"Today you will be with me in Paradise."

Paul Miller, in his book A Praying Life, describes Jesus' amazing ability to have a one-person focus even in a crowd: “When Jesus interacts with people, he narrows his focus down to one person... that person is the only person in the room. The way he loves people is identical to the way he prays to His Father. This one-person focus is how love works. Love incarnates by slowing down and focusing on just the beloved” (Miller, p. 46).

Astoundingly, Jesus manages this even on the cross. He is in agony. Nails have been driven through his hands and feet. Earlier, he had been scourged (for a description of the physical torture Jesus would have received as a prisoner, click here). But his agony is more than physical: for the first time in his 33 years, he is separated from his heavenly Father (see Matthew 27:46).

He has been abandoned by his disciples. The Jews who had welcomed him just days ago with praises, are now heckling him. Jesus is even jeered by one of two thieves hanging from crosses on either side of him.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him.

“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:39-43).

Jesus’ one on one ministry extends even from the cross! The thief to the left wants down from his predicament and curses Jesus for not fixing things for himself and them. Even in the face of death, this man’s heart is hard and fixed. The thief to the right sees the reality of his own sin and the innocence of Jesus. Not just his innocence, but his divinity. What faith to see God in this suffering, blood-covered man. What depths of love our Savior had for a repentant criminal. What hope for humanity, that it is our faith in Christ, not our works, not a religious process, that saves!

“Christ upon the cross, is gracious like Christ upon the throne. Though he was in the greatest struggle and agony, yet he had pity for a poor penitent. By this act of grace we are to understand that Jesus Christ died to open the kingdom of heaven to all penitent, obedient believers. It is a single instance in Scripture; it should teach us to despair of none, and that none should despair of themselves; but lest it should be abused, it is contrasted with the awful state of the other thief, who died hardened in unbelief, though a crucified Saviour was so near him” (Matthew Henry).

Sources: 

"View from the Cross," James Tissot, 1886-94. Brooklyn Museum.

Miller, Paul. A Praying Life (NavPress, 2009).

Matthew Henry Commentary, retrieved online: http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=42&c=23&com=mhc

The Last Mortal Words of a Savior (By Tony C)

This Holy Week, like the past two, I will be going dark on all forms of social media. I do this to cut out a lot of the background noise we all are inundated with each day and to focus more on the events of this week over 2000 years ago...and how it impacts my life personally.

This week your Kingdom Bloggers are going to each write on one of the seven phrases spoken by Jesus from the cross as recorded in either the Gospel of Matthew or Luke.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  Luke 23:34 NKJV

Scholars and medical professionals alike have studied and shared with us the agonizing death that crucifixion caused. It was plain and simple torture. Not only was the victim exposed, literally, for all to see and to the effects of the elements, the process was grueling and punishing. Death for many came by asphyxiation or drowning in fluids gathered in the victims lungs. It took hours for death to mercifully arrive.

Add to the fact that Jesus was flogged so severely that the injuries from that task alone could have ended His mortal existence, and you have a morning and afternoon of unimaginable suffering.

Then...you have the act of sacrifice that would see the sins of all mankind placed on a person and entity that had never, repeat never, personally experienced sin in an eternal life.

I think we often overlook the physical aspects that Jesus suffered because, well, He is God. But Jesus suffered tremendous physical pain and I believe anxiety. Yet through the bodily suffering, the humiliation (some from His own people), and the soon to come bearing of mankind's sin...Jesus looks to the Father and ask Him to forgive those who tortured and mocked Him below the cross.

Love is not a big enough word...it's just not.

I'm blessed to write about this subject on my last post for the near future. I'm taking a hiatus to focus on another issue, but please know that I not only covet your prayers, but I would be honored to do the same for each of you. I leave my writing position on Mondays to someone I both love and respect, and I look forward to reading her future post about God's Kingdom. Thank you Joyce.

Praise God! The tomb was empty that Easter morning!  

We are the Hands and the Feet and the Heart Of Jesus..Where is He Leading ? Linda Maynard

Where would I choose to go on a 6 month Missions trip, if the opportunity was presented to me? That is the subject up for discussion on KB this week.

My immediate thought was Poland. Both sets of grandparents are from that country in Europe. I feel a strong sense of connection with the Polish people.

