I used to be a member of a large community church that had an Institute that taught classes on the Bible. I took several classes and then I began to teach in the Institute. The first class I taught was Bible Basics. As we were going over the organization of the Old Testament books I had a woman ask why her Bible had more books than I was going over. The woman was from a Catholic background and she had brought her Catholic Bible to class. These extra books are called the Apocrypha. I found out over the years that some of the students in my classes were from a Catholic background. I made the decision that this information on the Apocrypha is something both Protestants and Catholics should know and I decided to include going over it in the curriculum. At first when I taught on the Apocrypha I know I had a decidedly Protestant take on it. That was because I am Protestant and my library of reference books are Protestant skewed. I began looking into what Catholics have to say about the Apocrypha. In my classes when it comes to a difference between Protestants and Catholics (and there are some!) I try to be upfront and say this is what Protestants believe, this is what Catholics believe - and to be respectful of each other's beliefs. I try very hard to be Switzerland. Neutral. What I have found is that while there are some differences in our beliefs and practices, we are united on the essentials of the Christian faith. The Apocrypha are books that were authored by the Jews mainly between about 300 B.C. and about 200 B.C. The Roman Catholic canon includes some of these writings. The Greek Orthodox canon includes more of these writings. The Slavonic Church includes even more. The Protestant's Old Testament canon does not include any of these writings. Protestants call these writings the apocrypha which is a Greek word which means "hidden" or "secret." Catholics call these writings deuterocanonical which means "added later." First let's name these books/ writings. It is hard to put an exact number of "books" on the Apocrypha because some of the writings are additions to existing books and some canons combine "books" and some don't. (Somewhere between 12 and 15 book total.) [Source: Miller, Stephen M. (2007), The Complete Guide to the Bible, Phoenix, Arizona, The Steve Laube Agency LLC, p. 296 - affiliate link] Here are the writings of what is called the Apocrypha: 1 Esdras* 2 Esdras* Tobit Judith Additions to the Book of Esther The Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus also called Sirach Baruch The Letter of Jeremiah** The Additions to the book of Daniel which include: The Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, and The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. The Prayer of Manasseh* 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees 3 Maccabees* 4 Maccabees* * Not in the Catholic canon. ** In the Catholic canon but included under the book of Baruch. (You might also see 3 Ezra, 4 Ezra, Psalm 151, and The Letter to the Laodiceans in some Bibles, but they are in a separate appendix.) The Catholic Bible has 7 additional books and some additions to Esther and Daniel that are not found in Protestant Bibles. The Old Testament of the Protestant Bible has 39 books. The Roman Catholic Old Testament has 46 books. These additional books are Tobit, Judith, The Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch with the Letter of Jeremiah, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. When these writings are included in a canon they are placed in the Old Testament canon because they are Hebrew writings and originated before Jesus was born (except for maybe 2 Esdras and The Prayer of Manasseh which possibly were written in the first century). Next let's define what a canon is. The word "canon" means rule of faith and truth. Canon – the group of inspired books acknowledged by the early church as the rule of faith and practice. Christians believe the Scripture is the authoritative word of God. It is our rule of faith. Therefore, the canon has significance to our faith practice. It is important to note when discussing the Apocrypha that all Christians agree on the New Testament canon. And it is important to note we all agree on 39 books of the Old Testament. All Christians have the exact same New Testament canon of 27 books. All Christians agree on 39 books of the Old Testament canon. How did the writings of the Apocrypha come to be included? The Jewish people had extensive writings. They had their holy Scriptures. They had historical writings. They also had interpretive writings of their holy Scriptures. Over the centuries the Jews continued to copy their Scripture and their historical religious writings. When Alexander the Great conquered the region (333-323 B.C.), he united it with Greek language. Possibly because of this the Jews decided to translate the Hebrew Scripture and other religious writings into the Greek language. This was called the Septuagint (also known as LXX) and this translation occurred between 300 and 200 B.C. A lot of people today say the Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. But it was more than that. It not only included the Hebrew Scriptures, but it also included other Hebrew religious writings. SEPTUAGINT = Translation of (Hebrew Scripture + Additional Hebrew Writings) to Greek It was this Greek text, not the original Hebrew, which was the source of Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, Greek and part of the Arabic translations of the Old Testament. Churches included all of the 39 books of the Hebrew Scripture and some of the additional Hebrew writings. The Council of Rome in A.D. 382 affirmed these 7 books and additions to Esther and Daniel were part of the Roman Catholic canon. Pope Damascus commissioned Jerome, a Catholic priest, theologian and historian (scholar of the day) to make a new Latin translation. Jerome began by correcting previous Latin versions of the New Testament. Then he began on the Old Testament. While previous Latin translations had been translated from the Greek Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and other Hebrew writings), Jerome translated directly from the Hebrew text to Latin. Jerome stated that he chose not to use the Septuagint because Judaism had rejected it as having mistranslations and heretical elements. This Latin translation of the Scripture was completed by Jerome in A.D. 405 and is called the Vulgate. Jerome did not think these additional writings should be included, but the Council of Rome had affirmed them as canonical. Jerome did differentiate these additional writings in the prologues in the Vulgate and he called them "apocrypha." Jerome used that term! Earlier Origen had said that the Jews called these most esteemed of their noncanonical books the "apocrypha" and this may be where Jerome got the term. Again, the word "apocrypha" mean "hidden" or "secret." Jews would never destroy their religious writings, but if not fit for use, they would hide them away and let them naturally decay. But it wasn't until Jerome used this term that the Roman Catholic Church began using it to refer to these writings. The Apocrypha (well at least 7 books of it) was in the Roman Catholic canon and it has stayed there. Fast forward in time and some Catholics began to believe the Bible should be translated into the language of the people. The Bible used in the Roman Catholic Church was in Latin. Masses were conducted in Latin. Most people couldn't speak or read Latin. At that time it was believed in the Catholic Church that Catholic priests had to interpret the Scriptures for the people. Between 1380 and 1388 A.D. John Wycliffe and his followers worked on translating the Latin Vulgate (which contained the Apocrypha) into English. Fast forward a little more until the Protestant Reformation in A.D. 1517. The Protestant Reformation was begun by Roman Catholics who wanted to reform the Catholic Church from within. These group of Catholics found fault in some of the Church's practices and traditions. One of the goals for the Reformers was to put the holy Scriptures into the language of the people. Their cry was 'Why can't the people read the Scriptures for themselves?' They were deemed heretics and ex-communicated from the Roman Catholic Church. When the Reformers began to translate the Scriptures into the languages of the people - German, French, English - they used the Latin Vulgate to translate. Hence the Apocrypha writings were in the earliest Protestant Bibles. When Martin Luther translated the Latin Vulgate to German, he separated them into a separate