Tag Archives: Jesus

Truly This Man…the end.

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Welcome to my blog. This post contains the second half of a short story. Please click here, Truly This Man…the beginning, to read the first half. Thank you!

“And now we have come to the crux of the matter. The source of your unbelief. You don’t believe that I am God. Yer we are speaking face to face and you are blind. What do you make of all this?”

“I don’t know. In the last two minutes, my mind has been doing backflips. You say that I have a purpose?! That you have given me a second chance?! What do I do now?”

“I love you. My world is broken and dark without you. You mean everything to me. This is my message. It is only and specifically, a message of love. Do you believe this?”

“Jesus, I do believe you. Ever since I saw you with the crowds, I sensed that something was different. I just didn’t know how different. I just don’t know if I can commit to you being the Son of God.”

“For God (my father) so loved the world, (that includes you) that he gave his one and only Son, (that would be me) that whoever (you, right now, at this moment) believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Now, do you understand and believe?”

“YES! Jesus, my lord, I believe in you and commit my life to you. It all is clear now! Although my eyes are dark, the eyes of my heart have seen the light! I do believe!”

“And now you see your purpose, the reason I brought you here, don’t you?”

“Sir, sir! He is already dead. His legs need not be broken.”

Jesus, I see you hanging there on death’s doorstep. You have changed my life. I understand my purpose. And now, as you breathe your last breath, I will praise and glorify you. You are my all in all.

“Truly, this man was the Son of God!”

Thanks again for joining me here. I hope this little story has boosted your faith.

After all, God has given us all second chances.

See you next week.

Truly This Man…the beginning.

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Happy New Year!!!

That phrase can pack a lot of meaning after finishing up 2020.

Hope these first few days of 2021 have been good. I know for me, the last few months have been tumultuous.

But my God is still Lord and in control of the universe. I got this because He got this.

I want to share a story with you. Thanks for reading today!

The pounding of the hammer. Obscenities from the condemned. It is all so familiar to me. Everyone screams. Having crucified hundreds before, I understand the pain that I inflict. This man was no different. Well, no different in that he felt that pain. No, he seemed to embrace the pain. In fact, it almost is as if he wants to know the pain.

I remember when he would speak or preach, there was that same intensity. He always would strive to connect with people. Often times, after the crowd would dissipate, there would be a few stragglers wanting to talk to him. Making direct eye contact, he spoke. And the people listened. They walked away changed. Sometimes he even performed miracles. Intriguing.

What was it about Jesus that had changed them? As I stand here overseeing his crucifixion, I see an ordinary man being tortured to near death. Maybe something in his eyes. It was the eyes, I am sure of it.

Right now, all I see is a bloody mass for a face. His own mother would not even recognize him. Now my curiosity is piqued.

“Soldier, hand me a rag.”
“Yes sir!”

Alright, Jesus, let’s see what is so special about those eyes.

“AHH!!! The light! I can’t see! Help!”

“Peace, do not be afraid.”

“Who are you? What is going on?! Wait, my eyes, I CAN”T SEE!”

“Peace. I am here. Are you ready to see into my eyes?”

“Hold on. Are you Jesus? Wait. Why can’t I see? Where am I? Am I even awake? Just a second ago I was watching you get nailed to a cross. I wiped the blood from your face so I could see into your eyes and then I went blind.”

“What you speak of is correct. But your true request, to find out who I really am, has been granted.”

“All I wanted was to see what was in those eyes. I have seen people transformed. Some physically and others, well, in a different way. Now I stand here blind talking with you. Are we not at Golgotha anymore?”

“We are but I have chosen you. You have a special purpose yet you know not of yet.”

“So I am still doing my duty in commanding your crucifixion? Are there others here? Please explain. And please let me see again!”

“Patience my son. I have given you a second chance. In just a moment, we will return to our respective places outside of Jerusalem. I, on the cross, and you, watching it all.”

“Okay. But how is all of this possible? How can we be there and then here, in the blink of an eye? I mean, it’s not like you are god or something.”

“And now we have come to the crux of the matter. The source of your unbelief. You don’t believe that I am God. Yer we are speaking face to face and you are blind. What do you make of all this?”

To Be Continued…

Jars

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Cup. Pencil. Hat. Blanket. Socks. Couch. Jar.

