The Ironic Sanhedrin

The Sanhedrin, called the 'Tractate Sanhedrin', wrote in the Talmud that the Messiah of Israel would be called the 'Leper' because of Isaiah 53: 4-8 which includes, 'surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him a stricken; smitten of God and afflicted.'

They called him a leper because he would be a man of afflictions, stricken and an outcast.  He would be oppressed and killed by his own people.  They saw that the Messiah would be treated like a leper by the people of Israel and He would not even open his mouth to defend himself.  They knew that the Messiah would be hated, despised, tortured and killed.

The Tractate Sanhedrin was the very Sanhedrin that put Jesus on trial for blasphemy, judged him guilty and pressured the Romans to have him crucified.  The very rabbis who described the Messiah as 'The Leper', were the men who fulfilled Isaiah 53.

Ironic that the men who had the vision to see how the Messiah would suffer, be rejected and be murdered, were the very people who were too blind to see the Messiah when he stood right there in front of them.

Photo Credit: High Priest Jewish by Robert Faulkner

Consuming Christ

What did the priests in ancient Israel eat?  The priests didn't just sacrifice the animals at the Temple, but they ate the sacrifices as well.  They survived by partaking of the sacrifices as their holy food.  The sacrifice was not just an outward task, but it became an integral part of their very existence.

Just as your food gives you the energy to work, move, talk and live, spiritual food acts as the sustenance for you to work, move, talk and live a spiritual life.  You need holy food to keep your spiritual life healthy.  Unholy food will actually destroy your spiritual life and bring only death.  Hatred, gossip, lust, revenge, and any impure or unclean thought or action emerges from spiritual darkness.

What was the ultimate sacrifice?  Jesus Christ dying on the cross was the sacrifice which all other sacrifices were foreshadowing.   His sacrifice for our sins was the holiest sacrifice of all.

1 Peter 2:9 says that we who follow Jesus are Royal Priests.  As a priest, our lives are to be sustained by eating the sacrifice.  We must live on the food of the priest by partaking of Christ every day.  We will survive spiritually by taking in Christ to sustain us.  His love, mercy, joy, peace, goodness, grace and His very nature and essence are the spiritual substances that keep us alive and working to accomplish God's will in our lives.

You are what you eat.  If we want to be like Christ, we must daily consume His spiritual essence of Godliness found in His Word.

Photo by Jay Wennington on Unsplash 

What You are Worth?

How much is a grill cheesed sandwich worth?  A couple slices of bread, a slice of cheese, some butter and then grill it for a couple minutes.  It might cost you $1.50 at a restaurant but actually, it is worth whatever someone will pay for it.  If no one buys that $1.50 sandwich than it is not worth $1.50.  If someone would pay $28,000 for it than that $1.50 sandwich is worth $28,000.  That is what someone paid to own a grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary on it.

Was that sandwich worthy of $28,000?  Most people would say no but someone thought it was.  That is how everything is valued in this world.  Whatever you own is only worth what someone will pay for it.  We might not see it as worthy or perhaps as worth more, but the final decision on worth is the one who buys it.

What are you worth?  If you were kidnapped would someone pay a million dollars to get you back?  If you were to sell all you owned would that be your worth?  How do we know what we are worth?  Are we worth our annual income?  What is the price of a human life?

God is the one who determined what you are worth.  You are more valuable to God then your income or bank account.  All that you own, all your material possessions do not come close to your worth.  Look at the stars above.  You are more valuable than all of them put together.  Look at the animals and plants where you live.  You were made in the image of God and are more precious than all of creation here on earth.  There is nothing in creation which God values more than you.

To pay the ransom for you God gave His precious son, Jesus Christ. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1: 18-19

Sin had you in its grip.  You were destined for that spiritually empty life which ended in the lake of eternal fire. God redeemed you with the most valuable item in this universe and every universe, dimension or existence you can think of.

Are you worthy of such a price to be paid for you?  Most people might say no but God knew you were.  Live your life with the humility of a chunk of dirt formed into a person, but also as one loved, cherished and found worthy by God.

It is a mystery how we can be so valuable to God, but He bought you.  All that you have and are, is His. Give Him all glory and honor and praise for He is the one who is actually the worthy one.

Who is the Jew?

Have you ever thought about what the word 'Jew' means?  In Hebrew, the word for the Jewish people is Yehudim.  It comes from the Hebrew word for praise, worship, and thanksgiving.  A person who is Jewish is meant to praise and worship God.  In fact, his very presence is a witness to the love and power of God.

If it had been up to the will of man, the Jews would have been wiped off the face of the earth long ago.  The name 'Jew' has been used as a curse word for centuries.  The Jew has been hated, cursed, murdered, and vilified throughout history.  Shakespeare used a Jew as the villain in The Merchant of Venice.  Martin Luther railed against the Jew in a language so vile that I would never quote it here.  Jews were scapegoats by Hitler, the Russians and almost every nation in Europe.

