Five Pieces of Cloth
Clothing had value. Four soldiers wanted it. Each took one piece, and they gambled for the fifth (John 19:23-24). At the end of the day, they took their booty with them. What happened to those five pieces of cloth? Were they kept and worn? Were they sold at a profit? Did their value change
Rolling The Dice
Hanging on the cross Jesus was engaging the powers of death, evil and darkness. In the words of N.T. Wright, this was “The Day The Revolution Began.” While these earth shaking matters were going on above them, along with all of its pain and suffering, soldiers gambled for the garments of Jesus. Each had
Forgiveness And Peacemaking
“Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” This word from Jesus is an amazing word. By it, He is making peace with all humanity through forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key component of peacemaking. Without this, we cannot be reconciled to each other. Giving forgiveness is one way we are like
The Humility of God
Jesus Christ reveals the humility of God; the One who has all power comes to us incognito. He patiently waits for us to invite Him, even while He is drawing us with His grace. He waits for our love while extravagantly pouring out His. He submits to our choices, even if that choice is
Wrath To Donkey Riders
The empire is out to teach donkey riders a lesson. All it takes is the bigger weaponry of chariots and horses. But the God who hates war rode a donkey anyway. Jesus came to “take away the war-horses from Jerusalem,” i.e., city of Shalom. The world says, “You see where it got Him —
Riding A Donkey
Chariots were the war tanks of the ancient world. Every army coveted them. They had a great advantage over the foot soldier. Egypt had them in abundance, but they proved to be no advantage in God’s great rescue. Solomon accumulated horses and chariots, trusted in them and destroyed Israel. When God’s true King came,
Press On
Sometimes we just don’t feel like it. Getting up. Going to work. Going to church. Doing some service, or ministry. We cannot serve out of a feeling with the rewards it might bring us. We do what needs to be done, because that it is right and good. Surprise of surprises, some of the
The Unanswered “Why”
Insisting on knowing “why” this or that happened can be a frustrating and peace-destroying cycle. It is okay to ask the question and it is also okay not to get an answer. The question of “why” is often asked of God. Yet, there are other people’s choices that play hugely into the things that
Real Confession
Confession is knowing myself, and having taken a hard look, telling the truth about myself. Few ever look deeply into their own heart with its ill motives and skewed intent. They have been taught by themselves, or others, that it is a denial of holiness to talk about one’s own shortcomings, mistakes, and yes,
Shallow Confession
There is nothing so worthless as a glib confession of sin. It uses “I am a sinner” with no more meaning than “I am a human”. These shallow confessions are often laced with a false humility; they can even be a cloak for self-righteousness. This kind of confession has no desire to get on
Repenting of Emptiness
So much of that with which we fill our minds leaves us more empty than when we started. We nibble at the cotton candy of social media, while neglecting richer stores of knowledge that are all around us. Never forget that the Great Commandment, according to Jesus, is to also love God with our
Repenting of Controlling
At many times in Christian history there were attempts to spread Christianity by forced baptisms. In the name of the Prince of Peace persons were baptized at the point of a sword. We now have given that up by trying to force unconverted souls to conform to “Christian culture” by pressure and legislation.
Repenting of our Pace
In this contemporary era we have adopted a pace that allows us to run past our own souls. We run off and leave a part of us that was never meant to run. Our spiritual selves require the therapy of stillness and meditation. The running noises that we live with deafen more than our
Repenting of Self-sufficiency
We long for self-sufficiency and our inadequacy mocks it. We want independence while working with tools that someone else has made. We study to know all we can and forget that our knowledge is built upon people who lived and shared it before we were ever born. We do not seem to realize that
Repenting of Our Rightness
“Every man's way is right in his own eyes” (Proverbs 21:2a NASB). For this we need to repent. Our arrogant certainties lead to constant argument. For this we need to repent. A cocky intolerance that forbids even listening to someone else’s opinion. For this we need to repent. Seeking only opinions and information
Sanctifying Repentance
The goal of sanctification is Christlikeness, which is the restoration of the divine image. The process of sanctification is the pursuit of the divine likeness; it is what we run toward. The way is surrender, obedience, and repentance. This has to be all carried out in the context of full identification with Christ. Christ
False Repentance
The self is so deceptive that it can claim repentance while refusing repentance. Its desire for self-righteousness can produce a self-congratulating repentance. It is selective in what it turns from. It lives with a kind of dissonance that leaves the soul with no song. It brings a false virtue, leaving us empty of the
Neglected Repentance
I grew up thinking that repentance was a one-time thing necessary to be born again. I now believe that repentance has to be a way of life. There are always turnings and mid-course adjustments as we come to know ourselves, as we come to see ourselves exposed in the Word of God, and as
Selective Repentance
We categorize our sins. We conveniently seek to hide our idolatries from ourselves. We rant against the gross sins of others to embrace the treasured sins of our own pursuits. We could name them, but we dare not. They have become too precious to examine. We have declared by our ignoring them that they
Repentance Described
Repentance means to turn around, do an about-face and go in the other direction. What does repentance look like? That’s what John the Baptist’s audience was asking. He did not give them the classic evangelical response. He said give away your extra coat. Share your food. Be generous. Stop being greedy. No extortion.
Old Self — New Self
Do you remember the person you used to be before you came to Christ? Do you see the new person you are becoming since you came to Christ? Have you noticed that the old does not like the new? Do you see how God is changing all those old patterns of living into new
Growth Rings
The history of a tree is told in large and small growth rings. Thick rings indicate good growth while thin rings indicate a poor growth year. For Christians, you cannot read this year’s growth ring until next year; it may take a year or two to view this year’s growth. You will look back
Intercession for Our Good
“Intercession is that inner action within the divine Trinity whereby man’s unreality is prayed to align with the reality of the divine will. This intercession is a prayer that we be conformed to the divine likeness as expressed in the life and teachings of Jesus Himself. This is God in conversation with Himself weighing
Ascension for Intercession
“Jesus ascension was an act of intercession. The scars in His hands, feet and side are visual prayers of intercession. Jesus took back to the Godhead something very significant about the experience of being a man. He ascended to the Father in order to communicate by intercession the reality about humans that He had
Suffering Tears
“This we see in the “loud crying” or the KJV “strong crying” (Hebrews 5:7). Jesus is feeling great emotional and spiritual pain. He is anticipating great pain on the cross. This is not the pain of nails and wood, but of an awful bitter cup that He is going to drink. He embraces the cross