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Oh, The Treachery!
07/06/2008 - By Dr. Ken Lovelace
Website: http://www.kenlovelaceministries.com/
Dr. Ken Lovelace of Ken Lovelace Ministries is a preacher and speaker. He's available for revivals, crusades, and conferences. Find out more at www.kenlovelaceministries.com.
Faith Matters with Dr. Ken Lovelace
Ken Lovelace Ministries
Emphasis: The Word
Oh, The Treachery!
The light that shone in was little at best, causing the room to be dimly lit; the perfect place for a shady business transaction to take place. The payoff was significant, even more so considering the parties involved. A group of religious leaders under the guise of national security wanted a certain teacher dead; His teachings were too radical, His ideas too far-reaching.
A man in his employ was anything but reticent about handing over this rebel to those all too willing to pay. While the incense burned in the corner, an agreement was reached in this smoke-filled room; the betrayer would be paid in valuable coins. Though they were glad to have found such a willing accomplice, his willingness to betray the teacher repulsed them. Instead of handing him the money in gentlemanly fashion, they threw it at him in disgust.
Unable to catch them all, most of the 30 pieces of silver clanged on the stone floor, bouncing and rolling here and there as the collaborator quickly knelt down to retrieve them. Judas was not about to let even one out of his sight. When they came to rest, Caesar’s inscription stared him in the face. Echoing in his mind were the words of the One against whom he was plotting, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” Even in betrayal, Jesus’ words haunted him.
Over and again, the stories of Scripture played themselves in my mind this past Sunday. What was the catalyst of remembrance? The Promise Contact Team performed many vignettes from The Promise at Marsh Lane Baptist Church.* As scene after scene from Scripture was portrayed for observers, my mind revisited the biblical panorama.
God’s Word is that way…it gets inside you, permeating heart and mind and soul. It’s alive! Like a heat-seeking missile, Scripture searches out sinful strongholds and destroys them. Nothing can stand against it. And though the cleansing process can be painful at times, the after-effects are liberating to the soul. Why? Because “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). There’s nothing out of bounds for Scripture; nor anything too embedded in our souls to be reached by its influence. How wonderful!
I challenge you this week to take some time to envision a story from God’s Word. Take time to close your eyes and involve your imagination in both remembering a scene from Scripture (even one that’s perhaps very familiar to you) and in worshipping the God of heaven. Try seeing the faces of those among the 5,000 who shared the bread and fish; attempt to recreate in your imagination Jesus walking on water or the cold, wet spray from the sea during the terrifying storm that Jesus calmed; or imagine the love in Jesus’ eyes as He looked down at you with forgiveness from the cross!
The possibilities for involving our imaginations are endless, as are the many ways of creating fresh, new worship experiences each and every day. The Word of God is too rich, too alive, too real to become boring, meaningless, or dry. If ever it loses its “oomph” in your walk with God, it’s time to reevaluate…and recommit. Do you need to do that today?
“For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
*(The Contact Team goes from church to church, at the invitation of the church, performing scenes from The Promise in an effort to minister to the people as well as to pique the hearers’ interest in going to Glen Rose to see the musical spectacular).
Copyright © 2008. Faith Matters by Dr. Ken Lovelace. All rights reserved.
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