Before we get into the pew I would like to share a little bit of information with you. Sometimes Bible study and reading the Bible and understanding what we read is difficult for many of us, we don’t have theological trainings and many of us like me for instance, there’s no letters behind my name. I considered it a privilege to be able to do the footwork you might say for you folks going and finding information to help us better understand what the written word says, and I appreciate all the different websites and places that I visit that shares their knowledge with us. I do try to be very careful about the sources that I seek out and share with you each week. I have a new one this week that I would like to share with you. I’m going to give you the web address of it as follows. The website all in lower case www.easyenglish.bible . As I always do, I want to make you’e aware of the fact that I am relying heavily on the information that I have gotten from this particular website. The title of the article that I am gleaning information from today is The Teacher searches for the purpose of our lives. It was written by Hilda Bright and Kathy Pride.

A couple years ago, the pew did take a closer look at Ecclesiastes and I don’t remember the exact date, but I do remember that we did dive into it a bit to study and it is a fascinating book. I also published under the name of the pew A Blog called the back porch. I got a letter from a reader of the Back Porch last week, and I’d like to share part of that letter with you. He used the phrase “chasing the past”… the context being that we are always running to the doctor for every hurt or new episode of health matters Chasing the Past, looking for that feel good time yet every day we live is just one less we have to live. 

I think most of us are familiar with the saying and it’s put in many different ways that in actuality, we begin the process of dying as soon as we take our first breath. I don’t know about you, but I believe that I serve a God that believes in life a God of life a God that wants us to have a good and prosperous life. Everything in this life has a trade-off and I think we all realize that we only get out of something what we put into it. God has given us the tools to have a good life the problem being that many times we do not know nor do we use that which the Holy Spirit would lead us to do. Now I do not know why or how I was lead in this direction, but I immediately began to look back on that book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon  is given credit for having written the book of Ecclesiastes, the word meaning someone who gathers a group of people together,  like a teacher. Like many of the books that we encounter if we do our Bible study, there’s always some kind of confusion or dispute over who wrote it but in this case it’s most likely either Solomon himself, although Solomon’s name itself is not mentioned in the book it is obvious that the writer, whoever it may have been if not Solomon was simply teaching lessons from Solomon’s life. Actually, I suppose if you had a chip on her shoulder for any reason  this is probably a pretty good book for you to read. There are things in the message that we read here from this author that talks about the many things in this world that are not fair. Talks about people who are cruel to other people yet they suffer no punishment. It talks about people who work hard, but do not benefit from their efforts and good people suffer, but bad people receive rewards. Somehow or another my mind goes back to that letter that I received a few days ago sooner or later all of us will die.The Teacher, makes it very clear that good people and bad people they die, wise people and foolish people also will die. Sometimes one of the facts that we often forget, and passover is just simply that there will be a judgment each one of us will stand in judgment as an individual before the throne of God. The article that I am reading from and passing this information onto you the authors Hilda Bright and Kathy Pride state that it’s a very well possible that people have two main ideas about  the  writers attitude. The author’s attitude is either complete despair or hope maybe both hope and despair, their option is that the second idea is right. I tend to go along with that line of thought. One of the major study series I own is The New Interpreter’s Bible and the Book of Ecclesiastes is in the Wisdom Books section of the Bible. All of this may seem a bit disjointed in and I apologize for that. But I just couldn’t help but get that letter off my mind and go back and remember some of the things in the book of Ecclesiastes. This particular book encourages us to live wisely, and the only way we can truly live wisely is to have an active relationship with God. I suppose the best thing to do would be to close this in a manner reminding everyone don’t wait until you get old to find a relationship with God. God can make your life well worth living. He is a God of life, a God who loves us and to whom we belong. So I guess the real question is simply this are we truly chasing the past? Will what we do today buy us another tomorrow? The aches and pains and physical challenges we face each and every day as we get older are quite natural. The God who made us through his son Jesus Christ has given to us eternal life, we that believe and call upon Christ as our Lord and Savior, we would do well to learn from the past, but to keep our eyes on the future to look ahead and to always include God in everything we do.

