On A Bridge Over A Creek

 

 

Sixty years ago, sometime in the spring, I stood with my friend Tommy on a small bridge overlooking a wooded creek in the Twinbrook area of Rockville, MD. I took my New Testament and Psalms from my shirt pocket, opened it to Romans Chapter 8, and read aloud:

 

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

 

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

My voice was excited as I read, and Tommy’s face glowed as he heard of God’s love for us. Tommy was my best friend, and as I was coming to know Jesus it was natural that I would share Jesus with him. A coworker at my after-school job had shared Jesus with me, it never occurred to me not to share Jesus with Tommy and others.

 

When I first read Romans 8 and its marvelous crescendo, I read it again and again and again. (I have quoted from the King James Version in this reflection, for the King James is what I first read in those early days). I couldn’t wait to see Tommy and read it to him.

 

That was 1966, today, in 2026, as I read Romans 8 once again, I am still excited. How many times have I read this passage? How many times have I quoted it? Times beyond number, perhaps as the sand of sea and the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky. This is one of my most-quoted passages to congregations, to small groups, and in conversations with individuals – it is as natural as breathing to me. I suppose I could say that it is my breath of life in Jesus Christ.

 

It is also what we seem to have missed. We’ve missed it in our churches, in our seminaries and Bible schools, in our small groups, and most certainly in our engagement with the world around us. We have missed the message that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

We have twisted and turned and traduced the Gospel into a worldview, into defective and murderous foreign policy, into nationalism, into sociology, into politics, into an industrial religious cash machine…into any number of things…and we have missed the sacrificial love of God for us in Jesus Christ and we have failed to communicate it to our people.

 

I am at the age where I get to write, “I have lived a long time,” and I will tell you this, the one thing people need to know, whether they are “church” people (God help them and us!) or folks who haven’t a clue about Jesus and religion, is that the Father and Jesus love them. I have never been in a congregation which didn’t need to know this, I have never taught or preached to a people who didn’t need to know this, I have never worked in business with others who didn’t need to know this, I have never had a neighbor who didn’t need to know this.

 

All of our theology, all of the sociology that we’ve imported into the church, all of our slick religious marketing, all of our music, all of the “stuff” we do so very well, means nothing unless we know the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. People do not need a better worldview, people need to know the love of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

If we knew the love of God in Christ Jesus, we would be aghast at much of our behavior, we would be shamed before our Lord and our fellow man…and we would be of some benefit to the people around us…we would offer them some hope.

 

There are those who think that when we read the Bible aloud that we ought to read it in a monotone, perhaps the way we’d read a technical manual. Frankly, that is crazy. If we can read Romans 8 in a monotone, then we have never received a love letter, a passionate Valentine’s Day card, and we ought to be checked for a pulse. The Father has given us the Bible to be our book, it began as His Book and He has given His Book to us…and it ought to possess us and we ought to possess it.

 

O dear friends, we are called to follow Jesus, to love Him with all that we have and all that we are and to share His glorious love with others. As a lad I learned Psalm 73:25, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”

 

Is Jesus our love, our passion, our reason for living? Are we sharing His love with others? Do we realize how deeply God loves us? Are we living cruciform lives?

 

If Jesus isn’t everything, then Jesus isn’t anything (Mark 8:34 – 38).

 

Why not read and reread and then read again Romans 8:31 – 39? Why not make it “your passage” for the next 30 days? Why not allow it to live within you? Why not share it with others?

 

Who will you read Romans 8:31 - 39 aloud to?

 

 

More People Than I Can Thank...But I Can Try

 

I had a dream last night that Tim Winfrey and I were in an apartment association meeting in Richmond, VA. We were no longer active in the business, they didn’t expect to see us, and on reflection I imagine that they surely didn’t expect to see Tim because he has been in the Presence of Christ for a few years! Nevertheless they welcomed us and the leader of the meeting asked us to come up front and say a few words.

 

As Tim walked to the front and began speaking I jotted down a few notes on some scrap paper to guide me when my time came to speak.

