Did You Know There Were Two Processions On Palm Sunday? We Hear About Jesus Triumphal Entry. But Something Else Happens. Two Processions. Two Choices. Which Would You Choose? What Kind Of King Do You Expect? The Enemy Always Try To Overpower Jesus.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. What Kind Of King Did They Expect, And What Kind Of King Are You Expecting? 

If Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was triumphal on Palm Sunday, what went wrong less than a week later? Why did the crowds who adored Jesus on Sunday then turn on him by Friday of that week? We see this behavior daily, especially in the political arena, the entertainment arena, and The Christian arena. 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 hops on the bandwagon with everyone else and does not know why. Did something go wrong or is this just human nature, and what choice does Palm Sunday present to us today? I will try to answer those questions and explore the reasons the Roman Empire, the Jewish religious leaders, and the common people all turned on Jesus after that glorious Sunday. What Kind of King Did You Expect? Jesus not only has the answer, He is the ANSWER! 

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.

Palm Sunday also marks the beginning of Holy Week, a solemn week focusing on the final days of Jesus' life. Holy Week culminates on Resurrection Sunday, the most important holiday in Christianity.

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 a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.' *The prophecy is cited from Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 52:11.

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." -

On the heels of Palm Sunday, as we begin this Holy Week, may we constantly be reminded of its significance and value for our lives today. That very important day in history when Jesus began His journey towards the cross.

His Word reveals such great truths in every part of this story. Truths that draw us closer to Christ, reminding us that He alone is King...

4. 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 before 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

5. Palm Sunday reminds us that the reign of Christ is far greater than any the mind of man could ever conceive or plan. 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.

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,'’ John 11:25. 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...

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 19:28-43. As you study the life of Jesus on the pages of the four Gospels, you discover that the material about the life of Jesus focuses on the last week of his life. Those who wrote the stories of Jesus were saying that the most important part of the disclosure of who he was, and who he is, is revealed in the last week of his life.

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!"

Palm Sunday is at best, "a day of temporary triumph." At worst, it is an illustration of the "fickle nature of the voice of the people." 1

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.

It all began on Palm Sunday, a day of applause. Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time. I believe, and many scholars believe, that he planned his 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).

It is mentioned in various translation that these were some of the same people who shouted Hosanna and then cried Crucify Him with the inclusion of different people who had joined in. 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 first Palm Sunday? 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 and for all … to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). May you welcome Him into your life during this holy season.”

If this is such a glorious Sunday for all Christians, what goes wrong by Friday that Jesus will find himself betrayed by one of his disciples, arrested by the high priest’s guard, accused by a coalition of religious leaders, tried by the Roman governor, and sentenced to die the death of a common criminal—death by crucifixion.

A Day of Two Processions

You might not know that Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem was not the only procession the city saw that day.  In the year 30 AD, Roman historians record that the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, led a procession of Roman cavalry and centurions into the city of Jerusalem.  (The Last Week. Imagine the spectacle of that entry.  From the western side of the city, the opposite side from which Jesus enters, Pontius Pilate leads Roman soldiers on horseback and foot.

Drummers beat out the cadence of march for this was no ordinary entry into Jerusalem.  Pilate, as governor of the region which included not only Judea, but Samaria, and Idumea, knew it was standard practice for the Roman governor of a foreign territory to be in its capital for religious celebrations.  It was the beginning of Passover, a strange Jewish festival that the Romans allowed.  However, the Romans must have been aware that this festival celebrated the liberation of the Jews from another empire, the empire of Egypt.

So, Pilate had to be in Jerusalem.  Since the Romans had occupied this land by defeating the Jews and deposing their king about 80 years before, uprisings were always in the air.  The last major uprising, long before Pilate’s time, had been after the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC. After putting down the rebellion there, the Romans marched on Jerusalem.  After pacifying the city, they crucified over 2,000 Jews who were accused of being part of the rebellion.  The Romans had made their intolerance for rebellion well-known.  And so, on this occasion, Pilate had traveled with a contingent of Rome’s finest from his preferred headquarters in Caesarea-by-the-Sea to the stuffy, crowded, provincial capital of the Jews, Jerusalem.