Life is Good

jk 

Quite days always bring back memories…today I am a bit down. Like most old folks I believe those were the days…those being back in the day…so to speak. Things weren’t so far away. Life is a journey as I am sure you have heard but the important thing is not so much where you’re going but after a few journey’s of my own…at 82 years of age, it is the adventures along the way that got you to where you’re at that make the memories in your mind that matter. I think that was a song back in the day. I have learned that you really can’t go home, this ain’t OZ and you ain’t Dorthy. I find myself thinking more about what I can’t do and that friends is the subject of today’s Ponder. If you spend a lot of time thinking about what you can’t do, those things you can do will eventually become can’t do’s also. You see those of the faith know that God will always provide…I can no longer walk but God has provided me with other means to get around, people to help me and new journeys and adventures. Do I miss the old days and ways? You bet I do…  God has provided me with another tomorrow. My best advice… Take what you have been given, not what you have lost and Ponder This…Go and Do It

jk

He Is Risen! The Tomb is Empty… The story does not end here, as I have written in earlier blogs this is the beginning. In the Bible the book of Acts is the place to start…. Consider Acts Chapters one and two as they lead us to that next page. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday where I live and the Church was a full house…actually overflowing into seating placed in the aisles to accommodate the crowd. The early church faced a different picture after the crucifixion. The believers were hid in an upper room, they feared for their lives and that fear distracted them from their faith.   Acts 2:1-4…NLT… Then came the Spirit. We celebrate this day as being the day of Pentecost when the believers were meeting together in one place. “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven, like the roaring of a mighty wind storm, and it filled the house where they were sitting then what looked like flames or tongues of fire, appeared and settled on each of them, and everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as a spirit gave them this ability.” The people in the streets could hear the noise coming from the room, and they were amazed by it.They accused the people of simply being drunk, but Peter and the other 11 apostles  stepped forward and begin to speak to the crowd. “Listen carefully all of you fellow Jews, and residents of Jerusalem.Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk as some of you are assuming…it is only 9 o’clock in the morning, much too early for that. Know what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:14-16 NLT) Not sure how many followers of Jesus were in that room but I know after Peter spoke to those outside in the street…Acts 2:41… those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day about 3000 in all. 

Moving forward to this past Easter Sunday I don’t know for sure even then how many people were there at church but it was quite a few. Moving to Peter’s Day we know there were at least 3011 people that day that heard the message accepted the message and began to believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection. We can add with assurance the names of the 11 apostles that were there, but we don’t really know the names of all the people that were in that crowd that day whom came to be believers. But today in this blog, I would like to add 14 names to that list. To start with I would like to point out to you that this is a result of a Christian ceremony known as a confirmation. Confirmation is a practice primarily associated with  the Christian faith, specifically those that perform infant baptism. It is most commonly found in the Catholic Church eastern orthodox churches Anglian Church, Lutheran Church, and the Methodist Church. To keep things simple and not to get too complicated it involves a public profession of faith and a strengthening of the believers, faith journey. To make it even simpler, we could just simply say that it means the strengthening or deepening of one’s personal relationship with God. Now I might be accused of stretching this just a little bit, but let’s consider this. You remember John the Baptist in the wilderness, baptizing folks for the coming of the Messiah. So if we put this in a perspective, we’re talking about people that have been baptized and have accepted, and are now preparing to move further in their Christian journey. So what exactly is this baptism we’re speaking of. A  little more detail is needed. Might be that it’s a public declaration of faith. It’s a public way of declaring that you believe in Jesus Christ and are committed to following him. It’s also a symbol of spiritual death and resurrection, the act of being immersed in water, symbolizes dying to the old life and being resurrected to the new life in Christ, it’s also an entry point into the Christian community and a symbol of forgiveness and cleansing and it’s a sign of obedience. I know that what I will write next is a real stretch of “writer’s liberty”… As a church we acknowledged, celebrated, and gave thanks for the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior…Jesus Christ. We had 14 of our young people who have studied, prayed and sought to commit to Christ this day and be blessed by The Holy Spirt to confirm their faith. So even though it is some 1900 or more years ago that many came to believe…even more reason to rejoice this day.

Aubrey, Lilly, Elijah, Emerson, Margaret, Finley, Mason, Spencer Jax, Ryleigh, Malone, James, Parks and Davis.

When Peter spoke so long ago it was a dangerous time to be a follower of Christ…and sadly it is still so even in our day. Remember those names above…Pray for them often and give thanks for their courage and perseverance.

Life is Good

jk

Have seat and let’s ponder the new norm, which I might add is one of many. I have for a long time pondered how we got to the point that civility, respect and some sort of semblance of fact has gone away in our every day discourse. Now I will admit that here on the porch while fact is not all that important we do still ask for civility and respect in our discourse with each other. While it might seem a bit strange… Pondering is a procedure that produces no answers or solutions. Consider this…A debate, no mater the structure, has a winner and a loser. While it may also not provide a solution it often does provide a direction. There seems to be a new strategy afoot now days…I call it the HSCD syndrome. The acronym meaning to… holler, scream, cuss and disrupt…either party can do this when fact, civility and respect does not produce the result you want. Case in point, the newly increasing number of Town Halls that are occurring. I have a confession to make. I decided to actually look up a definition or explanation for Town Halls. Bluntly put I sneaked some facts in on this ponder.

**

Moderation and Structure:  

• Non-partisan Moderator:  
• Limited Opening Statement:  
• Q&A Focus:  

Audience Expectations:  

• Silence Devices:  
• Orderly Participation:  

Format and Content: 

• Topic Focus:  
• Variety of Formats:  
• Follow-up:  

Legal Considerations:  

• Limited Public Forums:  
• Free Speech: Attendees have the right to express their opinions, but they must do so in a respectful and orderly manner.  

Well to revert back to an old phrase that is a little better than accusing someone of  lying, just say “that ain’t so” and in this case it ain’t so. That brings us to this Ponder of the day…Ponder This! It is not a Town Hall. What is it?

jk

**Source: Generative AI

I have read all kinds of dates and years but will go with this…  approximately 1,993 to 1,994 years have passed since the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In that time I would also estimate thousands have died, many nations have come and gone, many wars have been fought, my point here is to ask you to consider this. Why, when so many have willingly given their lives based only on the writings of prophets, Apostles, how has this, The Greatest Story Ever Told, stood the test of time? Again I play with time and people…How many actually saw the risen Christ. According to the historical record, after Jesus’ death on the cross and his subsequent burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, he appeared alive to more than 500 people, on twelve (12) separate occasions… New Living Translation 1st Corinthians 15:6… After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 

Consider this…   The empty tomb is one of the most significant pieces of evidence that we have the tomb was empty when the ladies went there, it had been carefully protected and guarded by authorities because they were afraid that his disciples would steal the body and claimed that he had risen from the dead. The other thing we could look at is the transformation of his disciples. They had all been in hiding scared for their lives. They had run from the very start of this bad situation, but after they saw the risen, Christ, their faith was reaffirmed and and they went out among the people and told them what they had seen and then there’s the Apostle Paul. Paul was one of the greatest enemies of the Christian church and the Christian faith he had studied under Camille and was a devout Jew, however, on the road to Damascus, he had an experience which changed his whole life. He had encountered the risen Christ. Then we have James the brother of Jesus. James, who initially doubted Jesus became a believer after witnessing the resurrected Jesus adding weight to the claim there are numerous eye witnesses the Bible mentions that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at the same time, providing further support for the resurrection, but the biggest thing to me and the thing that I can’t pass over lightly, is that many people throughout history have died for their faith in the resurrection, demonstrating their belief in Christ, the cross and the resurrection. The best truth is the simple truth and I believe that to be best stated in the following…. 1 Corinthians 15:17 states, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” This points to the centrality of the resurrection as the bedrock of all Christian teaching and underscores why the eyewitness accounts were of paramount importance to the first-century church. That’s it! That’s all I got and I lay my life, my body and my soul at the foot of the cross…from whence comes my salvation. 

Life is Good

jk

 

Just a quick overview. What I share with you this evening is a quick summary of this day we Christians refer to as Good Friday.

Information gleaned from scrolls, Theological writings but also most importantly from the writings of Matthew, Luke and John. 

Jesus has fulfilled the Father’s will and is now down off the Cross. On this Good Friday we have read much about what happen… the arrest of Jesus in the of The Garden of Gethsemane about 2am or so,  dragging Jesus from one official to another until the the Sanhedrin, which was a legislative and judicial body of 23 or 70 elders in ancient Israel got the outcome they wanted. Jesus was convicted, and sentenced to be crucified and taken away by the soldiers. Writings suggest he was beaten severely, humiliated and forced to carry the cross beam of the cross to the place of the crucifixion. A crude time line informs us Jesus was nailed to the cross about 9am Friday morning. He took his last breath about 3pm and was taken down from the cross. Because the Jewish Sabbath was to begin about 6pm, no time was wasted…the body was wrapped in a shroud like material and taken quickly to the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea a Biblical figure who buried Jesus after his crucifixion.

I would say that many of us, including myself went through this Friday never thinking about Jesus, the cross and what happened and when on this day.