And the list goes on. That list being the ordinary, boring, even mundane things of our lives.

But even if these things are mundane, they can be important.

Check out these verses from John 2:

“6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. b7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.”

My previous post explained the miracle that Jesus performed.

This post shows us that the normal everyday things can be used in miraculous ways.

These jars were common in every household. Servants would use the water to wash feet. Nothing special about the jars.

Until Jesus got a hold of them.

I like the next part. They filled them to the brim.

When Jesus is requesting something of you, go all out!

You can read the rest of the story on your own. I just wanted to highlight the use of the jars.

We all have jars in our life. The simple things. The mundane things.

In the hands of Jesus, they could provide miracles. We don’t always know what Jesus will do but we can always be ready.

Here are my jars Lord. They are filled to the brim.

Components of a Miracle

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Ever experienced a miracle?

Before we talk about miracles, let’s review:

  • John 2 starts with a wedding.
  • It was in a small town not far from Nazereth.
  • Jesus was there.
  • His mother and disciples were also present
  • They had all been invited

For a more detailed review, here are links to the first three posts:

Better than a Golden Ticket

Golden Ticket = Invitation

The “Gold” in Golden Ticket

Now on to the miracle!

I wrote this line as a teaser in the last post:

The Messiah can bring meaning through miracles.

My thoughts on miracles are this:

All miracles require Opportunity and Ability

Initially, there must be a need for a miracle; opportunity.

In this story, the wine has run out. Not a good thing.

The host would have been disgraced. Many people would be disappointed or even upset. The festivities would have to be cut short. The reputation of the couple would be tarnished from this disaster.

In short, they needed more wine. The opportunity has presented itself.

Flip the coin, we need to identify the ability half of this miracle.

Up to this point, Jesus has not performed any miracles of which we are aware. He is relativity unknown. But his mother is there.

Luke 2:19 tells is that Mary “pondered these things in her heart…”

I think that Mary knew who her son was when he was born. Having children of my own, I know things about them that no one else does. My wife, their mother, just knows our kids.

Moms just know.

So she tells Jesus (Ability) to do something about the problem.

And Jesus obeys his mother.

And performs his first miracle. Water into wine!

Now, this wedding, that was surely to be written off as a superb mistake, can be remembered as an event with special meaning!

The Messiah gave meaning because of the miracle!

Do ever feel like your life is like this wedding?

You are embarrassed because you failed.

Your reputation is tainted.

People are gossiping about you.

Your friends and perhaps even your family are disgraced.

Sounds you have plenty of Opportunity in your life.

If you invite Jesus, you now have Ability present in your life.

And, as far as this author is concerned, you have all you need for a miracle.

May the Messiah bring meaning into your mess through a miracle.

God bless you.

The “Gold” in Golden Ticket

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A man was wearing a new gold watch he received as a birthday present. While visiting a busy park, he bumped into another person. Only a few seconds passed before he noticed that his watch was missing. He turned to see the pickpocket running away. As loud as he could, he yelled, “AU, that is not your watch”

Hope you enjoyed the chemistry pun!

On a serious note, why is gold so valuable?

When you read the stories of the Bible and gold is mentioned, it means that the stuff made of gold is important. It has high quality. Perhaps it is the best that it can be.

It also represents royalty. Kings and queens wear gold, not commoners.

Jesus was at the wedding in Cana because he had an invite. His ministry, and by extension his power, was not known yet.

But we know more of Jesus because of what our Bibles tell us. Jesus is also the King of Kings. That means he gets to wear a crown.

A crown made of gold. The best kind of crown there is.

Another name for Jesus is Messiah. This mean that he is ‘the anointed one’, the Christ, the Savior.

When you invite the Messiah, he brings meaning into your life.

The ordinary wedding in Cana turned into a magnificent display of the power of God.

Jesus, the Messiah, brought purpose and meaning to that place.

He can do the same for you and I.

If you have read any of my blogs, you know that I typically will use alliteration. I think it helps to remember stuff. So, with that thought in mind, here is a preview of the next two posts:

The Messiah can bring meaning through miracles.

The Messiah can use the mundane to work miracles.

But for now, just know that inviting Jesus is the best idea. He is worth more than gold. There is always value when Jesus shows up.