40 Days Rigging Our Sails / Day 18 / Prov. 18

 

 

According to a 4th Century tradition not found in the Gospels, Jesus was scourged and imprisoned in a horrible underground dungeon near Caiaphas' Palace. It's claimed Peter and John were held there for preaching in the Name of Jesus after the resurrection. 

Who knows if the dungeon (now called "The Sacred Pit") is the actual place of Jesus' torture? Somehow, that question was not an issue for me when I stood there a few weeks ago. Instead, I was overwhelmed by the brutal agony Jesus and HIS disciples endured, wherever that was. 

Pausing long enough to actually consider the Passion of Jesus was important to me. I stared at this statue and tried to to recall scriptures accounting the painful sufferings endured by Christ.

Isaiah 53 came to my mind:

He was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

I stood before this statue and opened a space in my life to experience GOD. I'm glad I did. 

And I'm glad to know so many of us are opening space in our lives to experience GOD during July. I received this good report recently:

Dear Pastor Mark,

You may not realize the impact you are making in my life after you delivered that powerful message last weekend; when you gave us the charge of fasting for 40 days.

I go so excited because it was an answer to my prayer.

Just a few days prior to that weekend service, I had been talking to God and I wanted to fast and pray for some situations in my life and also for other people who are going through challenging times.  There was a strong urge in my heart to fast; the only problem was that I had never fasted successfully on my own or corporately. It is rather embarrassing to admit especially having been a follower of Jesus for more than thirty years.

I prayed for God to give me direction for fasting one evening while preparing dinner. And He answered my prayer. I am thankful and grateful that you asked us to fast for 40 days and to read Proverbs. I am excited and ready for a spiritual manifestation of God.

I truly believe that fasting and praying brings breakthroughs, deliverance, healing restoration and renewal.

Thanks Pastor for following Jesus and teaching us to do the same.

Sincerely,

Karen 

 

Proverbs 18:24b  -  There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.