PONDER THIS

                                                 PONDER THIS

    Most Christians don't ponder enough. Do you spend any time thinking about the scripture you just read? How about the sermon you may have just heard? Why don't we know more details about Christ's crucifixion? There's a larger lesson than scripture reveals to us. The larger lesson is second in importance only to Christ's offer of salvation. If you're really serious about your commitment to Christ, don't you believe you need to know more about the reasons why? Most pastors realize most Christians aren't up to drinking "holy" water  (word of life), so they don't risk the possibility of congregations getting bored or falling asleep. It is also easier to go with the flow.

     You need to know the larger lesson I mentioned above, because it is the key to your life. The lesson is the edge of the three sided coin I've talked about. It's about the full truth of the opposition to The Way (Christ's teaching), the backroom dealing, the breaking of Jewish Law, His trial, and the example the entire scene presents itself if we only seek to know. We are admonished in Matt. 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; KNOCK, and it will be opened to you." In John 14:2 Christ tells us, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." When you accepted Christ's offer, you entered the front entrance to His mansion. The holy Spirit was there to guide you to your room. If you stop your scriptural journey there, you will have to sleep in the vestibule.

    There are some questions you may not have considered. Let's get to thinking about lesser issues before going on to the big ones. Did you consider why it took Moses so long on Mount Sinai when God gave him the commandments? God could simply speak the writing on the stones. His Word was mightier than any chisel. Have you ever pondered about the "pillar of cloud" in Ex. 33:9, or the halo you see pictured over the heads of saintly people in bible drawings? Christ still talks to people on special occasions as He did to Paul on the road to Damascus. Halos and the gifts still exist, but they are reserved for Christians or non Christians who have the capability to surrender their egos to the Lord.

    The experience Paul had happened with other people present, yet they did not see or hear the exchange between Christ and Paul. When God or Christ chooses to speak to anyone, it is a private conversation. The gifts are another story, because Satan has the power to bestow certain gifts on his workers and priests. In Ex, 7:11-12, we see the Pharaoh's priests threw down their rods, the rods became serpents. Aaron's rod had become a serpent, and his rod swallowed the priests' rods. The spiritual world's battles make the secular world look pretty primitive. Do any of our leaders (political or church) have spiritual gifts, and, if so, are they from God or Satan?

    So far we haven't approached the big picture of the crucifixion, and the "quiet" events that took place. Where there's a major change in an issue, remember American history and events such as Tammany  Hall. That action was political, but so is the church world political. Another thing never to forget is that God is always in full control of everything on earth. He may permit the Devil to do certain evil things, but God still has control. God anoints or places leaders. We may think we elect our leaders (political or church), but God actually is in full charge. We cannot change His plan. What we can do is change our life style after accepting the offer of salvation.

    To pursue "special effects" a bit further, the experience of seeing
a halo is rare because we just don't immerse ourselves in being a real
Christian. If we did, the words coming out of our leaders' mouths would
offend us and we wouldn't support them. As a young Christian, I didn't
understand what the biblical halos meant. Turn to Ex. 34:29-35, and 
you will see the origin of the halo. The brightness of Moses's face was
portrayed by the white halo. This denotes an unusual presence of the
Lord. It also denotes purity. You may be interested to know that other
colors can reflect such things as an ailing body part. Very few people
receive this gift--yes, it is a gift, but the Christian world has never really
accepted this beyond the shekinah (the brightness of Moses's skin. 
This brightness represents the glory and unseen presence of God. The
study of this phenomenon is known as theophany, if  you'd like to find
out more about it.

    I have been privileged to witness this shekinah light twice, and both
times it was on a woman. I was too young to know what it was when I
saw the first shekinah, but I recognized it for what it is the second time.
The spiritual world consists of much we lightly read about in scripture,
but don't pursue any further. God was not fantasizing when He gave us
warnings and directions in scripture. We are not much as soldiers for
Christ if our dedication is a short time of bible reading or attending a
church service.

    But, I still haven't gotten to the big picture of what went on before
the trial and crucifixion. What we need to remember is that there were
several plots and careful planning by Christ's opponents. His serious
opponent was not Rome, and there were many players both for Him
and against Him. Although the people of that time didn't realize it, the
fate of the world and God's planning were being exposed. God created
the earth and mankind, giving people the choice of how to live. That
got off track almost as fast as the speed of light. There may be 
something to be learned here about appearances. Satan was created
as a beautiful creature, yet Eve was snared by a sweet talking serpent.
The evil men usually have a "snake in the grass" do the dirty work. Part
of the guile of evil is presenting oneself as good, while directing another
person to do the dirty work. That's where we get the term "fall guy."
The agent of the Devil takes the "fall." Adam didn't do research; he just
accepted Eve's explanation. She didn't do research, either. Ponder
that when you jump at a solution or hear a sweet talker. You can follow
God's leading or the snake's leading.

    We still haven't reached the examination of Christ's trial and the
events and conspiracy that brought it about OR the very strange and
unusual actual crucifixion. To understand these unreported issues,
it is necessary to consult the Jewish guidelines. The crucifixion is
reported in the gospels, and there isn't anything wrong with the material.
It's just that there are details of interest not included. It is difficult
enough to read the main facts of His sacrifice. We don't have to know 
more about this vital event, but we can learn an important lesson about
the method Satan uses to cause real Christians trouble. He has his people
working overtime at present because he can almost taste what he thinks
is victory. Look at conditions all over the world, and especially in America.

    The events leading up to Christ's trial and the working of both the
Jewish and Roman justice systems had to be synchronized to accomplish
Christ's death. God permitted this to happen because He knew the Devil
would outsmart himself. Christ's trial featured a Grand Jury in the person
of Israel's Sanhedrin. We get our grand juries from this background. When
you are selected for a grand jury, you receive appropriate information
about your purpose and the history of grand juries. The grand jury action
in Christ's trial was part of Satan's plan. We can expect grand juries in
America to be susceptible to the same mistakes. The criminal justice
system in America is seriously broken. My personal experience on a
grand jury in New York has given me confidence in this region. I can't
say the same for other parts of the state where evidence has been 
shredded or ignored. Some other states use a modified version of the
original grand jury, and I have no confidence in their effort to streamline
justice for the sake of convenience and money. Put together the jury
and major players in Christ's trial, and you have a plot for a major hit
movie. But to do it, you need to understand the circumstances of both
Israel and Rome at that time.

    While you ponder what I have written about, I'm going to take a break
to do a little pondering myself. It's not easy to put the pieces of history
together when you cross cultures and the path of Satan. For the rest of
this story, you'll have to wait until next time.

Rev. Walbear