 

When I started in the business, management was pretty much white, white from the community managers to upper executives, at least in the Baltimore – Washington area. I don’t recall seeing any people of color at industry meetings of executives. That has changed, to what degree I’m uncertain, but it has thankfully changed.

 

Also, when I began my career there were few women in upper management. Women were the community managers and many of them lived on-site, but few women managed portfolios. That has most certainly and thankfully changed.

 

Some things have probably not changed for the better, such as the institutionalization of the business, but this is true of business in general. Metrics have their place, but when they eliminate relationships and ethics and morality then we are well on the road to becoming zombies – but again, this is the world we live in; if we can call this “life.”

 

As I awoke from the dream I thought of dear Tim. Vickie and I had just been talking about Tim, about all the years we had known him. She was reminiscing about an industry event we attended in the early 1990s and about how much fun Tim had been that evening. Then, of course, I thought of his wife Shelly. Toward the end of my career, Tim, Shelly, and I worked together.

 

Then I thought of Letisa, and Ana, and Diane, and Debby, and Alethea, and Lucy and Tony, and Hilda, and Jim, and Robert, and Gloria, and Earl, and Joanne…and the faces and names came flooding into my heart, mind and soul. Well, actually, they didn’t flood into me because they were already in me. O how I thought of the joy and kindness Vickie and I have both experienced from these wonderful women and men over the years.

 

Of course you realize there is always a danger in naming names, for you are certain to leave someone out…but I’m not really leaving anyone out of my heart, I can just only write so many names at one time, names that span decades and joys and challenges and bright days and dark days and days of “getting it right” and days of “getting it O so wrong.” Days of providing (I hope) a good example, and then days I’d rather forget when I was a total ass, a complete and total ass.

 

I should do better at thanking people, at touching base with those still with us and thanking them - I won’t be here forever. I want them to know that they’ve made a difference in my life, a beautiful difference. They’ve been God’s gifts to Vickie and me, God’s gifts…ain’t that something?

 

Can you ever thank someone too much? Or tell them you love them too much?

 

What about you? Who are the people in your life you are thankful for?

Have you told them lately?

Just Showing Up

 

These past few weeks have been trying, a crucible, and a Holy of Holies. The season continues (though in a different “key”), and as it continues Vickie and I continue to trust our Lord Jesus. We have a friend who was once in a small plane crash, I remember him telling us that the adrenalin was such that he could see the propeller turning in slow motion, he was tracking the rotation of the individual blades. Many of us have had experiences when we’ve gone from black and white to Technicolor (to borrow an image from the Wizard of Oz).

 

I have never entered a hospital room knowing what I was going to say, not once. I have never gone into a hospital room, or visited an ill person at home, even thinking what I was going to say. I have, however, entered hospital rooms knowing the two things I wanted to do; be the Presence of Jesus and pray with people. Jesus, of course, was already in the room and I needed to pay attention to Him, to the sick person, and to any others who might be in the room.

 

Over the years, when being with people going through hardship, sickness, entering the portal of death, enduring suffering, I have learned that I can confidently speak to them of God’s love for them with every beat of His heart, and I can say to them, “Your heavenly Father and dear Lord Jesus want to reveal themselves to you through this, they want to show you how much they love you. I may not understand anything else, but I know they desire to walk with you through this and for you to know their Presence.”

 

If the person has not yet met Jesus, only God’s love can change that. If the person does indeed know Jesus, only God’s love can comfort them. For sure, this love must flow through us as well, we must be the incarnation of the Message.

 

I am not called to “fix things” in people, or to medicate their difficulties or participate in deadening their senses. I am called to point them to Jesus, always to Jesus…and so are you.

 

Now of course you realize that we self-medicate all the time. We revert to “positive thinking,” to “mindfulness,” to food, to media (television, streaming, social media), to any number of activities that keep us away from our Good Shepherd who wants to embrace us and carry us and draw us ever closer to Himself. Even things labeled “Christian” can distract us from looking Jesus in the eye and allowing Him to speak to us; let us not forget the lesson of Martha and Mary.