Thank You Jesus…

jk

Take a moment this Thursday evening and remember the Passover. Sources are listed below.

After the Last Supper, which we now know as the Passover Meal Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane late in the evening, possibly around midnight or 2 AM. Jesus was arrested in the garden, and then taken before the court (Pontius Pilate) during the night, and then later crucified on the following morning.  

Detailed Timeline:  

1. Last Supper/Passover Meal: Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal, which is also referred to as the Last Supper, on Thursday night.  
2. Garden of Gethsemane: After the meal, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, likely late in the evening.  
3. Arrest: Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, sometime after midnight, possibly around 2 AM, when Judas led the soldiers to him.  
4. Trial: Jesus was then taken before Pilate and the Sanhedrin during the night.  
5. Crucifixion: Jesus was crucified on the following morning, likely around 9 AM, which is known as the third hour.  

Generative AI is experimental.

[1] https://www.quora.com/Did-Jesus-get-crucified-before-or-after-passover-John19-14-vs-the-other-Gospels

[2] https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/27450/how-much-time-elapsed-between-jesuss-betrayal-by-judas-and-his-crucifixion

[3] https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/53715/time-of-jesus-crucifixion-in-relation-to-the-passover

[4] https://www.bethanybiblechurch.com/2018/07/john-13a-what-day-of-the-week-was-the-last-supper/

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agony_in_the_Garden

[6] https://www.byunewtestamentcommentary.com/the-night-of-jesus-arrest/

[7] https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-timing-of-jesus-trial

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_Jesus

God Bless

jk

You never know what will come up in the way of a ponder here on The Porch. How we got to this one I am not sure but this one in my thinking is  ponder worthy. As we age things do change…that shouldn’t surprise anyone but there is one subtle change that is sometimes overlooked. Words and their meanings as applied to us aging folks would be one. Here is today’s word. Guarantee…  a promise that something will be done or will happen, especially a written promise by a company to repair or change a product that develops a fault within a particular period of time:… First thing, I did take the time after our porch time to do a bit of research on this subject. Here is the subject of this  porch time. Renewing your Tennessee Driver License. The truth is for us older folks this can become a problem. There is a state system in place which is convenient and easily accessed, especially with the internet website. This is the state site… https://www.tn.gov/safety/driver-services/online.html . We are allowed with proper paper work to renew our DL. Whoa Hoss… we have become used to this as kinda a informal guarantee. To keep this short and sweet here is the skinny on this. If you are 65 or older you can still renew your DL on line or in person but be aware of this…The DL person assisting you has the power to require you to have an eye test…even a written test if they believe it is needed. That is posted in the procedures listed on their State Site. So Ponder This… That word Guarantee…for us it changes with time.

jk

It would be hard to imagine how many words have been put to paper about the seven days that Jesus walked to the cross. Most every one knows the crucifixion story but you would be surprised to know how little we really know. Bethphage, Bethany, Mount Of Olives, Jerusalem, Pharisees and the day not methioned in the Gospels and what about that donkey? Let’s take a walk. Jesus knew his time was soon and there was much yet to be said and done. The first thing I will note on this walk is about Lazarus. Consider this… as Jesus’s ministry grew and more and more people came to Him, the Pharisees grew to fear his influence. Their power and influence was in their mind being lessened each time he appeared and the crowds were growing larger. What we do know is that the Jewish leaders had in the past sought to discuss how this Jesus could be done away with. The following is my own opinion, there is no proof so to speak. I believe the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus was a political hit job. I also believe that the death and resurrection of Lazarus was as we have come to say “the straw that broke the camels back.” The Lazarus thing occurred in Bethany…The town is located on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from Jerusalem, and word of this thing with Lazarus spread   fast. There is no indication that Jesus did any traveling, between that event and is followed in Luke chapter 19 by Jesus entering into Jerusalem on that donkey. For the account of the donkey we go to Matthew 21:1-11. Bethphage is a village near Bethany and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent his disciples to find a colt for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is methioned in the  Synoptic Gospels in connection with Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he rode a colt from this village. Interesting thing about Bethphage, in distance… it is at the very limit of a Sabbath-day’s journey (900 meters) from the city. Before we move on one note about that political thing I mentioned. The news about Lazarus had traveled fast and the account of such had raised the interest of many people. Alarmed, the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Israel. Most likely, Lazarus was reciting his experience over and over again, which resulted in the desperate decision of the Pharisees: Lazarus must die. The other part of the Jewish ruling trifecta was the Sadducees… so these three and the Roman Government were about as close to a political hit job as you could get. Just saying. 

