“So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Have you ever considered that the religious leaders of Israel were right?
- They lived upon a powder-keg of insurrection and rebellion.
- They lived in a conquered nation, ruled by the super-power of the age.
- They lived with the task of controlling a population, in order to preserve it.
Consider what happened when they failed. The religious leaders of Israel failed to suppress the rebellions leading into 70 AD. Their fears, expressed concerning Jesus, came true when the Roman General and future Emperor, Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, effectively taking away their place and nation.
Israel was never the same. The concerns of the Pharisees and Sadducees were valid.
They could not have been more right while being more wrong. Their job was never the practical machinations of political power. Their job was to shepherd God’s chosen people in truth and love; the 1st and 2nd greatest commandments.
They utterly failed at their true job description with the gravest of consequences.
Let’s not make the same mistake. It is easy to get led astray by valid realities and misplaced responsibilities. Those realities never overcome the truth of scripture and the power of God.
https://ref.ly/Jn11.47-48 via the Logos Bible Android app.
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Apparently, my team did not share my expectation. They held an understanding more typical of cycling racing in which a domestique is dropped when he ceases to be useful. My grumbling originated in the offensiveness of being treated as a domestique. No one waits for a domestique and I had expected someone to wait for me.
I have wasted too much of this epic life grumbling about being treated like a domestique. I know of too many circumstances where someone has allowed an offense to linger for years because of a failure to meet an expectation.
Jesus called himself a domesitque. Jesus did not come into this world to be served but to serve and he continued to serve even went He was treated like a servant…and worse.
I recently returned with my family from our vacation to Northern Idaho and Montana. A highlight of this vacation was ziplining within views of Coeur d’Alene Lake. It was thrilling to soar from treetop to treetop, unencumbered by the constraints of the ground. A zipline may just be the best substitute for wings available to man.
The
y were very careful because the danger was real. That danger could have kept us from soaring. It could have kept us from experiencing th
Since the season of outdoor cycling has passed, I have reluctantly returned to running. I am too inconsistent on the treadmill so I decided to do evening runs at a local track. In my new found dedication, I completed a couple workouts but quickly found it hard to persevere in my commitment to running in the dark and cold. I could feel all the excuses sapping my resolve. Inconsistency was once again lurking around the corner ready to devour my motivation.
I have enjoyed it so much that a polar vortex and snow have not kept me from the track. I ran in 13 degree F temperatures when, in the past, threatening clouds kept me in? The question is why?
We live in a time when the internet delivers into our homes some of the greatest Spirit-inspired teaching of the centuries. We can listen to teachers from across the globe that have been powerfully gifted and called to eloquently preach the Word of God. I can easily research any theological question that might be troubling me. We can maintain a near constant hearing of the Word of God.
There is no pastor that has enough time to practically shepherd a congregation. I believe that shepherding should be the primary task of the Elders. It seems that the primary task of many elders has become the purveyors of budgets and bylaws. This is where we can learn from our past and the example of David Dickson. In the 1800’s church in Scotland, the families of the congregation were divided amongst the Elders. Each elder was responsible to shepherd specific families. He regularly visited those he was shepherding. He knew them personally. He knew their struggles and trials. Therefore, he was able to give that needed word of encouragement and when necessary a word of admonition or correction that might be received. He was able to see where additional teaching would be beneficial because he knew where they were spiritually. He was able to effectively disciple which requires an involvement in people’s messy lives beyond what can be accomplished by a Sunday morning greeting. By this organizational structure and division of responsibilities, the elders were able to practically shepherd a large congregation.
I am not a particularly handsome man. Therefore, I naturally gravitated to the axiom of 
A DEVOTED LIFE 