Tag Archives: sacrifice

2018 Lent day 31 – court affairs with the Sanhedrin

Lent Devotions

Lent Week five started March 11.
Lent Week Six started March 19
These will be updated as the blogs are posted.

Lent Day 31
Court of Sanhedrin

Music

Take my life – Chris Tomlin

Scripture
There is a lot of scripture here – and, I understand that. Please read the story!

Luke 22:66-71 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
66 When daylight came, the elders[a] of the people, both the chief priests and the scribes, convened and brought Him before their Sanhedrin. 67 They said, “If You are the Messiah, tell us.”

But He said to them, “If I do tell you, you will not believe. 68 And if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Power of God.”

70 They all asked, “Are You, then, the Son of God?”

And He said to them, “You say that I am.”

71 “Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from His mouth?”

Mark 14:53-65 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes convened. 54 Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the temple police,[a] warming himself by the fire.[b]

55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they could find none. 56 For many were giving false testimony against Him, but the testimonies did not agree. 57 Some stood up and were giving false testimony against Him, stating, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will demolish this sanctuary made by human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’” 59 Yet their testimony did not agree even on this.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” 61 But He kept silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

63 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your decision?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 65 Then some began to spit on Him, to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, saying, “Prophesy!” The temple police also took Him and slapped Him.

Matthew 26:57-68 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. 58 Meanwhile, Peter was following Him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the temple police to see the outcome.

59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death. 60 But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two who came forward 61 stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary and rebuild it in three days.’”

62 The high priest then stood up and said to Him, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath: tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God!”

64 “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Look, now you’ve heard the blasphemy! 66 What is your decision?”

They answered, “He deserves death!” 67 Then they spit in His face and beat Him; others slapped Him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit You?”

Devotion

On Day Thirty, I talked about Jesus being mocked and smitten.
Still, he was silent, until he proclaimed Who he was.

There is a passage in Matthew, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God”

This is something that the Jews revered as a had to answer type of thing.
Once they forced him to say Who he was, they condemned him.

They could not find two witnesses to agree to condemn him!!!
Until two came up and twisted his words!

Jesus was convicted for being the Son of God. Period.

And then, the beating…and the taunting…the out right bullying.

And then, Peter denies him.

What a horrible time – unfathomable.

And yet, I wonder…do I judge Christ?

Do I say that He is the Son of God, and then not give Him the preeminence to which that position requires?
Do I demand that He prove himself to me, with fleece and miracle, rather than believe because HE IS?
Do I demand that He speak, when He has already spoken in volumes?
Yes.

My sins condemned him.
If I continue in sin, I trample his sacrifice underfoot.

Hebrews 10:26-31 King James Version (KJV)
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The above with the following passage cause me to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling:

Hebrews 6:4-8 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit,
5 tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,
6 and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.
7 For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for receives a blessing from God.
8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end.

I cannot judge the judges that judged Jesus – for they were blinded by their love of the Law and their inability to accept the grace that God’s love provides.
I have been a little levitican, and given myself rules to follow – rather than embrace God’s grace.
I have been a little rebel, and rebelled at the need to seek God’s face, and just believe, rather than SEE for myself.
I have been a sinner, that has chosen to sin, when I knew that it was not what God’s best was for me.
I have need of a savior! and I will always need a savior! And I thank God that I always have a savior!

1 John 1:5-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Fellowship with God
5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.
6 If we say, “We have fellowship with Him,” yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing[a] the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

I can see myself in the Sanhedrin.
I wish I didn’t see myself in those that taunted Him…though I know that I question him, and his workings in my life.
I wish I couldn’t see myself in those that whipped him – but it’s by those stripes that I am healed…

Isaiah 53:5 King James Version (KJV)
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.

I am seeing myself in the Holy Week story so much, and it’s not in ways that I would like.
I am no different than Peter, who denied Christ.
I am no different than Judas, who betrayed Christ.
I am no different than the Sanhedrin, who condemned Christ, because they wanted to keep their religion pure.

And yet, Peter obtained forgiveness – and shows me how to fall at the feet of Jesus and be blessed by HIS Amazing Grace! I am so grateful that God continues to work with me! I’m so grateful that God is NOT finished with ME!

Worship and Gratitude
That’s How you Forgive – Shane and Shane
Drops in the Ocean – Hawk Nelson

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road way to salvation.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Sunshine and Rain

Sunshine and rain, blue skies and gray, Our God reigns, each and every day!

Ps 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

:8            Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

This weekend, with our full range of sky experiences, has been glorious.

We arrived in the dark, and when you are near the gulf, and away from all lights, it is DARK!  As we drove, the sky was cloudy, so there were not any stars or moon as well.  We walked out to the dunes to look at the waves, and as we walked, the clouds parted.  Standing on the dune, looking at the waves come in, and looking up at stars I have never seen was amazing!  God’s starry show welcomed us to our beach side weekend.

Job 22:12 [Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

Everyone comes to God in the dark.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

We slept, with a window open to enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing, and the smell that only exists on a salt water beach area.  The morning was gray…clouds covering the sky, and wind cutting through the clothing.  Is this really Houston Texas?  It was going to rain…we could see that.  But the beach beckoned to us.  And yet, we had to wait.

We sat and watched the rain as it hit the windows.  The beauty of the water dripping down the glass, the splashes of water when the rain picked up, and the sparkle as light hit the various parts of rain were a delight to watch, from the inside of the RV.  The percussion symphony of the drops was a song of the glory and majesty of Our God. We were protected from the rain!  We were in the midst of a storm, but totally secure, warm, dry, and able to delight in the nourishing nature of the rain outside our stronghold.

Everyone has storms.  Everyone has overwhelming times that just pound and beat against them, threatening to tear them down, or drown them in the emotions.  But the one that trusts in God has a special protection, a special place in the midst of the storms.

Is 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Is 26:3  Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

:2            I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Prov 18:10  The name of the LORD [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Mark 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

4:39        And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

:40          And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

:41          And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Sometimes there are dark times that just seem to go on and on and on.  These are the valleys where we are tested.  In Kelly Willard’s song “Hidden Valley’s”, she says :

“Hidden valleys produce a life song

Hidden valleys will make a heart strong

Desperation can cause you to sing

Hidden valleys turn shepherds to kings”

Elijah endured the storms on the mountain.  Isaiah endured the storms laying on his side playing with toy soldiers.  Daniel endured the storms in the Lion’s Den, and his three friends in the fiery furnace.

David was so used to going through valleys, he wrote the 23rd Psalm.  The key is with whom you walk, and what happens on the other side of the storm.

The rain ceased, and the sky changed a bit, but going out onto the beach was possible.  The clouds rolled in, with light from above shining through, giving us the hope that the sun was coming.  We walked along the beach, enjoying watching the surf as it rises and falls, ebs and flows, fluctuating and crashing in an unearthly rhythm that only the creator understood.  Mist rose above the waves, and the wind blew it in from the gulf, stinging my cheeks as I looked out upon the water.  The sand was uneven, unstable, and shifting back and forth as I walked on the beach.  I had to keep my focus, and I had to choose my path carefully, or I could fall, damage my ankle(again) and have a tremendous set back.

In this day of mass confusion for mankind, with crashing sound all around, wars and rumors of wars…we have a path in which to walk.

Mat 24:6   And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

:7               For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

:8              All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.

Mat 24:12   And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

:13          But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We must stay the course, and hold on to our path.  These are part of God’s plan, though it His allowing men to have their own way, turning them over to their own devices and desires.  But the believers in Christ have a path.

Psalm 37 is such a comfort in times such as these:

Verse 23 says The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand.

Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

BUT THE SON IS COMING!!! Breaking through the clouds!

Daniel 7:13          I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

:14          And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

Matt 24:30          And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

We are to comfort one another with THESE WORDS!

1Th 4:13   But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

:14            For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

:15          For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

:16          For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

:17          Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

:18          Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Ah – the sun shining upon the waves.  They were beautiful before, with the various shades of gray, but as the sun peaked out of the clouds, the water ignited with diamonds, and deep aquamarines, and blue topazes floating up and down with the undulation of the finest dancer.  The water was alive!

When the Son touches our lives, even though the waves are the same, the sand is the same, and even we are the same, we come alive!  He takes the unholy and makes us holy.  He takes the imperfect and starts shining on the perfections.  He takes the crashing of our waves and turns it into a dance of love and joy and peace and purpose.

For examples of this, read the gospels…the woman at the well, the woman with the issue of blood, the man who couldn’t walk, the man who couldn’t see, the people that could not be part of society because of their leprosy.  When Jesus touches a life, well….

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Our sins are covered by the blood of the Lamb – and it’s now our job to walk in the deliverance HE has purchased for us.

We can look at the waves, and the clouds, or we can look at the creator of the waves and the clouds.  In Matthew 14:28-32,  Peter did fall, BUT HE DID WALK ON WATER!  He first was looking at Jesus, trusting in His word.  THEN he saw the wind and was afraid.  HE TOOK HIS EYES OFF OF JESUS.

I don’t expect to walk on water anytime soon, but we have this concept that walking on water is only for someone like Jesus.  Peter is a man like you and me.  Peter had yet to deny Christ.  Peter walked on water!  Don’t despise small beginnings!

There is a saying that has hung in my mother in law’s house as long as I’ve been in the family.  It says: “I believe in the sun even when it rains.”  Do we believe in the Son, even when it rains?

This seems to be a redundant theme for me, but it fits here as well.  The way to be strong in the storms is to be strong in the Lord.  Here’s a few verses:

  • Be strong in the Lord: Deut 31:6-7; Josh 1:9; 1Chron 28:20
  • Fear Not – the Lord will strengthen you: Is 40:27-31; Is 41:10-13
  • The Joy of the Lord is Your strength: Neh 8:10
  • HE will give us a song: Is 51:11
  • We must come into His presence with praises of thanksgiving, and joyful noises: Ps 95:1-6; Psalm 100
  • And Jesus came so that our joy(the strength from the Lord) would be full: John 15:11; 16:24

Jesus purchased our ability to have joy…the way to obtain that joy is to be filled with the Lord’s joy, which comes from being in His presence, which is only done by entering with praises and thanksgiving.  And the only way we can enter His presence with praises is to make a choice about how we look at the clouds in our lives.

James 1:2-8

We must CHOOSE joy.  Sometimes it’s a sacrifice.

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his name.

But the blessings are great.

Jer 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

And, when we dwell in the presence of the most High, we are sheltered by the shadow of His wings…(Ps 91).

The SON cometh!

Psa 96:10 Say among the heathen [that] the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

:11          Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

:12          Let the field be joyful, and all that [is] therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

:13          Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

In the midst of the storms, comfort one another with these words!

And this is my song, my choice to sing in any time of darkness:

Psa 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

104:2     Who coverest [thyself] with light as [with] a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

104:3     Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Ps 27:6  And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

In His hand and under His wings,

~Christi

Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

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