Mark 15 - Thought Provoking

Our church has been challenged to read through the New Testament (and Psalms and Proverbs) together this year. Our Lead Pastor came up with a reading plan for us to follow and I'm trying to make sure I read each day. I believe there is power in doing this together as a church and so far God is really opening my eyes as I read. I'm experiencing the Bible in a way I haven't before and I'm thankful God is honoring my reading in this way.

If you go to Forefront and you're not yet reading the Bible with us, I encourage you to join in on the reading. I think our church has the potential to really honor God and do some cool things this year the more people join in on this. In the brief 15 days I've been doing this (and yeah, I've missed a few days already) my life has gotten better. That's not some cheesy testimony. It is the truth for me. And it can be your truth too.

Recently I got all three kids on the same nap schedule. WOOHOO. Quiet time alone in the middle of the day energizes me since I'm an introvert. The do-er in me wants to be knocking out housework during this time, but I've been reading the daily reading instead. I just finished reading up Mark 15. (Okay, I just read through this and saw the typo. I was going to fix it, but "reading up" is kind of like "eating up" and I really feel like I am eating up what I'm reading in a way.)

In verses 1-15 it talks about Jesus being handed over to Pilate and how Pilate hands Him over to be crucified. Basically, Pilate knows they don't have a case against Jesus, but in order to satisfy the crowd and keep the peace, he hands Him over. I've read this plenty of times before. And I always looked at it from the perspective of Pilate. Today as I read, the thought came to me, "How many times have I crucified Jesus to satisfy the crowd?" I can promise you that thought wasn't from me. I don't come up with stuff like that. I believe God put that thought in my head.

The truth is I have handed Jesus over to be crucified. Rather than stand behind what I know to be true about Him, I try to satisfy my crowd and say nothing. I know, I know. In this world it is important to be politically correct. We wouldn't want to offend anyone, now would we? But am I willing to offend MY SAVIOR instead? That is hard to choke down, but it is the truth for me. I pray that from this day forward I behave less like Pilate and more like a follower of Christ. Cause really, who wants to be like Pilate?

Amen.