The Soul Anchor [Hebrews 6:19] - June 1, 2024
When I was growing up and watching television, we only had three channels to choose from during the presidential conventions. That was the only thing on, so I watched them and was amazed at the end when they let all of the hundreds and hundreds of balloons down from the ceiling because this intrigued me so much I followed presidential elections from the time I was very young. As we are in an election year, I think it is pretty obvious to anyone who’s paying attention that this is a presidential election unlike any in my lifetime. We have a current president running against a former president, which hasn’t happened before in my lifetime. I don’t remember there being a time when both of the major party candidates had such low approval ratings with the general public. And yet in all likelihood either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will be president when all of the votes are counted. Generally, until the last few election cycles, presidential debates were viewed as a great way to evaluate the candidates. Many people, me included, were surprised when President Biden challenged former President Trump to two debates. The prevailing wisdom is that while Biden has been seen having issues with his speaking abilities, Trump debates like a bully and so the encounter will be more of a spectacle than an actual debate and overall, very hard to watch. We can debate what makes for a good debate, but I know that someone that I would never desire to debate is Jesus Christ. In the Scriptures several people tried, and it never turned out well for them. Three such encounters are found in the following passages of Scripture.
Luke 20:1-8 (NIV) One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.
"Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?" He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, John's baptism--was it from heaven, or from men?" They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet." So they answered, "We don't know where it was from." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Mark 12:12-17 (NIV) Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said,
"Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" Caesar's," they replied. Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him.
Because Jesus was God in human form, His intellect and wisdom were and still are unchallenged. However, what makes Jesus so amazing is that not only did He have the intellect and wisdom to debate, He also had compassion for people. In John 8 Jesus has to deal with a group of religious leaders who were talking about stoning a woman who was caught in the act of the adultery. The passage says that they were trying to trap Jesus so that they would have a reason for accusing Him. So, Jesus responded, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. Soon all of the accusers had left.
Jesus straightened up and asked her,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Is there something in your life that you are debating with Jesus about? The best response is simply to surrender. You’re not going to win the debate!
God bless,
Pastor Frank
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