, among your own friends, in your own neighborhood and community, at your job, in your church, at the laundromat, in the supermarket, standing at the bus stop, waiting on the train, the person you share the Uber or Lyft with, the people in the nail and hair salons, at the barbershop, on the basketball court, in the deli, at the mall, at the schools, in line at the bank, pumping gas, at the gym, or the hundreds/thousands you can pass while walking or driving from place to place. There are so many in need of God’s Grace, and all they need to do to get connected with it is to have someone just like you, who will take the time and make the effort to Crane Their Neck and look out and see who they can help get to God! 

Will you do that today? Crane Your Neck and See Who in the Neighborhood Needs a Grace They Do Not Even Know They are Searching For! 

Remember: God’s Grace is Amazing to Experience for Yourself, But That Was Never Where It Was Supposed to End! Do not Be Selfish with God’s Grace, Share it With Someone Else! 

Romans 11:6, “But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].” (AMP) 

“God’s Grace is Immeasurable, His Mercy is Inexhaustible, His Peace is Inexpressible.”

‘I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I wish to be. I am not what I hope to be. But by the Grace of God, I am not what I was.”

Blessings

J.P. Olson

Who Protested The Death Of Christ? Who Spoke Out Against This Injustice? Who Came To His Defense? The Answer Is No One. Only One Person In History Never Left Behind Any Unfinished Business. His Name Is Jesus. I Have A Brief Story To Share...

Who protested the death of Christ? Who spoke out against this injustice? Who came to His defense?  The answer is no one. He was only a young man in His early 30's when He died. though He had done no wrong; no one spoke up for Jesus. We want to savor all God has for each of us this morning.

Justice is hard to come by in this world. Courts do make mistakes and sometimes innocent people suffer for crimes they did not commit. That’s what happened to Jesus. He died a criminal’s death. this was Jesus, no one spoke up for Him. Though He had done no wrong, uttered no threats, committed no crime, and had hurt no one, the powers that be decided that He had to die. So, they trumped up charges against Him, shuffled Him from one hearing to another, and in the end, they got what they wanted.

Sometimes courts make mistakes, He died a criminal’s death, hanging between two thieves. He was only a young man in His early 30s when He died. No one spoke up for Jesus. Jesus finished all He came to do. Only one person in history never left behind any unfinished business. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only person who could come to the end of His life and say—with absolute and total truthfulness— “I have finished everything I set out to do.” 

Extraordinary events marked the death of Jesus. The sky was completely dark for three hours as Jesus hung on the cross. Now of his last breath, the earth shook, the temple curtain split from top to bottom, and the tombs of saints opened, and their bodies raised from the dead. 

No one spoke up for Jesus because no one could speak up. The Jewish leaders were so enraged with Jesus that they were determined to kill him. Fueled by fear and jealousy over a Galilean rabbi they could not control and did not understand, they paid off Judas, arrested Jesus at night, put him through six hearings before morning, and then stood by as the Romans put him to death. He was cut off, Isaiah says. He died before his time.

He was only a young man, in his early 30s when he died. No one spoke up for Jesus. When a man dies young, we think of all he might have accomplished, the songs that might have been composed, books that might have been written, and amazing discoveries that might have been made. “He might have won a Nobel Prize.” “She might have been our first female president.” “He might have won an Oscar.” “She might have been a superstar.” And on goes the sad speculation about what might have been. That may be our worst fear . . . that we will die before our time. We die too young. Or we die too soon . . . Or we die with our work unfinished . . . Or we die with our dreams unfulfilled. You can’t say that about Jesus. What else did he have left to accomplish? He was put to death for the transgression of his own people.

The Only Righteous Man. All of this happened even though Jesus was innocent. He had done no violence. He committed no sin. He told no lies. It’s hard for us to grasp how amazing this is because we have nothing to compare to it. That is, we don’t exactly know what being “sinless” is because all of us are sinners. He was pure, holy, and perfect in every way. He never sinned, not even one time. Though he was severely tempted, he never gave in. All the rest of us fall so far short that we cannot begin to be compared to him. He is the only righteous man ever to walk this earth. And we crucified him. His reward for doing God’s will was a bloody Roman cross. Here is the wonder of grace at work. From the murder of a perfect man came God’s plan to rescue humanity. Christ died for us while we were still” sinners.

