Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 8

What Weight are you Carrying?

 

Iwas going to share the entire first twenty-six verses of Luke chapter 23with you today. Tomorrow, Good Friday, you will get the rest of the story. ButI had too much to share from my personal life, and – well – there was one versethat said enough.

Youknow how the story goes. Jesus had been arrested. The church leaders turned Himover to Pontious Pilate, the Roman governor, for questioning. 

Therewas a tradition during Passover each year to release one prisoner. Pilate askedthe crowd if they wanted Jesus or a murderer, Barabbas, to be released. Theyshouted, “Release Barabbas! Crucify Jesus!”

Jesuswas taken away. The Roman soldiers mocked Him and beat Him, then took Him offto be crucified. After all that He had endured, carrying the wooden cross alongthe road to Golgotha got the best of His physical body. His spiritual bodycould hold the weight of the world, but He was an earthly man too.

     Asthey led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to becoming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross onhim and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26, New Living Translation)

I’vehad a rough week. I feel like I’ve had a burden thrown on my shoulders that Ijust can’t deal with. I lay on the couch yesterday afternoon and prayed to God, “Please lift thisburden from me.”

AsI mentioned, I’d already planned on including the above verse today. But in thatmoment of prayer, it struck me.

Simon from Cyrene only carried that cross for a little while, and I only have to handle my problems for a little while as well. Jesus will carry all of my burdens for all of my life if I only turn my probems over to Him. Or as in the words of Matthew11:28-30 in the New International Version:

     "Cometo me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take myyoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and youwill find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

(Today’s picture is one I took when I was inKenya in 2015.)

Denied

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you willabandon me tonight. Scripture says, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheepin the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am brought back to life, I will goto Galilee ahead of you.”

Peter said to him, “Even if everyone elseabandons you, I never will.”

Jesus replied to Peter, “I can guaranteethis truth: Before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that youdon’t know me.”

Peter told him, “Even if I have to diewith you, I’ll never say that I don’t know you!” All the other disciples saidthe same thing. (Matthew 26, verses 31 – 35)

Shortlyafter this, Jesus went to the Garden to pray. When He had finished and hadrejoined His disciples, a crowd arrived, led by Judas Iscariot. Jesus wasarrested and dragged off.

AndHis closest followers?  Then all thedisciples abandoned him and ran away. (verse 56)

EvenPeter? Peter followed at a distance until he came to the chief priest’scourtyard. He went inside and sat with the guards to see how this would turnout. (verse 58)

WhilePeter silently watched, the crowd demanded death penalty for Jesus. And then hemust have walked out.

Peter was sitting in the courtyard. Afemale servant came to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.”

But Peter denied it in front of them allby saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As he went to the entrance, another femaleservant saw him. She told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus fromNazareth.”

Again Peter denied it and swore with anoath, “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while the men standingthere approached Peter and said, “It’s obvious you’re also one of them. Youraccent gives you away!”

Then Peter began to curse and swear withan oath, “I don’t know the man!” Just then a rooster crowed. Peter rememberedwhat Jesus had said: “Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that youdon’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly. (Matthew 26, verses69-75)

Jesusis being led away to be handed over to the governor, Pontius Pilate, to bebeaten, tortured, ultimately crucified. I picture Jesus turning His head for amoment to find Peter in the crowd. Their eyes lock for a second.

Bitterly.Desperately. Intensely. With great anguish. I can’t imagine the pain Peterexperienced at that instant. Just as his Teacher, Leader, and Friend predicted,Peter denied that he even knew Him.   

Wouldyou deny that you know Jesus? Have you already denied Him? And if Jesus wasright in front of you now, how would that make you feel?

(Today’s picture is one which my daughter tookwhen she was in Kenya for six months in 2010.)

1984? 2025? 1933? 1962?

Over the weekend, I finished reading the novel “1984” by George Orwell. I read it thefirst time probably a few years before 1984, because I had to for a class and Iwas young and thought it was crazy to read a book with that title when I wasstaring down that particular year.

I don’t remember much from that first reading, except how terrifyingit was. And yet thinking that none of that could ever happen. That was waybefore the Hunger Games series and other recent dystopian books and movies. We were still living in the Cold War, and maybe we hadbeen desensitized by it after the Cuban Missile Crisis. I’ve lived through alot, but that doesn’t mean I knew what was going on. I was a dumb kid, not ajaded near-senior citizen with an over-active imagination and internet access.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ve heard of the book I’m talking about, butif you still don’t know anything about it, check it out on Google. I wish Icould recommend you read it for yourself, but I don’t want that liability.

