Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Who is my Shepherd? 

The LORD - Jehovah, the Existing One. He cares for His people, He tends His precious flock. In Isaiah 40:11 it says:

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

He provides His sheep with everything they need. Food and water, safety, compassion, guidance etc. He isn't a harsh Shepherd, He will gently lead those who are with young - young = baby Christians, newly converted and in need of guidance from their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! He gave His life for His sheep. John 10:14,15

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. No harm will come to His sheep and no sheep will ever want for anything. The Good Shepherd, leads His sheep into green  pastures - a place of peace, calm, tranquillity and sustenance. Our souls rest in Him because He is our peace, He is our calm. He leads His sheep by the still waters, calm waters not tempestuous seas. If chaos rages around us, it isn't there because Jesus put us there - no, His leading and guiding takes us from a place of storm to a habour of calm. He anchors us in His love! 

Our souls may be filled with sin and torment, but He restores them and He leads us into the paths of righteousness. Without peace, calm, tranquillity, guidance, righteousness we are in spiritual turmoil, our hearts aren't right with our Shepherd, but don't despair, He takes us again in His arms, He leads us again into those green pastures by still waters. Why does He do this? For His name's sake. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. He is with us to the end of time. 

This Psalm switches to the peace and tranquillity of green pastures and still waters to the valley of the shadow of death, but even in these circumstances - not necessarily literal death, but sometimes our trials and tribulations can feel so black, it's like death has come upon us. The coldness of our souls at times, the sins which over take us - Jesus Christ is LIFE and the opposite of these cold and dark times in our lives, and the opposite of life is death! Even when our sins, trials and tribulations feel like they are swallowing us up in confusion, fear, anxiety, depression etc we mustn't fear those times, because Christ, our Shepherd is with us.

The Lord's rod - this was used by a shepherd to protect the sheep from wild animals, it symbolises strength and protection. The staff was used to guide the sheep and speaks of the Lord's guidance. So often we wander from the path, but the Lord, if we are His, brings us back onto the path and if we seek His guidance He will give it to us! It's good to have boundaries because they offer protection and the Lord gives His own people boundaries on how to live their lives to come under His protection and care. Sometimes we kick against these, but they are there to protect us from harm, from guilt, from pain, from anguish. God's commands are to comfort and keep us safe. 

Psalm 91:1,2 says

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”  

If we abide in Him, if we allow the Lord to lead and guide us into green pastures, by still waters. If He restores our souls then we dwell in the secret place of the Most High and we learn to trust in Him in all things. 

The Lord loves His sheep so much - the animals may be set to pounce, devour and overcome us, but He provides so much for us. A table laden with spiritual fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and pure living water - the Shepherd Himself. 

John 4:14

“…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

There are accounts of starving prisoners of war, who have their tables laden with spiritual food - they were filled with the fruit of spirit, even in the midst of their enemies' vileness. The Lord has anointed them as His messengers in such dark and unholy places, yet they have stuck to serving Him, worshipping Him. The Hebrew word in the original for 'anointed' can mean to make or grow fat - even in adversity many of the Lord's people have grown fat spiritually (in a good way). Sometimes we can be spiritually lean, but only when we feed on God's word can we grow as Christians. There is an abundance here with the cup running over. The cup of the Lord's blessings and care runs over - it doesn't stop running over because those blessings never ever end. In the Christian life there is an abundance of all the Lord gives - He isn't miserly or mean - He gives grace, faith, blessings, life, love etc abundantly out of His never ending storehouse in glory! 

After reading this Psalm, no wonder David could conclude:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

When we have a generous Shepherd giving His own life for His sheep, giving out of the abundance of the storehouses of grace in heaven - the only conclusion we can draw from this IS that goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Not only that BUT I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Being in Christ doesn't just mean all of these things end when we die, but they continue in even more abundance in heaven where we shall be forever with the Lord. 

Revelation 22:1-5 give us a glimpse of what we can look forward to if we are in Christ:

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

What a glorious future we have if belong to the Shepherd!

Why Jesus?

Why does Christianity claim to be the ONLY way to God? Surely if people do good things they will get into heaven, but if they do bad things they go to hell? 

What is good though? We set the standard by our own works, but God sets HIS standard by the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Heaven is HIS home after all! 

The Ten Commandments: 

1 You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 You shall not make for yourself a carved image
3 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
5 Honour your father and your mother
6 You shall not murder
7 You shall not commit adultery
8 You shall not steal
9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour
10 You shall not covet

Picture this:

A beautiful house with a perfectly white, pure, clean interior. The walls are white, the carpet is the richest, most expensive one and is white. The sofa, the chairs, the tables, the ceilings - everything pure and perfectly clean, no spec of dust, no dirt just purity. Light shining brilliantly in every room. 
One day a bedraggled man and woman come across the house and want to stay there. They are covered from head to toe in muck and dirt. From the top of their heads down to their shoeless feet - it's caked on. They go up to the door and knock on it. A person answers the door - dressed in the purest and whitest of clothes. They ask if they can stay in the house as their journey is long, but the owner of the house says "I'm so sorry, you are covered in dirt and muck and my house is clean and pure, you have to be clean to stay here!"
The man and woman go away and try to clean themselves up, but the more they try to clean themselves up, the dirtier they become because the things they use to clean themselves are also dirty and caked with muck and filth. 
They go back to the house and tell the owner that they can't clean themselves up - everything they are using is making them all the more dirty. So the owner says to them:
"Do you see that fountain, if you go and dip yourself in it, you will become clean and will be able to enter into this house!" So the man and woman go to the fountain but it's filled with blood. They refuse to dip themselves in it, at first, but then after a while the man says - this is the only way into the house, they both climb into the fountain and instantly all the dirt and muck is washed away and they come out pure and clean. 
They go back to the house and the owner sees what has happened - they have been washed as white as snow, so the owner gives them new clothes and allows them into his house. 

