This is the last of four short stories i am posting about people who encountered Jesus during the months leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. You will find each of these individuals in the Gospel accounts, however i have added fictional elements to each of their stories so that we might see each one … as they journeyed through their lives leading up to their encounter … and as they continued their journey in the days that followed.

This is the third of four short stories i am posting about people who encountered Jesus during the months leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. You will find each of these individuals in the Gospel accounts, however i have added fictional elements to each of their stories so that we might see each one … as they journeyed through their lives leading up to their encounter … and as they continued their journey in the days that followed.

This is the second of four short stories i am posting about people who encountered Jesus during the months leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. You will find each of these individuals in the Gospel accounts, however i have added fictional elements to each of their stories so that we might see each one … as they journeyed through their lives leading up to their encounter … and as they continued their journey in the days that followed.

This is the first of four short stories i am posting about people who encountered Jesus during the months leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. You will find each of these individuals in the Gospel accounts, however i have added fictional elements to their stories so that we might see each one … as they journeyed through their lives leading up to their encounter … and as they continued their journey in the days that followed. 

Have you ever done something that you knew you weren’t supposed to do? But you rationalized it was okay because no one was ever going to know what you had done. And then you took great effort to cover up what you had done just to make sure that no one would ever know. The answer to that question for all of us is “yes”. How do i know? Because we are all sinners … and we all have the proclivity to sin. Allow me to introduce a fellow sinner by the name of Achan who thought he could bury his sin deep enough.

Rather than choosing to honestly seek Jesus and receive His truth, many in the first century opted to harden their hearts and vilify Him. But there is one man who stands out to me from their midst. He wasn’t the only one … but his story in particular has made a great impression on me. In a day when most religious leaders were known for their efforts to discredit the ministry of Jesus, there came one who earnestly sought Him. In a day when most religious leaders mocked Jesus as He hung on a cross, there came one who meekly chose to help bury His body. And in a day when most religious leaders felt threatened by Jesus, there came one who courageously chose to take a stand for Him.

Unholy ambition is easy to spot in others. It can manifest itself in a lot of ways. The whole world is currently watching as one man’s unholy ambition has led him to direct his armed forces to invade the territory and lives of another sovereign nation. The resulting destruction is a reminder to all of us of just how evil our world can be, left to its own desires.

Some interruptions in our lives are simply unplanned delays. Like i said in last week’s episode, God can use His divine delays in our journey to bring us into alignment with His perfect timing. He slows us down in order to accomplish His perfect plan in the midst of our journey. But some interruptions are far more than a delay. They are moments, events and/or circumstances He uses in our lives to completely redirect us to a course that looks very different from the one we’ve been on.

Most of us, if not all of us, have experienced a delay in a journey. Most certainly, we have all experienced a simple travel delay caused by circumstances outside of our control. But the type of delay i’m referring to is related to our life journey. We set out on a path that we believed God had set our feet upon only to encounter an unexpected delay that either went on – or is still going on – for what seems like an eternity. If you find yourself being delayed even now, i encourage you to take a reminder from this delay in the apostle Paul’s life journey.

Sometimes we can be doing things the wrong way for so long that we no longer see anything wrong with what we are doing. In some ways, our errant practices become the norm – and sometimes, they become our new traditions. That can be true in places of worship – as well as in our own lives. Such was the case in first century Jerusalem. The temple was to be a place of worship and prayer. And yet it had become a place of commerce. Therein lies the big deal!