Whether you know the premise of the book or nor, here are some quotes.They may chill you to the bone.

     “I hate purity, I hate goodness! Idon't want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to thebones.”

     “Now I will tell you the answer to myquestion. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We arenot interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, purepower. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are differentfrom the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All theothers, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. TheGerman Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods,but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended,perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for alimited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beingswould be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizespower with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is anend. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object ofpersecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object ofpower is power. Now you begin to understand me.”

     “Power is in tearing human minds topieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

     “It was possible, no doubt, to imaginea society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries,should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a smallprivileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable.For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of humanbeings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and wouldlearn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they wouldsooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and theywould sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possibleon a basis of poverty and ignorance.”

     “You will be hollow. We shall squeezeyou empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia 

Jesus Prays

Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove,Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. Hetook Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to befilled with anguish and despair.

Then he told them, “My soul is crushedwith horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awakewith me.”

He went forward a little, and fell facedownward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cupbe taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine.”

Then he returned to the three disciplesand found them asleep. “Peter,” he called, “couldn’t you even stay awake withme one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. Forthe spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!”

Again he left them and prayed, “My Father!If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done.”

He returned to them again and found themsleeping, for their eyes were heavy, so he went back to prayer the third time,saying the same things again.

Then he came to the disciples and said,“Sleep on now and take your rest . . . but no! The time has come! I am betrayedinto the hands of evil men! Up! Let’s be going! Look! Here comes the man who isbetraying me!” (Matthew 26:36-46, Living Bible)

It’sThursday night, and Jesus has just eaten His Last Supper and institutedCommunion. In only a few hours, Judas Iscariot will turn Him over to theauthorities. The next day, He will be convicted during a mock trial, beaten,and sentenced to die. He knows what is coming, and though He has brought it upseveral times, His disciples still don’t understand how this week will end.

Jesustakes His closest disciples to a garden to pray. They fall asleep on Him, notonce, not twice, but three times!

Whichis what I do most nights after I go to bed. After I turn out the lights and getall comfy, I start saying my prayers. I don’t get through the Lord’s Prayer. Mymind wanders as I try to confess my sins for the day. I forget all the thingsI’m thankful for. I can’t remember all the needs I wanted to bring to the Lordin prayer. And as many times as I pull my brain back to the matter at hand, Ican never finish that prayer. My mind keeps wandering, or I simply fall asleep.

Ikeep thinking I need to change my routine and say my prayers while I’m stillsitting up in bed. Or maybe while I’m still in the living room, after I’veturned off the TV and before I’ve brushed my teeth.

Butthere I am, no better than the men who followed Jesus when He lived among them.He forgave them, and I know He’ll forgive me. But I still need to keep trying.  

(The picture is of the rose garden at theGreen Lake Christian Conference Center when I was there in 2011 for a writers’conference.)

 

Things We Say

 

“You’renot going to like this,” Hubby announced once again as a preface to an idea hehad. I don’t remember which idea it was the last time, but his brilliant planscan range from both of us taking the car in for an oil change on our way outfor a fish fry to stocking up on flashlights on sale at Harbor Freight.

Okay,I don’t think he ever proposed either of those scenarios, and usually, what hecomes up with are things I’m agreeable to, so I don’t know why he always usesthat opening line.

Buthere’s the thing – that could be the name of a TV show. What do you think?“You’re not going to like this” – a comedy about a somewhat demented father whohas to move in with his middle-aged daughter and son-in-law. It’s been donealready, hasn’t it?  

Speakingof somewhat demented, when my brother calls once a week to check in, hisopening line is usually, “I have a big problem” followed by “It’s so cold out,” “My TVisn’t working,” or something else that is earth-shattering. In his world, butnot mine.

Ashow titled “I Have a Big Problemt” could be a reality show about a group of teen-age girls, because when do they not have a big problem? Or it could be a crime drama where after someone commits a crime, they contact this special agency to provide a cover-up.    