Jesus finished all He came to do. Only one person in history never left behind any unfinished business. His name is Jesus. Christ. He is the only person who could come to the end of his life and say—with absolute and total truthfulness— “I have finished everything I set out to do.” Just before Jesus died, he cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Note that he did not say, “I am finished,” for that would imply that he died defeated. Rather, he cried out “It is finished,” meaning “I successfully completed the work I came to do.”  It is the Savior’s cry of victory.

Who Will Take the Son: A Poignant Story, Yet Inspiring!

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

One day the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while saving another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only child.

About a month later, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood there with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart, and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love of art.” The young man held out his package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. The father stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the pictures. “Oh, no, sir. I could never repay what your son did for me. It is a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home; he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?” There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip that one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100. $200?”

Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goughs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids.” But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! Who will take the son?”

Finally, a voice came from the back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We have $10, who will bid $20?”

“Give it to him for $10! Let’s see the masters.” But the auctioneer continued. “$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?” The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more “worthy” investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”

A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!” But the auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”

“What about the paintings?”

“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct the auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything.”

God gave his son over 2000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, “The Son, the Son, who will take the Son?” Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!”

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

People Will Turn On You In A Minute. Will Sing Praises To You One Week And Cry Crucify You The Next Week Just As They Did With Jesus, The Same Way. Why Did The Crowds Turn Against Jesus So Quickly? Some Of Us Would Say "Because This Is What People Do.

The Desperate Need For A King.   What Kind Of King Did They Expect And What Kind Of King Are You Expecting? If Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was triumphal, what went wrong less than a week later? Why did the crowds turn against Jesus so quickly? One week they welcomed Him, and the next week they demanded He be crucified. Why did the crowds who adored Jesus on Sunday, turn on him by Friday of that week? We see this behavior daily, especially in the political arena, the entertainment arena, the Church. People will turn on you in a minute. Will sing praises to you one week and cry crucify you the next week just as they did with Jesus, the same way. Everybody is hopping on the bandwagon with everyone else and do not know why. Let us talk about what really happened and why the people turned so fast on Jesus.  

Their shout "Hosanna" meant "save now."

Jesus' Triumphant Entry in the Bible

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, "Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!"

Introduction: The desperate need for a Messiah

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, everyone knew a regime change was taking place. This was the day that God's people had been praying for. They had been under the boot of Rome. They had been reduced to nothing more than a puppet state. They had no king because the Romans would not let them have one. They could still appoint a high priest, but the Romans said, "We have to approve whoever you choose—and to make sure your high priest never gets any ideas about leading a revolt to create a Jewish state, we're going to keep the ceremonial robes of your high priest locked up in our guard towers.

Matthew 21:4 tells us: 'This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 'Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.' *The prophecy is cited from Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 62:11.

Jesus had become somewhat of a celebrity among people who had heard of the miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead, and they wanted to see Him and treat Him like a king. But Jesus was not arriving to be their king on account of Lazarus; the story of Lazarus would have had the religious leaders in even more of an uproar and determined to put an end to His life, which He knew . . .  Jesus’ glory would be greater than that of a local king." -

The Bible says that Jesus wept for Jerusalem. During the praise of the moment, He knew in His heart that it would not be long that these same people would turn their backs on Him, betray Him, and crucify Him. His heart broke with the reality of how much they needed a Savior.

"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it, and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes." Luke 19:41-42

Man looked for someone to fight their battles in the present-day world. Yet God had the ultimate plan of sending His Son to fight the final battle over death. This is the greatness of why we celebrate this week. Because of Christ's ultimate sacrifice, we can be set free of death.

We have so much to be grateful for this week. The enemy knows that, and you can bet, he is going to do everything he can to try and distract us away from the true meaning of what this Holy Week means. Do not let him win.

In this Holy Week, may God direct our thoughts and attention towards what matters most, Jesus Christ our King...

Let us choose to focus on worshipping our Lord, thanking Him for the gift of His sacrifice, celebrating the power of the Resurrection, and the new life found in Him alone. Grace. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

A Day of Applause

People respond to Jesus' arrival with joy, betrayal, or the offering of their lives.