My main focus for the trip would be to talk to the people. I would share as one brought up in the catholic tradition, about my own experience of finding the Lord Jesus as my Savior. I would like to talk to them, preferably in their own homes. I would share, one on one, about how I had a level of understanding about Jesus and how I came to realize that head knowledge of who He is differed from the heart knowledge, which I have come to embrace.

In this, I would pray that my discussions would whet some appetites to further study about Jesus, especially through the Bible. Perhaps they might, as I did, come to know Jesus rather than just know about Him. Giving mental ascent was what I did and I surmise that many Catholics do the same. Through non-confrontational discussion; I would pray that our times of fellowship would cause them to hunger for more.

As I left, I would be confident that even though my trip did not involve mass meetings, it would have touched the hearts of families and from there, they could spread the good news of the Gospel with their community. I would pray for that to become a ripple effect and in that many Catholics in the area, would come to a genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

Because there was no steadfast “rule” about the 6 month period, I would like to split up my time in Poland and Tapachula Mexico.

I’ve come to know a couple, who are missionaries in Tapachula.  Hope and Steve are the parents of my daughter in law.

They themselves had been on several trips, through their church. As time passed and as circumstances changed, they felt a pull to become full time missionaries.

The focus of what they do is children. They have established 2 boy’s homes and 1 girl’s home in the same neighborhood.

You may wonder where the children come from, as they are without their parents and yet the homes are not orphanages.

They come from prisons.

Yes, you heard that right, from prisons. They have not committed any crimes, their parents have. And the way things are governed in that region is that, when an adult is convicted of a crime and sent to prison, the whole family has to go with them.

As you can imagine, they are deplorable places for adults, let alone children. In this dark place, they witness despicable behavior and they themselves are victims of all forms of abuse…sexual abuse being the major one.
So, through Mission on the Move, and the efforts of Hope and Steve, these children come to a place of hope with a future.

To get into to the Home, they have to be granted permission by the parents.

There, they are “cleaned up”…body, mind and soul. They are taught things like basic manners, as well being provided with regular schooling. They learn to trust adults. They receive counseling to deal with the aftermath of the squalor they have lived in. whether through the prison and the lifestyle of their parents previous to their incarceration. Most of all, they are introduced to the Savior Jesus Christ and receive instruction in the bible.
Some of them arrive as young as 5 and others at an older age. As of now, 3 boys are attending college and I know of 1 girl, who has graduated from college.

The home provides them everything that a healthy home would provide. Sadly it is not perfect in the sense of the ultimate family would be one in which healthy parents would provide all the resources for their own children to grow up with a good future.

As a bonus, some of these parents have become Christians as well. They are provided with instruction through a Prison Ministry.

I would like to be part of the ongoing process to teach, nourish and encourage these children…especially the girls.

If an opportunity arose, I would be willing to speak in public to raise awareness about this beautiful ministry. I would hope to raise funds for college scholarships for them and to start a fund to establish, not only an additional girls’ home, but more homes as well.

Up front personal ministry and prayer would thrill me, to bring the Good News of the Gospel to these 2 very different people groups.

My Missionary Lifestyle by Jenna Vick Silliman

When Jesus said to GO I considered myself SENT and now I am on a MISSION everywhere I go. However, the Lord has not given me any desire to travel anywhere in this season of my life. I am to bloom and grow and bear fruit right here in Clallam County where I live and where He has planted me. As I abide in Jesus I will bear much fruit as Jesus promised. (See John 15.)

To establish a mindset, I have five declarations that I speak out and keep before me to help me in my missionary lifestyle:
1. I am a connecting link to God's loving kindness.
2. People are open and ready to hear about God's love and to believe.
3. Through me God's love is drawing people into a relationship with Him.
4. Everyone around me has powerful encounters with God's presence.
5. I have Jesus as Lord in my heart; I'm always ready to share about Him.

My focus is on God and worshiping Him. He inhabits the praises of His people. I walk habitually with the Lord 24/7 and continually give Him thanks for this is the password to His presence. I am a host for His presence!

Yesterday after teaching my children's dance class I danced to a song of worship to show my students "worship dancing." My son Peter did a video so I can share it with you. The song is called "The Paintbrush" from the album "Paint Your Picture" by Julie Meyer. As I dance I am praying and asking God "Pick me up like a paintbrush, God, dip it in the colors of my life, paint Your picture, Father, fashion a heart that is wholly Yours...Take Your fingers God, Master Potter come mold the clay. Tell Your story...and write Your name in the clay and sign Your name on the picture."

