We are all sinners in need of a Savior. There is none among us righteous, no not one. Christ Jesus is the only righteous human born and He gave up His Deity, His spotless life in exchange for ours.Without the shedding of His precious blood there is no remission of mans sin. When we allow Him into our lives we are never alone!
Run into the arms of the One who loves you!
John 9:2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
We have the ability to receive, to be loved, to know our value, only from a place of vulnerability. Because in our nakedness, our "crippledness," our brokenness and our vulnerability we have no power, no leverage, nothing to bargain with. Our identity is not dependent upon becoming somebody, impressing somebody, or removing all imperfection. We can be, literally, Be, at home in our own skin…
In this place, we are human. In this place, we are sons and daughters of God. In this place, we hear God speak our name. The very image of God is imbedded in this fragile nature, in its very breakability. Grace is real. It is in this vulnerability where we find and embrace and spill exquisite beauty—compassion, tenderheartedness, mercy, forgiveness, gentleness, openness, kindness, empathy, listening, understanding and hospitality. And the capacity to say, “Even in our brokenness, we get to say how the story ends.”
Sabbath Moments
Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh.
There was a pause.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.
"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."
"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.
"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.
"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."
And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
(A.A. Milne)
Some of the saddest words on earth are: “We don’t have room for you.” Jesus knew the sounds of those words. He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you.” And when he hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection? “We don’t have room for you in this world.”
Today Jesus is given the same treatment. He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. Every so often, he’s welcomed. Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay. And to that person Jesus gives this great promise: “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). We make room for him in our hearts, and Jesus makes room for us in his house. Max Lucado
Luke 13:1-5
13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” The New King James Version
The details of the incident referred to here, in which Jewish blood was shed at or near the temple during a time of sacrifices, are not known. Pilate was known for his insensitivity to the Jewish people early in his rule. The event probably occurred during the Feast of the Passover or Tabernacles, when Galileans most likely would have been at the temple.
Do you suppose: Jesus’ question reflected the opinion of His audience. The idea that judgment and death are the results of sin led to the belief that tragic death was the result of extreme sin. While such a view was common in Judaism, it was not always a correct conclusion.
Jesus’ point here is that everyone stands at the edge of death until repentance occurs. The death in view here is spiritual, not physical.
The event referred to here was a natural tragedy as opposed to the violent human act alluded to in in verse 1 and 2. However, the same question was raised. Were the people who suffered being judged for their sins?
The manner in which a person dies is not a measure of righteousness; what is important is not to die outside of God’s grace and care. The way to avoid such a fate is to repent, to come to God through the care of the physician Jesus. The NKJV Study Bible
Continuing the theme of judgment Jesus uses two calamities that befell certain Jews to illustrate the fate that awaits those who do not repent. This material is unique to Luke’s Gospel. Whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifice refers to the killing of Galilean pilgrims as they were offering sacrifices in Jerusalem. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea from ad 26 to 36, apparently ordered their deaths. No other details are known, as these verses give the only account of this incident.
Jesus’ rhetorical question reflects the belief—common among first-century Jews—that physical affliction was caused by sin. Jesus counters this assumption in the next verse. Jesus asserts that the Galileans’ deaths were not the result of excessive sin.
Jesus uses this incident to illustrate the necessity of repentance. Jesus’ references to perishing involve more than physical death; they look ahead to the final judgment, the context of his teachings in chapter12. If His hearers did not repent, then they too would meet a catastrophic end. Faithlife Study Bible
Mention was made to Christ of the death of some Galileans. This tragical story is briefly related here, and is not met with in any historians. In Christ’s reply he spoke of another event, which, like it, gave an instance of people taken away by sudden death. Towers, that are built for safety, often prove to be men’s destruction. He cautioned his hearers not to blame great sufferers, as if they were therefore to be accounted great sinners. As no place or employment can secure from the stroke of death, we should consider the sudden removals of others as warnings to ourselves. On these accounts Christ founded a call to repentance. The same Jesus that bids us repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, bids us repent, for otherwise we shall perish. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
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