What Do You Say?

Luke 23: 1-3 1 Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. 2 They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.”

3 So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” Jesus did not say yes I am or I am not. But He did say “You have said it” (NLT) or “Thou sayest it” (KJ) or “It is as you say” (NKJ & NASB).

Lets look at each of these bible translations first. more…

On New Years day my wife Teresa and I with our youngest went rock climbing in Sedona with our dear friends Peter and Adele and their two boys. Lets start with this point! The pictures above were taken by Adele and the picture of Peters family to the side was taken by myself. Note that I did not cut off any heads! We love ya anyway Adele. Now as I think about it, of all the pictures that I was given, the only one with heads cut off is the only one I was in. I wonder if Adele is trying to tell me something.

We had a great time climbing big honker rocks. It was the first time for Teresa and I yet in just over an hour we ended up several hundred feet above where we started. Some say that Sedona is a dark place and evil lurks. You know what, evil lurks everywhere and our families had God with us all the way!

What a beautiful place to see the diversity of God’s creativity.

Just another thought out loud as I reminisce over the pictures and friends I have.

God Bless

What is a lie? Is it something we say to get out or stay out of trouble? Is it something we say to gain favor for ourselves? Or, is it something we say to protect the feelings of others? What is it? The dictionary says: a statement that the speaker knows to be untrue; a thing that deceives; to be deceptive. Sounds alot like Satan.

John 8:44 says: For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you more…

Here is an excerpt from Kingdom Grace. Grace makes an interesting point about the church.

“What is the church?” is a prevalent question.

Within that phrase are the questions of what is the church supposed to be? what is the ideal model or structure? what is the best way to function as a church? These questions have been and will likely continue to be enthusiastically debated and discussed.

There is, however, a deeper underlying question…

“As the people of God, who are we?”

Herein lies the importance of rediscovering a theology of the kingdom of God, of awakening to an understanding of who we are as God’s people.

Regrettably, it is common for church people to view the kingdom as a vague unknowable mystery or as something relegated to the future. The present reality and nature of the kingdom of God has mostly not been understood.

However, if the very gospel that Jesus gave us is the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the church has not understood the kingdom, then what the heck have we been doing for all these years?!

Instead our identity has been shaped by organizations and denominations, and we have become much more comfortable with the question, “what church do you go to?” than the question, “what is the kingdom of God?”

Well put Grace. Thank you

Jesus’ Baptism: Gospel Comparative

Luke 3:21-22
The Baptism of Jesus
21 One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” more…