Strange that so many see the people of praise and worship to God as the vilest of people on earth.  Even today many see the Jew as the villain in the Middle East.  Anti-semitism is growing in Europe and around the world.  Even in the United States people are turning their backs on Israel and the Jews.

When Jesus was crucified a sign hung over his head saying "King of the Jews".  King of the Yehudim.  King of praise to God.  Everything Jesus did in his life brought praise and worship to God.  Even his death was praise and worship to God.

The people who follow Jesus must do likewise.  We who follow the way of Jesus must bring praise to God in our lives.  Jesus is king of the Yehudim.  He is king of those who praise God.  King of the worshippers of God.

The Jew owes his existence to God, just as the Christian does.  Satan is determined to destroy the Jew and the Christian.  We are both vessels of praise, worship, and thanksgiving to God.  We are Yehudim.

Photo Credit: Happy happy joy by Smoochi

Your Scroll of Days

Did you know that God has a book where all of your days have been written down?  The days and actions of your life were recorded long before you even existed.  That does not mean you do not have free will.  It means God knew what you would do from eternity past.

Psalm 139:16b says "...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

The word for book is sefer, which is actually a scroll.  So God has written down on a scroll all the days of your life.  A scroll is not like a book in some ways.  You can not just flip to the back of a scroll and see how it ends.  You have to unroll the scroll through each day until you come to the end in order of what was written.  As you read through a scroll you unwind what you are reading towards and what you have read is rolled up behind you.  This way you can only see what portion you are presently reading and not the past or the future.

You are living that area of your life written on the scroll which is in the here and now.  You are not to go back to the past to relive it.  What has been done, is done.  We must accept that and trust God to use our past for good.  We can not look to the future.  To live in the future today is to live in a dream world of what we hope.  It accomplishes nothing except to take time away from today.

Focus on today.  Focus on the plan of God which He has opened up for you this day.  Live your life today to the fullness of God's will. Living in the moment will help lead you to what has been appointed for you in the future.  A future full of God's blessings and grace.

Photo Credit: Torah by Lawrie Cate

God makes the Sun Rise on the Evil

Could you imagine what the world would be like if the sun only shined down on what is good?  What would it be like if only the beauty of the world was illuminated and not the ugly?  What if the sinners and those who do evil only lived in darkness while the godly and righteous people of God were the only people who could live in the light of the sun?

It would change the world.  It would be so different that life would not be anything like it is today.  Not only would the world change, but the sun would also have to be altered. It would have to cease shining light to some degree.  The sun would require a bright light shining from parts of it while having dark areas with no light emanating from it.  It would no longer be the light of the whole world.

Matthew 5:44-45 says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for he makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain to the just and the unjust."

Just as the sun shines on the just and the unjust, the Christian is to be a light to the just and the unjust.  Those who persecute you will expect you to hate them, but when you return love for hate, they see the light of God in your life.  We must shine forth with the radiance of God's love so that the world will seek out that light.

Shine forth regardless of your circumstances.  Bring light into the darkness of evil.  God has made you a light to the world, a light to shine forth and draw all men to the presence of God.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

What We Must Do to Heal Our Land

My nation, The United States of America, is in trouble.  People are pointing their fingers at everyone else saying they are the problem.  The real problem, according to what I read in the bible, is the Christian.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Too many Christians think that praying for this country is what is needed.  I couldn't count the number of times I have been in the presence of groups who prayed for this country.  Leaders are constantly telling their congregations to pray for the country.  Prayer is very important but it is not the first thing this verse says to do.  We ignore the words 'shall humble themselves'.

Humility is more than just giving God credit for our actions.  The Hebrew word for humble is 'rpk'  which is pronounced kaw-nah'.   It means to bring into subjection, subdue, be brought down and vanquish.

How many of us have brought their bodies into subjection?  Have we vanquished our own desires for comfort for Christ?  Have we truly brought down self from the throne of our lives and subdued our will for His?  I confess that I have fallen way short of true humility.

This means more than going to church or singing in the choir.  It means more than having prayer before meals or having a picture of Jesus hanging on your wall.  It means actual affliction of self.  It means following Christ to places and situations where you do not want to be.  It means to frustrate your own desires for God.

Does that sound harsh?  Humility is not some namby-pamby word that is easy to accomplish.  It can only be accomplished when we fully submit to God, allowing Him to fully work in our lives. We must follow Paul's example in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest,....I myself should become disqualified."  In some versions, the word discipline is substituted with 'buffet'.

If we want this country to turn from its wicked ways, it is up to the Christian.  We are all called to preach the Gospel making disciples, not just believers.  We are called to sacrifice our lives, not simply to die but to live completely for Christ.

First, you must humble yourself for this verse to work and heal our land.  We in America do not know what true humility is.  We must learn humility if we want Christ to heal and reign in our country or in any country we might live in.

Photo Credit: Boy Scouts Retire Flags by Fort George G Meade Public Affairs Office