Keep Walking…Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover and stayed with Mary, Martha and Lazarus at their house. It was here that Mary Anointed his feet. You can read of this event in John 12:1-3. The next day is not mentioned in the Gospels but being the Sabbath, jewish tradition would have made it a day of rest.…We will go to Palm Sunday. Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on that donkey and on a carpet of palm leaves. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey… The people welcomed him with shouts of Hosanna and words from Psalm 118:25-26…Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. On Monday we find Jesus at the Temple and in the court of the Gentiles where there were traders and money changers. Jesus overturns their tables and drives them out. This event is recorded in all three of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Third day the authority of Jesus was questioned by the chief priests and teachers of the law. It was a day of controversy. The forth day is one not mentioned in scripture. The fifth day Thursday is the Passover.I suggest you read the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for a complete understanding of this part of the journey of Jesus to the cross. Jesus gave a new twist to the meaning of the Passover meal. The loaf of bread representing his body, the wine his blood soon to be shed…So here he instituted what we now celebrate as “The Lord’s Supper.” Friday, the longest night and day contains all those things that came against Jesus in those last hours. Betrayal, arrest, desertion, false trials, denial, condemnation, beatings, and mockery…and if that wasn’t enough Jesus was required to carry the cross bar of his cross to “The Place of The Skull.” There he was crucified with two other prisoners. Remember we are still in Friday and the Jewish Sabbath will start at 6:00 PM. Jesus was taken down from the cross shortly after 3PM…there was not time to properly prepare the body…so he was wrapped in a burial cloth sometimes referred to as a shroud  and place in a tomb. At this point we come to the final few words of this blog. The following is from an article by  Jack Zavada:(click here)

Joseph of Arimathea had been a secret follower of Christ because he feared the Jews, but after the crucifixion, he went to Pilate and boldly asked for Jesus’ body. Joseph risked his reputation among the religious leaders to give his Lord a proper burial. When Joseph laid Jesus’ body in his own new tomb, he showed both great love and great courage.

We can stop walking now…We have arrived at the tomb, early Sunday morning as a group of women have come to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away…the tomb was empty…an Angel told them Jesus was alive!

This for us, those of the way, the faith, we whom will soon be charged with going forth and telling the world The Good News. 

 

Life is Good

jk

Next Week Evidence of the Resurrection

 

Sources: www.christianquestions.net    Jack Zavada

Welcome back…pull up a chair, box or whatever and sit a spell. The rain is gone for awhile and the sun in all its glory is out!  I have had some time the past few days to Ponder  on this phenomenon of mass protests across the nation these past few weeks. Seems there all kinds of groups that are easily offended and if paid enough they will take to the streets in great numbers. One thing I have noticed is the remarkable absence of spontaneous protests. Some of these folks that act as agents for securing protesters are well organized and well funded. They operate under an array of names…and that is what this ponder is about. Consider this or rather ponder this! I have a name for them…. Antidisestablishmentarianismers…  Its root word would be Antidisestablishmentarianism. It is estimated to be the 6th longest word in the Oxford dictionary. However, the word is not recorded in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary of American English. Ok, what is that, or in the words of Pogo… “what is them”? Well you asked. 

Antidisestablishmentarianism is a political position that originated in 19th century Britain. The position opposed proposals at that time to remove the Anglican Church’s status as the established church of England, Ireland, and Wales, but not in Scotland, which had and still has its own separate national church.

One last thing about this word… It has morphemes…

A morpheme is the smallest part of a word that retains an individual significance. For example, the word ‘antidisestablishmentarianism’ can be broken down into the following morphemes: anti/dis/establish/ment/ari/an/ism (7 morphemes).

I will invoke “writers privilege” here and add to its meaning to also be a political position that opposes any attempt that seeks to balance the budget or limit the wasteful spending of various agencies. We are all tired of  these people… Antidisestablishmentarianismers. PONDER THIS! Just like the word from which it comes…there is very little practical use for it or for such people. They are paid to use slogans,  chants and disruptive behavior for things they have no solutions for. They have just recently resorted to violence because their vocabulary of of words to justify their position is limited, as is their knowledge of the definition of some of the words on their signs. 

Oh, I have to say this to Whoopi Goldberg…78 million Americans voted for Donald Trump…we are just as much or more so representative of America as you and your minions.

Jk