Six Month Mission Trip Next Door

This week KB is asking its writers to choose a country we would work in as missionaries for six months.

I wouldn’t have to go very far.

We live in a quaint village along the historical Eire Canal. Three seasons a year, I can walk along the canal, soaking in nature, crew teams, pleasure boaters and lots of shops and restaurants. My teenage daughter can walk home from school and spend a Saturday afternoon at the local Starbucks or the library. It is idyllic.

But not nine miles from us is the crescent of Rochester, New York, a swath of geography across the city, east to west, throbbing with violence, drugs, and poverty. The high school drop out rate is the highest of the largest city school districts in the state: 45.5%. In our town, 98% of students graduate from high school, and most then attend college. Rochester is known as one of the ten smartest cities in the nation because of top colleges, yet its public schools are fraught with problems.

To live in the crescent would be out of my comfort zone. I like knowing my family can go to sleep without bullets flying through the walls, and not having to address the issue of a crack house next door. But the problems of our nation’s cities, like Chicago, Hartford and Rochester, require a radical mission.

There are many churches in the city, including Brighton Presbyterian where my husband and I work and minister. But the problems of neglect, drug abuse and poverty can’t be fixed just by Sunday church attendance or even a weekly Bible study. Something more radical is required: ongoing prayer, mentoring, dedicated outreach and perhaps a live-in situation.

Nearly two years ago, I met a couple who are not only living in the city, they have dedicated two decades to raising other people’s children in a Saturday program called Bethel Express, which they now base at our church. Its focus and mission is on what its leaders call the "S Factor: Spiritual Strength, Social Stability and Scholastic Success." Children can begin the program between the ages of 6 and 12 (but no later) and the volunteer leaders feed and mentor them every Saturday until they graduate from high school. The program has a nearly 100% graduation rate. The adult volunteers love, encourage, and pray for these children for years.

Another couple I know established an inner-city healthcare ministry called His Branches 35 years ago, choosing to live just two blocks from their medical practice. The neighborhood has drug dealers, robberies and the occasional shooting. Eighty percent of HBI clients are at or below the poverty line.

We also know of three families who have made the decision to live in a tough area to make a difference in the neighborhood, and to be part of their church’s efforts to “re-neighbor” broken communities: 441 Ministries.

I do have a dream missionary trip (Ireland; Bible studies in a pub). But for me, the radical mission next door causes me to tremble.

If I Could, I Would Leave Right Now!

This week, the faithful and varied Kingdom Bloggers will be writing again. I would add, that I have not written here for quite some time, so it's nice to pop in on one of my favorite subjects, missions! 

This week, we'll be answering a hypothetical question: If you went for 6 months, what country would you go on a mission to? Some of our answers may be based on dreams and hopes, and others, such as mine, will be based on previous experience.

I am choosing Brazil!

The classic version of missions has been to spread the church and the Kingdom of God in heathen nations; to go where Christianity wasn't and bring it there. Brazil still has Indians in the Amazon region, there are Aborigines in the Outback of Australia, and other, often tribal peoples, scattered at various places around the globe. And then there are those that live in entire nations which are closed to Americans.

I didn't always have a heart for missions. They sounded awful, and it seemed, people made so little progress when the money and time could be better spent at home. All of that changed one day. I was at a meeting and the minister said "I see planes flying here and flying there. I see that God has given you a heart for the nations." Although I didn't care for uncomfortable conditions in a country where I didn't speak the language, oddly; it resonated in my spirit.


Later that year I was leaving a church service at the Salvation Army. A friend of mine was preaching that evening. It was a very small group, less than 10. There was a drunk woman, a Brazilian. The pastor wanted to help her, so he sent one of the men at the meeting down the street to see if there was someone at the Brazilian church who could interpret.

As I was leaving, the man came back with a pastor from the Brazilian church. I decided to stick around to see what was going on. Before I left I spoke to Carlos, and we became great friends. Not only did we preach and teach in the US, but I traveled with him 3 times to Brazil.

Why do I like to be in Brazil? It is the very thing that God has made me for. When I am there, I am free to participate in meetings, do street evangelism, and most of all fellowship with a wonderful culture and people.

Most importantly, it is where I God and I connect as we partner to build the Kingdom of God.

Some People Tell You What You Want to Hear. James Tells You What You Need to Hear by Linda Maynard

Can you remember being in school and having a demanding teacher? One that didn’t take any nonsense and expected the best from you?

