The Word for You Today
1. “Vitamins for Spiritual Health”
- Never excuse your own faults if you accuse others
- Never take God for granted
- Never allow the disappointments in life to make you sarcastic
or bitter or cynical
- Whatever you sow is what you will reap
- Be a cheerful giver, even in the tough times
- You are still on your journey home…you haven’t arrived yet…the
rewards of home are just ahead
Sparkling Gems from the Greek
Matthew 27:2
Then they bound him,
led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
Luke 23:6-16
“Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked. When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas,
because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem
Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he
had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a
miracle. He asked Jesus
question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law
stood there shouting their accusations. Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus.
Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. (Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends
that day.)
Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other
religious leaders, along with the people, and he announced his verdict. “You brought this man to me,
accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point
in your presence and find him innocent. Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us.
Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”
Matthew 27:26-29
So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged
with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be
crucified.
Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their
headquarters and called out the
entire regiment. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head,
and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt
before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
PERSONAL NOTES:
During the month of April the author of Sparkling Gems
from the Greek is focusing on the last few days and hours of the life of
Jesus. It is difficult for me to read
because I am one who visualizes what I read.
The scenes in these last few days of the earthly journey of Jesus are
far too gruesome for me to comment on. I
have posted the passages from this past week’s reading, but I am not posting
summary statements. The chapters make me
cringe, and my heart cries out for the pain and humiliation my Savior went
through. He even endured all of that for
the very ones who were inflicting unbearable torture on him. It is hard to comprehend that kind of
love…divine love.
When I think of those who don’t accept Jesus as their Savior
or acknowledge him as the Son of God, I am hurt all over again. To think he went through all of that
humiliation and torture for each and every person so that he could provide a
way for them to be free of pain and fear and eternal punishment…and yet they
deny him who he is. I am so sorry,
Jesus.
One day everyone will know who Jesus is and what he went
through for them. They will all bow
before him, whether they are already in heaven, alive on earth, or suffering in
hell…they will all come before him acknowledging Jesus as Lord, Son of the
Almighty God, who ministers through the Holy Spirit. On that day we children of God can rejoice,
but for others their torture has only begun.
Please be in a position to rejoice. You have no comprehension of hell, or this
day you would surrender your pride and fall on your face thanking Jesus for
what he did for you, and for his grace and forgiveness. And you would raise rejoicing. Please…be ready for that soon coming day Paul
told us about in Philippians 2 in the verses above.
Once again I state my credo as being HOPE:
H – Holy life
O – Obedient will
P – Pure heart
E – Eternal values
Do you have HOPE?
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