Brewster Friends Church

Pontius Pilate washed his hands to try and avoid accepting responsibility for Jesus' death. In spite of all he believed about Jesus and in spite of being the only one who had the power to crucify Jesus, Pilate caved into the crowds and his past and the threats and the pressures and he allowed Jesus to be handed over to death. And what we see is that it was not Jesus' guilt that led to his death, but it was Pilate's fear that led to Jesus being crucified. Fear pushes us to do things which we should not, to bend to the pressures of the world, and distorts our undertstanding of reality. So how to wash our hands of fear in these days that are so full of reasons to be afraid?

Caiaphas and the other religous leaders surrounding Jesus' arrest, trial, and cricifixion epitomize the saying "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". They turned a blind eye to the unjust trial, refused to listen to the truth Jesus spoke, and did not speak up to defend him when given the opportunity. Why? Because Jesus threatened the control and power they wanted in their lives. Have you turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to God because truly beleiving in Him threatens what you want in your life?

Wrong expectations, difficult circumstances, doubts, fears, and the struggles of life often blind us to the presence of God in our lives. Cleopas was a man how knew Jesus well but literally missed him walking right in his presences because life's difficult ciurcumstance blinded him to Jesus' presence. What is keeping you from seeing Jesus in your life? What will open your eyes to His presence in whatever you are going through?

When we get overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, stressed, or just have had too much in life, we often turn to God. But we often do so with the wrong attitude - gritting our teeth in anger, shouting out the why mes our frustration often leads to. But this is not the kind of heart attitude with which we should approach prayer. Instead, we look at Daniel as an example of the right kind of attitude with which to approach prayer. In Dnaiel 9, we find one of the longest recorded prayers in the Bible and glean from it many important lessons on how we should approach God in our times of need.

Whenever we think of the book of Daniel, we tend to think first of these amazing stories of God's feats of strength in a fiery furnace and a lion's den. These stories do indeed display God's power and strength, but they also show the strength that comes from fiath, trust, courage, and obedience in His people. We are challenged by these passages to displays our own feats of strength in our faith and with how to see God display this kinf of strength and power in our own lives.

Pride is a sin we all suffer from but rarely are able to see in ourselves. Nebuchadnezzar was even told of his pride but still didn't see it and change. As he stood pridefully on his rooftop looking at his accomplishments, God humbled him to remind him who was writing this story. Daniel provides the opposite example and shows us who we should be in a humble relationship to God. Are you on that rooftop, full of whatever pride you struggle with, or on the ground looking up a the One who deserves the glory?

We face the pressure to change from the world around us. They are constant and relenting. But we must choose to make a stand and maintain our character in the face of difficult choices. Daniel faced the pressure to change and he becomes an example for us of what it means to have integrity. We learn from him in this passage the importance of making that right choice when it would be so easy and convenient to make the wrong one and the blessings that come to us from choosing to live life the Lord's way.

Philemon is a simple letter that is a request from Paul of his friend and brother Philemon to forgive. This passage reminds us of the people in our lives that we do not want to receive with open arms, it reminds of us of the problems we have run away from, and it reminds us of the lives we have the opportunity to impact. But it all starts with us being willing to forgive and receive people with open arms instead of anger and clenched fists.

We often try to convince ourselves that lying and untruth are wrong but that they are not that big of a deal. This story from Acts 5 highlights how serious of an issue they are to God and reminds us of the consequences the ugliness of lies brings in our lives and relationships.