Transformed Mind

  Valentines Day & Ash Wednesday (Feb 14), an interesting combo of holydays this year. Valentines Day of course we think of love and romance, a time to express emotions, hand out little cards, boxes of chocolates, and for some reason a fat baby with wings and a bow and arrow. Love in scripture goes deeper than some of the superficiality we get on the commercialized day of Valentine, for it proclaims, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a time of self denial, fasting, prayer, and the giving of oneself to contemplate God’s ultimate act of love that culminates on Good Friday. It’s a time to think of our own mortality. During the imposition of ashes whereby a person makes the sign of the cross on the recipients forehead you may hear the words, “All are from dust, and to dust all return.” It’s a sobering thought. And working in a hospital I really think about this quite a bit, deat...

As we wrap this character study up, let’s look at one more piece of this puzzle called Pilate. This ruler, this man of authority not only denied Jesus, truth incarnate, but he denied himself and others who had wise counsel. In other words, Pilate failed on multiple levels. In many cases, we do not have to ‘go it alone’ as they say, but instead have the opportunity to seek advice from others and weigh the options given to us. External Sources of Wisdom             First, let’s look at the external sources that Pilate neglected to listen to. Most obvious of all the external sources was the one whom he was charged with finding truth, Jesus. Pilate believed Jesus to be innocent based on his findings and was intrigued by him as a person, but counsel is only of use when it is seen through to the end. Wisdom requires action, it requires follow through and commitment. Pilate received the knowledge that Jesus imparted, but was incapabl...

We know that truth is a powerful word, a powerful absolute that can be known in everyday life and as discussed last week in the person of Jesus. Now that we have this truth though, what is done with it is just as important as knowing it. Pilate knew the truth, that is, that Jesus was innocent and simply being brought to the so-called trial because of a frightened Jewish political group.   However, Pilate did not do what a judge today would do when confronted with the facts; rather, he caved to the pressures of the mob and masses and gave them Jesus on the cross. So, the question I pose is this, what will you do with the truth you are given? Or in other words, whom do you serve? Selfishness and Authority              As we know from the passion narratives, Pilate shirked his responsibility as a ruler and sentenced an innocent man, the Messiah no less, to death. Obviously there was something wrong with Pilate, for he had all...

Everyday we are faced with decisions that need attention. What should I wear? Who should I invest my time into? Do I cut corners on this project to get it done faster? Am I ready to be a father or mother? Some are important, others not as much. The point is we are conscious beings that must make decisions based on what we know to best suit our needs. Or wait; can we make decisions that may not suit our needs, but instead serve a bigger purpose? Do we always look out for number one? Pontius Pilate, whether for bad or good made a decision that defined his time as Roman prefect or Governor of Judea. His decision, with heartache and intensity, changed humanity for eternity.   Who was this man though, mentioned in all four gospels? We know that he ruled between 26-36 AD during the time in which John the Baptizer was working and preparing for the coming Messiah and that he was the one responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. Beyond that there is not a lot of information about him. Truth:...

We are now in the Lenten season, which commemorates Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness before the start of his ministry. It is a time of reflection and repentance, leading us up to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. On dwelling upon this season, I thought, “What does this ritual fast really mean to me?” I see and hear of people giving up certain foods, TV; my wife gave up Facebook and deleted Candy Crush from her phone, but is this just a show, a check-the-box type exercise that Christians are just suppose to do? On Ash Wednesday a few weeks ago now, I received ashes on my forehead that visibly marked me as a Christian to everyone that saw me. But then I thought, “What about the rest of the year? How do people know I belong to Jesus?” This brings me to an important clarification, that of Cultural Christians and of Born-Again Christians. The former are those that are Christian in name only. They identify themselves as such because that was the religion they are born into and ra...