Tour de Cure

Haven't posted in a while...

We've signed up a team at RUMC to ride in the Tour de Cure, that benefits diabetes research. The ride will be on 6/11/05. If you want to donate go here: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?team_id=62379&fl=en_US&s_tafId=5066&pg=team&fr_id=2317 We hope to raise about $2000.00 on this ride as a team.

Emmaus #48 this weekend. More later!

New Orleans

We are just back from New Orleans from the RILA Loss Prevention conference. We had about 15 people or so in attendance. Lisa went with me. Conference was good, but New Orleans was packed with spring break traffic. The French Quarter was way too wild. I don't really care if I ever go back there to tell you the truth. We did, however manage to get a few biegiets before we left town!

Emmaus 48 is just a few weeks away. Two more team meetings and then the pilgrims will be in. I have my 4th day eample in two weeks for the team. Pray for me!!

It's Been Awhile!

Been awhile since I've posted! Wee've been busy with a bunch of church related activities! Lisa has just returned fro the Reynoldsburg Women's Walk to Emmaus and it went well. There were some tough times during the walk, but the Holy Sprit wins in the end! Doesn't he always? You can catch the list of pilrims here: here. They can always use your parayers as they start their 4th day.

On a sad note our friend Judy Yates passed away last week after her fight with cancer. She was truly an inspiriation to all who knew her. Her faith in Christ was strong until the end. She now has a new body and is with her Ed. We miss you Judy, but you're in a much better place.

Lastly, if you haven't checked out the Seven16 web page recently it is worth a look. Both sermons and music are in MP3 format for you. The band is awesome! You can find it here: Seven16

Until later, Christ loves you!

Are You Saved?

Part IV: Are you saved?
Are you one of God's children?

This is by far the most important question you can ask yourself. Did Christ save you from your sin? Or in different terms, are you born-again? You may have heard the term "born again Christian" before, but do you know what it means? Is it a reality in your life?

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

You see, from these verses, that if you are planning on Heaven, being "born again" is NOT AN OPTION. Remember, in Part II, when I mentioned that we were sinners by birth, well that is why the Lord requires a Second Birth. You see, when you were born physically (from your mother), you were born under the condemnation of sin, you were therefore "spiritually dead". When a person is "born again", he is born spiritually!

"And you hath he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1)

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Colossians 2:13)

So how does a person become "born again"? How does a person get saved?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

First thing you have to understand from these verses is that salvation isn't attained by any kind of work. You can't DO anything to save your soul. It is a gracious gift of God. Secondly, a person who truly desires to be saved understands he/she must "repent". Repentance means "changing your mind", more specifically, changing your mind about sin. A person who wants to continue sinning their way through life, doesn't want to be "saved". Thirdly, it is by faith, by believing in Christ that people are saved. Now this faith isn't just believing that there was or is a Jesus out there; even demons believe that there is a Jesus out there. No, no, believing here is more like saying: "I believe in you". Get it? When you tell a friend that you believe in him/her, you are not telling them that you believe that he/she exists, you are saying that you have faith in them, that you trust him/her. That's how you must come to trust Christ, both as Saviour and as Lord. But...

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10:14a)

In order to have faith in Christ, you have to know Him. Logical right? And if you want to know him, you'll have to...

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6)

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

That's right, if you want to know the Lord, you'll have to seek Him. Now in this church age, God doesn't physically appear to any person. So where do you seek him? Easy...

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation" (Isaiah 52:7a)

"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." (John 20:31)

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17)

The Bible my friends! Reading and hearing the preaching of the Word of God is how a man or a woman, today, can seek God. The Bible is the means by which we can know who God is, and what He requires of His children. The testimony of the Bible is what God uses to save His people from their sin.

So the conclusion of the matter, dear readers: do you know the Lord Jesus Christ (the Christ of the Bible, not some false concept of Jesus you may have learned from a false religion or philosophy)? Are you born again? Are you leading a HOLY, GOD-HONORING LIFE (in this life). Are you sure you are going to God's HOLY Heaven when this life comes to an end, to glorify God forever? Remember, there is NO PURGATORY. It's Heaven or it's the Lake of Fire: either the Son of God has saved you and you are going to Heaven, or the Lord Jesus Christ hasn't saved you, meaning you will suffer for your own sin in Hell forever.