The Temple would be the center of Passover activity.  Antonia’s Fortress, the Roman garrison built adjacent to the Temple compound, would serve as a good vantage point from which to keep an eye on the Jews.  Pilate’s entry into Jerusalem was meant to send a message to the Jews, and to those who might be plotting against the empire of Rome.  The spectacle was meant to remind the Jews of what had happened the last time of a wide-scale uprising.  And it was meant to intimidate the citizens of Jerusalem themselves, who might think twice about joining such a rebellion if it was slated to fail.

But I said this was a day of two processions, so let us get back to Jesus and his entry into Jerusalem.  If Pilate’s procession was meant as a show of military might and strength, Jesus’ procession was meant to show the opposite.  Both Matthew and Mark record Jesus’s own words, as he instructs his disciples to go into the city and find a donkey tied up.  They are to ask the owner if they may use the donkey, and they are to say that “the Lord needs them.”

But there is more to this passage than just a description of Jesus’ means of transportation for that day.  The prophet Zechariah is speaking to the nation.  In Zechariah 9, the prophet reassures the people of Judah, called Judea in the New Testament, that God has not forgotten them:

In other words, Jesus’ quote from the prophet Zechariah reminded those who heard him of the entire passage.  The message they heard was, “God will deliver the nation from the oppressor”—in this case, Rome!

But the king they seek will come to them humbly, not on a steed of war, but on a slow-moving donkey, the symbol of a king who comes in peace, according to Zechariah.

The two processions could not be more different in the messages they convey.  Pilate, leading Roman centurions, asserts the power and might of the empire of Rome which crushes all who oppose it.

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

Those who watch that day will make a choice.  They will either serve the god of this world, might and power; or they will choose to serve the king of a very different kind of kingdom, the kingdom of God.

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 the 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 challenged 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.

You know how it goes in society, we hear often hear rumors that if you alienate powerful people, they know how to get rid of you. 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 of Kingdoms: Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem may or may not have been planned to occur on the same day as Pilate’s procession through the western gate of the city.  Whether it was planned or not, the two processions provided an unmistakable contrast.For, you see, Pilate served the Son of God, too.  The late emperor Augustus, who ruled from 31 BC to 14 ADS, was said to have been fathered by the god, Apollo, and conceived by his mother, Atia.  Inscriptions referred to him as “son of God,” “lord,” and even, “savior.”  After his death, the legend had it that he was seen ascending into heaven, to take his place among the gods.

Augustus’ successors—Tiberias during Jesus’ life and ministry—also bore divine titles, until later in the first century the emperors would demand to not only be addressed as “God,” but to be worshipped as God also.

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, who never agreed on anything, agreed that Jesus was going to attract the attention of the Roman empire, especially during Passover, and Rome would 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 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.

But for one moment, ask yourself, “If I had been in Jerusalem that day, and had seen both processions passing by, which would I have chosen to follow?”

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 processions.  Two theologies. Two choices.  Which would you choose?  What kind of king do you expect? The enemy always try to overpower and outshine Jesus. Each time the enemy loses. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He Reigns Forevermore.

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

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When You Take Over The Wheel, You Lose Your Way From His Will! If Only We’d Stop Inviting And Involving Jesus In The Wedding Only. And Start Inviting And Involving Jesus In The Marriage, We’d Be So Much Better! Why God Has A Word? The Love Triangle.

A love triangle is usually a prescription for broken hearts unless you have the kind of love triangle that keeps hearts from being broken. Why would God want us talking about this subject today? He wants to remind us of our covenant. God knows the enemy is having a field day trying to disrupt marriages and families. God reinforces the power of unity within marriage again and again throughout His Word.

So then, what does the Bible say about marriage? Why did God create this beautifully messy thing called holy matrimony? Marriage is and always will be an earthly symbol of a heavenly truth. Marriage is a picture of Christ and His relationship with the church.

As the author in Song of Solomon expresses his love for his bride in Song of Solomon 8:7. He makes a bold statement, in essence, that love cannot be purchased. The love you choose to walk in, in your marriage, is meant to show the world this same truth—that God’s love is unearned and cannot be bought with anything you have to offer.

Our marriages are to be walking examples of God’s unending love, grace, and mercy. Whether we are being good examples, walking in the direction and command of the Lord, or we are being disobedient and rebellious to it, we are being a symbol to the world. What gospel is your marriage preaching to this lost and dying world? Is it proclaiming the never-ending and ever-patient love of God?