Thatreminds me of another one of Hubby’s and my favorite lines. “Did you hear whodied?” is a line we probably use an equal number of times. Like just this week.He shouted from the living room on the far west end of the house to me in myoffice on the far east end the name of someone who had died. It wasn’t until hegot home from work three hours later that I was about to ask, “Did you hear ValKilmer died?” when I realized that was who he was talking about.

Ofcourse, the title “Did you hear who died?” sounds like a show where JessicaFletcher is solving crimes in Cabot Cove. But how about instead, it’s about asmall-town radio station where there is no crime, just a long list of morningobituaries?

Allright, so now it’s your turn. What phrases do you and your loved onesfrequently use on each other, and what TV program could be titled that?

Whining about the weather and some updates

Ihave a friend who hates the month of March because of the weather. And I haveto admit, weather in March in my part of the world is like living with a bipolarpsychopath who is off their meds. Yet, here we are in April and I can’t saythat elements in this month are any better. It’s like a concerned doctor istrying to adjust that bipolar psychopath’s meds and every night is a full-moon.Anyone who’s ever worked in health care, law enforcement, or pretty much dealtwith the public knows what I’m talking about.

Sothis was our driveway last Tuesday morning, a bright sunny day after a weekendof snow.

This video is of the freezing rain on Sunday. If you turn up the volume, you can hear the gentle pitter-patter. Okay, nothing gentle about it. 

Our cat Emma and the dog Hannah preferred to stay in bed. 

Then Monday, it was back to sun glaring mockingly off of the snow.

The forecast for last night was for one to three inches of snow and up to another three inches today. Overnight, maybe an inch of snow fell, and it's only overcast now. So, we'll see what happens. I'm sure the weather forecasters find this time of year frustrating too. 

Two other things I wanted to mention. Remember two weeks ago when we had a chip in our windshield. Hubby took it in a few days later and came home with not only that same chip but a distinct large handprint on the glass where the technician took a picture of the defect for insurance purposes. Could they have wiped it off? I wished I had a crime kit; I would have tried to lift a print just for fun. The good news is that they got it in the other day already and did the glue-fix on it, and it didn’t cost us anything.

The other thing – please pray for Hannah and me this evening as we go to our first obedience class. Hoping the roads are clear, and she is not a terror on the drive there and back, and she doesn’t have any accidents while there. And that I’m not a worse student than she is.

Celebrating Passover

Now the day of the Passover celebrationarrived, when the Passover lamb was killed and eaten with the unleavened bread.Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to find a place to prepare their Passover meal.

“Where do you want us to go?” they asked.

And he replied, “As soon as you enterJerusalem, you will see a man walking along carrying a pitcher of water. Followhim into the house he enters, and say to the man who lives there, ‘Our Teachersays for you to show us the guest room where he can eat the Passover meal withhis disciples.’ He will take you upstairs to a large room all ready for us.That is the place. Go ahead and prepare the meal there.”

They went off to the city and foundeverything just as Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover supper.

Then Jesus and the others arrived, and atthe proper time all sat down together at the table; and he said, “I have lookedforward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal withyou before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat it againuntil what it represents has occurred in the Kingdom of God.”

Then he took a glass of wine, and when hehad given thanks for it, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. ForI will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

Then he took a loaf of bread; and when hehad thanked God for it, he broke it apart and gave it to them, saying, “This ismy body, given for you. Eat it in remembrance of me.”

After supper he gave them another glass ofwine, saying, “This wine is the token of God’s new agreement to save you—anagreement sealed with the blood I shall pour out to purchase back your souls.      (Luke 22:7-20, Living Bible)

Inmy Wednesday morning Bible study, we are reading the book, “The Rock, the Road,and the Rabbi,” by Kathie Lee Gifford and Rabbi Jason Sobel. We hadn’t plannedit this way, but this week, we will learn more about the Jewish traditionssurrounding Passover and the significance of Jesus instituting communion.

Ifyou’ve watched “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston, you know thatPharoah released the Israelites from slavery in Egypt after God had sent tenplagues. The final plague was that God would kill the firstborn sons throughoutthe land unless the blood of a lamb was spread on their doorposts. For twomillennia, the Jewish people have celebrated Passover in remembrance of this“passing over” of the angel of death.

Andhere we are - Jesus celebrating Passover with His disciples. Jesus is theperfect lamb whose blood would soon be shed on the cross to save all mankind.

Atthe time, the disciples didn’t know what was going on – that happened to them alot, poor guys. But we know, and we partake of communion in remembrance of ourLord and Savior.

