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A new one...A perceptive but people pleasing Pilate in some pickles...Matthew 27:11-26

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Below is the new addition to our family.  He is number 11 of the grands.  Stephanie had the pleasure of helping with family life when this little one came along.  When you get to a certain age, you start adding years ahead to calculate what you will be when he is....  It is such a joy to watch not only our grands grow up but also to witness the developments of families from our family.  We were 6 and now we are 21!  But this blog is primarily about another one that Jesus interacts with on the way to the cross. Pilate is quite the character in the cross narrative to study.  You sense the tension he is under but he keeps taking advice and acting upon the information from the wrong people.  He is in many pickles with this situation. One pickle is with the Sanhedrin who want him to do their bidding just because they say so.  He knows their motive of envy and struggles with the charges they bring until they finally say that Jesus said He was God. ...
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Remorse or Repentance?...Matthew 27:1-10...Judas or Peter?

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The perfect passage for this quote is what we went through as a body of believers of Jesus at Stillwater Community Chapel last Sunday.  Judas is said to have remorse or regret for what he had done.  His remorse didn't take him to the Father or to Jesus but rather back to those he had made a pack with.  It would also lead him to continue on the path of man on what to do with sin.   This passage was our first in chapter 27 but it is the third of looking at individuals around Jesus who is headed to the cross.  We had devoted Mary of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  We had self-confident Peter.  We have this week the just remorseful Judas.  Next week we will have the perceptive and people pleaser Pilate.   This topic of remorse and repentance has dominated my thoughts this week.  It turned into these two lists for me. Remorse: regret change your mind on how you feel your plan enacted follow the world's solutions Repentance: to make a tu...
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Beauty on the trails...Matthew 26:69-75...Peter's Path

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The mountains are coming alive with color.  Here is a quartet of columbine.  The splash of color signifies new life after the season of snow.  The whiteness is replaced by all the colors of the rainbow.  The ultimate " whiteness " is Jesus as without sin and what comes from His sacrificial season here are those of us of different colors and from different places blossoming from the forgiveness of our sins and putting on a show for His glory.  There is my metaphor for the day. We finished up chapter 26 of Matthew with a deep look at the denials of Peter.  The denials are actually lies and somehow that makes it more serious in my eyes.  These lies of Peter progress in intensity.  First , it is deflection back onto the servant girl that she is the crazy one to bring this up.  Second is Peter making physical distance and finding the shadows of the gateway.  Third , Peter vows with an oath upon himself that he doesn't know the man Jesus....
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