Week Twenty-Two, 2024
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. (Matthew 16:24).
He came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover in the temple. He was from Cyrene, a region in Northern Africa that became a Roman colony and had a sizable population of Jewish people. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. He stopped to see the procession, the procession of Jesus carrying the cross-member of the cross on his way to Golgotha. His name was Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country.
Jesus was lame and could barely walk, especially carrying the cross. He had been lashed thirty-nine times and was already beginning to bleed out. The Roman centurions were afraid he would not make it to his destination, and they would be in trouble if he didn’t get there.
Jesus fell to the ground under the burden of the cross. After their efforts to get Him to continue on His way, the Roman soldiers are in trouble, looking for a solution to the situation. According to Roman law, they could force a traveler to help carry the burden for a mile.
So, they pressed Simon into service. He didn’t come for that, rather he came for the Passover. But he had no choice, as he was forced into service by the law. The text itself appears to say that Simon was forced to carry Jesus’ cross, meaning that he did not willfully want to be associated with this “criminal.” (Mark 15:21)
They found Simon of Cyrene, seized him, and put the cross on his back to take it after Jesus. To hasten Jesus’ execution by crucifixion the soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross, which weighed approximately 88 pounds, a distance of three quarters of a mile from the fortress of Antonia to Calvary.
Simon paid a price. He was forced to do what he did not come to do. He followed behind Jesus and was the recipient of his blood. This made him unclean and therefore unable to enter the temple for the celebration of the Passover.
Since Simon is not otherwise prominently mentioned, for most Bible readers, the story stops there. But there is more. Simon became a believer and strong in the Christian faith. But there is more. His sons, Alexander and Rufus, who are mentioned in the story of the cross, are mentioned again by Paul in Romans. Paul writes: Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine (16:13). He later became Bishop of Thebes, in Greece. All this because Simon was diverted by God from what he came to Jerusalem to do, to what God shows him to do.
God has a way of wrecking your life, so He can bless your life. He has a way of re-directing your life from where you want to go, so He can direct your path to where He wants you to go.
Anybody at any time can be used by God. It’s amazing where God can take you….. places you would never go on your own.
Where is He taking you?
SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Faith Under Siege
Surveys show that approximately two-thirds of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. While most commentators tend to think only of economic issues, I have often suggested that much of this concern is also related to the breakdown of cultural norms and values. Here’s proof.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 80% of Americans believe the influence of religion in America is declining. Nearly half of those surveyed (49%) said religion’s declining influence is bad for the country, and nearly as many (48%) felt there was “some” or a “great deal” of conflict between their religious beliefs and American culture.
Equally troubling is the fact that 41% of Americans felt it was best to “avoid discussing religion at all” whenever they disagreed with someone about religion. This growing impulse to self-censor is a result of the left’s increasing intolerance, and it’s exactly what they want. They want to shut us up and shut down debate.
Let me be clear: I believe this trend is a very disturbing development – especially in a nation founded on religious liberty and which adopted the phrase “In God We Trust” as our national motto.
Some may say, “You can’t legislate morality.” Yes, you can. We do it all the time. All law is someone’s idea of what is right and what is wrong. The question is: Whose ideas are going to prevail?
Our first president, George Washington, was also very clear about his belief in the role of religion in American life and that only a virtuous people can remain free. In fact, Washington felt so strongly that he wrote at length about the importance of religion in his Farewell Address. Washington declared:
“Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. . .
“And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. . . reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
“It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”
Nearly 190 years later, President Ronald Reagan put it more succinctly when he warned, “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
QUOTES YOU CAN USE
A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures. James Faust
It’s a very thin pancake that has only one side. Ken Whitten
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Love is demonstrated by our actions.
No matter what you have or desire, the most valuable is already paid for, purchased with the blood of Christ. Chris Dodson
If you focus on doing God’s work, He will focus on doing yours. Brenden Schlappi
People don’t perish because they didn’t hear the Gospel, they perish because they have sinned and rejected the Lord. The Gospel is the only hope for salvation. Edgar Aponte
No matter how hard any of us might try we can never be right with God unless we do it God’s way. Elbert Nasworthy
We often get upset because we think someone is getting by with evil deeds. But sooner or later, their sins will catch up with them. Dan Shock
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank
Knowing and doing are two completely different things. Brenden Schlappi
God knows that fear is born when we focus on the problem or on the power of the enemy. Dan Shock
We often put ourselves in some pretty miserable positions because we move ahead without seeking God.
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Ephesians 5:15-17
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Jomo Cousins
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