Our marriages can and should bring glory to God and point outsiders, who are looking in, to a loving and redeeming God. Marriage was created by God, it is His, and He desires for it to be used His way and for His purposes. More to the point: Your marriage is God’s, and He desires for it to be done His way and for His purposes!

Are you ready for that?

If Only We’d Stop Inviting and Involving Jesus in The Wedding Only…And Start Inviting and Involving Jesus in The Marriage Also, We’d Be So Much Better! However, If Truth Be Told, We Have a Bad Tendency to Invite Everyone Else into Our Marriages, Except Jesus. Oh, we’ll talk to family, friends, coworkers, and just people of interest that will lend an ear (some with pure motives and intentions, many without). But the One person we committed our vows before is the one person we overlook in marital trouble. We seek outside sources, when He’s waiting on the sidelines, ever so patient, for us to include Him back in the triangle. I mean, if it started with Him, shouldn’t we carry it all the way through with Him?

Now, there's a formula in Ecclesiastes 4. It's a formula for lasting bonds between people. You could very well call it the arithmetic of love. Here's what it says beginning at verse 9, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. If two lie down together they will keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

That passage is a powerful statement about relationships, especially if you apply it to the ultimate relationship of marriage. It says two works together better than one, two walk together better than one, two stand together better than one, and then suddenly the number changes. Suddenly it's talking about three strands. Wait…I thought we were talking about two…So enter the love triangle: a husband, a wife, and God. That's the kind of love triangle that avoids broken hearts. Ephesians 5:21 alludes to it when it says, speaking to husbands and wives, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (NIV). It's the Jesus factor in a marriage that always makes the difference. Now, the triangle is the strongest geometric figure there is, and a love triangle with Christ at the top is virtually indestructible! In other words, you've got the man and woman joined together by that line along the bottom, but they both have a line going up to Jesus at the top. That bond between the man and the woman will fray sometimes. There's interference, there's disappointment, there's disillusionment, there's hurt. But if both the man and woman are connected to Christ at the top of the triangle, that bond will hold them together when the bond of human compatibility is unraveling.

The problem with many of us as spouses is we don’t always keep Christ at the top of the triangle. Often, we fight to be in the top slot that we push Him down or take Him out of the equation altogether. But the only way for the love triangle with Jesus to work effectively, is to always be certain that He maintains His top priority position. While we’re fighting to be heard, fighting to be right, fighting to prove the other wrong, fighting to get the upper hand, we undermine His hand on our Covenant. Which makes you wonder: As soon as we think divorce is the answer, isn’t it amazing when you share that theory with others, most will always ask, “Have you prayed about it first?” Why do they ask that? Well, genius, you can’t call yourself a Christian then decide to Crucify your Covenant, and think people aren’t going to ask if you consulted Christ! Even other people are under the impression that you have Christ in your marriage! And so, they ask the obvious question of “have you prayed about it first?” And often, we haven’t, we just want a quick fix for what we’ve allowed to slowly break down over the years. We want Jesus, in the beginning, to bless our covenant, but as soon as conflict and crisis hits along the journey, we pull the marriage over, kick Jesus out from behind the wheel, and then drive our marriages right over the cliff! After all, how can you possibly think you can reach your marital destination without the only One who has the directions? And remember, we kicked Him out! But When You Take Over The Wheel, You Lose Your Way From His Will!

So, the question is, "How much is Jesus Christ a real Person and Presence in your marriage?" Do you pray together about real life issues as if Jesus is right there with you? "Lord, we've got to talk to You about this together." In fact, when was the last time you prayed with your spouse? Not for houses, cars, land, business, ministry, money, promotion, elevation, or personal gain. But prayed with your spouse: “Lord, teach us to be loving, faithful, supportive, encouraging, kind, generous, patient, forgiving. Teach us to acknowledge one another’s strengths and be patient and understanding in one another’s weaknesses. Teach us to be a better man and woman; better husband and wife; better father and mother; better son and daughter; better disciples; better believers, better friends, better spouses, better lovers, better teammates. Teach us to walk by faith and not by sight. Teach us to trust You when our finances or health is failing. Teach us to be Your mirror to the world of what unconditional love really looks like.” When is the last time you prayed with your spouse, not for personal gain, but for personal growth?