What does this mean? 

The house is a picture of heaven, it's pure, sinless, nothing bad or evil dwells in it. The man and woman are a picture of our hearts, tainted by sin. Their long journey is a picture of our life. The fountain represents the blood of Christ, shed for us on the cross.  Everything we do whether good (from a human stand point) or bad is tainted by sin. I'm not saying don't help people, but our motives for doing so are tainted! The new garments represent Christ's righteousness.
Sin separates us from God. It needs to be dealt with to gain us entry into heaven and because every good thing we do is tainted by it, we can't do anything ourselves. 
God gave us the moral law in the form of the 10 Commandments and if we break one, we break them all because we HAVE TO keep each and every one perfectly for our whole life on earth. None of us can say we have kept every one perfectly so we have a dilemma, which God has solved through Jesus Christ. 

Romans 6:23 tells us For the wages of sin is death - God pays us with physical and spiritual death for our sins, but the verse carries on but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. Completely obeying God and fulfilling His commandments perfectly - no errors at all! There is still the issue of death though! Jesus went to the cross as a perfect sacrifice - He died so that any who come through Him will have everlasting life, because when we stand before God, Jesus is like our defence attorney in a court of law, but instead of maybe getting us off - His sacrifice is a guarantee that we will be pardoned, because He paid the debt on our behalf. The hymnist Philip Paul Bliss (1838-76) wrote these words which sum it up perfectly: 

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah! What a Saviour! 

The ONLY way to God is His way - after all heaven is His dwelling place so He has set the rules on how to get there. Jesus Christ said, in John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

If you're trying to get to God by your own means, your own self sufficiency you won't get there. If you obey God and come through Jesus Christ, you will obtain eternal life through Him and spend eternity in heaven, a place of purity, holiness and sinfulness!

Families

Sometimes we can look around society and think that everything regarding families are falling apart. This isn't a modern problem. 

Genesis 4 - Cain murdered his brother, Abel (murder)

Genesis 16 - Sarai giving Abraham, her husband, Hagar (who bore him Ishmael) (adultery)

Genesis 21 - Ishmael was scoffing at his half brother Isaac so Sarah got Abraham to cast them out (jealousy, bullying)

Genesis 27 - Rebecca encouraging her younger son Jacob to deceive Isaac so that he could have the birth-right instead of Esau (deception)

Genesis 29 - Laban getting Jacob to work for him for 7 years for Rachel, but gave him Leah instead so Jacob had to work for another 7 years to marry Rachel (deception)

Genesis 37 - Joseph sold by his brothers (trafficking)

Those are only in the first book of the Bible (Genesis - which means 'Beginnings') and only a few examples. 

We also see throughout Scripture the brokenness of families: 

Judges 16 - Samson was besotted with a woman who eventually had him tortured and killed (lust)

1 Samuel 1 - Elkanah had 2 wives, one of which was bullied by the other because she was childless (bullying)

1 Samuel 4 - Eli, the priest, had 2 wayward sons, who ended up getting killed in battle and the shock killed Eli (not correcting his sons)

2 Samuel 15 - Absalom turned against his father King David (dishonour, treachery)

On and on it goes. If you're having issues in your family, for whatever reason - it's not a modern day occurrence - it's been happening for millennia. 

The Lord blesses those who are faithful to Him and although it can hurt when you're being abused*, deceitfully used, lied to, stolen from etc, we need to look to the Lord and remember the words of Joseph: 

Genesis 50:20a But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,

Romans 12: 19, 21 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

*in the case of abuse - please seek help, it is unacceptable that anybody should suffer from being abused whichever type it is. 

Rending the Veil Part 7: Mary and Martha

 Luke 10:38-42

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Although Mary, Martha and Lazarus are mentioned in more than this account in the gospels, I will be focussing just on this one.

According to the Rabbis in Jesus' day women didn't really have the capacity to understand religious things therefore they weren't taught about it. But here we see Jesus allowing Mary to be taught. 

Jesus and His disciples entered Bethany, a small village only a couple of miles from Jerusalem. We aren't told whether Jesus knew Lazarus, Martha or Mary already or whether they had heard Him preaching, but He was welcomed into their house to eat and have fellowship with them.  There is no mention of their parents or spouses so we assume they are a brother and his two sisters living together! 

Martha was the one sister who welcomed Jesus into her house, but Mary was the one who welcomed Jesus into her heart that day. Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to His teaching and the amazing thing is - Jesus allowed her to listen and learn because women are equal with men when they are in Christ. 

As Mary was listening to Jesus Martha 'was distracted with much serving'. We don't know how many people she was serving, but presuming it was Jesus and His 12 disciples plus Lazarus, Mary and of course Martha - she probably had at least 16 people to serve. Of course she was doing all of the work while Mary was relaxing which made Martha annoyed. She approached Jesus and we can imagine that maybe she had a bit of anger and frustration in her voice when she said to Jesus "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me!" 

What was Jesus' response to this? 

He didn't say "Martha, you're being very bossy and rude, I'm a guest in your house..."

No, Jesus was as gracious as ever. This is such a beautiful response:

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Maybe we are worried and troubled about many things. It could be relationships, money, stress, busyness etc and they are valid things which come into our life. We have never been promised an easy time of it, even as Christians BUT Jesus, when we come to Him and focus upon Him He gives us rest, peace, joy, comfort. Mary had chosen to come to Jesus and to sit at His feet to learn from Him, to bask in His presence and to just enjoy His teachings, His fellowship, His company, His peace, His protection, His love. The great thing about Jesus is that when you come to Him, believe in Him, trust in Him and have faith in Him,   For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews  13:5b)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Rending the Veil Part 6: The Woman Caught in Adultery

 John 8:1-11

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

It was around about dawn, according to the original word in the Greek (Orthros) when Jesus went to the Temple again to teach. As He was teaching the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Him who had been caught in adultery.  

The word caught here is a telling one, because to be caught in adultery there had to be a man present and according to Leviticus 20:10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.' and Deuteronomy 22:22 “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.” both parties should have been put to death, so one must wonder where the man was? The scribes and Pharisees had such a disregard for women, they weren't bothered about the fate of the man, and used this woman's sinful activity to try to trip up Jesus, using the very Law He had given to Moses. 

 v4 "they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”" - this was a test for Jesus because if He said "stone her!" then He would lose His reputation as the friend of sinners, but if He said "Don't stone her!" they would accuse Him of condoning adultery. It seemed like Jesus was in a lose/lose situation so what did He do?

Instead of answering straight away, Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground as if He hadn't heard the question. We're not told what He wrote, but this isn't the point of the account. Here we see Jesus showing grace and mercy - bringing the woman from darkness into His glorious light.   

The scribes and Pharisees weren't going to let this issue lie so they continued to ask Him. Jesus stood up and addressed them saying “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (v7) "And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground."  Was Jesus giving them time to think about what He had said and make them realise that they too were sinners and as guilty as the woman they were accusing? Was one of the scribes or Pharisees guilty of setting this woman up with one of their followers? One by one the woman's accusers left. Their consciences were pricked and they had no more to say, because of their guilt. 

The scribes and Pharisees were self righteous, but Jesus confronted their hearts and they were left with nothing to say. He was also showing the woman that no matter the sin and failings in our lives He can heal us! 

After they had all departed, Jesus and the woman remained. This is such a beautiful insight of Jesus' mercy and grace: “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

The words of Jesus "go and sin more more." echo throughout eternity because all who earnestly call on His name will be saved and although we're not told if this woman did repent and follow Jesus, He showed her that His heart is full of love, grace and mercy for sinners such as she was. 

When Jesus said "go and sin no more.” doesn't mean we no longer sin, but when we follow Christ and make Him Master over our lives, we aren't happy with our sin and go out of our way to do the things which God doesn't want us to do anymore! 

Some lessons:

• No sin is too great to be forgiven. 
• Being religious never saves anybody because we still have sinful hearts which need to be dealt with
• Jesus is the friend of sinners, whether male or female, because He went to the cross to take the penalty we deserve so that on Judgement Day He will stand in our place and say - I took their punishment, so they are no longer guilty. 

Rending the Veil Part 5: The Syro-Phoenician Woman

 Mark 7:24-30

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Before this account, in the beginning  of chapter 7 in Mark, Jesus had been in Israel disputing with the religious leaders of the day about ritual purity. The passage we come to now, we see Jesus purposely going into the region of Tyre and Sidon. This would have been considered an unclean area because it was where gentiles lived. This is the only time in Scripture that Jesus withdraws from Israel, to go to a gentile land because His ministry was primarily to the Jews. Beforehand as well as disputing with the religious leaders, Jesus had also been rejected in His own town of Nazareth, feeding five thousand hungry men plus women and children, finding out that His cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod and healing sick people, therefore by going into a gentile country He was seeking out rest and solitude from the pressing crowds. 

Tyre were the enemies of the Jews, at that time, and they were very idolatrous but that was where Jesus went to seek out this rest and solitude from the crowds of people who followed Him around. Even in this gentile land Jesus couldn't be hidden from someone needing help from Him. v24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 

This non Jewish woman had heard about Jesus and the miracles He had performed. Her young daughter had an unclean spirit living in her and this mother wanted her daughter to be healed. She came to Jesus and fell at His feet, despite only knowing about his reputation she comes and pays homage to Him, she respects and honours the Lord. She also came pleading to Him because He was her last hope of healing for her young daughter. 

Previously the Jewish leaders, of Jesus' day, who spoke about ritual purity and cleanness didn't pay homage to the One who had come to redeem Israel, but here is a gentile woman, considered unclean by the Jews of her day, throwing herself at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him to heal her daughter. 

She was persistently begging Jesus to free her daughter from the unclean spirit - she definitely wouldn't take "No!" for an answer. Jesus didn't answer her straight away and when He did it seemed like a harsh response “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” What a surprising thing for the loving Lord Jesus Christ to say, but there is a reason for this. 

Breaking this down: 

• The children: Jesus' ministry was primarily to the children of Israel. So He was saying it wasn't His first mission to go to the gentiles (it is not good to take the children's bread), it was to the Jews. He was to care for them first. 
• The little dogs: in the ancient towns and cities there were feral dogs who roamed around and were a nuisance, they weren't pets, they were scavengers, feeding off dead bodies, and other unpleasant things. These aren't the dogs Christ is talking about. In the ancient days, there were household dogs - ones which had been domesticated to be pets and companions. They weren't feral and scavengers, they were fed the left overs after a meal, but any scraps which do fall on the floor during the meal, the dogs were allowed to eat those - these are the kind Jesus is talking about.  

The woman's response to Jesus' statement isn't one of disgust at being called a dog, but she says "Yes, Lord!" She knew that she had no prior claim to Jesus' mercy, teaching, ministry, but she was satisfied with what she had - the crumbs (metaphorically speaking). Even the smallest crumb is all she wanted. The woman knew who she was before Jesus and Jesus answered her request. The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day had no faith in Him, they wanted to argue, they saw Jesus as a threat to their positions, not as the Messiah who had come to redeem them. A mere gentile woman (being a gentile and a woman definitely weren't pluses in those days) had more faith and trust in the One who had come to Israel than His own people had. 

The woman was happy with crumbs, but Jesus gave her much more than that - He healed her daughter from the demon and He showed her who He was, despite her not being from the House of Israel! Can you imagine her response when she arrived home and there was her young daughter fully healed? We aren't told how she reacted but we can guess what it was. 

If we come to Jesus, He gives out of the abundance of the storehouses of His grace. He isn't a miser, He gives and He gives. In fact, He is so loving and merciful He gave His own life that many may dwell with Him in eternity and eat of the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

Although Jesus initially came to redeem Israel, His salvation is for all who will call on His name, asking Him to forgive their sins and wanting Him to be Lord and Master over their life! He changes lives from the inside, we get a new heart (soul), we are new creations in Him! 

So far we have seen: 
Jesus heal an unclean woman who had a flow of blood for 12 years
Jesus raise a young girl from the dead
Jesus raise a young man from the dead so that his widowed mother could have her son restored
Jesus heal a young gentile girl of an unclean spirit.

There is no one outside of the love of Christ. 

Rending the Veil Part 4: The Widow of Nain

 Luke 7:11-17

Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

Nain was a city 5-9 miles (8-14km) South East of Nazareth. 

The day before this account, Jesus and His disciples had been in Capernaum (Nain is 30 miles South West of Capernaum). Jesus had healed the Centurion's servant without going to the soldier's house.  A large crowd followed Jesus and His disciples and as they came near to the gate of the city of Nain, they were met by another large crowd of people coming in the opposite direction. Jesus and His followers were going into the city and the other crowd were going out of the city. The large crowd coming out was a funeral procession. A young man was being carried out on a kind of litter. He had probably not been dead for too long as in this region it wasn't good to have a unburied dead body in the open for long (source).

Jesus was at the front of the crowd following Him and the widow with her son were at the front of the crowd following them. The Giver of Life, meets the one who had lost his life. We don't know how he died, the Bible doesn't say. 

The deceased was the only son of this lady, who was a widow. After the lady's husband had died, he would have become head of the household and the breadwinner for the family, now he was gone the lady was left with no income. No other family is mentioned, only the funeral procession which followed her and her son. 

When the Lord saw her, in her grief, more than likely at her lowest point emotionally, He was moved with compassion - this wasn't a shallow passing emotion or a condescending pity but a deep seated emotion. The language used gives the impression of being moved as to one's bowels (the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity). Maybe these days we would think of it as a deep heart felt feeling. Jesus knew her situation - she had lost her husband and now her only son, which meant she had also lost her income and would more than likely become destitute. 

"Do not weep" [can also mean lament/mourn] It seems like such a strange thing for someone to say to a person who was grieving BUT this is Jesus Christ, the author and giver of life. He goes up to the bier and touches it (He doesn't touch the son) and says "Young man, I say to you arise!" These are similar words which Christ said to Jairus's daughter. As soon as the words were spoken the young man sat up and started speaking. We don't know what he said, but he was no longer dead and he could speak. The mother must have been shocked, happy, full of joy - her only son was alive again. Maybe the mother was in so much shock that's why Jesus had to present him to her. Sometimes it's difficult to believe what we see with our eyes!

Fear came upon the people, they glorified God and proclaimed "A great prophet has been risen up among us." They could see that God had visited them that day. News spread rapidly in the region. 

This is only a short account, compared to account of other miracles, but we can see here:

• Jesus's love and compassion for the woman and her son
• Jesus's healing power - not just to heal diseases but to raise people from the dead 
• Jesus transcending social norms and overturning them. Women/girls meant nothing in Jewish/ancient society, but to Jesus they are just as valuable and precious as men/boys. 
• That lady had nothing to give to Jesus, she offered Him nothing, but He came to her in her grief and mourning to give her back something great and valuable - her only child. We don't know if she was saved, but after seeing Jesus performing that miracle on her son, perhaps she did trust in Him by faith. The Bible tells us that we are dead in our sins and trespasses, but we are made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). We have nothing to give to Jesus, He asks us for nothing but if we come to Him asking for salvation and new life, He will freely give it to us. We can be raised from spiritual deadness into spiritual life in Christ Jesus, He will then give you a new heart and a new perspective on life, plus eternal life with Him in glory (heaven). 

Rending the Veil Part 3: Jairus' Daughter

This account is also found in Luke 8:40-56 

Mark 5:21-24

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

Jairus - the synagogue leader would have been in charge of the local synagogue in Capernaum. He would have been highly respected amongst the community. He would have been charged with supervising services to the worship of God, maintaining the religious order and teaching the Law.  The religious leaders of the day were suspicious of Jesus so Jairus coming to him shows he had some knowledge of Jesus' miracles and the love for his daughter took priority over his religious prejudices.

We don't know what ailed the daughter, but it was bad enough for Jairus to believe she didn't have too long to live. By falling at Jesus' feet, it showed that he had respect and faith in Christ and he knew Jesus was the only One who could heal his daughter of what was ailing her. Did his faith go deeper than just believing in a miraculous healing?

Jesus didn't hesitate and went with him. The multitude came along too and pressed on all sides around Him. On their way to Jairus' house they were held up by another healing - the woman with the issue of blood - click HERE to read Part 2 of this series and verses Mark 5:25-34, which relates the account.

Jairus must have been uneasy having this woman stopping Jesus from going to his house. Being the leader of the synagogue he more than likely knew her - the woman who was unclean, had been a social outcast for twelve years... His daughter was on the point of death, but Jesus had halted to deal with this person who had managed to walk to where Jesus was, but his daughter was in bed, not able to rise up and walk anywhere. What was Jesus thinking? 

Mark 5:35-43

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

Now comes the testing of Jairus's faith. Some people (maybe servants?) from Jairus's house came to him with the most tragic news - his beloved daughter had died, while her father was looking for healing for her, she was taken from him. Words Jairus' didn't want to hear "Your daughter is dead." Jairus must have been devastated, but he was with Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus is the creator of life! Jairus and his wife was going to witness the most amazing miracle of all... 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Psalm 23, John 10:11), the One who brings comfort, dispels fear and heals the broken hearted (Psalm 147:3) says comforting and gentle words to Jairus "Do not be afraid; only believe." We aren't told why, but Jesus permitted no one to follow except three of His close disciples, Peter, James and his brother John. I expect the young girl would have been overwhelmed by so many people AND Jesus didn't want His full work to be revealed yet. 

In the days of Jesus if somebody died, the family would pay for professional mourners which validated the family's grief and loss. It was a public and communal show of mourning for the deceased. With the weeping and wailing it emphasised the seriousness of the occasion. When Jesus went into the house, He asked what the commotion was because the girl wasn't dead, but merely sleeping. The mourning turned to laughter and ridicule. These people had probably witnessed death on so many occasions, they would have probably thought Jesus was a bit mad. This mocking didn't deter Him because He knew the power vested in him could raise Jairus's daughter from the dead. He put them outside and took the father and mother and the three disciples into the girl's room where she was lying. 

The Author of life took her by the hand and said the famous words which the translators have kept in this translation of the Bible: "Talitha Cumi" [Aramaic] which means "Little girl, I say to you, arise." Instantly the child arose and walked. We don't know how long she hadn't been able to walk, but adding that detail implies she had been bedridden for quite some time. Her parents, who more than likely had lost all hope, had their hope restored - their precious little girl had been brought back to life, to the One who gives physical and spiritual life. Scripture tells us that they were overcome with great amazement. 

Jesus didn't want this to spread, because His work wasn't complete and if the religious leaders found out perhaps they would be all the more bent on having Jesus arrested. 

As well as not wanting everyone to know, the Lord who cares for young and old, the weak and strong, told her parents to feed her. After her long illness she would need some nourishment. 

Children may not have had value in Jesus's day:

Matthew 19:13-15 

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

but Jesus values everybody. Each person has a worth and a value to God. 

As we saw in the introduction women [and girls] may not have been of value to society, but to our Creator He gives them their value and worth back. What society takes away from God's creative purposes, Jesus Christ gives it back. 

Lessons:
Jesus doesn't just heal people, He raises them to new life
Everybody has value and worth to God, it doesn't matter what your social standing is, young, old, rich, poor
He is the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep

Rending the Veil Part 2: The Woman with the Issue of Blood

 Mark 5:25-34

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Jesus had just healed a demon possessed man, before this incident with this woman. He had been asked to leave the area (Gadarenes) so He took a boat and crossed over the other side of Galilee to Capernaum. Many people had gathered to Jesus to see Him. One of the rulers of the Synagogue came to Jesus and fell at His feet and 'begged Him earnestly' to come and heal his daughter who was dying. Jesus and the multitude of people went with Jairus  and it's on the way to Jairus's house that Jesus encountered the woman with the issue of blood. We're not told anything else about the woman other than she had had a flow of blood for 12 years. 

Under Levitical Law the woman was unclean. Leviticus 15: 25-27

‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.'

For twelve years the woman would have been ceremonially and socially unclean and anybody who touched her would have become unclean and would have had to have gone through ritual cleansing as prescribed in the Law. Everything she touched or she sat on, laid upon would have also become unclean and those who sat or lay in the same place would have become unclean. More than likely she would have been ostracised by society and she wouldn't have been able to go to the Temple or local Synagogue to worship the Lord. She probably would have been weak because of anaemia and other complications. We don't know her marital status. Maybe some friends brought her food and left it outside her door or perhaps she had to forage for food, but this is conjecture as we don't know, but basically she was a sad sight.  

She was so desperate she suffered at the hands of the physicians who had taken her money and had actually made her worse. What an awful state the woman was in. 

Somehow she had heard about Jesus, and He was in her area that day - the Man who could heal people. She had nothing to lose, because she had lost so much already: her dignity, freedom, permission to worship God in the Temple or local Synagogue, money, so she pressed her way through the crowds.

She came behind Jesus and reaching out 'anonymously', she touched the hem of His garment - saying something truly amazing: "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." She had such faith, she knew she only had to touch Jesus' garments and she would be healed. As soon as her fingers touched the garment, the flow of blood she had had for twelve years dried up, and 'she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.' We cannot imagine the relief she must have felt, but wait, that is not the end of the account. 

I wonder if she had hoped to sneak away quietly, but Jesus felt power going out of Himself so He turned around in the crowd and asked "Who touched My clothes?" He knew who had touched Him but this is where her story of restoration begins and there was a lesson for the crowd also. 

The woman was in fear and she trembled because she had been shunned by society because of her uncleanness and as we saw in part 1 women weren't looked favourably upon so to venture out in such an unclean state, would more than likely have been frowned upon. She fell before Jesus, an act of reverence, respect and worship. 

Restoration for the woman:

• As we saw in the Levitical Law, this woman had been unclean for twelve years, we don't know if she had family, if she was married or not but by Jesus bringing this woman into the open, the whole of society could see she had become clean again and could enter back into it.
• From the above, she had spent all of her money on quack physicians so was poor, but now she could be restored back into her family and her circle of friends, who could help her. If she was married her marriage could be restored and her husband could provide for her again. 
• Jairus was there, the leader of the Synagogue - he could see that she was now free from the condition which ailed her for twelve years, so she could go back into the place of worship to bow down to the God who had healed her. 
• Because of her faith, the Prince of Peace tells her to go in peace. He also restores her to Himself, by calling her 'daughter' - she is the only person in the New Testament whom Jesus calls anyone with such endearment. 

Lessons:
  

• This was also another lesson for Jairus, because if Jesus Christ could heal a woman by her just touching His garment, then He Himself was more than able to heal his daughter, or as we find out later on, raise her from the dead.
• The disciples had seen Jesus perform other miracles, but they still didn't fully understand who Jesus was. They learned that day that faith in Jesus Christ can and does heal. The act of reaching out and touching the garment didn't save the woman, as Jesus clearly states "Daughter, your faith has made you well." Her faith made her well.  This was a lesson for the crowd and us as well. 
• If we want to be spiritually healed, then the only place we can come is to the Saviour He is THE only One who can heal us from our sin and restore us to the relationship we were created to have with our Creator. 
• The woman came to Jesus because she couldn't make herself clean. That's the same for us. Jesus came to live the perfect life we could not and die the death we deserve. You come only to Jesus, not doing anything, just come to Him and Him alone as you are.

1 John 1:9 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Rending the Veil Part 1: Women and Freedom in Christ

In the days when Jesus walked on the earth there was animosity towards women - they weren't treated as equals. 

I was reading a couple of quotes written by rabbis during that time period and they didn't look favourably upon women. In the Talmud, Rabbi Judah ben Elai (c. AD150) 

'A man is bound to say the following three blessings daily: "[Blessed art thou...] who hast not made me a heathen", "...who hast not made me a woman"; "...and who has not made me a brutish man"'

It was common thought that women were incapable of learning about religious things, some rabbis forbade them to be instructed in religious affairs. 

Women were looked upon as second class citizens, but when Jesus came to earth, He turned that thinking upside down. He treated women with the dignity and respect they were created to receive.  

I will be writing a series about women encountering Jesus and how He turned their lives and the thinking of others on their heads as they showed society what God intended for women, not how men misinterpreted the role of women. 

Firstly we have to go back to Genesis with the creation of woman. 

Genesis 2:18-22

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Matthew Henry in his famous commentary has something beautiful to say about the creation of woman (I'd recommend reading the whole exposition of the creation of woman): 

That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Adam lost a rib, and without any diminution to his strength or comeliness (for, doubtless, the flesh was closed without a scar); but in lieu thereof he had a help meet for him, which abundantly made up his loss: what God takes away from his people he will, one way or other, restore with advantage. In this (as in many other things) Adam was a figure of him that was to come; for out of the side of Christ, the second Adam, his spouse the church was formed, when he slept the sleep, the deep sleep, of death upon the cross, in order to which his side was opened, and there came out blood and water, blood to purchase his church and water to purify it to himself.

Woman is to be a help meet to man - someone equal but with different roles. Woman wasn't created to be inferior to man, but to stand alongside him, making him complete. Matthew Henry's commentary again:

If man is the head, she is the crown, a crown to her husband, the crown of the visible creation. The man was dust refined, but the woman was dust double-refined, one remove further from the earth.

Unfortunately after the fall of humanity, God's plan for humanity became skewed, throughout the ages women have been treated like second-class citizens, used and abused. These days it seems that women are now wanting the same roles as men. Men are the bad guys, women are the victims etc but this isn't how God intended our relationships to be with one another. Misogyny, misandry, feminism and chauvinism aren't what God intended for humanity.  Jesus Christ came to fix broken relationships, show us how we should treat one another as God intended. 

I'm calling the series:

Rending the Veil: Women Encountering Jesus. 

God guards His own

I used to write my spiritual thoughts etc on cards and keep them in a box. The other day I was reading through some of them and came across this account of God protecting His people, which an Indian friend told my husband and I in April 2007

Two missionary girls in India went to a village one day, but on the way home it got dark so they had to sleep in the forest. In that area there were Hindu fanatics so it really wasn't a safe place to sleep out in the open! As the girls slept some of the Hindus came to take the girls' lives but they saw fifteen guards surrounding them so they thought better of attacking them, and left. 

The following day when the girls got back home, somebody told them what had happened the previous night, that they were going to be attacked but the fanatics saw fifteen guards around them. The girls said they were alone and had no guards protecting them. All through the night fifteen people had been praying for them - the fifteen guards were angels sent by God to protect the girls as they slept. 

I remember hearing about a similar thing which happened in China in the 1940s as Mao's troops advanced on a village - they by passed it because they saw soldiers surrounding it. There were no soldiers, but again God sent His angels to guard and protect the villagers.

Back to India: Many had been delivered from demons:

One such example was a demonic priest who put curses on people - a man came to him and asked him to put a spell on a woman he had fallen in love with, but when he sent out the demons to curse her nothing happened, they couldn't affect her because she was a Christian. The priest had never had a curse fail until that point. He saw that there was one greater than the demons he had been serving so he converted to Christianity. 

It may have changed now, but 20 years ago the Church in India had all night prayer meetings or early morning ones, they had prayer chains of 24 or 48 hours. They encouraged new Christians to get involved with evangelism and social work, like medical ministries in slums* and villages etc

*slums are where the untouchables live. They are outside of the Caste system because they are the lowest of the low and according to the teaching of reincarnation, anybody who is really poor shouldn't be helped because they must have done something really bad in their previous life and this is their punishment, so by helping them they're not being punished as they should be. In Hebrews 9:27 it says 'And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment...'

Reincarnation is a cruel belief (unless you are high in the caste system). We die once, then after that God will judge. There is no reincarnation. Apparently (according to my Indian friends) there are many converts amongst the untouchables because of the love and care Christians show to them. Let us be like Christ and love the unlovely. 

A note on demons - in the West we don't tend to believe in demon possessions or think it was only in biblical times this happened, but in places like Haiti and Africa where there are witch Doctors and Voodoo - it's prevalent. 

Ephesians 6: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Zephaniah 3:17

 One of my favourite verses in Scripture is Zephaniah 3:17e:

“The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

I remember as a child, music being a big part of my life. My dad would sing hymns as he worked and my mum would sing nursery rhymes to my sister and I. As I got older I would sing and I learned to play the flute. I loved listening to classical music and I remember my first LP was James Galway playing the flute - it may seem a bit nerdy, but the melodies and harmonies, intertwined to produce some of the most amazing sounds. 

I had been a Christian for a fair few years before a dear brother in Christ pointed that verse out to me - I'd never seen it before. 

Dear reader, can you imagine a thrice holy, 100% righteous God singing - actually singing over His disobedient, rebellious people? What a song of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness. I can't imagine a more beautiful song. He doesn't just sing over His people, He REJOICES with singing over us. The perfect melodies of love and peace intertwined with harmonies of grace and mercy. His rejoicing is filled with gladness with pianissimo of love - this is no cacophony of sound, this is a throne room filled to overflowing with the heart felt music of our Creator as He delights in His people. 

Father, forgive THEM

These are famous words which Jesus spoke as He hung on the cross, but have you ever wondered who the 'them' were? Let's look at some Scriptures of events leading up to His crucifixion. 

RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE DAY

Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Matthew 26:3-5

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

Matthew 27:1,2

The people above were the religious leaders of the day. Those who supposedly knew the Old Testament Scriptures inside out, which told them that the Messiah would come and be a sacrifice (Number 21:9;John 3:14; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) yet they wanted to kill Jesus - this Man who had showed them up, by pointing out their hypocrisy and their sinful hearts, calling them 'white washed sepulchres (Matthew 23:27). More than likely they were at the cross watching the spectacle. 

PETER, ONE OF THE DISCIPLES 

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

Matthew 26:34

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 26:69-75

Peter, the disciple who was fiercely loyal, who declared Jesus as being THE Christ (Matthew 16:16), who said he would never deny Christ (Matthew 26:35), did deny Christ 3 times, but Jesus forgave him and after His resurrection, Peter was called to spread the message of the gospel - he was fearless in doing that, to the point where tradition has it that he too was crucified. 

THOSE WHO HELD JESUS - RELIGIOUS LEADERS, ROMANS

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Luke 22:63-65

So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.

John 19:1-3

Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Mark 15:16-20

These people went all out to hurt and humiliate Jesus. They slapped Him, mocked Him spat on Him, beat Him

FALSE WITNESSES BROUGHT TO TESTIFY AGAINST JESUS

Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” But not even then did their testimony agree.

Mark 14:55-59

THE CROWD - ORDINARY PEOPLE

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”
Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”
So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Mark 15:11-15

The ordinary people who had gathered had been stirred up by the religious leaders - I have read in the past, that they may have been paid to be against Christ. We don't know who the people were, but more than likely they had probably heard Jesus preach, seen His miracles, been those who cheered when Christ entered Jerusalem on a donkey, lay palm leaves on the ground and shouted Hosanna!

All of the people above, from the religious leaders, the Roman governors, soldiers and even the disciples played their part in the arrest. The so called witnesses were liars who had probably been paid by the religious leaders. YET Jesus could look down as He hung in agony (apparently crucifixion was a slow and very painful death) and pray to His Father for forgiveness. Not forgiveness for 'nice' people, but for people who were Jesus's enemies, turncoats, traitors. NOBODY is too much of a sinner to come to the cross and ask for Jesus to turn their lives around, to give them a new heart, to have His light shine into their souls and make them ALIVE in Him! 

Until I became a Christian, I know in my heart that I would have been with the crowd shouting "Crucify Him!" because Jesus and His message is an offense to those who are perishing, we don't like to be told we are sinners BUT only Jesus can change us (Yes, we remain sinners, but sin no longer has dominion in our hearts) because He lived the perfect life we could not and died the death we deserve!

Before I became a Christian - I was one of 'them'! 

Nehemiah's Prayer in Nehemiah 1

I love the prayers in the Bible - they can teach us how we should pray. Nehemiah, in this prayer, had just found out about the state of Jerusalem. He was the king's cupbearer in a foreign country, but the Holy City of his ancestors was in a mess and it affected him greatly.

Nehemiah 1:5-11

 And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is a prayer of praise - Jesus' model prayer says that we should praise God first (hallowed be Thy name)

It is a prayer of repentance. True revival in the Church only comes with true heartfelt conviction of sin and repentance. 

It is a prayer of supplication and wrestling with God. I believe that God wants us to wrestle with Him in prayer. Nehemiah reminds God of His promise He made to Moses, not because God has forgotten, but because God wants us to understand Him and His Word, so we wrestle with Him using His promises. 

Above all it's a faithful and reverent prayer. Nehemiah remains respectful and reverent. He knows who he is coming to - his Creator and the only One who can solve this crisis. Nehemiah works for a king who has earthly power, but he knew that the One he was praying to has ultimate power over everything! Kingdoms rise and fall at God's command! 

Let us come to our Creator, Lord, Master, King with reverence, casting all our cares on Him. 

Daniel's Prayer in Daniel 9

 I'm going through the book of Daniel atm and this morning I read his prayer in chapter 9 and as I read it, I thought this could be a prayer for our current world today! 

Daniel 9:3-19

³ Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ⁶ Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

¹³ “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

In Daniel's prayer there serious supplication where Daniel denies himself anything worldly (he fasts and puts on sackcloth and ashes - symbols of mourning, grief and sorrow).
He praises God with reminders that He is great and awesome, One who keeps His covenant. God is full of mercy with the ones He loves and who obey Him.
Daniel repents on behalf of the whole of those in captivity. They have departed from Him - i.e. from His precepts and judgements. They haven't listened to those God had sent to warn them, the prophets. They were a disobedient people.
Daniel asks the Lord to hear him, to shine upon His sanctuary which lays desolate. The supplications weren't presented because of any righteousness in the people of Israel, but because Daniel knew the Lord is merciful - slow to anger, but swift to hear. 

It would do good for all Christians in the West to pray a prayer like this one. Western civilisation is crumbling before our very eyes because we are a disobedient people. 

Let's pray for God to send His Holy Spirit in power and majesty, that many may have their eyes opened and see the glories of the Lord!  

 

Passage copied from: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%209%3A3-19&version=NKJV

Letters of Love

Billy Graham once said: 

"The Bible is God's Love Letter to the World!" 

Yes the Bible is full of some heinous things BUT God's Word doesn't gloss over our sins. What God's word does is reveal our sin sickness to us and show us the cure - Jesus Christ. 

Q. Is the world in a mess? 

A. Yes it is, we only have to open our internet browsers on news pages or read the newspaper, watch the news on TV to see how bad things are. R*pe, murd*r, domestic abuse, mass shootings, st@bbings, wars, rumours of wars, kidnappings sickness, de@th etc.

Q. Why does God allow such things if He is a loving God? 

A. God isn't a dictator - in Genesis He gave humanity dominion over the whole of the earth, He has also given each and every one of us a conscience, so we are 'without excuse' (as Romans 1 says). We live in a broken and fallen world and God has never promised us a free ride. He has never said we would never get cancer, children and babies will never get ill - sickness and de@th is part of our condition in this world and nobody is exempt! 

If God had said in His word "everyone will be cancer free and live long, healthy lives!" That wouldn't be love! God has given us the diagnosis and the cure through His word! 

This brings me to the post title - Letters of Love. I have set up a YouTube channel with that name. I am wanting to post Christian content on it. Please keep this venture in your prayers that I may honour Christ in all I do! 

Have a fabulous weekend 

Xxxx

Jesus Christ

 Jesus Christ:

• stilled the storm with speech - His creation listened to Him
• healed the Centurion's servant without even being there - distance was no problem
• fed 4,000 and 5,000 people with little resources - His resources are infinite
• healed the paralysed - the man was let down through the roof so lack of movement is no problem
• gave the blind sight - He gives the spiritually blind, spiritual sight
• made the deaf hear and the dumb speak - He does the same for us spiritually
• healed the woman - she only touched His garment
• raised the dead
• gave women back their dignity and place as God wanted it
• turned water into wine
• cast out demons - the spiritual world has NO authority over Jesus Christ
• paid the penalty for our sins while not being a sinner
• gave Himself up to death
• raised Himself from the dead

Click here to read my 2014 post on What Jesus Did For His People

He will hold me fast (Hymn by Ada Habershon)

 VERSE 1

When I fear my faith will fail,

Christ will hold me fast;

When the tempter would prevail,

He will hold me fast.

I could never keep my hold

Through life’s fearful path;

For my love is often cold;

He must hold me fast.

REFRAIN

He will hold me fast,

He will hold me fast;

For my Savior loves me so,

He will hold me fast.

VERSE 2

Those He saves are His delight,

Christ will hold me fast;

Precious in His holy sight,

He will hold me fast.

He’ll not let my soul be lost;

His promises shall last;

Bought by Him at such a cost,

He will hold me fast.

VERSE 3

For my life He bled and died,

Christ will hold me fast;

Justice has been satisfied;

He will hold me fast.

Raised with Him to endless life,

He will hold me fast

‘Till our faith is turned to sight

When He comes at last!

CREDITS

Words: vv. 1-2 Ada Habershon (1861-1918), Public Domain.