 

A passage that has held deep meaning for Vickie and me over the years is 2 Timothy 1:12:

 

“For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

 

Vickie and I actually believe this, our lives are built on this, and in the midst of uncertainty and fear and disorientation – Christ, as expressed in this verse, is our assurance. As Fanny Crosby wrote, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of glory Divine!”

 

Yes, I was frightened when I thought I was losing Vickie in my arms. But remember, I was having three out loud conversations simultaneously; one with Vickie (trying to get her to respond), one with the wonderful 911 dispatcher, and one with Jesus.

 

It is okay to be frightened, it is okay to be tired, it is okay to be disoriented – because our dear Lord Jesus is with us and He will never leave us, never, never, never. We don’t need to fix things for ourselves or for one another; we do need to be there for one another. We don’t need to understand “why,” hopefully we will know His love and the love of others.

 

Let me put this another way. I recently had a conversation with a neighbor who was telling me about a difficult situation her family is facing. I asked her, “What do you sense Jesus saying to you through this?”

 

She replied, “He wants me to have more patience.”

 

As I pondered her response, which is pretty much a stock answer we may have all used at one time, it occurred to me that there may be something else for her to consider. Perhaps Jesus wants her to look at Him, to see His patience, to see how patient He is with her, to see His Presence in her life; so that she in turn can be transformed into His image and be His Presence in the situation her family is facing.

 

I will, the Lord willing, share this thought with her the next time I see her.

 

Do we “know whom we have believed”? If so, then we can be assured that He will keep us and we can assure others that Jesus will keep them.

 

Jesus has been with me during every hospital visit to care for others; yes, it has been working without a net, but isn’t that the way we are to live in Him? Trusting Him, always trusting Him, knowing that without Him we can do nothing, absolutely nothing (John 15:5)?

 

We can trust Jesus to teach us to be there for one another. We don’t need to give advice. We don’t need to make things better. We just need to be there.

 

Another neighbor once said to me, “Bob, you know a friend is someone who shows up, who just shows up.”

 

Yes, I think that is true. Jesus shows up, and we ought to show up…and for sure we are thankful for those who show up for us.

 

 

 

 

Pilgrims and Strangers

 A friend sent me these lyrics, Petra used to sing them she tells me. It seems to me that we all ought to sing them...and live them.

"Not of This World"

We are pilgrims in a strange land

We are so far from our homeland

With each passing day it seems so clear

This world will never want us here

We're not welcome in this world of wrong

We are foreigners who don't belong

We are strangers, we are aliens

We are not of this world

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore even from one man, and one who was as good as dead at that, there were born descendants who were just as the stars of heaven in number, and as the innumerable grains of sand along the seashore.

 

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

From Hebrews 11.

Obedience In The Midst Of Rebellion

 

“For I am also a man under authority,” (Matthew 8:9).

 

“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ,” (Galatians 1:10).

 

Yesterday, around 7:00 AM, as I was driving to the grocery store with little traffic, a car came racing up behind me and was soon on my bumper. I was in the left lane, a semi-truck was on my right, so I had no place to go. The road is one with traffic lights, retail stores, and residential communities – the speed limit is 40 MPH. I sped up enough to get in front of the truck and allow the car to zoom ahead. As is often the case, and I derive no little amusement from it when it happens, the speedster was stopped at the next traffic light.

 

When I drive I do so with the assumption that someone will run every traffic light, but I don’t think much about other reckless behavior such as this encounter, even though it isn’t uncommon. Perhaps this is because we seldom drive on limited access highways, nor do we drive at night as a rule, when minds are more likely to be altered due to certain activities. Nevertheless when it happens, as it did yesterday morning, I remind myself that the other driver and I live in two different worlds that overlap, that bump up against each other as tectonic plates.

 

Just as in the days of the Judges, today “everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes.” We do this on the road, we do this at work, we do this in politics, we do this in national and social policy, we do it in foreign policy, we do this in economics, and we do this in the professing church. Whether or not Darwin was right in his conclusions when examining the past may not be such an important question, when we consider that maybe he was prophetic without knowing it, maybe the “survival of the fittest” or of the most brutal, or the strongest, or the hungriest, or the most deceitful, was actually a prediction of where we were headed…just maybe.