Do you often ask together, "What would Jesus do?" Are you cultivating the habit of sharing what Christ has said to you from His Word that day with each other? Do you get on your knees together and fight for your family, friends, and children?

And though most ‘super-saved Christian’s’ may call it ‘carnal’, but do you also laugh together, watch television together, travel together, go to the movies, out to dinner, go shopping, do you still date and court your spouse? Do you call and text your spouse as much as you do everybody else? Are you in your spouses’ face more than you’re on Face book? Do you share as many pictures with your spouse as you do with Instagram? Do you text your spouse as much as you tweet? Do you send flowers? Do you enjoy engaging conversation from talking about Jesus, to the weather, to the government, to what you ate for lunch? Do you take walks? Do you still share dreams, or have you only become each other’s nightmares? Do you sit down to dinner, in your own home, at your own dinner table, without the intruding guest of your cell phone, internet or social media? Do you go for a long drive? Picnic in the park? Weekend get-a-way to no-where in particular? Have you planned your vacation? Have you passionately made love to your spouse, or do you simply settle for watching such scenes on movies screens with actors portraying the roles of marital bliss? I know, sounds ‘carnal’ to some, but for those who know that it takes your body, soul, and spirit to make a marriage work, you get it! We don’t spend all of our time in church, in the Word or in prayer! Those things are wonderful, those things are needful, especially when they’re done as couples, however, going to the beach won’t send you to hell either! If you’re finding it difficult to laugh with your spouse over something silly, then something is wrong! Even Jesus, slept, ate, prayed, and wept…in other words Jesus expressed His natural as well as His spiritual. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with you doing the very same! As a couple you can preach the walls of Jericho down, but when you’re done, go to Olive Garden and eat some pasta! Are you getting this? You cannot expect to have an Enjoyable marriage that has no Joy!

Maybe the marriage is rotting because you’ve both stopped eating the fruit of the Spirit! Imagine if you digested daily more love for your spouse, more joy and peace with your spouse, more forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness towards your spouse, and more self-control to keep yourself only for your spouse, you’d see a tremendous difference take place in your marriage. That’s the beauty of having Jesus not only in your marriage, or a part of your marriage, but having Him (His Spirit) as Head Over your marriage! Then, even on bad days, you could still be good to your spouse!

So, are you attempting to make marriage work with just the two of you, or have you considered a love triangle with Jesus? After all, who better to have during your marriage, and even during its’ problems then Jesus? Jesus saves, heals, delivers, forgives, and understands; He is patient, kind, loving, and generous. Who better to teach a couple such characteristics but the One who has exemplified such characteristics with the Godhead? Isn’t it amazing how they work together? And as a believer, you have the opportunity and privilege to invite Them into your marriage to show you how to work together just like Them.

I’ve always said it, and always will; most often the issue in marriage isn’t ‘we’ve grown apart’, the issue is ‘we haven’t grown up.’ Marriage takes Maturity. It takes two people that will stop screaming ‘mine’ and start screaming ‘ours’. It takes two people that will stop trying to have their own way, and instead go in the way of God. It takes two people who learn to talk to each other and with each other not against each other and at each other. It takes two people who learn to attentively listen, even when they have so much, they want to say. It takes sacrifice, and sacrifice is painful and bloody! No one has ever made a sacrifice and thought it was good or even felt good! It’s hard, it’s tough, it can be grueling, but when you remember the purpose and payoff of the sacrifice, you’ll know it was worth it! But you must be an ‘adult’ to get there! You can’t play the bully; you can’t be the whiner; you can’t pick the fight; you can’t run to your corner and call it quits; you can’t drag in reinforcements of the flesh and think it will better anything! No! For this, you’ve got to grow up, mature, adult and fight to maintain the marriage you willfully made!