At the time, you may have been frustrated and even a little angry BUT, when you look back, they probably are on your list of favorite teachers.

Why? Because, by “pushing you”, beyond what you thought you were capable of, it brought results that you didn’t expect.

However, if all they did was demand from you, that would border on abusive. With certain character traits, this teacher had integrity and modeled speaking the Truth in Love... And that my friend makes all the difference. They earned your respect.

That is how I view the author of the Book of James
.
Many years ago, a friend told me that this was her favorite book of the Bible. Why did I then feel, that when I read it, I kept saying “ Ouch!”...That hurts!”...”Owie!” …” That’s me!”…”That’s not me!”…”You’ve got to be kidding”?

At the very beginning, the book says, “Count it all joy, when you face trials of many kinds…” James 1:2
“ STOP RIGHT THERE!” That’s crazy I thought (sorry I am being honest). I didn’t read the complete thought, but eventually came to realize that this wasn’t “Let’s throw a party with Happy Feet”, but that the Lord’s intention is help us build spiritual muscles.

The writer in 1:5-8, talks about asking God for wisdom. THEN after hearing that wisdom, applying it to our lives. Again, my eyes skipped over too quickly and all I focused on was a person who doubts. James describes them like one tossed in the sea, blown here and there. And that person is double minded. In this particular area, I had to “work out” this truth, with a lot of effort.

My thinking can get scattered. It has been an ongoing struggle. In the past, I had prayed, asked for wisdom and got wisdom. I don’t feel I doubt God, having the wisdom and wanting to impart it to me. My struggle seems to stem with wondering if I discerned correctly. The consequence is the same…I am tossed all around and not at peace.  

The enemy can tempt us in a bunch of ways. He tries to keep us from obeying God and/or lying to us telling that we cannot do anything right.

The other day, on the issue of taming the tongue, i.e. “Out of the same mouth, come praising and cursing. James 3:10. …no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8 I had a blowout. I have been taking a medication that can, as a side effect, cause angry outbursts. The other day, all %^#@* broke loose. I spewed angry words over my husband. I was horrified. Did I have a legitimate explanation because of the medication? Although, it was a contributing factor, junk seemed to be hidden in my heart. 

There certainly are times when we can over focus on the enemy and his tricks. However, ignoring the acts of his presence is a mistake too. Without having the “devil made me do it” excuse…I better believe that he is out “to kill, steal and destroy.” 

This brings me to the final section.

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7a.

 Again, I glossed over what preceded that verse. SUBMIT yourselves to God THEN resist the devil and he will flee.

So James has taken on a whole different tone or me. It is a practical book with a lot of wisdom.

I am not sure I could call it my favorite, but it is a book that has much value in my life.

Anytime I sense myself wavering or slipping and sliding, I think it would be a good time to check in with James.

Faith and Works by Cliff Silliman

As a young believer I decided to read the New Testament from front to back. I kept going and ran into the book of James. I got more excited about my faith as God spoke to me through His word. That word continues to speak to me fresh each time I read it.

My wife asked me the other day if I had read James lately. I gladly open the Bible and went to see what would resonate in my heart anew. I wondered if it would be an old familiar verse like "count it all joy brethren…” or “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak…” or “pure and undefiled religion is this…” or would it be in the verses about the tongue? Maybe the Lord would highlight to me “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Maybe I would sense something special in the verse that talks about the laborer who mows your field--as a guy with lawn business appreciate the Lord speaking about what I physically do. Maybe He would reveal more depth to me about healing from the verses in chapter five, or provide me encouragement from seeing that I am just like Elijah. All these things passed through my mind as I prayed and open to the Book of James. 

What jumped off the page starts in the second chapter of James, verse 14, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?" Continuing in verse 17, ”Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” And verse 18, “I will show you my faith by my works.” and the kicker is verse 22, “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made complete?” Wow! Do my actions reveal that I have faith? Has my faith so permeated me that I reveal that I have faith in the living resurrected Christ?

Many times I am abundantly aware of my shortcomings. The devil is good at reminding me of them, trying to cause my focus to be diverted from what is good and holy. But here is scripture calling me to look and see if my actions really reveal that I believe Jesus is with me 24/7. Do my actions speak of the glory of the kingdom of my God? Have I yielded today to His Lordship over every area of my life? Ah these verses also reveal that it is a work of God in my life leading me into deeper and deeper faith through works. Through the process of applying my faith, and having compassion for others, my faith will deepen.