 

However, for the servant of Jesus Christ, for the man or woman or young person who professes to know Him, to truly know Him, well...we belong to Another, we belong to Jesus, He has purchased us with His blood, called us to Himself through His love, and we are  His bondservants, we belong to Him.

 

And this means that as disciples we live lives of obedience to Him and service to others. It means we love and pray for those who oppose us and our Lord (Matthew 5:43 – 48). It means we lay down our lives for one another, just as Jesus laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). It means that we reject demonic vitriol and hatred, self-aggrandizement (religious and political, indeed, in all areas of life), it means that we sow seeds of peace (James 3:13 – 18).  

 

It means that as the world is losing its mind, that we live in the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5; Col. 3:1 – 4; Rom. 12:1- 2).

 

You and I are to be the Presence of Jesus Christ, every day, every moment.

 

We do not run from a world of evil, we stretch out our hands in peace, we bear our breasts, our hearts to the world, and we say, “Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus.”

 

“We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).

An Irony of History

 

An Irony of History

 

I do not know when history as we know it will culminate. I do not know when Father Time will blow his trumpet and the Shadowlands will be no more. I do know that we see the ebb and flow of great rivers in the Bible, I do know that the headwaters of Genesis reach to Revelation, and I do know that Jesus Christ is the River that we ought to swim in – there is poisonous bacteria in all other rivers.

 

Should there be future generations, historians will look back at the irony that those professing Christians who made much of End Times teaching, who made much of the Rapture and the Beast and the Mark of the Beast, were deceived by the mystery of lawlessness into supporting and propagating the wickedness which they once warned against; they abrogated their citizenship of heaven for an earthly citizenship that enslaved their very own people. They brought the idols of the world into the hearts of their people.

 

Eschatology which is not centered in Jesus Christ has tragic consequences, just ask people here and abroad. Our religious playthings kill people.

 

Historians will note that whereas the early Christians stood separate from the Imperial Cult and suffered for their confession, that these professing Christians heartily embraced it, thereby denying the Lord who bought them with His blood. An ironic tragedy of history.

 

How is it that we think we can teach Matthew 24 without also teaching Matthew 25? How is it that we think we can teach about His coming to us and not teach His final Word on His coming? And what is His final Word?

 

“Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:45 – 46).

 

“I was hungry, and you gave Me  nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me, sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:42 – 43).

 

Are those hospitality houses we’re building across our land?

 

When governments use the Bible in their propaganda, when they purport to represent Christ and the Gospel – and when they use the Bible to kill and destroy, and when they seduce and purchase the souls of religious leaders and their followers – O shame, shame, shame on us, on all of us for not speaking and living the truth and standing with Jesus Christ.

 

“Another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8).

 

“He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law, and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).

 

“Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great…It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down…and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper” (Daniel 8:9 – 13).

 

“A king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue, his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people, and through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease, he will even oppose the Prince of Princes, but he will be broken without human agency” (Daniel 8:23 – 25).

 

“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods…” (Daniel 11:36).

 

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God (2 Thess. 2:3 – 4).

 

“There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies…and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:5 – 6).

The Most Beautiful Word You Can Hear From Jesus

 

 

“She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!”” (John 20:14 – 16).

 

O to hear Jesus speak our name! To hear Him speak my name to me, for you to hear Him speak your name to you. Mary’s eyes did not know that she was looking at Jesus, she thought Him to be a gardener. But her ears! Her ears! She knew His voice!

 

How her heart leapt. How her face beamed. How her pulse quickened. How a fountain of joy and delight welled up within her soul. It was as if she, herself, was coming out of a tomb, a tomb of despair, of grief, of confusion, of a broken heart. While an angel rolled away the stone of the tomb where the body of Jesus lay, Jesus rolled away the stone of grief and despair from Mary’s heart.

