kings

July 6, 2020

“We Have No King”

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15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. – John 19:15 NLT

John 19:12-16 NLT

​After a minimum of 12 hours of verbal abuse, lashings, and being questioned in 6 different settings, Jesus is handed over to the crowd to be hung on a cross. Pilate is still trying to “wash his hands” of the blood of Jesus because Pilate had pronounced Jesus “not guilty”. Nevertheless, he hands Jesus over anyway. Pilate could have stopped the crucifixion but he did not. The crowd had chosen a temporary, earthly king over the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Approximately eighteen hours earlier, the crowd pushed on by the religious leaders, had started down a path from which there would be no turning back. That is what unbelief and sin does to us. When the flesh lusts and we start to feed it, it always takes us further than we want to go and keeps us longer than we want to stay.

14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.—James 1:14-16​ (NASB)

Will we choose the earthly, fleshly king that leads us to death or the King of Kings who offers us life everlasting?

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

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July 3, 2020

“What I Say Is True”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”  Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

– John 18:37 NLT
John 18:38-40 NLT

Jesus states that the purpose of His being born and coming into the world was to tell people the truth. Now, Pilate asks the ages-old question–“What is truth?”
(Maybe this is where the old cliche comes from–“You wouldn’t recognize the truth if it was standing right in front of you.) Before Jesus answers this question, Pilate turns to leave and goes out to the crowd again. Does this remind you of anything that we do on a regular basis? We pray and earnestly seek God, then we get up and go about our business without giving Him time to answer our prayers. When we get to heaven, we will find out that Jesus answered all of our prayers, we just didn’t hang around to hear the answer. How rude of us! What if we were having a serious conversation with someone and just when we were getting to our point, they just got up and walked out of the room. We do it to Jesus all the time. Instead of being in such a hurry, take the advice of the Psalmist.

13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.​ 14 ​Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.—Psalm 27:13, 14 (NLT)

​Don’t talk to God, talk with God. The first few minutes after talking with God, we need to just “be still and know that He is God”.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

May 16, 2020

“Look, Your King Is Coming”

15  “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.” – John 12:15 NLT

John 12:12-16 NLT

The crowd heard that Jesus was coming so they took palm branches and went out to greet Jesus. In those days, it was common for the people to lay branches out for a king or a great leader to walk on or ride on as he entered the town. A conquering king would normally enter riding on a horse trained for war. A king that was coming in peace would ride in on a colt to show his humbleness. Jesus was a King who came in peace and riding on a colt also fulfilled prophecy.

9 Rejoice, O people of Zion!​ Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!​ Look, your king is coming to you.​ He is righteous and victorious,​ yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—​ riding on a donkey’s colt.—Zechariah 9:9 (NLT)

Jesus came first as a suffering servant and a peacemaker but His next entrance will be as a conquering King on a horse prepared for war.

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns.–Revelation 19:11-12a (NLT)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 05-16-2020

March 29, 2020

"He Slipped Away"

14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. ​ – John 6:14-15 NLT​

Aft​er Jesus had miraculously fed the multitude with a few loaves and a few fish, the people realized that this man was different from anyone they had ever seen before. Jesus knew with their misunderstanding of His purpose here on earth at this time, that they would try to make Him their King. This was the same situation Jesus had with the Pharisees and Sadducees. After all, the Messiah that the Jews were expecting, would build His Kingdom here on earth and be an earthly king. Jesus knew this was not the time for that, so He slips away to be by Himself. The Jews were not looking for a Suffering Servant, they wanted a King to free them from the rule of the Romans. Because of their traditions and their current situation, they wanted a King and they wanted Him now. So, they missed all the blessings of being with Jesus in His first advent here on earth. How many blessings do you and I miss because we have preconceived ideas about when and how God should answer our prayers? How many times do we miss God’s answer because it isn’t what we expected or wanted? How many times have we been upset or angry with God, because we thought He wasn’t listening and answering our prayers? God knows exactly what we need, how much we need, and exactly when we need it. There has never been a prayer that God didn’t answer. No matter what we are going through here and now, Jesus is fully aware of it and He never asks us to go through anything alone. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He has never failed on any of His promises.

8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake.–2 Peter 3:8-9A (NLT)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-29-2020

December 8, 2017

Deify or Crucify? – The Choice is Yours

even-smaller-bug-light1

15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. – John 19:15 NLT

John 19:12-16 NLT

 

​After a minimum of 12 hours of verbal abuse, lashings, and being questioned in 6 different settings, Jesus is handed over to the crowd to be hung on a cross. Pilate is still trying to “wash his hands” of the blood of Jesus because Pilate had pronounced Jesus “not guilty”. Nevertheless, he hands Jesus over anyway. Pilate could have stopped the crucifixion but he did not. The crowd had chosen a temporary, earthly king over the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Approximately eighteen hours earlier, the crowd pushed on by the religious leaders, had started down a path from which there would be no turning back. That is what unbelief and sin does to us. When the flesh lusts and we start to feed it, it always takes us further than we want to go and keeps us longer than we want to stay.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.—James 1:14-16​ (NASB)
Will we choose the earthly, fleshly king that leads us to death or the King of Kings who offers us life everlasting?

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

12-08-2017

March 9, 2016

Beyond Knowledge

even-smaller-bug-light118 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. — Deut. 17:18 NLT

God knew that once the Israelis had settled in the land and become comfortable, that they would look around and desire what the other nations had.  They would grow tired of the judges and desire a king so they could be like the nations around them.  God had given Moses several guidelines for the king once he had been anointed.  Most of those were what not to do and had to do with position and possessions.  But the positive thing he was required to do was to copy the whole body of the instructions on a scroll.  To be sure, he did this himself, he had to do it in the presence of the priests.  Then he must keep it with him and read it every day.  One would think that this would have been sufficient to keep the kings in line with what God expected.  But that was not the case.  The majority of the kings were not godly and worshipped other gods.  The lesson that we can learn from this is that head knowledge is useless unless it affects the heart.  The devil knows the Bible but it doesn’t keep him from being the devil.  Just reading the Bible on a daily basis will not change us.  A heart change only takes place when we fully believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died for our sins.  Just saying the words does not make it happen.  We need confession and we need believing.
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9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. 10 We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved   — Romans 9, 10 NCV​

Post 03-09-2016
November 7, 2013

Pray for All People

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.


1 Timothy 2:1-6 (NLT) 1. I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
Jesus willingly gave His life for each of us. He gave it for those who cursed and persecuted Him as well as for those who followed Him. He did it because of His great love for humanity of all religions and nationalities. It is His desire that everyone be saved. Will everyone accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord? No, but that does not change what Jesus did for us. Once any person accepts Jesus as their Savior and Lord, should they decide to do that, the Holy Spirit indwells that person. As we progress in following the example of Jesus there is a change in our hearts’ desires and our actions. We are to attempt to live at peace with everyone around us, even with those who curse and persecute us. Is this possible? Yes, or Jesus would not have asked us to do it. When we are mistreated for the sake of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, our response is to love and pray for those that commit the acts. Praying for our persecutors pleases God because we are following the example that Jesus set for us. How they respond to that love and our prayers for them is not in our control. It is ultimately between them and God. If revenge of any sort is necessary, God says that is His responsibility, not ours. So pray for everyone, family, friends, neighbors, cults, religious people, anyone in authority over you in any situation. You can be assured that your flesh is not going to want to pray for some of these people, but God’s Holy Spirit will draw you, teach you, and even do the praying for you if you choose to be obedient.
Post 11/07