But sadly, we as a church live in a day and age where anyone, anything, everyone, everything is easily discarded. Can you imagine if we had to be perfect for Jesus to come? He would never have come because none of us are perfect. Instead, He came because our imperfections needed Him. He didn’t throw our sins in our face; He didn’t get joy out of our sorrows, pain, or failures; He didn’t say that we weren’t good enough; He didn’t give us a laundry list of perfection to live up to before He came. And yet, we as believers look for others, especially our spouses, to live up to an ideal that’s not ideal. We want them to cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I’, even though we don’t, and we can’t. And so when we don’t get what we expected, imagined or wanted, we discard. Aren’t you grateful Jesus doesn’t work like that? Not even Judas’ betrayal; Peter’s denial; or Thomas’ doubts could make Him replace them. He loved them, embraced them, and accepted them as the flawed individuals they were. However, as spouses, we don’t always treat one another with the same unconditional love. We don’t extend the same grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We aren’t as patient, dedicated, or determined. No, we simply and quickly discard.

Which makes me wonder about many of us and our employment? So many of us work in jobs that we hate or with people we would much rather not even walk on the same sidewalk with. And yet, we never up and quit our jobs; we don’t leave; we don’t walk away; we don’t throw our hands up and throw the towel in. We can be frustrated, taken advantage of, misused, disrespected, treated unfairly and even poorly, and still, 30 years later, we’re in the same job. If only we treated marriages with the same commitment.

Oh, there will be days when you’ll want to file for divorce; days you’ll have no idea why you got married in the first place; days when you think ‘who is this person?’ There will be conflict, arguments and even misunderstandings. There will be days that are hard and nights that are long. But if you wouldn’t throw in the towel on a job with people you hate; how can you throw in the towel with the person you said you love? Know this: Eventually that job will have no need of you and will discard you (retirement). But you’re married to a person who’s in it ‘till death do we part’, and yet that’s the person you choose to resign from? Listen, marriage is hard, it’s work and there will be days when you feel like it’s more work than going to work! But is it still worth it? Absolutely! God still hates divorce; adultery is still a sin; and a vow made, should still be a vow maintained.

Let today be the day you re-exam your own marriage. Is Jesus still a part of it, or have the two of you given Him the boot? Is He still the first Person you consult, or does He come in after you’ve called everyone else? The Man who has given sight to the blind; speech to the mute; walking to the lame; and life to the dead can surely help your marriage, don’t you think?

Lastly, when God is Love, how do you think you can manage a marriage without Him who is Love? The Father so full of love sent His very own Son to die just for us; Jesus so full of love laid down His own life, voluntarily, just for us; the Holy Spirit so full of love, has moved in and made His home in us, His temple. Now, just imagine if you invited and involved the Godhead into your marriage the level of love you both would be filled with?

Love triangles with people will destroy your marriage, but one with the Godhead ensures that it’s indestructible! Which will you choose today?

Before you get married, wait for someone who is joined to Jesus as you are, because it is worth the wait. And after you marry, practice His presence daily in your home. A love triangle with Jesus as that real third person is the strongest bond on earth!

Dear Lord, We know You created marriage as a testimony of Your power and grace, and that our marriage is a vessel for Your good will. Our greatest desire is to be unified in marriage to faithfully live out our days to please You. We pray You would give us a clear understanding of our purpose together.

As we pursue our purpose, we ask You to strengthen our hearts and give us confidence to accomplish all that You have for us. No matter what circumstances we face together, we pray that we would trust You to work all things together for good.

Thank You for the time we get to spend together: the conversations we have, the memories we make, and even the simplest moments of connection we share. Will You remind us to take advantage of the opportunities we have today to love each other in big and small ways? Please remind us that a significant part of our purpose in marriage is to encourage one another with the truth that You love us deeply. As we chase boldly after You together, may our love reflect Your love to a broken world. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.

As you pray together, you will: Learn to trust God more as you see him move in mighty ways in every area of your life and marriage. Create a lifelong habit of deep, meaningful, and specific prayer for your marriage as you commit to praying bold, powerful prayers for one another this year.

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST on The NOW Network http://www.theNOWnetwork.org 

ROKU, Cable & Online. https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday

When God Doesn't Come Through. What if You Risk Everything and God Doesn't Come Through? What Do We Do When God Fails Us, When Our Lives Fall Apart, When His Promises Seem To Fail?

Father, we thank You for being active and working with us in every situation, every dark moment. Even when things seem at their bleakest, we trust in Your sovereignty and strength.   In John 16:33, You said, "in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." We embrace the fact that this world and the troubles we face have been overcome and rest in the knowledge that You have the power to move in any and every situation.

