Christian Social Witness has increasingly become about SOCIAL MEDIA platforms & sharing live preaching & local Bible studies virtually. Stories in this category address 21st c. Christian issues of communication. Here’s where I need your help:
Would you email Roger@talkofJesus.com and tell us how, when & especially where you TALK to others online? Thanks for your COMMENTS & ideas. – Roger
Matthew 5:12a ESV Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
NOTE: The following devotional is transcribed from THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN, Sept. 26, Morning, by Max Lucado (a favorite, encouraging Christian author).
In the sermon on the mount, … what Jesus promises is not a gimmick to give you goose bumps nor a mental attitude that has to be pumped up at pep rallies. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart.
Observe the sequence.
First, we recognize we are in need (we’re poor in spirit).
Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency (we mourn).
We quit calling the shots and surrender control to God (we’re meek).
So grateful are we for his presence that we yearn for more of him (we hunger & thirst).
As we grow closer to him, we become more like him. We forgive others. (we’re merciful).
We change our outlook (we’re pure in heart).
We love others (we’re peacemakers).
We endure injustice (we’re persecuted).
It’s no casual shift of attitude. It is a demolition of the old structure and a creation of the new. The more radical the change, the greater the joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of God.
[As I stated, this timely devotional was written by Max Ludaco.]
Do not be discouraged, beloved believer, if you have just come to Christ or have reached only an early step in your growth in the Lord. We are a “CHRISTIAN UNDER RE-CONSTRUCTION.”
What does does a scene of Jesus enduring excruciating when being NAILED to a CROSS have to do with us?
At the urging of a beloved brother in Christ I will once again witness the ANSWER to my opening question in this UPDATED post ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY from A.D. 2014.
What happened April 18, Good Friday, 2014?
As for Good Friday ~30 years ago (a guess in recalling that eventful year):
I could NOT find any more significant event than this..
Born again in the Holy Spirit!
I am witness that God filled me with His Holy Spirit of new Life in Christ Jesus twenty years ago on Good Friday.
Roger@talkofJesus.com
The convicting evidence of my sin and Christ’s Sacrifice was given to me by the Holy Spirit as I prayerfully walked through the Stations of the Cross, when “Jesus is nailed to the Cross.”
NOTE: YouTube labels the LINK ABOVE (same link below)
Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines)
I recommend it for any TEEN and adult who wants to see a 'Passion of The Christ' violent representation of NAILING JESUS TO THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS!
WE deserve what you see Christ enduring.
Christ’s suffering for my sins was excruciating!
Our conviction for HIS trial in darkness and swift execution of injustice ought to point toward the darkness of our own souls as we consider the Sacrifice of this innocent Son of Man on a Cross for us.
The Trial of Jesus
IF you dare to look into the shadows of the dark mirror of your mortal soul consider the accounts of the trial, torture and excruciating death of Jesus Christ!
Mark 14: … Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders…
And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!”
And the guards received him with blows.
ALL this took place during the darkness of night.
However because of Rome, their captive government and Herod their King did not have the authority to execute a man… no death sentence.
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.
Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
And he answered him, “You have said so.”
… But the chief priests stirred up the crowd…
And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”
And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”
Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”
But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”
(Is that not what the crowds of these last days shout at mention of the Name of Jesus Christ?)
So Pilate (politician & diplomat), wishing to satisfy the crowd…
Understand the excruciating pain JESUS our Lord and Sacrifice suffered for our sins. From the Vine's Expository DictionaryPICTURE IT (even if you couldn't watch the video)
Scourge (Noun and Verb):
(akin to A: Latin, flagello; Eng., “flagellate”), is the word used in Mat 27:26; Mar 15:15, of the “scourging” endured by Christ and administered by the order of Pilate. Under the Roman method of “scourging,” the person was stripped and tied in a bending posture to a pillar, or stretched on a frame. The “scourge” was made of leather thongs, weighted with sharp pieces of bone or lead, which tore the flesh of both the back and the breast (cp. Psa 22:17). Eusebius (Chron.) records his having witnessed the suffering of martyrs who died under this treatment. Note: In Jhn 19:1 the “scourging” of Christ is described by Verb No. 2, as also in His prophecy of His sufferings, Mat 20:19; Mar 10:34; Luk 18:33. In Act 22:25 the similar punishment about to be administered to Paul is described by Verb No. 3 (the “scourging” of Roman citizens was prohibited by the Porcian law of 197, B.C.).