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 19:28-43

The words that describe the experiences of the week are a litany of emotions that represent the ups and downs of the week. We know them: hosanna, confrontation, betrayal, denial, trial, scourging, crucifixion, tomb. Then the most electrifying sentence ever uttered—"He is not here! He is risen!"

A week that lifts us with shouts of praise. A week that reveals the abyss of denial and betrayal, the duplicity of Judas, and the unfaithfulness of Peter. We see the weakness of all his disciples who fled the city, the ambivalence of Pilate, the agony of death between two thieves—one who cursed him, the other who asked for his forgiveness. The bleakness of the "final things" at a borrowed tomb. Then on to the glory of his resurrection.

Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time. I believe, and many scholars believe, that he planned his own parade. He had studiously, up until that moment, avoided public acclaim and publicity. Now, he reached out for it. It was Passover time. The city was jammed with pilgrims from all over the world. He entered Jerusalem in a way that would focus the whole city on his arrival.

Why did the crowds turn against Jesus so quickly? One week they welcomed Him, and the next week they demanded He be crucified.

“No events in human history were more important than Jesus’ death and resurrection, and yet many people (even Christians) never take time to study them.

It must have been a dramatic sight as Jesus approached Jerusalem on a donkey (which was a sign of His humility). The Bible says that “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices … ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!'” (Luke 19:37-38). Even those who were not part of that welcoming crowd listened eagerly to His teaching during the next few days.

But not everyone in Jerusalem welcomed Him; the very next verse says that “the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?'” But soon many turned against Jesus and demanded His death: “‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:22).

These were not necessarily the same people who had welcomed Him, it has always been discussed that some of the same people were in this group as well—but the reversal is still striking. Were they disappointed because He refused to establish an earthly political kingdom? Probably. But Jesus did not come to set up a new political system. He came instead to change our hearts and save us from our sins by His death and resurrection. He declared during that last week, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight. … My kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). This deeply disappointed those who hoped He would throw out the hated Roman occupiers. They may also have disliked His demand that they repent.

Where would you have been on that day? Among the disciples who welcomed Him—or among the skeptical crowds? It is easy to condemn those who condemned Jesus—but would we have acted any differently? We too are sinners, and we too have rebelled against God.

But the central message of Resurrection Day is that God still loves us, and because of Christ we can be forgiven. He came for one reason: “Christ died for sins once for all … to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). May you welcome Him into your life during this holy season.”

The day on which Jesus’ rode into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey.  This day has been described by Christians for generations as the “triumphal entry into Jerusalem.”  But, have you ever asked yourself, “If this was a triumphal entry, then why did they crucify Jesus at the end of the week?”

Jesus, riding on a young donkey, embodies the peace and tranquility that the shalom that God brings to His people.

The Problem of Leadership

But there is another problem. 

Leadership is about disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb.

So, Jesus has another problem.  Of course, his followers and others who get caught up in his entry into Jerusalem think they are choosing to follow Jesus.  But by the end of the week, Jesus will have disappointed the crowd at a rate faster than they can stand.  They will turn on him.  Even those closest to Jesus, the 12 disciples, will either betray him outright, or abandon him in confusion and fear.

It is interesting to note that the crowd on that Sunday, proclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  In other words, they were placing their faith in Jesus that he would restore the glory of the nation to its splendor when David and his son, Solomon, ruled a United Kingdom.

That is what the Jews wanted, after all.  To be ruled by a man like David, a man so committed to God that the Old Testament prophets had proclaimed that the coming Messiah would sit on the throne of his father, David.  The Messiah would bring back the glory of Israel, would rid the nation of oppressors, would rule benevolently, and would be kind to the common people.

Jesus had challenged the rulers of Judea already.  Not the Roman rulers, but the local rulers.  He had said to them that the Temple was not the only way to find God’s forgiveness; and further, that the Temple would be destroyed, with not one stone left on another.

Of course, those who made their living from the Temple like the scribes; the chief priest and his priests; the ruling council of the Sanhedrin; and, the religious parties, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, would all lose their power and prestige if there was no Temple.  Or, even if the Temple were no longer the only place where one could be forgiven by God.

