Discovery

Earlier I mentioned the book I’m reading this summer, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ by Randy Singer.

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF:

* YOU WANT TO REMAIN CONTENT JUST GOING TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!
* IF YOU ARE AFRAID TO TAKE A REALLY CLOSE LOOK AT NOT ONLY YOURSELF BUT ALSO YOUR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

ENCOURAGEMENT: DO READ THIS BOOK IF:

* YOU WANT A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAVIOR
* YOU’VE ALWAYS LONGED FOR RELATIONSHIP OVER RELIGON
* YOU’VE ALWAYS KNOWN THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE TO BEING CHRIST THAN JUST GOING TO CHURCH

The author points out how the Law mattered most of all to the Pharisees. It didn’t begin that way. In the beginning, their motives were purely to love the Lord their God who brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (see Ex. 20:2) But somewhere along the way they traded their faith in God for their faith in the Law. It was originally based on the Law of God; however, being the humans that we are, they sought to improve on God’s plan and in the process made a mess of things!

The author makes this statement:
“… apparently all these religious leaders, who take such great pride in following every jot and tittle of the law, let their hatred of Jesus overpower their love for the law.”

He provides a detailed explanation of the trial rules for the Sanhedrin that were most likely in effect at that time of the trial of Jesus. He does make a point of saying that

“There is some uncertainty about trial rules in first-century Jerusalem. Later records describe these Jewish trial procedures, and it is probable that substantially the same rules were in place when Christ was tried.”

He further explains that most of the procedural safeguards for capital offenses (meant to assure a fair trial) were violated in the trial of Jesus.

It has served me well to step back from “religion” and examine exactly how much I too have added to the commands of God in order to protect my system of religion.
I have discovered some truths so important that Jesus was willing to die for me to set me free. Here’s a little bit of what I’ve discovered.

What really matters:

The Messiah, not the method,
Jesus, not the judgmental.
The Savior, not the system,
Christ, not the critics.
The Prince of Peace, not the pattern,
The Forever Faithful, not the five acts or steps of anything!

Row, row, row your car???????????????????????

A funny thing happened on our way to New Mexico, well, actually it's funny now but it wasn't very funny at the time! Van and I went to New Mexico to visit his Mom and just relax for a few days last week. We planned to leave bright and early Friday morning and be merrily on our way! It didn't quite happen that way! On Thursday, I spent the day helping our oldest son, Jon, and his wife, Amanda, finish moving from Stillwater to Tulsa. It was a fun and beautiful summer day and I really enjoyed it. On the way home, I had the sunroof open just enjoying the sunshine and the day. When I got home, I parked Van's car out on the curb so I would have more room to clean out the car and get it ready for the trip. I then helped Van with the yard, packed, and got everything ready for the trip. While I finished laundry and packing, Van went to Papa Murphy’s and picked us up a pizza for a late dinner. Friday morning we woke up to heavy, heavy thunderstorms and Van commented that it had rained very heavily overnight. We wondered if we would have to drive in rain for the next several hours. Little did we know that we would be traveling in rain alright!!!!!!!! As we were getting ready, a sudden panic dawned on me. I asked Van if he closed the sunroof on my car when he went to pick up the pizza. His reply struck terror in my heart!! He hadn't taken my car to get the pizza; he took his car in order to put it back in the driveway!!! I went racing out to my car and my worse fears came true! According to the cup holders, it had indeed rained very hard that night. There was 3" of rain standing in each cup holder! The front seats, carpets, and console were drenched!! I called my dad who brought over his wet vac (first I closed the sunroof) and we vacuumed out as much as we could. An hour later we lined the seats with towels and set out on the road. It did rain off and on along the way, but as we finally approached the drier climate of New Mexico, we were able to roll down the windows and reduce the humidity level in the car. We could hardly stand to run the air conditioner on the way because we were so damp it just made you freeze!!!!!!!! When we pulled into his mom's driveway, we breathed a sigh of relief that we would be able to park the car under the carport, leave the windows down, and let things dry out in that wonderful drier climate. Much to our dismay, apparently we upset the humidity balance in New Mexico and it proceeded to rain every day we were there! Fortunately for us, there was just enough dry air that everything dried out just fine. We weren't even left with any foul odors in the carpet, and my carpet sure is clean!!!!