section and titled them Apocrypha. The early major Protestant English translations - the 1537 Matthews Bible, the 1539 Great Bible, the 1560 Geneva Bible, the 1568 Bishop's Bible, the 1611 King James Bible - all included the Apocrypha in a separate section. However, the Protestant Reformers made it very clear these books, while good to read, were not to be used for public reading, preaching, or for proving doctrine and placed that in the prologue of the Apocrypha section. Martin Luther said, "Apocrypha - that is, books which are not regarded as equal to the holy Scriptures, and yet are profitable and good to read." Later, at varying times, the separate section of the Apocrypha was removed from Protestant Bibles. At the Council of Trent in A.D. 1546 the Catholic Church declared these writings to be "deuterocanonical" (meaning added later). Basically they changed the name from apocrypha to deuterocanonical. I'm guessing this was done as a result of the Protestant Reformers' objections. They reaffirmed that these deuterocanonical books/ additions had the same authority as the 39 protocanonical books (the ones we all agree upon.) The Roman Catholic Church was saying these are Scripture. Whether to include the Apocrypha has been a point of contention between the Roman Catholic Church/ Greek Orthodox Churches and Protestant churches. The reason for this contention is we get our rule of faith and practice, our doctrine from our Canon. The Apocrypha has mostly historical and poetical writing, but there are a couple historical facts in the Apocrypha which are not accurate. First flag. The vast majority of the contents of the Apocrypha aligns with the rest of Scripture. But there are a couple doctrinal issues which do not align with the body of teaching. For instance, the idea of praying for the dead is only found in the Apocrypha. Protestants do not believe in purgatory - a concept which comes from the Apocrypha. Protestants believe all sin separates us from God and it is only saving belief in this life which seals our eternity. Protestants believe when we die, we immediately go either to heaven or apart from God. Catholics believe the Apocrypha books are inspired and therefore Scripture. The Jews do not have the Apocrypha in their Hebrew Canon. Jews and Protestants have rejected them as inspired; but view them as profitable to read. We must remember all Christians have the same New Testament Canon. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 What we consider our "Scripture" matters. Catholics and others have more books in their OLD TESTAMENT than Protestants do. The real question though is how much does it matter? Well, the answer is somewhat layered because it does matter in that we get our faith practice from our Scripture. But in the bigger scheme of things, it does not make any difference to that person's salvation in whether they believe the Apocrypha is inspired or is not inspired. On the essential belief - our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; our saving belief; we are united. On one hand the Apocrypha is worth debating. It does matter for our faith practice. On the other hand, when we pass from this life, what we believed about the Apocrypha will have no bearing on our eternal resting place.

AGAIN. It happened again. At 5:42 pm on Tuesday April 30, 2019 on the last day of classes before finals at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte, a student opened fire on his classmates. He killed two people. Shot four other people - critically injuring three of them. Students fled and hid. An entire campus was on lockdown for hours in shock and terror. Evil. All of this just down the road from my home. Near where I work. My son and his fiancé graduated from UNCC. My son's friend was actually in the building when the shooting occurred. Some of my friend's kids and grandkids were on campus at the time of the shooting. My heart is so sad over more lives lost, more families shattered, people experiencing fear. Stupid and senseless. Evil. The evil seems to be growing. It seems to be closing in. We cannot escape it. I began working on this post yesterday morning. Little did I know it would hit so close to home the same day. A group of us women are taking an online theology class. The professor gave a lecture on Evil in the World and Monday night we met to discuss it. His lecture was mostly walking through the book of Job. The women found the lecture to be very interesting. Evil touches us all. It is intensely personal for all humans. To prepare to facilitate the discussion I re-read Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright (affiliate link). Tuesday morning after our discussion on evil I had sent them excerpts from the book. We mentioned the Holocaust and 9/11. We mentioned the recent events like school shootings, the shootings at the New Zealand mosque (3/14/19) and the Pittsburgh (10/27/18) and California (4/27/19) synagogues, the bombings at the Sri Lanka churches and hotels (4/21/19),... Like everyone else we ask Why? I'd like to say we came up with some profound answer to the Why? We didn't. Just as Job didn't either. "Somehow, strangely (and to us sometimes even annoyingly), the Creator God will not simply abolish evil from His world. The question that swirls around these discussions is, Why not? We are not given an answer; we are instead informed in no uncertain terms that God will contain evil, that He will restrain it, that He will prevent it from doing its worst, and that He will even on occasion use the malice of human beings to further His own strange purposes." [Wright, N.T. (2006). Evil and the Justice of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, p. 55] Evil seems to be growing. Hemming us in. Smothering us. I find the concept that God is containing it, restraining it, and preventing it from doing its worst to be comforting, but in a way very terrifying. How much worse could it be? It seems horrific now. I am reminded of the first theology class I took and the seminary professor when talking about the End Times that "Things won't get better. (Matthew 24) The Bible says things will get worse. Things are going to continually deteriorate." And they are. And the deterioration seems to be exponential. We cannot escape evil. We cannot answer why it happens. How do we live with it? What hope do we have? Here is where I found the ideas put forth in Evil and the Justice of God to be worth pondering. N.T. Wright says we must recognize evil and call it for what it is. EVIL. That seems obvious, but yet we sugar-coat it. We ignore it if it doesn't hit us directly. We are surprised by it when it does. Our reactions are immature. We say the person was mentally unstable or look what that nation did to the other nation or we somehow try to find a reason for the evil, to justify it in some way. There is no justification. If the problem of evil could be solved with technology, education, and scientific development; then the world would be evolving into a better place. That is not the case. The world is evolving into a more evil place. So where does that leave us? What hope do we have? And that is what our women's group focused on in the end of our discussion. Our hope is in Christ. Look, I don't say that tritely. He is our only hope. Christians are well aware that our eternity is sealed. We will be judged righteous because we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We are reconciled to God through Jesus and the evil we have committed is forgiven. We look forward to when we will be with Christ in heaven - a physical place with a resurrected physical body, where there is no more sorrow or tears or evil. That assurance greatly comforts us through the many tears in our lives. We are also assured that God will judge and He will judge justly. No one will escape the final judgment. We know there is a great battle going on between good and evil and that in the end, our good God will be triumphant over evil. But getting through the current evil event or the next evil event isn't what our calling here on earth is about. We aren't supposed to just get through it. We aren't supposed to just wait it out. We are to join God. We are to be on His side. We are to put on our battle gear and fight evil. I get you are skeptical on this one. You think how can I have any real effect against the evil in the world? Think BIG people! We don't serve some puny god; one who has no real power to affect change. We serve an almighty, all-powerful, sovereign God! We by ourselves don't have any real power. But God does have the power we need and