TimeTo Eat and Be Betrayed

This edition of Uncommon Commentaries, has the Bible Story Teller asking you to think back to by-gone days. Did you have to be called for supper when you were a kid? Did mom or dad call you to put down what you’re doing and come and eat? Were you so engrossed in what you were doing that supper time snuck up on you? Playing too hard, knee deep in school homework, at a friend’s house too long, grooving to the music or riding that bike too long and too far? Ever notice that adults never have to be reminded to come to supper? They watch the clock and anxiously wait for supper to hit the table! Eating is a powerful habit to break. Our stomachs often remind us when mealtime is approaching with a slight grumbling or that special smell of something cooking. It’s the intestinal track reminding you that there’s plenty of room in case there’s meat and potatoes coming to visit!

When you’re young, you eat with friends and family. When you’re older, you almost always eat with family, friends, and those you’re acquainted with. You will find yourself at the supper table where there are some you know and some you might not know. Jesus had twelve close disciples that he traveled with and knew intimately. They ate together almost every day. At Passover, there was special attention paid to the food prepared and who would eat at the table.

The last Passover Jesus spent with his disciples was the very evening he would be betrayed and turned over to the Romans and judged by the governor. At the last supper table that evening, Jesus said something very disturbing and quite unexpected. He said that one of the twelve disciples seated together at the table would “betray” him! Everyone but two were surprised. Even more surprising was the response from the disciples.

“They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?’” Mark 14:19

Judas wasn’t alone. We may also forget that while Judas betrayed Jesus, all the disciples abandoned him. With the other disciples, Judas shared a persistent misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission. They all expected Jesus to make the right political moves. And when he kept talking about dying, they all felt varying degrees of anger, fear, and disappointment. They didn’t understand why they had been chosen if Jesus’ mission was doomed to fail. No one knows the exact motivation behind Jesus’ betrayal. What is clear is that Judas allowed his desires to place him in a position where Satan could manipulate him. Judas didn’t like the way his plan was working out, but, it was too late, the wheels of God’s sovereign plan had been set into motion. How sad that Judas ended his life in despair without ever experiencing the gift of reconciliation God could give even to him through Jesus Christ. Judas made his own choices. Fact is, God knew what that choice would be and confirmed it. Judas didn’t lose his relationship with Jesus, rather, he never found Jesus in the first place. He was called “doomed to destruction” (John 17:12) because he was never saved. Judas doesn't do us any favors when he makes us think we can choose despair and death when we can choose repentance, forgiveness, hope, and eternal life. Judas’ betrayal sent Jesus to the cross to guarantee that second choice, our only choice.

It never fails; those that are closest to us always do the vile betraying!

There's a Pill for That

Healthcare reform cannot fix what ills us if truth be told. Fever, sore throat, coughing, Determined that you can tough it out, you self-diagnose and self-prescribe. Plenty of bed rest, lots of fluids, eat light, watch old movies, and wait it out. When “it” won’t go away, you drag yourself to work anyway hoping no one will notice. After several friends encourage you to stay home until you’re better and a few veiled threats to keep away from the healthier tribe, you resign to see a doctor. You fill out all the paperwork. You crawl to a seat in the waiting room. You pick up one of those magazines that have had every disease imaginable on it and thumb through it often putting your hands up to your mouth and face. Who knows what you’ve added now. You say a little prayer that you won’t die before your name is called. Finally, you’re in. The nurse takes your blood pressure and temperature and weighs you while you cough and sneeze through a forty question interrogation. The doctor arrives, looks over your chart plays twenty more questions and mumbles. You strain to understand. Finally, like the white dove of peace, it lands gently in your sweaty palms.

The Holy Grail—A Doctor’s Prescription!

You make your way to the nearest pharmacy or drugstore. You cautiously approach the “idol” of the pharmaceutical gods. With your insurance card in one hand and cash in the other, you pay homage to the great flu slayer including paying through the nose. Praying it’s just the flu! After a few days you turn the corner, and in a week you’re feeling great and back on the road to perdition. Yeah, there’s a pill for that. It’s a combination drug, one that mixes ignorance with indifference with the usual results.

