The gospel of Mark chapter 10 verse 32. And as they were on there way going up to Jerusalem. Jesus went ahead before the apostles. And they were amazed. And as they followed him, they were afraid. And now in the gospel of Luke chapter 5. Starting in verse 5. And Simon said to Jesus. Master we have toiled all night long. And have caught no fish. Nevertheless at your word I will put the net out again. And when they had done this they caught as great amount of fish. So many that the net began to break. And they called to their partners which were in another boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats to the point of near sinking. When Simon Peter saw this. He fell down at Jesus knees saying. Depart from me.. for I am a sinful man.

What we know and read in the gospels. Is but a mere snippet of what Christ and his followers went through together in his three years of ministry. And what we know of the apostles is that they said yes to the call of Christ. We read of no debates and the like taking place between them and Jesus. They simply were told to come and they did. As time progressed they both saw and heard more and more of the miraculous while walking with Christ. They really had no reason to fear Christ at all. For they were in fact invited guests. And they were in training as well. Man in his or her cockiness and arrogance. Tends to think for the most part. That there will never be a so called day of reckoning. A giving an account of so to speak. Of what we have done or not done in this life.

However we can plainly see as the apostles continued along the path to Jerusalem with Jesus walking just ahead of them. The reality was setting in. And the question was ringing in all of their minds. Just who is this we have gotten involved with? Dead people were being commanded to live. Blinded and cloudy eyes were opening to see again. Their nets were bursting with fish on the Masters command. Walking on the water Christ comes to them on the sea. He has command of the very forces of nature. And in their humanity and fleshly weakness. I suppose the thought had entered their minds. What if he gets mad at us and turns this power against us?

I guess Peter was thinking in his finite mind. That when Jesus realizes just what kind of man he had been. Prior to his choosing me. I will certainly be a goner. As if Jesus didn’t know already. It was precisely because of who Peter was and was not that he was chosen by Jesus. And the others as well. The Lord takes us as we are. With all of our baggage and misgivings. All of the sins and anger and lies. And then by his grace and mercy he teaches us and coddles us. He picks us up again and again. Holding us by the hand he urges us to keep going. To keep following him on the road to Jerusalem. And in our case on the road to heaven. He knows exactly who he has chosen. And he has chosen each one of us for a particular work and for a particular reason. We are part of the body of Christ. Hands,feet,toenails,hair,eyes,feet etcetera. All of us have a contribution to make. And all of us are blessed by God to take part. It is a natural thing for the finite to be afraid when confronted with the divine. All through out the bible. We read of when angels came to visit humanity. As was the case in the calling of Mary. The first thing the angel said was do not be afraid. I myself have had numerous encounters with the divine. And each time was as spellbinding and scary as the one before. I was left completely dumfounded and amazed. Just as the gospel said the apostles were.

But to fear a visiting angel and to fear the living God are two different things. In one case we don’t know why the angel has come. But in the second case. We do know that we will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ. To give an account for what we have done. And we do know that God has in store for the disobedient a place called hell. Which is reserved for the disobedient and the devil himself. Friend….place yourself at the foot of Christ’s cross. Confess your sins. Tell him that you love him and are sorry. He will welcome you in to his fold. He will clean you up and set you on a straight path. Do not delay. For you and I are not guaranteed tomorrow will ever come again. And then what? Gods mercy and grace is here for the asking right now. And his forgiveness is everlasting…To be continued

In the Old Testament book of Second Samuel we read a story of a man who found himself embroiled in a tangled web of treachery and lies. But this was not just any man. It was King David of Israel. And as you will see..being royalty does not disallow sin raging in our midst. In fact…money being at the root of all evil. And royalty having the maximum at their disposal. The likelihood and propensity for sinning is certainly in their court so to speak.

The story begins with our being told…that the time when kings go to war had come. This was the time in that region where weather conditions were best for standing marching armies to wage war. And war they did. But David’s problem began when he stayed home while his armies went to fight. This would be akin to General Patton staying in some swanky hotel while his army fought in the Rhine Valley.

As David walks out onto the rooftop of his house. He looks out and sees a nude and beautiful woman bathing. Now if he was out fighting as he should have been. This second step would not have occurred. He would not have been there to be on the roof and see her. And so in the very early stages he still could have stepped back inside.But he stood his ground and allowed Satan’s thoughts to begin rooting themselves in his heart.

Now I will not go through the whole story with you. For that would require an hour of preaching. And this is a blog. But the gist of it is this. He has an underling fetch the woman. Who happens to be married to one of his most devoted military men. He sleeps with her and impregnates her. When she tells him she is pregnant he tries to set up her husband by calling him away from the battle and getting him drunk. In an attempt to get him to sleep with her and think he made her pregnant. But he would not and remained faithful to his king and his fellow soldiers.

Keep in mind that at any time David and or you. When we find ourselves getting deeper and deeper into sins clutches. Could come to a place of repentance with God an let the chips fall where they may. But David did not do this. And neither do many of you. So he now has Uriah who was the husband of Bathsheba the woman. Placed directly into the most heated part of the battle. In a position where he is sure he will be killed…And he is killed.

And so from a lustful gaze he is now the culprit in a case of voluntary man slaughter. Sin is always this way. But the scripture says that when the enemy comes in like a flood. The Lord will raise up a standard against him. And that enemy is Satan. But that is generally only the case when we humble ourselves before God confessing our sins. And asking him for help and forgiveness. And so God sends the Prophet Nathan to David who tells him a parable of a man who performed an evil deed against another man. But unknown to David the parable was told about an entirely different scenario which in fact was representative of exactly what he had just done. And when Nathan was through with the tale.

He asked David plainly what he would do with such a man if he knew of him and his dirty deeds. And David said…I would have him killed. And then God and Nathan dropped the bomb. Nathan pointed his finger at King David and said…..You are that man! And so it is with you my dear reader. You are in fact that man or woman in your own life. The sin that started out as seemingly meaningless to you. Now has full possession of you. And the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting at the door of your heart. Waiting for you to call on him in a spirit of repentance…..You are that man!….Aren’t you?….To be continued