Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the day that our Lord Jesus was crucified. Some people do not

like to read or hear about what Jesus went through, but it is important to remember the suffering

that He went through to save us, and most importantly to bring glory to the Father. You cannot

leave out, or avoid, parts of the Bible you don’t like, as some pastors like to do by only

preaching about heaven and stepping around the problem of sin instead of dealing with it, so we

must remember the pain and abuse that Jesus went through to save our sinful race.

Here is Matthew 27:27-54, which begins right after Jesus has been accused of

guiltiness, and after that was scourged, meaning that He was whipped (the Romans were

known to have stuck sharp pieces of glass and bone in their whips).

“27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole

company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then

twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then

they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30They spit on him, and

took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took

off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to

carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).

34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36And sitting down, they

kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS

JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by

hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple

and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41In

the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42“He saved

others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now fromthe cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for

he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also

heaped insults on him.

45From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46About three in the

afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”(which means “My God, my

God, why have you forsaken me?”).

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff,

and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to

save him.”

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook,

the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were

raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and

appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all

that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Today we solemnly reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus, and think about what the disciples

must have felt, because they did not know that Jesus was going to come back. We look forward to

Resurrection Sunday, when we will celebrate Him, and thank Him for the wonderful gift of salvation He has given us!

-Dale Harder

Get Back Up

Proverbs 24:16; For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Two sides. The just and wicked. Both fall. What is the difference between the two?

One falls and stays down, the other falls and gets back up. Now what this verse means by falling is to sin. So both sin, but only one stays in sin. This is what separates the just from the wicked. 

Here’s an example: two people tell a lie. One person keeps on lying and lying to cover up the first lie, and never stops. This person would be considered the wicked person in the verse above. 

The second person, however, realizes that they were wrong for lying. Even though they know that trust could be lost, as well as anything else that could come from the truth coming out, they go and tell the truth. They apologize, try to make it right and make it a point to never lie again. This person would be the just person in the verse. 

The just don’t stay in their sin, they rise up out of it. That is what makes them just.  That is how we become just. We don’t need to dwell on the fact that we sinned, and trust me I know how tempting that can be. We just need do what is needed to right our wrong, and do better next time. 

Now a quick note, we don’t make ourselves just, it is Jesus who makes us just. We can be just because He has become our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). While He is our righteousness, we still cannot live in sin (Romans 6:14-16). But because of this, we can still be just when we fall, just as long as we rise again. 

Bible verses:

1 Corinthians 1:30; But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Romans 6:14-16; 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Christopher Haney

God isn’t a vending machine.

Have you ever prayed about something and you THOUGHT your prayer wasn't answered?

This last year I struggled with that. I would pray for a “thorn” to be taken away, but you can probably guess that it wasn't just taken away instantly. I didn't understand at the time why this thorn I would be asking to be taken away would just not disappear. Matthew clearly states that with God all things are possible. So does He just want me to suffer? No, of course not! Yes, all things are possible with God, but maybe that was the point. Maybe He wanted me to have a thorn to learn a valuable lesson and grow closer to Him. Humans can't always teach us a life lesson. Yes, people tell us things, but God is a better teacher that shows us more truth.

During my thorn, in the past, I was focused on Mark 11:24, which says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This doesn't mean you get what you want. This verse can easily be taken out of context. This passage most likely is saying to put your trust in God, and pray for HIS will. Don’t pray for what you want, but pray for what He wants and that you will have eyes to see what is happening through it. Prayer is NOT for us to just go and get what we want. A wise friend told me that God is not a vending machine. You do not just put the quarter in and then poof; you have what you want. Your thorn is removed. It took a bit for this to actually sink in. So what could I have been praying for if God isn't a vending machine? Well, I started praying for wisdom and peace. Yes, that does sound like I was praying for what I wanted, but James 1:5 contradicts that. The verse says  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

This does not say that whatever you want will be given to you. It says wisdom will be given. Want to know where to find it? Your Bible! That is the place where I found wisdom, and though reading the Bible doesn't just pull out a thorn, it does help guide you through it.

Paul had many (as he so called) thorns. He prayed three times for these thorns to be taken away and God said “no.” He says that he had these thorns because God's grace is sufficient. Because God's power is made better in weakness. Well isn't that true? We don't always just become more spiritually mature by constant goodness. If we have only good things surrounding us then we will not learn. Of course, we can show gratitude for constant goodness, but we easily take it for granted. Though, since we, unfortunately, live in a fallen world we don't have everything perfect. So, I am now thankful for trials because it brings us closer to the Lord. 

Verse 9 of the scripture I read said that God told Paul that His grace is sufficient. That His power was made stronger in weakness. That is very, very, true, too! If you've gone through a personal struggle then you would understand that at the end- hopefully.

While I was struggling with this thorn, and not understanding why God wasn't answering my prayers, I didn't realize what goodness would come out of it. A mentor kept saying that something good will happen. I honestly thought that was ridiculous. Like how could something amazing come out of suffering? Well, I FINALLY accepted that instead of praying to God like a vending machine. I focused on praying that I can be an encouragement, and that my eyes would stay focused on the Lord, and- as I already said- wisdom.  I grew closer to the Lord through this time. Paul says his thorns kept him humble. Your thorns can turn out for good too, but maybe in other various ways. I hope all of you too will learn to be grateful for every circumstance too, whether it is bad or good. Paul, too, was grateful for his thorn in his flesh.

-Bryar Engelhardt