He will use us. He calls us to be part of the battle. God put you exactly where you are right now to influence those you come into contact with. You have no idea how God is using you to impact others, but He is. God is actively at work in this world. We just have to live as Christians - to be the hands and feet of Jesus. About now you are thinking I am being way too philosophical. I'm not. The Christian walk is purposeful, proactive, life-changing, practical, and useful. How you live your life matters. It matters in the eternal scheme of things. It matters in combatting evil in this world. When we encounter evil, we turn to God. We seek Him for comfort. We let Him use us to comfort others. We hold their hand. We pray for them. We don't try to explain why the evil happened to them. We don't have those kind of answers. We are just there for them, ministering to them. We pray. Oh how we pray. There is power in prayer. Extreme power. Unimaginable power. God hears our prayers. He acts on our prayers. Pray. Be persistent. Be bold. Ask for what seems impossible. We love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. (Matthew 5:43-47) Talk about a revolutionary way to change the balance! We live our lives as Christians are supposed to live their lives. We love on others. We put their needs above our own. We humble ourselves. We control our anger. We repent of any prejudice or hate within us. We call evil out, but we do not retaliate or seek revenge. We do not fight evil with evil. We forgive. We offer the olive branch of peace. We seek reconciliation. We serve others. We help the poor and the heartbroken and the suffering. We give of ourselves expecting nothing in return. We give others grace and mercy. We become active in our world to fight injustice. We refuse to hate. We choose to love. We see others as Jesus sees them. They matter. Their lives matter. We are realistic about the evil in the world and are quick and purposeful to fight it. But we fight evil the way Jesus taught us to fight it. We do the right thing. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. We seek the Spirit's guidance in our interaction with others. We hold onto our faith and we show the world the hope within us. And with each godly choice and action we make to live for a better world, something changes. Evil is thwarted in that instance. Now read The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. Truly read it. Take it to heart. Live it out. What does God do about evil? He sent His Son to redeem us. And then the Redeemed join in the battle against evil. God has not left us ill-equipped. He has given us His arsenal. Christians don't go into combat like others. Jesus gave us a radical new way to fight evil. It is through love and peace and forgiveness. To the evil world those seem like a weak offensive. But we know the greatest of these is love. "God's justice is not simply a blind dispensing of rewards for the virtuous and punishments for the wicked, though plenty of those are to be found on the way. God's justice is a saving, healing, restorative justice, because the God to whom justice belongs is the Creator God who has yet to complete His original plan for creation and whose justice is designed not simply to restore balance to a world out of kilter but to bring to glorious completion and fruition the creation, teeming with life and possibility, that He made in the first place. And He remains impeccably determined to complete this project through His image-bearing human creatures..." [Wright, N.T. (2006). Evil and the Justice of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, p. 64] People, we have a purpose. We have a mission that He summoned us for. We are to fight evil with love. #readtheBible

People think that if you live a good life that good things will happen to you. And conversely that bad people will have bad things happen to them. So they conclude that if something bad happens to you that you must have done something to deserve it. The account of Job is a resounding NO to this way of thinking. The book of Job tells us he was blameless, upright, feared God and turned away from evil (Job 1:1). Job was innocent. Bad things do happen to good people. Living life means there are times when truly horrific things will happen to you. Evil touches us all. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22,23 At those times when the unspeakable happens, it is normal to ask God Why? The answers don't come. So are we left without hope? Never! 1 Timothy 1:1 tells us that Christ Jesus is our hope.* Romans 12:12 tells us to rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulation and to be devoted to prayer. While we are living in this world, bad things are going to happen to us, the Redeemed of Christ. We cannot escape evil. We don't understand why. Just as Job didn't understand the shambles he found his life to be in. I have had, like you, many awful things happen in my life. The longer you live, the more you experience. I had different reactions to two of the worst events. First when I was 20 years old my mother died suddenly of a heart attack. It set of a chain of family dysfunction and also of sin in my life. I never once doubted the existence of God or His sovereignty. I viewed it as grossly unfair and something He could have prevented. I became angry and turned my back on God for a long time. As the years passed, I started to come back to Him. A little less than twenty years ago a series of events which happened one on top of the other sent me into a deep depression. One day I was living a normal uneventful life and then everything changed in what seemed like an instant. I can tell you I was in the darkest scariest pit I have ever experienced. All I wanted was for the pain to stop. It was at that point I cried out to God. He heard me. He answered me. I experienced His mercy and comfort. I can write that, but the words are not sufficient to explain what I experienced. God showed up in a big way. He saved me. Not in the redemptive way of saving - I was already a Christian. He literally saved my life. That experience changed me. One event I turned away from God. One event I turned to God. That second event was the turning point in my life. Since then I have faced the troubles in my life with my hand in His. With reliance on Him. With trust. How do we continue living when these horrible things happen to us? We hold on to what we do know to be true - who we know God to be. He is there for us to comfort us, to love us, to help us through it. We trust Him with our grief and our pain and our suffering. We cling to Him. We ask Him for strength. We hold tightly to our faith and our hope. When we are steamrolled by life we cry out to Him. And He will be there to hold us. Count on it. * You may want to read Hope, not Hope So dated 8/15/18. #readtheBible

Jesus was scourged by the Roman soldiers. A Roman flogging was brutal. The person was bent over a post and tied to it. The flagrum used to flog the person was made of leather, but on the end of the straps were metal and bits of bones and stones. The scourging would rip the flesh and bruise the body. Hebrew law required no more than 39 lashes, but Romans were not limited to that number. It was to be brutal enough to inflict severe pain and damage to the person, but for them to still be able to carry the crossbeam for their cross. Some did not survive the scourging. The whole purpose of the brutal scourging and crucifixion were to be a deterrent to others. Jesus must have been brutally beaten for He was unable to carry the crossbeam for His crucifixion. They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross. Mark 15:21 What we know of this man is very little. We know Simon was from Cyrene: Cyrene was a city in northern Libya. There was a large population of Jews who lived there at the time of Jesus. Some people from Cyrene became believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:10.) Some people from Cyrene were members in the Synagogue of the Freedmen and they argued with Stephen (Acts 6:9) and were perhaps part of the group who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:54-60.) Some Christ believers from Cyrene went to Antioch preaching the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20.) It was at Antioch that disciples of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26.) Simon of Cyrene was probably a Jew who was in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He had just come into the city for whatever reason and the Romans told him to carry the crossbeam for this "criminal." Simon probably at that time had no idea who Jesus was. We know Simon had two sons, Alexander and Rufus: Do we know anything about these sons? Mark wrote his Gospel to the church at Rome and apparently the people in the church at Rome identified who Simon was by his sons. They knew them! If we go to Paul's letter written to the church of Rome we get a clue. Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. Romans 16:13 It is believed this "Rufus" is Simon's son! Rufus was a "choice man in the Lord." That would most likely mean that Simon of Cyrene came to be a Christian after he carried the cross for Jesus. And so did his sons and his wife. Did he witness the crucifixion? Did he join the group of believers before Pentecost or afterwards? The details we don't know. Simon of Cyrene carried the crossbeam for our Lord. To read other articles on people involved in Passion Week click on tag below "Passion Week" or here they are listed: Judas Betrayed The Chief Priests Plotted Peter Denied Pilate Judged

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. Before we go a step further let's clarify how the Romans governed Judea. The Romans came into the region in 63 B.C. and took over rule. They wanted to control the land near their hated enemy, the Persians. They thought the people inhabiting the area had a strange religion, but continued to let them practice it at first. They just didn't care about that. The Romans imposed heavy taxation on the people they ruled. The Romans didn't just come in and conquer the entire area at once. Their empire gradually spread over time. They would gain one area and appoint a ruler. In 37 B.C. they appointed Herod the Great as "king" over the region. Herod the Great was technically Jewish because his father had converted to Judaism. But he was much more interested in the power Rome could give him. None of the Herods were religious men. When Herod the Great died in about 4 B.C. his three sons were appointed by the Romans to rule over different regions. His son Archelaus became ruler over half a "kingdom" which included Judea and therefore, Jerusalem. He mismanaged his power and in A.D. 6 Rome began appointing governors over the area. They called these governors "prefects." Being prefect of Judea was not a good job. It was just a temporary assignment usually for one to three years. The Romans sent in few Roman troops to Judea. The prefect or governor left the day to day running of the Jewish people and their "strange" religion to the Sanhedrin - the chief priests and high priest. But the Sanhedrin were very much under the control of the Roman prefect. They did what the Roman governor wanted or they were replaced. Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36. He was there just to keep peace in the region. And to make sure those taxes got back to Rome. It is worth noting that two other Roman governors of Judea are mentioned in the biblical account - Felix and Festus. But realize there were other Roman governors of the region. Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, also ruled this region for a time. Only the Roman governor could declare a person guilty and sentence them to death. He had the sole authority to order the execution of a criminal. The high priests wanted to get rid of Jesus. We know they felt threatened by Jesus' influence over the people. They charged Jesus with blasphemy, but this charge wasn't going to get them anywhere with Pilate. So when they took Jesus to Pilate they said He was an insurgent - claiming to be the King of the Jews; riling the people up. Caesar was the king of the Jews. Claiming this title would be seen as rebellion. Pilate asks Jesus point blank, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." (Matthew 27:11) The chief priests made their case against Jesus, but Jesus was silent. During the Passover feast it was the custom of the Roman governor to release one Jewish prisoner. Pilate's wife warns him not to judge Jesus as guilty. Pilate gives them a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. Barabbas was an insurrectionist (and a murderer and robber) - one who wanted to overthrow Rome's rule in the region. Both Barabbas and Jesus were being charged with the exact same crime! The crowd asks for Barabbas to be released. Pilate asks them what should he do with Jesus? They all said, "Crucify Him!" (Matthew 27:22b) Pilate asks them what evil has He done? But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!" Pilate saw a riot starting. His job was to keep peace. Pilate tells the crowd, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves." (Matthew 27:24b) Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified. When you read the words of Pilate in the four Gospels, you get the sense that he was very hesitant to order the crucifixion of Jesus. What we do know about Pilate is that he was not afraid to kill those who were plotting against Rome. In Luke 13:1 we are told Pilate had Galileans who had come to the temple in Jerusalem killed - their blood mixed with that of their sacrifices. Josephus the first century Jewish historian recorded that after Jesus was crucified Pilate had a Samaritan and his followers killed. Pilate was more than willing to perform his Roman assignment of putting down rebellion. However, it was the brutal slaughter of these Samaritans which brought Pilate down. He was ordered to Rome to answer to the emperor for his actions. Somehow Pilate seemed to hesitate judging Jesus as guilty. Pilate repeatedly says "I find no guilt in this man." (John 18:38b) (There is some tendency to sympathize with Pilate. In this situation he was in a tough spot. There have over history been some who have venerated Pilate. Don't. He was a Roman doing his job which entailed slaughtering anyone who opposed Rome.) Luke's account tells us that when Pilate realized Jesus was a Galilean, and the ruler of Galilee was in Jerusalem, he had Jesus sent to him. This ruler was none other than Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. (Luke 3:1 tells us Herod was tetrarch of Galilee.) Herod questioned Jesus, but Jesus did not reply. Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him, but found no guilt in Him and sent Jesus back to Pilate. Interesting this account tells us that from that very day on Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate became friends. (Luke 23:12) Move forward in Scripture to the prayer lifted up by Peter and John and their companions in Acts 4:23-31and note in verse 27 that both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel were gathered together against Jesus. And note in verse 28 that God's hand and His purpose predestined it to occur. Back to the biblical account: Pilate again tells the chief priests and people, "You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. Therefore I will punish Him and release Him." (Luke 23:14-16) However, the crowd was insistent. "Release Barabbas." "Crucify Jesus." Scripture tells us Pilate delivered Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:25) And so it was ordered by the Roman governor that our Lord and Savior, the true King of the Jews, would be put to death in the most cruel way imaginable. Our hearts ache when we read the biblical accounts. And I hope you do read each of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus before Pilot - Matthew 27:11-26/ Mark 15:1-15/ Luke 23:1-25/ John 18:28-19:16. With an understanding of the people involved you will have fresh insight. Judas betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver and with a kiss and declaration of "Rabbi." Judas hung himself. The Chief Priests plotted to have Jesus killed. They needed to get rid of Him to maintain their power and prestige. Peter denied he knew Jesus three times. With the shame of this Peter went on to be a prominent person in the early church. An example for us all that when we screw up, God will take us back. We are quite familiar with the accounts of those around Jesus. Judas betrayed Him, His disciples deserted Him, the religious leaders sought His death, and Pilate could find no guilt in Him but gave in to the crowd to keep a riot from occurring. It all breaks our heart what our Savior faced alone. But keep the focus on the empty tomb where Jesus proves He is the Victor. A celebration is coming! To read other articles on people involved in Passion Week click on tag below "Passion Week" or here they are listed: Judas Betrayed Chief Priests Plotted Peter Denied Simon Carried

Peter, he was the most relatable of the disciples I think. Always the most vocal and sticking his foot in his mouth. Something about him just makes me smile. And I imagine he made Jesus smile too. We all need at least one friend like that. Simon Peter: Most often referred to as Peter. His Hebrew name was Simon and Jesus named him Cephas (John 1:42) which in Greek is translated Peter and means “rock” or “stone”. Peter is the brother of Andrew (Matthew 4:18). He was a fisherman (Luke 5:1-11). Peter along with James and John were in the inner circle of Jesus' disciples. (Luke 8:49-56/ Matthew 17:1-13/ Matthew 26:36-39) Peter is well known for denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Married At his first sermon on the day of Pentecost about three thousand souls were saved! Now that is a good day. A prominent leader in the early church and is a major person in Acts 1-12 Spread the Gospel to Samaria (the central region of ancient Palestine) and Caesarea (a city on the Mediterranean Sea south of present day Haifa, Israel.) Wrote 1 Peter and 2 Peter At the last supper Jesus said to His disciples, "You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written '... AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.' But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Peter said to Him, even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." All the disciples said the same thing too. (Matthew 26:31-35) We all know what happened. Peter denied being with Jesus. He denied knowing Jesus. And when asked a third time he again denied knowing Jesus. Immediately a rooster crowed and Peter broke down and wept bitterly. That's very relatable. It's easy to think you will be brave and courageous until push comes to shove and you actually have to be brave and courageous. The account of Peter denying Jesus three times is mentioned in all four Gospels. But here's what you might not know. The four Gospels were written after early church tradition says Peter was crucified - upside down I might add. How would the Gospel writers know that Peter actually did deny Christ? Only if Peter had told them. And this is what amazes me about Scripture. It gives you the good, the bad, and the ugly. How many of us tend to hide the most shameful thing we've done? My hand is raised. But Peter didn't do that. It's as if Peter is reaching through time telling me, "Yes dear, you messed up. I did too and the Lord in His infinite mercy took me back. He'll give you grace too." Yes, Peter is a genuine person. Some shining moments in his life and some profound failures. Just like the rest of us. Although I suspect this experience altered Peter's resolve. He would never again deny His Lord. Peter went on to do some pretty amazing things for God's kingdom. His first sermon was life-changing for a whole heck of a lot of people! My mind goes to Jesus and Him knowing all of this would happen. He knew Judas would betray Him. The religious leaders would plot against Him. Peter deny Him. His disciples desert Him. That all must have grieved Him. But to get to Sunday, He had to go through those twenty-four hours from Thursday to Friday. Keeping our eye on the empty tomb. To read other articles on people involved in Passion Week click on tag below "Passion Week" or here they are listed: Judas Betrayed The Chief Priests Plotted Pilate Judged Simon Carried

I am posting about the various people involved in the last day before the crucifixion of our Lord. I covered Judas Betrayed. The chief priests plotted to have Jesus killed. First we must understand who the chief priests were. Rome took over Judea in 63 B.C. They were more concerned about controlling the area near their rival world power Persia than they were about the Jewish people and what they thought was a strange religion. They permitted, at first, at least until Jesus' time, the continuation of the Jewish religion. But the Romans very much controlled who was in charge of the temple and the Jewish people. They appointed the high priest and chief priests. While the priests were Jewish, they were under the control of the Romans and if they didn't tow the line with Rome, they were replaced. The chief priests were very much the puppets of Rome. The chief priests were politically minded and were from the aristocracy of the Jewish community. They aren't the ones the Jewish people would have chosen to be in charge of their most sacred occasions. While they were the religious leaders, their hearts weren't in the right place. They were more about having power, control and prestige than they were about serving God and the Jewish people. The high priest and chief priests were called the Sanhedrin, also referred to as the Council in Scripture. They were composed of seventy chief priests and the high priest. They had long before decided they needed to get rid of Jesus. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." John 11:47,48 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. John 11:53 Judas goes to the chief priests and betrays Jesus in return for thirty pieces of silver from them. Cloaked in secrecy in the middle of the night Judas arrives with the soldiers and kisses Jesus and calls Him "Rabbi." Jesus is arrested and taken before the Council/ Sanhedrin and Caiaphas who was the high priest that year. They questioned Jesus and tried to obtain false testimony against Him. They did not find any. Jewish law required that the testimony of two people had to agree to convict someone. They could not get the agreement. Caiaphas asks Jesus directly, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." (Matthew 26:63) When Jesus answers, Caiaphas says, "He has blasphemed!" They all agree "He deserves death!" Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, Matthew 26:67 Did the chief priests really care about the charge of blasphemy or were they more concerned about losing their power and control over the Jewish people? Jesus opposed the Sanhedrin at every encounter with them. I believe they saw Jesus as a threat to their very way of life. They loved power and feared losing it. The chief priests didn't have the authority to try Jesus. Only the Roman government had the right to do that. They bound Him and delivered Him to the Roman governor, Pilate. The chief priests knew the Romans didn't care about a charge of blasphemy against their religion. The Romans wouldn't see that as a reason for them to have Jesus killed. So what is the charge? It is that Jesus claims to be the King of the Jews. The Romans would take this charge seriously. They would have no use for anyone who might insight rebellion against them. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying the He Himself is Christ, a King." Luke 23:2 Pilate finds no guilt in Jesus. But the chief priests kept on insisting that "He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place." (Luke 23:4,5) Pilate says to the chief priests and the rulers of the people, "You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him." (Luke 23:13,14) They then incited the Jewish crowds and Pilate gives in to them. The Jewish religious leaders - the chief priests - plotted to have Jesus killed. They sought a death sentence for Jesus because nothing less than death would be sufficient for them. The actions of these religious leaders saddens us, but we keep our focus on the empty tomb. It is there we see Jesus is the Victor over death. To read other articles on people involved in Passion Week click on tag below "Passion Week" or here they are listed: Judas Betrayed Peter Denied Pilate Judged Simon Carried

Jesus was betrayed by His disciple, deserted by His friends, taken in by the religious leaders, arrested, tried by the Roman governor, given over by the Jewish crowd, tortured and mocked by the Roman soldiers, crucified, died and buried. This is holy week and I thought as we approach Easter Sunday and the celebration of our risen Savior and all that means for us; we would explore some of the players in the historical account. We begin with Judas Iscariot. One of the twelve disciples, Judas kept the money. He was the treasurer of the group. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. John 12:4-6 All of Jesus' disciples were from the Galilee region except for Judas Iscariot. He was from Judea. I don't know if that has any significance, but it is definitely interesting. Jesus predicted Judas would betray Him. As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me - one who is eating with Me." Mark 14:18 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself." Matthew 26:25 Luke 22:3 and John 13:27 suggest Judas was controlled by Satan. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" and they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. Matthew 26:14,15 From that point on Judas began to look for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. And he found it when Jesus had finished praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and by calling Him "Rabbi." (Matthew 26:46-50) The Greek word for "kiss" here is a word used to refer to deep affection for another. Why would Judas do this to his friend and teacher? The biblical accounts do not give us the answer. Afterwards, Judas had remorse for betraying Jesus. He tried to return the money. He went out and hung himself. Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. Matthew 27:3-5 The chief priests knew the silver was tainted (blood money) and so they used it to buy the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers. (Matthew 27:6,7) Peter's sermon in Acts 2:23,24 tells us this was all part of the redemptive plan. this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Jesus was betrayed by one of His own disciples for thirty pieces of silver, with a kiss and a declaration of "Rabbi." The account is so powerful that even to today the name "Judas" is synonymous with "traitor." Judas' betrayal set the events in motion. As we continue this week with the various people involved in the biblical account, let us look towards Easter and remember the empty tomb speaks of Jesus as the Victor. To read other articles on people involved in Passion Week click on tag below "Passion Week" or here they are listed: The Chief Priests Plotted Peter Denied Pilate Judged Simon Carried

We don't mention the four letter "h" word too often these days. I'm talking about the word holy. We often act as if it is an outdated word, an outdated idea. My women's group is presently taking an online theology class and the professor spoke about God's holy-love. Being holy and being loving are attributes of God. In going over the Doctrine of God the professor was stressing what is a communicable attribute of God - qualities of God that have a parallel in ourselves. And then what are incommunicable attributes of God - those qualities of God that have no human parallel. God is love. 1 John 4:8b-9 ..., for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. God is holy. We read several Scripture passages and verses. Isaiah 6:1-7 was one and in verse 3 it says "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." We talked about various examples of God's holiness in the Bible. God is holy and we should have profound reverence for Him. We got the concepts God is love and God is holy. The next point was are these communicable attributes? In other words, can these attributes be present in humans? God's love: I suggest your read 1 John 4:7-21. God is love and it is a communicable attribute. God loved us by sending His Son (verse 9) and if God abides in us, we love others (verse 12). Verses 8 and 16, God is love. Love is a communicable attribute of God. We didn't have a hard time grasping this concept. But then I asked if God's holiness is a communicable attribute. Blank stares. I asked if we are to be holy? No answer. I rephrased it. Someone said they didn't think we can be holy. We turned to Scripture. 1 Peter 1:15,16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." Romans 12:1,2 ... to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice,... 1 Peter 2:9,10 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him... 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 ... and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people,...; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father... God's holiness is a communicable attribute. I know it just doesn't seem possible. Just as we are told God is love and we are to love others; Scripture tells us God is holy and we are to be holy. The fact that this seemed a surprise to Christians is somewhat alarming. Why don't Christians know this concept? It is because it is largely ignored today. It is ignored in our churches, in our sermons, in what we read in Christian books, in what we hear on the radio. We have no problem talking about God is love. That message resounds throughout our Christian culture. And He is! We cling to that truth. But if we don't combine that with God is holy and He expects His people to be holy - then we are only giving and understanding part of the Bible's message. I once took a class on the Fear of God and we spent weeks going over God's holiness. The professor said God's holiness is His defining attribute and it is through His holiness that He shows us His great love. I have always remembered that because at the time it was a new concept for me and has profoundly impacted my life since then. The words "holy" or "holiness" are found about 600 times in the Bible. I mention this so you realize it is a big concept of the Bible. God is love. It is a communicable attribute. We understood that. God is holy. It is a communicable attribute. That one not so much. I understand this is a difficult concept to grasp. And I think here is why. God's holiness is absolute purity. And we know we are far from being pure. We can readily bring to mind the sins we have committed just today. We know our thoughts and actions are often not holy. We would not describe ourselves as holy. We might say we are loved or we are forgiven, but holy? Nope. Matter of fact the word "holy" associated with people makes us think of "holy rollers", judgmental hypocrites. Perhaps we are not thinking of being holy in the full context. Biblical holiness does include moral purity, but it is more than that. The most basic meaning of the word "holy" is to be set apart or dedicated to God. He is our God and we are His people. (Leviticus 26:12; Hebrews 8:10) Our minds spin with we sin so how can we be holy? The only way we can be holy is in Jesus. We can't do enough good deeds or be-a-really-good-person ourselves into being holy. You know the gospel message. You know this good news! We get the concept of forgiveness. We get that our belief in Jesus as our Savior leads to being forgiven of our sins. Our sins are nailed to the cross with Jesus and God now views us as righteous. He has thrown our sins as far as the east is from the west and into the depths of the sea and He remembers them no more. We get this concept. BUT then we wake up today and we sin, we are convicted of that sin, we repent of that sin, we ask God for forgiveness of that sin. We sure don't feel very righteous today, but we are assured that is how God sees us. Why? BECAUSE OF JESUS. Look we are told to love God with all of our being and to love others as ourselves. We get that concept too, but uh, we fail at that all the time. And it is a similar concept with holiness. It seems impossible to lead a holy life. We sure don't feel holy. But how can we be holy? BECAUSE OF JESUS! And when you get this - that I am a screw-up, that I continue to sin, that I continue to not love God and others as I should, that I am not acting holy - you are humbled. It becomes crystal clear how much we need His grace and mercy. EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIVES! Just as His love is communed to us, so is His holiness. We can be loving because of Him. We can be forgiven because of Him. We can be holy because of Him. BECAUSE OF JESUS. The Christian walk, our spiritual journey is about becoming more like Christ. Letting our lives be dedicated to Him. Reflecting His image to the world. The more we identify with Christ, the more He takes over our lives and we grow in love and holiness. They are communicable attributes of God! Holy isn't a four letter word like you think of it. It is a very good thing! People this is huge! It should bring us to our knees in confession and to our hands thrown up in praise and to our hearts bursting with profound gratefulness. We are in the process of becoming more holy the more we surrender our lives to God. Remembering that God is holy, being reverent of His holiness, and realizing He expects us as His people to be holy is a game changer for how we think and act and live our lives. Giving God His rightful place in our lives and realizing who we are in relation to a holy God will transform us. It is a good game changer! God is holy. We are to be holy. God is love. We are to love. Quite simple in theory. Impossible to do without Him. By allowing ourselves to be set apart for Him and dedicated to Him is how we are holy. We are going to at times fail. That is a given. And He knows that. But it is the failure which keeps us dependent on Him and oh so very thankful for His profound saving grace.

Last night I stayed up way too late having an internet conversation with a woman. It got quite exasperating and I finally thought this is ridiculous and I need to just go to bed. Right before bed I had jumped on the forum and scrolled past the usuals and I noticed this woman who I hadn't seen on there before. She had posted an article on King Herod and made a comment that generally historians regard the claims of the census and slaughter of the infant males in Bethlehem as untrue. That was a red flag for me. I read the article. The first nineteen paragraphs of the article were general facts about Herod the Great's life - how he rose to power and how he did a lot of building. Pretty much Encyclopedia Brittanica type stuff. Then it got to Jesus. The article started talking about the date Herod the Great died which we now know was around 4 B.C. and then went on to say if he died before Jesus was born he couldn't have slaughtered the males under two. The author of the "science" article didn't do his research because that statement is not true. All of my Christian reference books say Jesus was born around 5 B.C. Our calendar did not come up with years A.D. (Anno Domini) and B.C. (Before Christ) until Dionysius Exiguus created it in A.D. 525. And it wasn't formally adopted by Charlemagne until A.D. 800. We now know Dionysius was off about 5 years in the year of Jesus' birth because he didn't have access to information on eclipses. It is true there is no evidence that a census was taken or that Herod the Great slaughtered the infant males. But because we don't have the proof yet, doesn't mean it didn't happen. Atheists and people of other religions used to say King David didn't exist because we had no historical or archeological proof of his existence. It was not until 1993 they discovered proof of King David. I'm saying while we can't prove the census or death of the babies in Bethlehem at this time, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. So I commented those things on this women's post to which she replied, "You are wasting your time trying to convert me." What? I said, "I'm not trying to convert you. I'm saying what you posted isn't news to Christians and doesn't contradict what we have been taught." I added, "Just curious. Why did you assume when I commented on your post that I was trying to convert you?" To which she later in the conversation responded, ""It's your "Christian" duty is it not to convert the unbelievers?"" Near the end of the discussion I said, "No, it isn't my Christian duty to convert anyone." And she sarcastically replied, "Oh my bad, I thought you were a Christian. I do apologize." I bet that shocks you I said that it wasn't my duty to convert anyone. It's kind of semantics and I'll explain. I have for the past few years been thinking about my witness to others. All sorts of things have occurred in regards to this. My interaction with unbelievers on a forum, reading the book by Nabeel Quareshi called Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: a Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity (affiliate link), a recent study I did on the Promised Land and my women's group wearing love glasses to think about how we interact with others, etc. Is it a Christian's duty to convert others? I say no. First of all, I don't have the power to do that. It is God's job to draw people to Him. Each person is the one who accepts the gift of God's grace and God is the one who saves. God might use something I say to soften someone's heart - to get them pondering on something. I might be used to plant a seed or explain a concept to someone. But it isn't my duty to convert them. What is my Christian duty? To be His witness. I know, I know; it seems to you that witnessing and trying to convert are the same thing. I don't think they are. I have for awhile now been interacting with a lot of people who don't believe Jesus is their Savior. What I have found out is they know the gospel. They've heard it. They get the gist of it. They know what Christians believe, but they don't understand the why we believe it. I can be perfectly willing to explain it to them, but they already have their minds made up. Their heart is hard to any reasoning I put forth. And I can tell you my mind is made up and there is no changing me. Atheists and other unbelievers in Christ aren't unintelligent. However, they appear to think we are deceived and ignorant. They know the arguments against Christianity. They've read; they've been trained. Hence the need for Apologetics which is the discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. They have their apologetics. But we do too! [This is one of the things that surprised me when reading Nabeel's book - that as a devout Muslim he was trained in the arguments against Christianity. It wasn't until he made a friend in college who was trained in Christian apologetics that he began to look into Christianity. He and his friend discussed back and forth and after years he decided there was too much evidence for Christianity not to believe.] What is the evidence Jesus was really resurrected? How do we know our biblical text is reliable? Etc. I know enough about Christian apologetics to hold my own in a discussion. I'm willing to discuss it with an unbeliever, if they bring it up or ask. I know they will reason I was the one who posted something on the Bible topic and they feel it is their need to argue with me. But I'm not going on the Atheist or Muslim or other group topics (those exist) and posting my Christian thoughts. It is the opposite - they come on the Bible topic and post something against Christianity and I respond. What you find when interacting with them is they have a pattern to their arguments. But so do Christians. One atheist I talk to seems to have rejected Christianity because of the concept of hell. He seems fixated on it. Almost anything I post he brings it up. I'm not going to give up my belief in a final judgment. He knows what I'm going to say. It is a waste of time to discuss it with him. but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 1 Peter 3:15 [Notice the "who asks you" in the above verse.] I am able to make a defense of my faith, to give an account for the hope in me. Where I fail sometimes is doing it with gentleness and reverence. Sometimes I get so frustrated with these people and yes, sometimes angry. Our discussions are circular. Same old, same old points are made. And it in those times I realize their hearts are too hard to listen and that the Lord has a lot of work to do on my heart also. I seem unable to be gentle. Our Lord says, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." Matthew 7:6 Let me give you what others say about Matthew 7:6. It is futile to try to teach holy concepts to people who don't want to listen and will only tear apart what we say. We should not stop giving God's Word to unbelievers, but we should be wise and discerning in what we teach to whom, so that we will not be wasting our time. 2011 NIV Life Application Study Bible text note for Matthew 7:6 Believers are to be merciful, forgiving, and slow to judge (7:1-5), yet they should wisely discern the true character of people and not indefinitely continue proclaiming the gospel to those who adamantly reject it, so that they can move on and proclaim the gospel to others (cf. 10:14; also Acts 13:46; 18:6; Titus 3:10-11). ESV Study Bible text note for Matthew 7:6 When we meet vicious people who treat divine truths with utter contempt and respond to our preaching of the claims of Christ with abuse and violence, we are not obligated to continue to share the gospel with them. To press the matter only brings increased condemnation to the offenders. Needless to say, it requires spiritual perception to discern these people. Perhaps that is why the next verses take up the subject of prayer, by which we can ask for wisdom. Believer's Bible Commentary by William MacDonald, commentary for Matthew 7:6 (affiliate link) [I'm contemplating on the "To press the matter only brings increased condemnation to the offenders." Yikes!] Yes, the Great Commission tells us to spread Jesus' teaching to all the nations. We are to tell people the good news. But what if they know the gospel and just plain reject it? When this woman last night was unwilling to even discuss the information I was putting forth, but digressed to swearing at me and unreasonable comments, I knew it was time to give it up. I was at no time trying to convert her. I was trying to explain something to her that she brought up, to defend my faith. No, I don't see my Christian duty as converting others. My Christian duty is to grow in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; to be a living stone; making the most of every opportunity; to be His witness. (2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:5; Colossians 4:5; Acts 1:8) I am to love God with my entire being and to love others as myself. I am to live my faith out loud. Convert someone? No. But share my faith. Yes. “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” #readtheBible

