Crucify him!

These were the words that came from the mouths of the mob when Pilate asked them what they wanted him to do with Jesus.

Why?

He was innocent.
He had not committed any crimes.
What had he done to deserve such a sentence?
He was the Son of God.
Why would they lobby and vote to execute an innocent man.

If I was in that crowd, I would have lobbied for his release. If I was in that crowd I would have gathered a group and picketed for the liberation of this innocent man. Free Jesus!

What delusion! What self-righteousness!

I was in that crowd!

For there is none righteous, no not one
I was born in Adam
I was born a sinner
I was far from God
I was dead in my sins and trespasses
I was a child of wrath
I was an enemy of the State – of heaven

I was in that crowd, yelling

Crucify Him!

I am still in that crowd!

Each time I live below my position in Christ, I yell Crucify Him!
Each time I prefer myself over my brother or sister, I scream Crucify Him!
Each time my agenda takes precedent over his agenda, I vociferate Crucify Him!
Each time I don’t love my wife like Christ loved the church, I bellow Crucify Him!
With each willful thought, and act of my sinful nature, I shriek Crucify Him!

I desire to live these powerful words each day, so that I don’t crucify him all over again:

But, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

In what areas of your life do you desire for Christ to have more control? What part of your sinful nature do you need to crucify today?  What more do you need to do to live by faith in the Son of God?

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I love my leftovers. Chinese, Thanksgiving dinner, Ribs, and Pizza are a few of my favorites. Whereas I love leftovers, I am certain that God doesn’t enjoy them. Yet, there are times when we find ourselves offering our Great King stuff we have already devoured. It is easy for us to cut corners and offer God and others “leftovers,” “just enough” and shoddy service, isn’t it?

I think we get careless and reckless in our worship and service because we begin to question and doubt his love for us, we forget that he is the great King of Universe, and we become too familiar with handling holy things.

Man, I don’t want to be like the priests and people in Malachi (1:6-14), guilty of the evil crime of offering God sacrifices that a human superior would not accept. He is insulted when we just go through the motions, or when our devotion is turned into duty.

I have decided to live in this book for the next several weeks and let Malachi’s words wash over my heart. Join me in asking the following questions of the sacrifices of your body (Romans 12:1-2), your money (Philippians 4:14-18), your praise (Hebrews 13:15), your good works (Hebrews 13:16), and your witnessing to people who are far from God:

1. Am I giving my best?

2. Am I giving to God first?

3. Is my giving to God costing me anything?

I believe God is calling me to a conscientious spirituality – one that thinks about and changes the attitude and motives of my sacrifice and one that thinks about and increases the quality and cost of my sacrifice.

What other areas of sacrifice can you add to the list? When are you most tempted to offer God leftovers? Which of the five areas above do you need to evaluate and offer God a better sacrifice?

Popularity: 7% [?]

In John 13, Jesus showed the full extent of his love for his followers when he took off his outer clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and washed his disciples feet. Today, let’s push ourselves to show the full extent of our love for the people in our orbit or sphere of influence by putting on the towel and serving them in some unique and practical ways. Let’s take off the outer clothes of selfishness, pride and self-consciousness, image management and put on the towel of sacrifice and servanthood, and wash the feet of:

our spouse

our children

our friends

our staff or team

our co-workers

our boss

our neighbors

or, even a perfect stranger

As you take off your clothes and wash feet today, there will be a mysterious cleansing effect in your life and in the lives of the people for whom you sacrifice and serve. Who are some others we can serve? What are some practical and unique ways we can serve them?

Popularity: 28% [?]