(Today’s picture is from the Amsterdam airportwhen I was on my way to Kenya for the second time in 2013. Not quite like thebread used at Passover, but bread does seem to be a staple in most cultures.)

Interpretive Dance?

I didn’t get up until 6:30 this morning, because I was out late last night. Twofriends and I went to a Christian concert and didn’t get home til after 10:30. AndI spent yesterday afternoon loafing around in anticipation of that, so I didn’tget around to writing today’s blog.

Withthat in mind, I thought about not adding words to these ridiculous pictures. In2013, Hubby and I took a vacation for a few days to southeast Wisconsin. At apark near Waukesha, for some reason I was inspired to do an interpretive dance.

Ishare these now because last Friday I confessed to wanting to be a stand-up comedianand you already know that I’ve always want to be a writer. But when I was inkindergarten, our teacher assigned us to draw a picture of what we wanted to bewhen we grew up. I distinctly remember my picture. I wore a pink tutu, and my feet,properly on my toes, were as wide as my head, my arms encircling that tiny head. A prima ballerina. 

Ourgoals in life still pop up sometimes. 

Autumn Wandering – Where Was I Wednesday

LastDecember, when I finally finished blogging about my trip to Cambodia, I totallyforgot about any other trips I took last fall. The only one was a quickovernight to the Dells. A few years ago, the girls I lived with in the dorm myfirst two years in college decided to start having reunions. The weekend ofOctober 11, we all met up at a resort in Wisconsin Dells.

Ionly spent Friday night as I had so much going on and still felt jetlagged fromthat trip to Cambodia. I still had a good time, and it was fun to catch up witheveryone. Umm, I think there were nine of us, maybe, if I remember right. Itook only one picture (you’re shocked, I can tell), and I can’t even find itnow.

Anyway,I left late Saturday morning, and as usual, I drove backroads on the way home.After driving less than an hour, I stopped at Roche Cri State Park for a walkaround. The main road into the park was already closed for the season, so I parkedat the Prairie Trailhead and hiked around the prairie. I wasn’t quite up towalking the adjacent trail into the park.

Itwas a beautiful fall day. Once again, I felt blessed to live where I do. 

When Will Jesus Return?

 

I’msorry that today’s post is going to be so long, but I couldn’t find a goodplace to cut it off.   

Hereis the scene. Jesus had arrived triumphantly in Jerusalem and the next day Hehad gone to the Temple. In anger, He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and merchants (remember last Sunday’s post?).

Theday after that He told many parables to anyone and everyone who would listen.He warned His audience about a lot of things and criticized the church leaders.

Finally,when He was alone with His disciples, He told them what to look for in the future.Our future.

          The 24th chapter of the bookof Matthew, verses 1 through 44, from the New International Version.

As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds,his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But heresponded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will becompletely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives.His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all thishappen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone misleadyou, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They willdeceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic.Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nationwill go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will befamines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only thefirst of the birth pains, with more to come.

          “Then you will be arrested,persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are myfollowers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. Andmany false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will berampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one whoendures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will bepreached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and thenthe end will come.

          “The day is coming when you will seewhat Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causesdesecration standing in the Holy Place. Then those in Judea must flee to thehills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house topack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. Howterrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. Andpray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For there willbe greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never beso great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not asingle person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’schosen ones.

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here isthe Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and falseprophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, ifpossible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead oftime.

“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, theMessiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he ishiding here,’ don’t believe it! For as the lightning flashes in the east andshines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. Just as thegathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicatethat the end is near.

“Immediately after the anguish of thosedays, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars willfall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

          And then at last, the sign that theSon of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deepmourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Mancoming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send outhis angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosenones from all over the world  —from thefarthest ends of the earth and heaven.

          “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer isnear. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his returnis very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will notpass from the scene until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will disappear, but my wordswill never disappear.

“However, no one knows the day or hourwhen these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Sonhimself. Only the Father knows.

          “When the Son of Man returns, it willbe like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people wereenjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah enteredhis boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood cameand swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

“Two men will be working together in thefield; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour atthe mill; one will be taken, the other left.

          “So you, too, must keep watch! For youdon’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knewexactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his houseto be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man willcome when least expected.”

(The picture is of the church and convent ofSan Francisco in Lima, Peru, when I was there in 2009.)