Grace and Truth, John 19:1-16, Jesus Is Willing

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

 

I am grateful that I still feel sick when I read this.

 

Pilate was afraid—afraid of who Jesus was, and afraid of the crowd.

 

The Jews were insistent on getting their will, even calling Caesar their king, though they hated him.

 

Jesus knew that all this was God’s plan, and he was willing.

 

Father, teach me to know your son better every day.             

A Great Summer Meal From Kathy's Kitchen

            This delicious potato salad recipe has been tested and approved in Kathy’s kitchen. And the sloppy joes—or juicy burgers as I learned to call them growing up—sound like a winner to me.

 

From my friend, author Mary Lou Cheatham

 

Sloppy Joes

 

2 pounds lean beef such as ground round

1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped onion 

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 package (dry powder) sloppy joe mix (store brand?)

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup Louisiana hot sauce

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 to 1 teaspoon barbecue seasoning (I used McCormick's Grill Masters.)

Brown the meat, pepper, and onion. Drain the grease. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer.

 

Serve on hamburger buns. Toast them if you like.

 

From my friend Nina:

 

I heard of a recipe that I want to try- a former Amish woman suggested it on her blog.  Ranch potato salad.  A few pounds of baked potatoes, peeled, cooled and diced. A cup of chopped celery.  A half cup of cooked and crumbled bacon.  And enough ranch dressing to make the salad moist but not gloppy. It doesn’t sound healthy but it does sound good! 

The Jesus We Need to Know: He Will Be Close Beside Us

I think almost everyone sometimes feels alone. I know I have.

 

But Jesus promises that he will always walk close beside us.

 

Psalm 23:1-4: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

He will lead us the right way. He knows when we need quiet and rest. We don’t walk through any sorrow or hard thing alone.

 

Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

He has given us a huge assignment, to lead others to him and to teach them what he says. But it is a daily walk, and he promises to walk with us the whole time.

 

Hebrews 13:5:  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

 

        What a promise. What a comfort. 

Some Special Books

Unshakable hope: building our lives on the promises of God by Max Lucado.

An author and pastor who has brought me much hope in his books, Max Lucado. This book talks about the certainty of God’s promises. Here are a few:

If we wonder if we have worth, he says, “In the eyes of God, you are worth dying for.” Romans 5:6: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

The devil’s days are numbered. Romans 16:20: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

Jesus is always speaking up for us. Hebrews 7:25: “Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

 

All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr.

I went back and forth on whether or not to recommend this book. Throughout reading it, I often felt heartsick.

 

But, I believe, it’s important to learn about history. And the author’s skill in making the reader feel and experience what the characters are seeing and suffering is excellent.

 

And, scattered inside the ugliness and horror of war, there are spots of courage, kindness and family love.

 

So, with a warning, I say that this can be an important book to read.

 

Fearfully and wonderfully: the marvel of bearing God's image by Paul W Brand and Philip Yancey.

Dr. Paul Brand worked as a missionary and surgeon with people with leprosy in India and the United States. He describes with awe the many parts of the human body and compares it with the wonder of the church. “The human body is a window into the very structure of God's creation and a testament to God's glory." Stories of the amazing courage of patients who reach for life and faith.

 

Gifts of grace DBC29170 by Kathy McKinsey

My son Benjamin found this book on BARD last week, the second of my books to be offered now as an audio book by The National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled.

 

This is such an honor for me, and I’ve been having a delightful time listening to someone read my book to me this week.

 

“Three Novellas. Three women search with hungry hearts and God shows them surprising answers. Watch as God opens doors these women would never expect.”