So, when Jesus miraculously saves the lame man by first saying, “Your sins are forgiven” and then healing him, he challenges the authority of the Temple system. And when Jesus drove the moneychangers from the Temple, proclaiming that the Temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations, but that the religious leaders had made it a den of thieves, Jesus exposed the corruption of the Temple tax, the scandalous monetary exchange rate, and the dishonesty of those who sold animals for sacrifice.

Jesus had disappointed and alienated powerful people.  He did so because the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the chief priest, the scribes, most of the Levitical priests, and others who ruled on Rome’s behalf, were part of the same system of oppression and domination that Pilate was part of.

A contrast between kings and kingdoms was on display that day in Rome.  And, although many of the common people thought they sided with Jesus, they did so for the same reasons the Pharisees and others sided with Rome.  They thought Jesus could do for them what Rome had done for their rulers—make their lives better, deliver them from the oppressive system under which they lived and worked, and turn the tables on the Romans.

That is why the crowd turns on Jesus by the end of the week.  They do not think he is going to do any of those things.  And, in addition, Jesus is going to make life worse for them, not better.  Their religious leaders, all of them, who never agree on anything, agree that Jesus is going to attract the attention of the Roman empire, especially during Passover, and Rome will come down fast and hard on the entire nation. (see Caiaphas’ speech in John 11:45-50)

So, when Jesus is accused, when he is brought by Pilate before the angry mobs, they want to be rid of him.  Jesus, in their minds, never did what they wanted him to do.  He never defeated the Romans, he never dissolved the unfair tax system, he never put common people in charge of the government, and furthermore, he never would.

To appease the crowds that swelled the city of Jerusalem, Pilate had the custom of releasing prisoners, many of whom were political prisoners.  But on this last week in the life of Jesus, Pilate offers the crowd a choice between Barabbas, a known robber, and Jesus, a failed Messiah.  Fearing that if Jesus were released, he would start all over again, the crowd begged for Barabbas to be released, and for Jesus to be executed.  And not just by any means, “Crucify him” was the cry.  Because crucifixion was the one form of capital punishment that would show Rome the Jews were completely loyal, and would humiliate Jesus, even in death.

Because that is the choice we make each day.  To choose power and might over love.  To choose “the way things are done” over “the way God intends them to be.”  Two theologies. Two choices.  Which would you choose?  What kind of king do you expect?

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

When Jesus Shows Up. Thank Him For Showing Up In Your Trouble To Bring You Out.

Beginning the day in prayer! Father, when we seek Your kingdom above all else all that we need will be given to us. We often quote this scripture without seeking You first. Our lives are upside down as we try to seek everything else but You.  When we turn everything over to You, not only our problems but our entire heart that’s when transformation occurs. We begin to understand beyond the physical senses how You’re involved in our day-to-day lives holding us up by Your grace.

The Lord already knew every hardship that would arise... and He’s planned people and blessings to show up just to bless you. Just watch...this is the season you see God become so very personal to you! I declare the Lord knows how to comfort and soothe your heart...just watch.

WHEN JESUS SHOWS UP

When Jesus Shows Up. Thank Him for showing up in your trouble to bring you out. 

Something That Nebuchadnezzar Was Not Ready For! Someone once said of the preaching ministry that the job of a preacher is to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. How do you do that in one message? How do you do both? How do you disturb the comfortable, and comfort the disturbed? Well, Nebuchadnezzar was which of the two? He was comfortable and he needed to be disturbed, and God sent him a vision to do that. 

I usually talk about the three Hebrew boys, but this morning I am going to go down memory lane with King Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadnezzar was introduced to four extraordinary Jewish youths, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These three young men refused to bow down to the gods of this world.   Well, these three Jews wouldn't, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, their names in their Jewish tongue. The question must be asked, have we bowed down to the gods of this world – lust, greed, envy, lying, and more.  It’s time for the church to stand up and live according to God’s word.  

What the king didn’t expect was for Jesus to show up and save them in the fire.  Yes, we must sometimes endure the pain and heat of the fire but hold on a bit longer because Jesus is going to show up. When you walk through fire, understand the destruction of Satan won’t work because Jesus is about to show up.  Go to your Bibles and open to Daniel chapter 4. As we look at one of the most important chapters in the Bible. The reason I say that is because this chapter opens what I consider to be one of our greatest enemies, also the greatest enemy of what God wants to do in the church, and that is pride. Everything that God wants to do in our lives, pride opposes.