When God Doesn't Come Through. What if You Risk Everything and God Doesn't Come Through? What Do We Do When God Fails Us, When Our Lives Fall Apart, When His Promises Seem To Fail? God reminds us through His Word that He is trustworthy and good, no matter the outcome of our circumstances. When you walk with God. The impossible becomes possible.

Sometimes our life circumstances don’t make sense. We wonder what God is up to, and more pressing, we may even doubt and wonder if God will come through at all. But doubt is not the same as unbelief — as we see most beautifully in the example of John the Baptist, who found himself suffering in prison because of his allegiance to God. In a moment of questioning and doubt, John wondered if God would come through for him.

 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” (Matthew 11:2-3) Like every faithful Jew, John knew that the coming of the Messiah meant good news for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted and “freedom for the captives” (Isaiah 61:1, NIV). But would Jesus come through for him? Now?

 In Jesus’ response to John in Matthew 11:4-6, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1. But He omitted one very important phrase. He said nothing about the prisoners being set free.

“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’” (Matthew 11:4-6, NIV)

 From Jesus’ response, John understood that his faith, which got him imprisoned in the first place, would not set him free from the prison cell he found himself in. While Jesus’ ministry would certainly include setting captives free, what John was expecting would not be what he would experience. And Jesus didn’t come through in the way John had hoped.

 But John’s story does not end in despair. He did not fall into the trap of unbelief. Nor did he “stumble,” or fall away on account of Jesus. Scripture does not indicate that John’s life, unlike others’ (for example, Judas Iscariot’s), ended in betrayal or disbelief. On the contrary, Jesus alluded to John later in His ministry as an example of righteousness. (Matthew 21:32)

What we can learn from John is that he moved not from uncertainty to certainty but from uncertainty to trust. He learned what we must all learn: In God’s hands, even what seems senseless is sacred and full of meaning and purpose. God will show Himself faithful to you. He reminds us through His Word that He is trustworthy and good, no matter the outcome of our circumstances. He will invite you to lean on Him as your Rock, to seek comfort in Him as your heavenly Father and to trade your fears for His peace.

I’m not sure what you are facing in your life today. But if you are struggling to give your hopes and hurts to God, you are in good company. We’re all limping along, learning to trust Jesus in all the things. The good news is that Jesus not only suffered for us, but He suffers with us. He enters our pain. And no matter the final outcome of any situation, Jesus gives us the grace to walk faithfully under the weight of our cross and into His glory.

Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." Daniel 3:13-18 NLT

I love the stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had such amazing faith, faith that led them to stand in defiance of the king's order to bow down and worship an idol. They were committed to serving God, to bowing to him only. They knew the penalty for their disobedience to the king, and yet they walked in faith to God. They reverenced God more than they feared the blazing hot furnace.

There they stood, watching the furnace being heated. The king gave them one last chance to change their minds, to bow down and worship the idols.

 And that’s when they made their bold declaration, “Our God is able to save us.”

As they stared at the fire, they proclaimed their faith once again—and their defiance against the king’s orders. They proclaimed that their God is able to save them! But they didn’t stop there. "But even if He doesn't…"

Maybe it was a moment of weakness. Maybe it was a dose of reality, their true fear of the situation showing through. Maybe they were doubting just a bit as they felt the heat from the fire. Maybe it was just to save face in case God failed to show up.

I don’t know exactly what the men were thinking in that moment, but they expressed the possibility that God might not save them. He was able; but was He willing?

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever stepped out in faith, believing God was able? Have you ever put everything on the line for God, knowing without a doubt that He had called you?

What if you risk everything and God doesn’t come through? What then? Wait. That’s not possible, you might be thinking. God is able. If He calls us, He always provides. He cannot lie. His promises are forever and always, yes and amen.

Or maybe, like me, you've been there. You've believed with all your heart that God has told you something. He’s confirmed His word to you repeatedly, through scripture and through others. You’ve staked your reputation on His word. And He fails you.

