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Hi Guys
Sorry for going silent on you. We are away struggling to fit everything in and family are coming first. We may be offline for a while but do go back and review some of the older devs. We do hope to get online again with regular updates in the future. If you know anyone who is happy to help edit the audio or write devs then get in contact. Do pray for us to hear from God as we continue to seek his guidance for Aftershock.
Max & The Gang.
Do you enjoy watching a game of football? Or maybe basketball is your game. Either way, whenever you watch a game with two teams, you cheer for one or the other. If you’re not cheering for one side then you must be cheering for the other. That’s pretty much what Jesus is saying to this bunch of guys here. He is saying, from what I can see, you guys are not cheering for God, so if you are not cheering for God, then you must be on the Devils side. It’s obvious to Jesus, because, if you are cheering for God, if you are on Gods side, then that can be seen in the way you act. It can be seen in the way you treat people, it can be seen in the way you spend your time, it can be seen in the very way you live your life. And if it can’t be seen, then you must be on the other side from God. It doesn’t mean that you are running around murdering people, it doesn’t mean that you are a horrible person. It simple means that you have chosen to separate yourself from God. And as we know if you choose that on this Earth, then God will honour your choice into eternity. As for me and my mates, we want to be on Gods team on this Earth and for the rest of time. Now that’s the winning team.
Hey, I have made a massive assumption that you have chosen to be on the winning team. If you haven’t and want to accept Jesus as you captain, your friend, your saviour, then let’s do it now. Repeat this prayer after me, to ask Jesus to be your saviour.
“Father, I know that I have been selfish, and the wrong things I have done have separated me from you. I am really sorry, and I want to turn away from all that stuff and follow you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule, and reign, in my heart ,from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit, to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
So Jesus was dying in excruciating pain for the world’s sins, for yours and my selfishness on a cross, and yet he had time to remember his Mum. He said to one of his disciples “here is my Mum treat her as though she was your Mum, look after her and make sure she has everything she needs.” Do you think Jesus believed family was important? Jesus didn’t say “here is one more piece of wisdom that I must give you before I go.” Jesus didn’t say “don’t forget I said the ultimate commandment is to love.” No Jesus made sure that his Mum was looked after. That’s rubbish, because I don’t know about you, but I stuff up in this area all the time. The people I am closest to seem to be the people that get the worst side of me. My Mum and Dad are not perfect and they don’t claim to be, so every now and then they wind me up. They say things that I don’t agree with, they do things that annoy me. My parents promise stuff and don’t deliver. Do you think Mary did that? I bet when Jesus went missing in the temple as a child Mary gave him what for when he eventually got home. I bet every now and then when Jesus was being smart Mary and Joseph told him to be quiet and eat his dinner. I bet Jesus got wound up by his earthly parents. So Jesus who knew every thing about Mary still said I love this woman so much that I want to make sure all her needs are taken care off. I hate it sometimes when Jesus shows us the way to behave towards other people. What about you?
How easily we can get drawn along with the crowd. Just a few days ago these were the same people that welcomed Jesus into town as a King, shouting Hosanna and praising his name. Yet here they are, shouting for his torture and death on a cross. It’s just like the feeling you get at a football game. The emotion inside of you can get whipped up into a frenzy, and before you know it your are shouting things at the referee that you wouldn’t believe you could say. What is it that makes us want to be part of the crowd? What is it that makes us do and say things that are wrong rather than stand out from the crowd? Fear. Fear of being different; fear that if we don’t run with the crowd that they may turn on us. At school and college we may run with the crowd and gossip about friends, in the hope the crowd won’t gossip about us. We dress like the in-crowd so that we have an identity and won’t stand out. Well you have an identify, you are a Christ Follower. Your identity wasn’t created in some fashion house, where what they really want is your money. Your identity isn’t in some label, like Goff, Emo or Skater. You are not part of the crowd, you were created individual, and God has known you before you were born. You know the difference between what the crowd think is right, and what you know to be right. Part of the crowd? No, you are too good for that, God made you too individual to run with the crowd.
Pilate is having a bad day. Firstly he tells the Jews to take this problem of his hands and Judge Jesus for themselves. Then when they won’t he ask Jesus to confess and take this problem out of his hands. Finally he says, “OK guys I can release one prisoner, so please take this problem of my hands.” But still no joy. You see Jesus is persistent. Jesus knows that Gods will is for him to die on the cross for us, and that’s what is going to happen. Gods is persistent with us as well. God doesn’t give up on us just because we have made rubbish decisions in the past; no God sticks with us through thick and thin. God wanted you to hear about his Son Jesus and he was persistent with that until you stood up and took notice. Of course you can be stubborn and ignore him. But that does seem a little Pilate like. Personally I think being persistent in seeking Gods will for your life might be the better plan. What do you think?