If you’ve got good health, why do you need God? Life is rich and full, and you’re doing what you want to do. Why stir the pot and add religion? You can always get religion on your deathbed right? You got plenty of time—right? Let’s get dead serious for a moment; you don’t really know when death will come calling do you? Jesus told his disciples, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” Acts 1:7 The disciples were earnest in asking about what their Master had directed or encouraged them to seek. Jesus knew that his ascension and the teaching of the Holy Spirit would soon end these expectations, and therefore give them rebuke. Jesus had given his disciples instructions for the discharge of their duty, both before his death and since his resurrection, and this knowledge is enough for any Christian. And there was no magical pill that could have done that! Do you think being unprepared is a good plan? God offers salvation to all people, but many put off a decision for Christ—thinking that there will always be a better time. What if you miss your opportunity? There is no time like the present to receive God’s forgiveness, love, mercy and grace!

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Believe me there’s NO pill for that!

Incognito or Unannounced Eavesdropper

Wal-Mart is still probably one of the the world’s largest corporations. It wasn’t always so. The founder and driving force was a man from Bentonville, Arkansas named Mr. Sam Walton. To make a long story short, he found a way to build a better mousetrap. The ways and means of running a small business grew and grew into what is now a multibillion dollar enterprise that has worldwide supplies and the most modern methods of tracking sales, inventory, and customer preferences. Mr. Walton hired only the best talent and he expected results. He was famous for personally inspecting his stores and looking for ways to be better and more competitive.

Among the Wal-Mart crowd, Mr. Sam Walton was instantly recognizable. While inspecting a store one day, he questioned why the store manager had priced milk at a certain price. The response was that the price reflected good value and the customers were going to buy milk anyway. Mr. Walton decided to go next door to a competitor and see what they were selling milk for. When told that he would be recognized, Mr. Walton informed them that he intended to go investigate “incognito”. He was going in disguise! What Mr. Watson did next was rather surprising, he put on a baseball cap and in so doing he blended in with everybody else. After looking at the competition, he returned and decided the store manager should price his milk one cent lower that the competitor and keep it that way for at least a year! He did and business grew even bigger!

Telekinesis Lurks Within

All expectant mothers have something unusual in common. Backaches? Morning sickness? A constantly changing appetite? Mild discomfort? Nope, nope, nope and nope. They have something in common that most are not even aware of, and may never be aware of! Whether the baby is a boy or girl, twins or octuplets; mom has an unspoken telekinetic link with the Creator of the universe!

That premise sounds rather fantastic and somewhat whimsical. How did we discover this phenomenon existed and where exactly do we go to find the empirical evidence to substantiate this exotic claim? Was the research done at MIT or Cal Tech? Did anyone win the Nobel Prize for its discovery? Can this telekinetic link be measured, quantified and reproduced in a laboratory? I’m sure you have a thousand other questions regarding this aberration. Would it surprise you to learn that the evidence for this claim is found in the Bible? This was not a discovery made by man but a revelation made by God! There are historical records to show that this telekinetic link has in the past been measured, quantified at certain times and reproduced outside of the laboratory, without the meddling of human hands.

Your Appointed Time

Today’s edition of Uncommon Commentaries has The Bible Story Teller looking back in time to learn a contemporary lesson. Did you hear about Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Henry Houdini, John Wayne, and the others? Adolph, Benito, Tojo and the rest? They were all giants in their day, some benefited mankind, and some were a cancer on mankind. But did you hear about what happened to them? They all kept their rendezvous with destiny; some walked, some were pulled.

A rendezvous with destiny? We’re talking about your appointment; the one made before you were born. We all have one. The fortunate, or unfortunate, part is that we don’t know the exact time our appointment is scheduled.

An Epic Un-scheduled Eruption?

   

 

Do you see a man who speaks in haste? Proverbs 29:20

We can’t always speak our mind and spew forth our thoughts to the world. Oh, we can technically; but there are always unintended consequences. There is an example of a man in the Bible who spoke in haste and caused horrific pain and suffering to both himself and others. He felt the need to speak his mind and now it’s recorded for future generations to learn from.

“And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:30