We don’t want to admit that sometimes we are disappointed by God. He doesn’t answer our prayers, at least not the way we expected Him to. Maybe it’s a prayer for healing for ourselves or someone we love. Maybe it’s prayers to save our marriage, to rescue our spouse from that adulterous relationship. Maybe it’s prayers to turn a wayward child back to God.

 I don’t know what it is in your life. Have you’ve been in that place where you felt that God failed you, where you were disappointed by His actions—or lack of action? A place where you wondered why you should continue to follow Him if He wasn’t faithful to keep His promises. You’ve wondered if I should continue to serve Him if he is able, but not willing.

Many of us don’t want to admit that sometimes we feel like God has failed us, that He has failed to hold up His end of the bargain. We somehow feel that we are to blame—maybe our faith wasn’t strong enough or we didn’t pray hard enough or we misinterpreted His words. Somehow, it’s not allowed to admit that God didn’t come through for us.

 So, What Do We Do When God Fails Us, When Our Lives Fall Apart, When His Promises Seem To Fail?

Understand that His ways are higher than our ways. When your marriage fell apart, you begged God to put it back together, to heal us, to bring your husband or wife to repentance for their adultery. Day after day, you fall to your knees seeking His face, seeking His healing. And yet, your spouse chose to continue walking away from God and you, ultimately leading to divorce. You was diagnosed with Cancer, your child lost their life, you lost your home, your car, you went bankrupt as the list goes on. Why God, why did You fail me?

Have you had to grapple with the collision of God’s sovereignty with man’s free will. While God is always able, sometimes man is not willing to go along with His plan. Man’s hard-heart limits how God can work. But, in His sovereignty, God will not allow His plan for your life to be derailed because of something another has done to you. He will use all the heartache and the pain to make something beautiful in you…if you let Him.

The more I get to know God, the more I come to realize that I am a finite human being with a finite understanding of the infinite Creator and Sustainer of the universe. I cannot grasp, cannot understand, His ways, His thoughts, His plans.

And when I cannot understand, I must trust that He is still in control. Life often seems to be spiraling out of control. We find ourselves grasping for anything that will help us maintain some semblance of control, make some sense of the storm swirling all around us. Sometimes, we simply cannot understand. We are near-sighted, unable to see from God’s perspective. It’s in those times where we simply must let go, surrender, trust that He knows what He is doing. We must look to His past faithfulness, the promises in His word, and cling to the hope that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

We must trust Him with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. We must acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He can direct our path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

And when we trust that He is in control, we can know that He will use everything for His glory and our good. While the disappointments we experience are not necessarily God’s will for our lives, nothing can touch us without Him allowing it. If He allows it, then He must be using it for some greater purpose.

I have a friend who shared this with me: God’s will was not for my husband to have an affair, not for me to end up divorced. But it happened because of a hardened heart. And God allowed it. During my darkest days, I didn’t understand how or why. But today, I look back and see how He has used the trials to do an eternal work in my life, to grow my faith and conform me to his image. I see how He has used the most unwanted pain to open doors of ministry for me, to fulfill His purpose for me that He planned long ago (Ephesians 2:10).

Whatever disappointment you are facing, however you feel that God has failed you, know that He will turn it into something beautiful. He will resurrect your life from the dead and give you a testimony to point the world back to Him.

I don’t know what disappointments you are facing. I don’t know how you sense that God has failed you. I don’t know if you stood before the world and proclaimed, “My God is able…”

If you, like me, find yourself in the “even if He doesn’t…” category, don’t let go. Don’t let your finite understanding of the situation cause you to stumble, to fall away from God. Hold tight! Trust that His view of your circumstances is far beyond your understanding. Trust that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust that He will take the pain and disappointments and use them for good.

 Dear Jesus, thank You for being beside me through every season of my life. Even when I don’t understand what You are doing, help me to trust that Your love for me is unending and Your plan for me is good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Lord Jesus, life is hard. Sometimes we don’t understand. We are disappointed and even feel forsaken by You. Give us a fresh vision of Your goodness, of Your grace. Give us confidence to cling to the hope that You are still working in the midst of the devastation, in the silence, to create a testimony of redemption. Give us confident assurance that You are still in control. Pour out Your peace on us as we trust You to do what we cannot. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST on The NOW Network http://www.theNOWnetwork.org 

ROKU, Cable & Online. https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday