richardwbelcher

Committed Regardless of the Cost

John 18:28-29 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?

These verses are part of the "trial" of Jesus, but they contain another interesting element. The Jewish leaders DID NOT go into Pilate's palace because to do so would make them unclean and unfit for the annual Passover.  They understood that they must participate in Passover in order to be accepted by the Lord. Therefore when they went to Pilate, they required that he come out to them to discuss the situation. 

Now compare that to the following: Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, who also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus.

Joseph made an appearance (came) and boldly entered (went in) the palace and came near (unto) Pilate to plead/demand/ask for the body of the Lord.  This action meant that Joseph, on purpose, cut himself off from the Passover in order to bury the body of Jesus.  He touched a dead man AND he entered the "house" of the unclean.  The cost of coming to Pilate marked, for Joseph, a commitment that few today can imagine.  His entire religious life was abandoned when he did what the Jewish leaders knew could not be done: enter the judgment hall to get permission to bury the Lord's body.

Led by the Spirit

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

This week, the first part of this verse has been relevant. Christians are to be led by Holy Spirit so they can become the sons of God.  How one is led and what one is told become major considerations.

Holy Spirit comes into the lives (hearts) of believers to lead and guide them into truth [read John 14-16]. That leading comes in the form of revelation, unction, impression, and directions. And since John 10:14 and 10:27 state the Great Shepherd's voice is one that is known by the sheep, some of those directives must come from the still, small voice who spoke throughout the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible contains many examples of God speaking to individuals using the words "and the Lord God said.." or "God spoke unto .." The Lord's

Who's Coming down the Road?

With what has happened in Washington this weekend, I am reminded of what God said through Jeremiah as the Babylonians approached the city.  Unlike when the Assyrians assembled some 70 years before and NO ARROW flew over the walls, as the Babylonians approached, the word of the Lord was, "Prepare to be sieged."

I feel like morality and conservatism are now under siege and only trust in God will see us through.  I am amazed that so many elected officials think that the state can solve the whoas of the system, when it is the state that creates the whoas in the first place.

Our country was founded on Biblical/Christian principles and on limited

Revealing the Awaited

I had a major dream last night, and when I awoke, I had seen a misunderstanding about scripture.  The talk in some circles is about the awaiting of the manifested sons of God.  The verses that relate are Romans 8:19-21 For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected [the same] in hope,Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

What happened in my dream was a discussing about the term Manifested Sons, which was a title given to a group of believers walking in the fullness of the stature of Christ in the earth.  Those with whom I talked wanted to be part of this special group and were willing to do whatever it took to make themselves worthy.

Spiritually, I was shown three things about this situation.  First, the

Interview on the Book

Monday during the 7 o'clock evening hour, I am to have an interview on Atlanta's Christian television station,TV 57.  How does one take what was written over four years and boil it into three or four basic points?  For the rest of the weekend, I will be identifying some of the revelations in the Psalms regarding instructions planted for Christ when He finally came to earth as the babe.

Psalm 89:50-51 state "Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; wherewith your enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of your Anointed."

This passage foreshadows the aspect of the plan of salvation where Jesus

ELDER adjustments

 1 Peter 5:1-3  The elders which are among you I exhort ... feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; ...  Neither as being lords over [God's] heritage, but being examples to the flock.

This passage stopped me dead in my tracks several years ago.  I was lamenting on the control I saw in several Christian ministries where the people were being coerced to get behind the pastor's vision for building expansion. These verses changed my view of eldership.

Many church leaders pay attention to the admonishions to verses one and two regarding feeding the flock and taking the oversight.  I acknowledge that many who are "God-called" make quality efforts to expend

FAITH: Belief about tomorrow because of yesterday

One of the interesting aspects about faith is that it is not blind.  The Biblical word for faith comes from a root word related to conviction; a decision based on previous evidence.  The reliability of the scriptures comes from its source (God's inspiration) and from its self-interpretation (the voice of two or more passages defining a truth).  A believer's faith in the written word should be as strong as that of God's direct speach (see 2Peter 1:18-19).  Therefore our faith results in action based on what we