There comes a time when a man has to take up the fight, even if it looks hopeless.  The Romans had stolen our freedom, killed innocent men and women, robbed us blind, and desecrated our temple with their show of force.  We were terrorists, I guess, flashing swords and shedding blood before retreating into a crowd anonymously.  We killed Roman soldiers and Jewish collaborators, sending a message that the people of God deserved to live free.  We saw ourselves as the heirs of King David, restoring the kingdom that David built.  We were freedom fighters like the Maccabees, who drove out the pagan Greek oppressors two centuries earlier.

I thought he was the Messiah who would lead us against the Romans, the one who would restore the kingdom of Israel.  But the more I listened to him, the more I realized that he was about something much bigger.  He asked me to follow him, and like the other eleven I saw how he healed the sick, loved outcasts, even raised the dead.  I was still an angry man; the hate didn’t simply disappear.  It just slowly dissipated as Jesus talked his way into my heart.  Patiently he taught us about the Father’s love, about forgiveness for enemies, about a kingdom so much bigger than a place in the middle east.

We didn’t get it for a time, that he would have to suffer and die to complete God’s plan of salvation.  It seemed all wrong that night in the garden, when armed men came to arrest him.  Peter brought a sword; it should have been me.  I would have prevented his capture, or died trying.  I’ll never forget what Jesus said: “All who draw the sword will die by the sword.  Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26:52-54)  Jesus suffered and died because that’s what God knew was necessary, what the Old Testament explained as the only way to rescue us for real freedom – freedom from the curse and consequence of sin.

Swords or guns won’t achieve what people really need. There isn’t a political solution to a spiritual problem.  Getting angry about what’s wrong with your country only creates bitterness and depression.  There’s a bigger picture, an eternal kingdom, a life independent of all that’s wrong with this world.  Jesus accomplished all that, and he gives it freely.

You know me as Simon the Zealot, one of the twelve.  I know you as my brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God that Jesus established.

PRAYER: Thank you, Jesus, for setting me free from feelings and agendas that only create more anger and bitterness.  Thank you for love and forgiveness, for me and for me to share.  Fill me with the peace that only you can give and focus me on the everlasting peace in your presence that is mine because you died and rose again for me.   Amen.

In my home town people make you wear your mistakes.  I was the whore, and I would never escape my past.  The biting sarcasm of the other women, just loud enough so I could hear what they were saying. . . it scars your soul, you know what I mean?  The leering looks of the men, as though I were just an object. . . it felt like my worth was being peeled away in strips.

I didn’t know what love was, so I went looking for it in all the wrong places.  That’s a cliché, I know; but I’m not the only one who’s gone down that road.  I felt used, discarded, beyond redemption.  After five sorry marriages, I gave up on the idea of love and settled for affection, or at least attention.  There were times I wanted to change what I’d become; but the guilt just dragged me back into the rut of my sin.  “You made your bed, now lie in it,” was a how a relative put it, with a sneer.  The shame taught me to avoid people, so I would wait until the heat of the day to go out in public.

One day I met a stranger at the town well.  He didn’t know me, I thought, and that was why he talked to me.  He asked for a drink of water.  Experience had made me suspicious of anyone who seemed kind; but he was different.  He didn’t look at me the way all the others did.  I was wrong.  He did know me, like no human being ever could; and he wasn’t put off by who I was or what I’d done.  When he spoke about salvation, I dared to ask if he was the Messiah that rabbis spoke about.  I think I knew the answer before he affirmed it.

It was the strangest thing.  I forgot about the shame I’d been living with and began telling others that I had met the Christ.  They seemed to forget my guilt as they joined me in asking Jesus to stay and teach us more.  He took away my guilt and shame.  I didn’t understand how at first; but months later, when he gave his life at the cross, I got it.  He really did take away my guilt and shame.

At the well he told me, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)  That didn’t make sense to me at the time, but now I know that the spiritual life he brought about in me is everlasting.  And there is nothing in this world I thirst for more than that.

You know me as the Samaritan woman or the woman at Jacob’s well.  I know you as my brothers and sisters in God’s grace.

PRAYER: Thank you, Jesus, for wiping away my past sins and giving me the reason and the courage to live differently.  Thank you for the new identity you’ve given me as God’s dearly loved child.  Encourage me to invite others on the journey of eternal life with you.  Amen.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

What frightens you? Clowns, spiders, snakes, storms? What scares you? Failure, commitment, loneliness, to-do lists? Fear is one of those things that all people feel, even if children are the only ones who are honest about it. 

The thing about fear is it freezes you. It stops you in your tracks. It keeps you from doing what you need to do. The same was true for the people wandering around the wilderness. They were scared of the size and strength of all the people that currently lived in the Promised Land. And they let that fear of failure and defeat keep them from living in the commands and promises of God. 

They feared people over God. They feared what man can do over what God can do. They believed the declaration of their hearts over the declaration of God. So God’s command was simple: Be strong. Be courageous. DO NOT FEAR. 

What are you fearing more than God? What fills you with enough dread to stop doing what God asks? Will you have the courage to face your fears? 1 John 4:18 says it this way: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. God loves you! God has your best interests at heart! Jesus gave his life for you! That perfect love drives out the fear of everything else. 

Be strong Be courageous. Face your fears and follow God.

Dear Lord, You have promised eternal life to us. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us. Help us to cling to your promises. Remind us of Your faithful love in Christ, and help us to have the courage to live boldly in this world. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.