And so, the final phrase in this chapter has become for me one of the sweetest in all the Bible, those who walk in pride He is able to humble. It's a remedy. Our God is a God who hates pride and yet deals with it so wisely, and we're going to see that today.

I FEAR THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD MORE THAN THE JUDGEMENT OF THIS WORLD’S SYSTEM. 

Ecclesiastes 8:12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Daniel 4:1-37. HUMILITY, PROVIDENCE, AND SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

Human Pride: The Root of All Evils

Go to your Bibles and open to Daniel chapter 4. As we look at one of the most important chapters in the Bible. The reason I say that is because this chapter opens what I consider to be one of our greatest enemies, also the greatest enemy of what God wants to do in the church, and that is pride. Everything that God wants to do in our lives, pride opposes. Everything. If you're not a Christian and I were to stand and tell you that your righteousness was like filthy rags in God's sight, there's something inside you that riles up. What is that? Well, it's pride. And if I were to tell you that you had to receive salvation as a gift paying nothing, but just receiving it simply as a gift, there's something inside you that says, no it can't be. "We are more unwilling," said a Puritan scholar, "to give up our righteousness than our sins." And why is that? Because of pride.

Alright, and then once you become a Christian, are you finished? Are you saved; you're done? No, our "salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed," there's a journey to be traveled. "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me," that's journey language, isn't it? And what is it that fights every step of the journey? It is pride. Because as we're advancing, we're putting sin to death, we're seeing problems in our lives, they're exposed by Scripture, by good preaching, by a friend who speaks the truth to us, and there's something inside that fights. And what is it? It is pride. And so, we have pride exposed and revealed in Daniel chapter 4. But we have more than that, we have the remedy and the only remedy, a sovereign God who sits on a throne and who reveals Himself in all His majesty and His splendor as a King of kings and a Lord of lords. Who rules over the kingdoms of men and over individual men no matter how powerful they are.

Preaching in the year 411, St. Augustine as he was ordaining a bishop warned against pride, and he said this, he said, "Pride is a great vice, and the first of vices, the beginning, the origin, and the cause of all sins." Now stop and think about that, the beginning, the origin, the cause of all sins. It's what cast down an angel and made him into the devil. Pride was the cup which on being cast down he gave to the man still standing for him to drink. The beginning of every sin is pride because pride is the desire to replace God with oneself.

Alright, and then once you become a Christian, are you finished? Are you saved; you're done? No, our "salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed," there's a journey to be traveled. "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me," that's journey language, isn't it? And what is it that fights every step of the journey? It is pride. Because as we're advancing, we're putting sin to death, we're seeing problems in our lives, they're exposed by Scripture, by good preaching, by a friend who speaks the truth to us, and there's something inside those fights. And what is it? It is pride. And so, we have pride exposed and revealed in Daniel chapter 4. But we have more than that, we have the remedy and the only remedy, a sovereign God who sits on a throne and who reveals Himself in all His majesty and His splendor as a King of kings and a Lord of lords. Who rules over the kingdoms of men and over individual men no matter how powerful they are.

And so, the final phrase in this chapter has become for me one of the sweetest in all the Bible, those who walk in pride He is able to humble. It's a remedy. Our God is a God who hates pride and yet deals with it so wisely.

Preaching in the year 411, St. Augustine as he was ordaining a bishop warned against pride, and he said this, he said, "Pride is a great vice, and the first of vices, the beginning, the origin, and the cause of all sins." Now stop and think about that, the beginning, the origin, the cause of all sins. It's what cast down an angel and made him into the devil. Pride was the cup which on being cast down he gave to the man still standing for him to drink. The beginning of every sin is pride because pride is the desire to replace God with oneself.

The central lessons in Daniel 4 we need to hear very much. That God rules over the kingdoms of men and is satisfying to the soul, and that those who walk in pride He can humble. Do you know people in your circle, in your life, and in your ministry that need humbling. Pray for them, God can humble them.

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com