‘Jesus said … “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”– Matthew 8:22
When the Lord moved from Nazareth to begin His public ministry, He chose as His base,
the town Capernaum, situated on the north-west coast of Lake Galilee. This choice
made Capernaum a highly privileged town, in fact, to use the Lord’s own words, it
had been ‘exalted to heaven,’ – Matt 11:23. Sadly, He would later reproach, in the
strongest of terms, the very same town, for their lack of faith – ‘for if the mighty
works which were done in you [Capernaum] had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day.’ One might be tempted to assume from these words, that faith was
not to be found at all in Capernaum. This assumption would be wrong, for it’s in
Capernaum, that He, in wonderment, praises a certain man for his faith. That man
was Gentile, a centurion from the occupying army! – “I have not found such great
faith, not even in Israel!”
“Flee also youthful lusts” - 2 Timothy 2:22
In February, 2011, the BBC reported on a grim discovery in Gough's Cave, near Cheddar in Somerset, U.K. Three human skulls were discovered, but the precise way they had been ‘cut and cleaned’ indicated a dark side to the cave dwellers. The three skulls had been used as drinking vessels! The ‘dark side’ of mankind was seen in connection with another skull. Jesus was crucified unlawfully at Golgotha, a Hebrew word that means ‘Place of a Skull’. The profound wickedness of the human heart was exposed in all of its ugliness when ‘wicked hands’ took the Son of God and had Him ‘crucified and slain’. “[whom] none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
‘He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull’ - John 19:17
Israel, having been delivered in a mighty and miraculous way from the oppression of Pharaoh, was being lead by Jehovah to the Promised Land. Not far into the journey they encountered opposition from the warring tribe of Amalakites. While the battle raged below, Moses, on a nearby hill top, raised his hands to the heavens. This is a lovely picture of prayer. The constant effort of lifting up his hands was not easy and soon he was overcome with fatigue. It was then that “Amalek prevailed”. Aaron and Hur, aware of the problem “supported his hands ... until the going down of the sun ... and broke the power of Amalek.” The lesson is obvious! Prevailing by Prayer. “Yet you do not have because you do not ask” – James 4:2
‘when Moses held up his hand ... Israel prevailed’ - Exodus 17:11
The world stood to salute the bravery of the team of Tokyo fire-fighters who were
sent in to the quake-damaged nuclear power plant at Fukushima in north east Japan,
March 2011. The risk of exposure to high levels of radiation is real and life-threatening.
There is the great danger of ‘meltdown’ in the fuel core of the reactor. The Bible
speaks of a future universal meltdown – ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up.’ This knowledge should drive us to repentance and godly living!
‘Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
you to be in holy conduct and godliness’
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own
eyes” – Judges 21:25
The verse before us today is one which closes the Old Testament book of Judges. It
is a sad but telling statement! Everyone became his own authority and acted on his
own opinion. They each decided what was right and what was wrong, but the problem
was, one person’s right was another person’s wrong. Just imagine driving for a week
without having any regard for the Highway Code. Some stop at the red traffic light,
but some don’t. The outcome is anarchy on the roads and fatalities occur. We need
a code to live by. Jesus said, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock”.