.. he [Pilate] delivered him [the unjustly scourged Jesus] to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion.
17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him.
Then they led him out to crucify him.
Truly, don’t you sometimes think that this is what you deserve for some of your sins?
Shouldn’t a Holy God punish ALL true sin?
How will we escape the wrath of God for so many sins of our past?
So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read,
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
XI Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Any Christian familiar with the stations of the Cross will recognize this moment commemorated.
It was the moment on a Good Friday about 30 years ago I was born again in the Spirit!
At the conclusion of my updated GOOD FRIDAY post in the year of our Lord 2023 on TalkofJESUS.com I will include a text for you to prayerfully READ as if you walked through all of the excruciating agony Jesus suffered prior to being NAILED to the CROSS.
Roger@talkofJesus.com
Jesus stands in the most human of places. He has already experienced profound solidarity with so many on this earth, by being beaten and tortured. Now he is wrongfully condemned to punishment by death. His commitment to entering our lives completely begins its final steps. He has said “yes” to God and placed his life in God’s hands. We follow him in this final surrender, and contemplate with reverence each place along the way, as he is broken and given for us…
A SURPRISING NEW STUDY SHOWS CHRISTIANS ARE HAVING PREMARITAL SEX AND ABORTIONS
AS MUCH (OR MORE) THAN NON-CHRISTIANS.
Eighty percent of young, unmarried Christians have had sex.
Two-thirds have been sexually active in the last year. Even though, according to a recent Gallup poll, 76 percent of evangelicals believe sex outside of marriage is morally wrong. source
.
“What used to be happening in high school is now happening in eighth grade,” DiMarco said.
Even Christian teens are not immune to the rampant sexual temptations bombarding their generation.
“I found no difference between Christian girls and non-Christian girls,” DiMarco said. “No difference, except that they talked a good show and acted really nice in front of me.”
When she probed deeper she found that Christian teens were engaging in the same sexual behaviors as their non-Christian friends. source
The problem that she has found with abstinence pledges is that teens have misconceptions about what it means to be a virgin. “Teen girls don’t understand what virginity is,” DiMarco says, “so everything except intercourse is considered okay even by Christian girls.”
“…parents do not fully understand how commonplace these sexual behaviors have become in their children’s generation.
The teens have been desensitized by the sexual messages on television, in movies, in magazines, and from their friends. But parents would never imagine that these things are taking place.
Quick facts regarding STDs and adolescent pregnancy
Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STDs occur each year.
Forty-eight percent of new STD cases in 2000 were among 15- to 24-year-olds.
There are currently more than 25 types of STDs; some are curable, others are not.
In 2000, approximately 822,000 pregnancies occurred among 15- to 19-year-olds.
Seven out of ten adolescent mothers drop out of high school.
Quick ideas about setting boundaries
Children and teens need boundaries for their safety. Children should understand the consequences of breaking family rules and boundaries. Consequences should fit the severity of the rule. The following are a few boundaries to discuss with your teen:
Curfew
Transporting other teens: who or how many people ride in one car together
Drinking alcohol or using drugs
Drinking alcohol or using drugs and driving
Lying to parents or adults in authority
Allowing opposite-sex company in bedrooms
Having friends over while parents are absent
Age at which dating can begin
Dating vs. courting: discuss family values and guidelines
Many fine organizations provide help, books, materials, counseling, prayer and the love of Christ in getting parents through TRYING to raise godly Christian children. It is NOT an easy job, but the Lord calls on Christian parents to take responsibility for the children we raise – that INCLUDES our teens.
.
Start early. As you can see by the startling statistics, you had better think about SEX in your children’s lives BEFORE they do.
IF you didn’t start early, it’s still NOT too late.
Don’t give up.
Your son (yes, don’t forget them, even though they don’t get pregnant) or your daughter will bless you for your Biblical guidance in later life when they discover how much damage the sex life of theirs or their friends has caused.
–
One of the fine organizations I can recommend for marriage or various family challenges is Family Life Today.
In light of our reformatted definition of dating, we have the following very general age guidelines for spending time with a friend of the opposite sex (these are for our children still living at home).
Doing things together with an approved mixed group of teens away from our home: We have allowed this to begin sometime after age 15.
Double dates or group dates: Usually at age 17, maybe earlier.
Single dates: These are generally discouraged but allowed in certain circumstances.
11 There are those [There is a generation] who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
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