Not just the visible actions like when I went on mission trip to Mississippi to help after Hurricane Katrina, but how I handle my role as husband, father of eight, employee, friend, homeowner, businessman, person in the community, even those actions that no one would see but me, they are all a part of the process of works that complete my faith, that cause me to grow into to being more pleasing to Jesus who I love with all my heart.

Taming the Tongue of a Sass-Master

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 

James 3:11 KJV

In the book Tuck Everlasting, a family discovers a spring that bestows immortality when its waters are consumed. At first, they find the advantages of eternal youth to be awesome: they never aged, remaining as they were when they first drank from the spring. But over decades, with the passage of time, they yearned for a normal, mortal life. The water of the fountain of youth was both sweet and bitter.

The fountain spoken of by the Apostle James, however, is not one of youth, but of the everlasting impact of our words. This fountain, our tongue, according to James, should not be producing words of both love and hatred.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. James 3:9-10, NIV.

As newlyweds, my husband and I wanted our marriage to be centered on our faith in God. We both worked full-time, but carved out time to develop as believers in prayer groups and Bible studies (not all at the same time!) with others, many of whom became lifelong friends. 

One afternoon, I exchanged some sharp words with Tim. Actually, it was less of an exchange and more like direct fire aimed at my husband. A few minutes later, I sat alone at our kitchen table and flipped open my Bible randomly. These words from the epistle of James seemed to be in neon lights: “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”

I knew immediately that the Lord was addressing my sharp tongue. Here I was, sitting down to study the word and bless the Lord with my praises directly after spewing venom at my life-partner. Gulp.

Anyone who knows me will wonder if that spectacular moment of sweet conviction truly sparked change in me. I have a way with words: a teenager recently told my daughter that “your mom is a sass-master.” Gulp again.

But I never forgot the gentle admonition from God that day. I apologized to Tim and began to see the truths of the Word of God to be very real and applicable to my life.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8, NIV.

Our words can carry such weight: the cold boulders of ill-will, anger or envy, or the warm, thick honey of love, encouragement, mercy and laughter.  We have the power to choose which words we hurl at those around us, even those who appear to deserve the best a sass-master can deliver. Lord, tame my tongue!

Because I love You...please help me do this right (Tony C)

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend filled with worship for our most worthy Father! This week, your Kingdom Bloggers are writing on stand out passage from the Book of James. Hope you find blessing in what we share.

James writes a line of scripture that yours truly takes serious and to heart.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 (ESV)

The KJV translates the word teachers as masters, but the original Greek word is didaskalos and is predominately used in the New Testament to refer to someone who teaches about the things of God (Blue Letter Bible).

So why would God hold teachers to a higher standard?

The answer might seem obvious to some but elude others who hold that God's mercy is equally applied to everyone. Isn't God's mercy equally applied to everyone? I would argue no based on the fact that some come to God's gift of grace after a lifetime of sin. Jesus covered that life just as He did the one who lives a life in close walk with Him. Having said that, I don't believe God loves one more than another. Let me explain...

I have three daughters. I love them equally which means I love them completely. However, my patience may be tried a lot more with one of the three over the course of their lifetime, well, their lifetime that I'm still around to see. Does that one therefore require more love from me? I would argue no. My love is still the same unconditional love (agape) for all three...even if the one feels she may have required more of my love to overcome causing more disappointments.

In the end, each of us is destined to only one of two places for eternity. We each will face our Creator in a revealing moment that will reflect how much, or little, we showed love and obedience to Him with the time we were given here on Earth. Is it possible to disappoint God? Absolutely! But, that doesn't mean that disappointment will lead to an eternity of separation from Him. If disappointment were the damning criteria, I'm afraid Heaven would be near empty of mankind.

Imagine that moment of reckoning, your moment, and you've spent efforts to teach His word in any type of false manner. Being a teacher comes with an inherent or implied notion of knowledge...a position of intellectual trust...people lean on that as truth. Leading just a single person away from the gift of salvation in those duties has an eternal consequence for that person. How crushing to realize that fact when your moment comes! God expects and deserves so much more in a teacher's efforts.

Christians are called to be the salt and the light by Jesus, and I believe part of being the salt involves preserving and protecting the Truth. Doing so is an expectation of God, especially if He has blessed you with a talent for teaching the Good News. Don't disappoint the Father. Take James 3:1 serious as you serve God teaching His word and make Him proud of your efforts for His glory.