 

Does not Jesus say in John 10:3 – 4 that the Shepherd of the sheep “calls His own sheep by name…and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice”?

 

O dear, dear friends. The most beautiful word you or I will ever hear from the lips of Jesus Christ is when He calls us by our name. He calls us by our name because He knows us and loves us and draws us to Himself. He calls us by name because we are His sisters and brothers (ought we not to know the names of our siblings?). He calls us by name because for the “joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.”

 

O beloved, you are the joy set before Him, I am the joy set before Him, we are His joy and delight. Just as we love to hear Him speak our name, so He loves to speak our name – for we love to utter the names of those we love and who can fathom the love of Jesus for you, for me, for us?

 

 Can you hear the joy in His voice as He says, “Mary”? Can you hear the laughter, the delight, the glory? If we love to surprise people with good things and good news, how much more did Jesus love to surprise Mary with the Resurrection! Now my friends…there is indeed a surprise…and what a waste it would be if Jesus did not enjoy it!

 

Listen…listen ever so quietly…can you hear Him? Can you hear Jesus speaking to you? Can you hear Jesus saying your name?

 

When you do, you will realize that it is the most beautiful word that you will ever hear from His lips.

 

Listen.

Barabbas or Jesus?

 

 

“They cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!” (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.)” Luke 23:18 – 19.

 

“The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.” Matthew 27:20.

 

From Palm Sunday to Good Friday is less than a week, we can measure the days. Can we measure the chasm between shouting, “Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” and then crying out, “Crucify Him! Give us Barabbas and crucify Jesus!”? Can we plumb the depths of this chasm…the depths of our own souls?

 

How is it conceivable that the crowds who were shouting “Hosanna” on Palm Sunday and rolling out the red carpet for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, within less than a week were ushering Jesus out of Jerusalem onto the blood red way of the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha?

 

And what shall we say of the priests and elders? These holy men were, on the one hand, preparing to celebrate Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and on the other hand were lying and scheming to ensure the murder of Jesus.

 

These leaders of the people were inciting the people to cry, “Give us Barabbas! Crucify Jesus!” The religious and civil leaders were teaching the people to choose between the Lamb of God and a murderer and insurrectionist – they were calling the people to choose death over life, murder over peace, hate over love.

 

Pilate saw the insanity. Do we?

 

The challenge of celebrating Palm Sunday is to look in the mirror on Good Friday. Those who were shouting “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday were crying out, “Give us Barabbas and crucify Jesus!” on Good Friday.

 

When we choose insurrection, we reject the Lamb of God. When we justify insurrection, we align ourselves with Satan. Jesus tells us that Satan is a murderer.

 

The chief priests and elders taught the people to cry, “Give us Barabbas and crucify Jesus!” on one of the holiest days of the year, Passover. How is this possible? How could they not see what they were doing?

 

Jesus says that “My Kingdom is not of this world.”

 

We say, “We have no king but Caesar.”

 

The spirit of Barabbas, the spirit of insurrection, is the spirit of the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 3:3).

 

“Another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8).

 

“He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law, and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).

 

“Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great…It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down…and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper” (Daniel 8:9 – 13).

 

“A king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue, his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people, and through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease, he will even oppose the Prince of Princes, but he will be broken without human agency” (Daniel 8:23 – 25).

 

“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods…” (Daniel 11:36).

 

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God (2 Thess. 2:3 – 4).

 

“There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies…and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:5 – 6).

 

I am puzzled how professing Christians can cry, “Give us Barabbas,” ignoring the fact that to do so is to also cry, “Crucify Jesus!”

 

On the Feast of Passover the religious leaders led their people to crucify Jesus by the hands of the Romans. The same thing can happen with professing Christians.

 

All but a few worshipped the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3). Do we seriously think things are different today?

 

Can we not hear Jesus saying, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36)?

 

Perhaps the only real question on Good Friday is whether the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ is enough for us, whether He is our All in all. Perhaps the question is whether we belong to Jesus, and only to Jesus.

 

Yes, I think that is it.