Thought for March 26, 2024

•  127: Ptolemy begins his study of the heavens [lasts 14 years]
• 1804: Congress orders American Indians moved from East of the Mississippi to Louisiana
• 1820: Joseph Smith has his first vision
• 1830: Book of Mormon published
• 1885: Eastman manufactures the first commercial motion picture film
• 1942: First transports to Auschwitz and Birkenau
• 1953: Jonas Salk announces successful testing of polio vaccine
• 1979: Magic Johnson and Michigan State defeat Larry Bird and Indiana State
• 1982: "Ebony and Ivory" released by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney
• 1986: Joan Andrews sentenced to 5 years in prison for trying to disconnect suction machine in an abortion clinic. Arrested 200 times for anti-abortion activities
• 2020: U.S. Covid cases exceed all other countries--81,578 cases and 1180 deaths
• Born: Robert Frost, Duncan Hines, Tennessee Williams, William Westmoreland, Strother Martin, Sandra Day O'Connor, Leonard Nimoy, Alan Arkin, Nancy Pelosi, Diana Ross, Vicki Lawrence, Martin Short, Jennifer Grey, John Stockton, Kenny Chesney, 
• Died: John Winthrop [Puritan and first Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony], Beethoven, Walt Whitman, Sarah Bernhardt, Noel Coward, Halston, Jan Berry [Jan & Dean], Geraldine Ferraro, William Chester Minor [Yale trained surgeon; mental illness in Civil War; moved to London and shot an innocent person; sentenced to Bedlam prison; largest single contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary--"The Madman and the Professor"]

On this day in 1862, Joseph Gilmore was substituting as a preacher at First Baptist Church Philadelphia. His topic--the 23rd Psalm--a sermon he had preached previously. When he got to the words "He leadeth me", he could go no further and spent the entire sermon on that phrase concluding," it makes no difference how we are led,   or whither we are led, so long as we are sure God is leading us." Later that night at the home of a deacon, he wrote the words to the song we now sing. His wife sent the poem to a Christian newspaper. Three years passed before Gilmore realized that William Bradbury had set the poem to music--"He leadeth me O blessed thought." That might be our thought for today---how blessed we are when we allow Him to lead. 

Thought:

Reading Luke 22:31-34, 39-62. Two tragic stories are recorded in these verses. Two of the twelve have a crisis of faith. Peter denies, Judas betrays. I always try and place myself in the events I read about in the Bible. During Passion week, who would I be? The widow who gave everything; the rich person presenting their offerings from an abundance; the disciple arguing about who is the greatest; Peter grabbing a sword; disciples abandoning Jesus or falling asleep when He asked them to wait and pray; the soldier just doing my job; the crowd asking for Barabbas; the mockers at the cross. Or would I be a denier or a betrayer like Peter and Judas?

Jesus told Peter what was going to happen. Peter thought he was ready to go to prison or die with Jesus [22:33]. Peter took a sword to show he was ready to fight. But when fear, doubt and peer pressure came, all he could say was, "I am not one of them." Jesus has warned us about trials, tribulations, persecution. He has urged us to stand steadfast and strong, to be courageous and bold. Yet, when the circumstances changed, the crowd turns, the darkness comes, do I act like Peter? I'm not one of those. Thank God for amazing grace--Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, yet He told Peter that when he turned again to follow Jesus, strengthen your brothers [22:32]. When we confess our sin, He is always faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. And once clean, He can use us. 

Then I look at Judas. Trusted with the purse for the disciples. A tragic story--he walked with Jesus, but was not of Jesus. He was around the disciples, but not of the disciples. Look at what Jesus says to Judas during Passion Week, the only words we have that are directly spoken to Judas. 

• Judas said, "surely not I Rabbi." And Jesus responds, "You have said it yourself." Matthew 26:25
• "Judas, what you do do quickly." John 13:27
• "Friend, do what you have come for." Matthew 26:50
• "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" Luke 22:48

Reading that last quote, I ask myself. If Jesus spoke to me this morning, what could He point to and say, "Larry, do you betray me with your words, your thoughts, your actions." Getting ready for Easter may mean I need to examine myself--how am I denying Christ or betraying Him? Confession and cleansing restore that fellowship. 

Blessings

Larry