A friend texted me about an upcoming Christian program on TV and asked me if I thought it would be worth watching. The channel the program was on often skews things in an un-Christian way. I've learned this station often uses a professor who is an unbeliever as their "scholar." He often omits information to appear Christianity has it all wrong. The second red flag on the program was who was producing it. It was a well-known Christian man who has a reputation in the Christian community for preaching what is referred to as the prosperity gospel. This preacher gives half the message. He talks about how God loves you and God will bless you, but pretty much ignores God is holy and our sin grieves Him and we must be obedient to Him. It's a feel good message that encourages people. I heard of his reputation and so I listened to some of his sermons. It wasn't what I heard was wrong, but that he only seemed to be giving half the message. He seemed to omit the holy part of God's holy-love. I didn't hear the part that convicts people and brings them to true transformation. This man is the head of a mega church and is extremely rich. More red flags on the man's character. So I don't know if the program would be worth watching. I'll probably skip it. I told my friend if she watches it to have discernment. I've learned over the years that there are some Christian speakers that send out red flags. They don't appear to be running a good race. I personally stay away from them. I don't read their books or listen to their sermons and messages online. I see they wrote something and I just skip it. Maybe I didn't give the above mentioned man a fair chance as I didn't listen to too much of his stuff. But there are some Christian speakers and authors out there who I know are sound. Since I have a limited amount of time to read or listen, I choose people I know are worthy. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; Psalm 101:3a There are a few Christians whose teaching and character I think might be questionable and I just don't put them in front of me. I told my friend about a study I had done a few years ago by the pastor of another mega-church. I learned so much from doing that study and when I found out this preacher was on the radio on weekdays, I tried to listen to him at every chance possible. His teaching was so moving. I learned new things. I pondered new concepts. I never heard him say anything questionable. Then a couple years ago I looked him up. Wow, there were a lot of red flags! Major struggles with this pastor and others. Over the past couple years I would occasionally check out what was going on with him. It was heartbreaking to watch things go from bad to worse until his church finally recently asked for his resignation. I don't doubt he started out well, with the right heart for God; to be part of building up God's kingdom. Along the way he became powerful and he made a lot of money. The power and the money seemed to bring his downfall. He regarded the church he planted which grew into a multi-campus mega-church and ministry to belong to him. Perhaps he forgot it belonged to Jesus. There is another nationally known preacher who I've heard a lot of bad things about. I've watched several of his sermons and I didn't here anything 'off'. His style of preaching isn't to my taste. I've never read one of his books. But a few years ago he built a 16,000 square foot gated estate. Supposedly he built the mansion with proceeds from his books. His extravagant lifestyle is a red flag. Then I found out his church does not release detailed financials or his salary. Red flag. Then there was an incidence about planting people to encourage other people to get spontaneously baptized. That was horrific in my opinion. Too many red flags to give this guy my time. My friend said she understood. She replied, "We have to be careful of the source no matter the subject - religion, medical, political." True. The above mentioned Christians didn't or aren't running a good race. They may have begun on the right path, but somewhere along the way they strayed off of it. There are Christians who have run an excellent race! Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, A. W. Tozer, William Wilberforce, Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, Charles Spurgeon, Elisabeth Elliot, George Muller, etc. They ended well. Men and women who have been excellent examples for us. We start along this Christian path and it isn't long before we begin stumbling and falling. We aren't immune to huge spiritual failures. We are all prone to leave things unchecked which can corrupt our character. Money, power, popularity, the pursuit of happiness,... It begins subtly with poor choices. It grows in us. Red flags start popping up and then in a mere moment we can lose our reputation; lose our credibility. Yes, left to ourselves we might even walk off the proverbial cliff. It is hard to run a good race. The only way we can do it is to stay connected to God. To persevere. Paul wrote to Timothy, the young pastor: Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:16) No we aren't ministers of a church, but people are watching our walk with Christ, listening to what we say, judging Jesus and the gospel because of us. We are His witnesses. May we never forget that. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) Only reliance on God will let us be victorious. Run in such a way that you may win. (1 Corinthians 9:27b) We persevere. We keep up the effort required to do something and to keep doing it until the end. It will be hard at times. But we keep feeding our mind and thoughts with worthy things and keep our hand in His and let Him guide us. Stay the course. Run a good race. #readtheBible

Recently I published about if we know if our pets which have died will be in heaven. The answer is the Bible doesn't say, but personally I believe they will be. [Pets in Heaven? dated March 9, 2019] An anonymous atheist (from another country and hence the "u" in neighbor) replied to this article: “If you're able to imagine your atheist neighbour burning in hell for eternity, courtesy of the god of love, then your dog certainly will.” He is right in that if we believe our pets will be in heaven; that leads us to believe they will be judged on some criteria and that some pets will go to hell. (I admitted in my article that the concept of our pets in heaven is problematic in that what about someone's dog that mulls someone.) It seems the only two options would be to believe that our pets go to heaven or hell; or that they are just dead and God later creates new animals. Or could a third option be that God allows all pets into heaven? I don't know the answer. I hope my Riley is in heaven, but I will admit I don't know. What I wanted you to note was the atheist's use of the word “imagine.” It reflects his belief that there is no heaven or hell and that when he dies he is just dead. Another guy put: “Simple answer, dogs go to heaven, no judgement whatsoever. Cats go to hell, no judgement at all, other animals are judged based on some arbitrary criterion like humans are.” He was joking about cats. I think. Haha. But I want you to notice ‘based on some arbitrary criterion like humans are.' Are humans judged on some “arbitrary criterion?” No! The Bible is very specific how humans will be judged. We have a choice. We can accept the gift of living or death. These two comments made me think how much TIME and THOUGHT is given to whether our pets are in heaven - something we don’t really know the answer to; and how little TIME and THOUGHT is given to the unbelievers we know. Are we concerned they will be in heaven? Do we love other people as much as we do our pets? We know what will happen to unbelievers and yet we seem to walk around largely unconcerned about them. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40 Our Lord commands us to love our neighbor. As what? As ourselves. George Muller prayed for the unbelievers he encountered. He began in 1844 by writing down the names of five men on a prayer list. He prayed for them daily. Persistent prayer. He added to the list. It sometimes took years before he was able to cross a name off the list and write the date. When he died they found his diary and two of the original five names were still on the list, but the rest of the people on the list had come to saving faith! Muller had been praying for these two men for over fifty years. Every day. And what happened to them? After Muller passed away, they did come to know their Savior! We don't know what will happen to our pets when they die. We want to believe they will be in heaven. I hope so. But we do know what will happen to the people around us who do not know Jesus. Where are our priorities on what occupies our thoughts, prayers and our concerns? It is important that we are concerned more about humans than our pets. Have you prayed for an unbeliever today? #readtheBible