Thought for August 12, 2024

•  30 BC: Cleopatra dies by asp bite
• 1658: First American police force--New Amsterdam [New York]
• 1851: First America's Cup Race
• 1865: Joseph Lister performs first antiseptic surgery--and we now have Listerine
• 1908: First Model T Ford produced
• 1930: Clarence Birdseye patents process for quick freezing
• 1955: Eisenhower raises minimum wage to $1.00
• Births: Cecil B DeMille, George Soros, Jane Wyatt, Casey Affleck, Pete Sampras
• Died: William Blake, George Stephenson [Father of the railroad], Loretta Young, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Anne Heche

Thought:

Recently, the President announced that he was withdrawing from the race. The announcement came after days of meetings between the President and his advisors. This was one of those occasions where we might say, "I wish I had been a fly on the wall." What did they really say? What was the topic of conversation? How did the various attendees react? Today I am reading Mark's account of the transfiguration in 9:1-13. And I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall on top of that mountain.

Other gospel writers answer some of my questions. Luke tells us that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray and that while He was praying, His appearance changed. [9:28-29] From this Jesus tells me that if I want to live a transformed life, I need to seek Him in prayer. Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. There is no better place for me to renew my mind than in prayer.

I wonder what Jesus, Elijah and Moses were discussing. Luke also gives us some help here. They were "speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." [9:31] I am reading that sentence over and over. First, I see that Jesus and the prophets looked at the death and resurrection in Jerusalem differently than I often do. Jesus was departing, not dying. My grandparents would talk about the dearly departed in reference to those who had died. This is an encouragement to me. Jesus was departing this life and this physical walk, but He had a destination that was not the grave. Praise God, for those in Christ, when our bodies die, we simply depart to a place He has prepared for us for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  

The other thing I notice is that Jesus was going to "accomplish" the departure. Pilate and Herod may have thought they were in control. The soldiers who mocked Him, beat Him and crucified Him may have thought they had accomplished something. Those who abandoned Him may have seen the crucifixion as a defeat--Jesus saw it as an accomplishment, so He could say, "it is finished." 

Lord, thank you that you have told us that one day we will be like You. So I can rest secure in knowing that You have arranged my departure--its timing, its manner, its place. And I can stand on Your promise that He who has begin a good work in me will complete it, so I can also say You accomplished Your mission. 

Blessings

Larry