Walk With Me #Deararn.

 It had been a long night and an arduous day. Jesus was dragged through town; He endured the torture, pain, and agony of being lied against and condemned for a sin He did not commit. The Saviour of the world was treated like a common criminal by the people who had hailed Him as the King just a while before.

He faced the courts of Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate and having a sentence of death pronounced over Him, the people led Him to the place of the skull and placed Him between two thieves. They were all to die the slow and painful death on the cross.

The thieves were receiving just compensation for their actions, and Jesus paid the ultimate price for man’s redemption. How were the people to know? Jesus just prayed that the Father would not lay their sins to their charge because they were unaware of what they were doing. They were actors in a preordained script.

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach Mark 3:14

For three years plus, Jesus devoted Himself to the disciples. Men who got the seat primarily so they could be with Him. He took time to teach, provide, lead, shield, care, defend, inspire, secure, and give them a sense of purpose. They were illiterate folk who held no real promise until they hobnobbed with Jesus. Nevertheless, they learnt many lessons, tasted the power of the world to come, and handled the keys to the Kingdom.

To leave Jesus alone the second time would

The provision has been made; the veil has been torn, and

Shalom!

In the drama of Jesus' trial and eventual execution, we see a long list of infamous characters no one would want to name their children after.

Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate. We would call them the bad guys of the Jesus drama.

Fueled by vices like greed, ambition, abuse of power, cruelty and wickedness, these folk have etched their names in the annals of history alright but for engineering the death of a perceived foe, an innocent man. Or so it seemed to the naked eye. But remember, every drama production has a director and a producer. They make sure everyone in the set carries out their instructions. So, in essence, the villains or heroes only perform as ordered by their directors, who the viewing public may never get to see.

In the Jesus drama, whilst we see all the characters whose actions ensured Jesus walked the way of the cross and eventually paid the ultimate price for man's sins, the real director of every action is God almighty.

He decided to sacrifice Jesus. It was by His instructions that Jesus came to earth.

What is, has been and will forever be. Put another way, there is nothing new under the sun.

The elders of the council had gotten desperate. They needed to be rid of the man Jesus. He made nonsense of their ideologies, and to make matters worse, the people loved Him. Why won't they? He solved their problem and charged nothing in return. The Sanhedrin never did anything without laying a further burden on the people. They envied the man. He effortlessly got the job done.

Peter was sure of his loyalty to Christ even if others denied Him. It did not take long before he learned it was not about self-will. It was all of grace. The man who boasted about staying true to the Master no matter what confronted them found himself failing at the slightest provocation, even before a servant girl, a grown man swearing before a servant.

Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” Luke 22:34

Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So, they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again, Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. John 18:25-27

Lent is a time of reflection and introspection.

It is a time to self discipline. It is a time to join other believers as we self correct, acknowledge our frailties and ask for divine help. Lent is a commitment to spiritual growth

The day before, He had the Passover meal with his friends and close associates. He told them it was time to fulfil the prophecy, and yes, they came for him. Accusations were levied, and guilty was the verdict. His mother, by then, had become a follower of Christ, the anointed one. The day came, and He had to walk the long road Via Dolorosa, bearing the cross, the emblem of guilt and shame. It was an agonizing time for everyone concerned, but just for a minute, can we situate ourselves in Mary’s shoes? The prophecies she received and carefully kept in her heart were being fulfilled. Although she felt pain and agony, whatever she endured was nothing to compare with her son’s suffering. All for man’s sin.

Religion is a set of ordinances, beliefs, systems, rules, traditions, behavioural attitudes, ethics, and moral codes, organised to ensure strict adherence to its tenets and geared towards the worship of the preference of a "higher" being or force.

It seeks to govern its followers with strict rules, which no compliance commands dire consequences. It also emphasises the role of effort and sacrifice on the part of the devotee.

Religion can be pure and undefiled and holy. It can also be a yoke that binds and controls the behavioural patterns of its adherents.

With a quick scan of the world's systems and peoples, one would discover a plethora of different religions and their tenets of worship.

The object of worship can range from inanimate objects to animate ones like trees, stones, humans, ancestors, or intangibles like seasons, et al.

It has been said that Christianity is not a religion but a way of life because its rules of engagement are at variance with that of every other religion. The Christian faith has, at its core, the finished work of Christ at the cross of Calvary. It emphasises a relationship based on trust and total dependence on what has been done, unlike every other religion, whose main thrust is in the "doing", recognising the effort and rituals on the part of the worshipper. It insists that to be accepted or qualified for anything, the worshipper must be willing to adhere to laid down rules. It is why most religions emphasise repetition as the once and for all sacrifice of the Christian belief is too easy. In other words, the more arduous or demanding the efforts are, the more efficacious they are believed to be.

Do you sometimes wonder how destiny makes his house calls? Have you ever imagined if you were on Fortune's list, and if not, what would you need to be?

Let us meet Simon of Cyrene. He was one of those we would term "waka pass" (one who makes a cameo appearance) characters in a role play. He got a one-liner mention in the History of Life, the Bible, and God's Manual for anyone interested in a place in the kingdom of God. The account is reported in three of the four gospels; his feature is easy to skim past unless you are probing.

What qualified him for the role? We do not know for sure, but we can learn a few things from the accounts recorded for us.

How have the events of the suffering, death,

The martyrs of old felt it was an honour to suffer for