If the answers to the questions above are "no" or "I'm not sure", don't waste your time. Seek God while you can! You don't know how long God will give you life, you don't know when Christ will return to judge the Earth in righteousness. Wipe the dust of your Bibles! Find and go to a Bible believing, Bible preaching church! Whatever you do, SEEK THE LORD!

Don't harden your hearts, friends. Don't put it off for a later time (a later time may never come). Take these posts SERIOUSLY, what you decide to do with all this will determine your spiritual destiny for this life, AND THE ONE TO COME.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

Emmaus Update

Been away for awhile! Anyway, Lisa and I have been asked to be "on team" for the next women's and men's Emmaus walks at RUMC. Both of us are excited about the opportunity to serve Christ and serve the pilgrims on these walks. The women's walk is March 10 through 14, 2005, and the men;s walk will be held on April 21st through 24th, 2005.

Also, IHN week is upon us. Homeless families at the church this week!

More soon!

It Was All About A Man

Heard this song on the radio this afternoon and loved the lyrics. I think it is an Avalon song:

It was all about a man
It was all about a cross
It was all about the blood
That was shed so I would not be lost
It was all about a love
That was bigger than a life
It was all about the freedom that was given
Through Your sacrifice
'Cause You would rather die
Than to ever live without me


Lisa and I have been asked to be on team for upcoming Emmaus walks. We are both excited about the opportunity to serve Christ and the pilgrims.

DeColres!

Gettysburg Trip

We are in Gettsburg today. I came on business and Lisa and Nick came along. Gettysburg is one of my favorite places on the planet, and one of my favorite places in Gettysburg is the location of the 20th Maine monument. Here is Nick at the monument. It is amazing to stand there and imagine what took place on this spot on July 2, 1863. Certainly one of the many turning points of the Civil War. While we were there today there was a small flag at the base of the monument that some child had obviously left there. On it was written: "To the men of the 20th Maine, July 2nd, 1863. God bless you all. Love Tyler." Kind of says it all.

Whose Punishment Did He Receive?

What Crime did Jesus Commit?
Report of the Inquiry into the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been a long and sometimes complex legal procedure. I have the honour summing up the findings of this inquiry, but before I do that, I would like to remind you of the purposes of this judicial review:

This inquiry was called upon to review the case of Jesus of Nazareth a popular religious leader who was executed a number of months ago. We will, in due course, return to the charges which were levelled against the accused and the evidence which was submitted in support of these charges. However, before we proceed to examine the charges, I would like, with your permission, to review the trial process itself, firstly in order to remind the you of the sequence of events and secondly, to point out some irregularities in the trial process which might be held to have prejudiced the proceedings.

As you know, the accused was a popular preacher and teacher who travelled widely throughout the country over the last three years, and who made a number of public appearances in Jerusalem. Some have suggested that the accused was politically motivated, a revolutionary, if you like. They have suggested that he plotted against the government. I would, however, like to point out that he never acted in secret, he spoke to large crowds and taught in some of our best know religious institutions, including the temple itself. Why the authorities should choose to arrest such a public figure after dark, in a private garden, rather than openly by daylight can only be a matter of conjecture.

You will recall that the accused was arrested on a Thursday evening, tried on the night of Thursday and Friday and then executed on the Friday. While I would wish to congratulate the judicial authorities for the expedition with which they dealt with this case, I would question whether the accused’s right to a fair trial and appeal were adequately safeguarded in this process. With these remarks in mind, I would like to examine the chronology of the events.

As we have already indicated, my client was arrested on the evening of the Thursday preceding the Passover at Gethsemane, a private garden on the outskirts of the city.

From there he was conveyed to the house of Annas, the incoming High Priest, for an initial hearing.

After appearing before Annas he was then taken to the home of Caiaphas, the outgoing high priest, where he was tried by the religious council, the Sanhedrin.

The Jewish religious authorities having exhausted all of their lines of inquiry, the accused was sent for trial before the Roman governor, his Excellency Pontius Pilate.

Pilate heard the case for the prosecution and then sent the accused for trial under his Excellency Herod, governor of the accused’s home state, Galilee.

Herod decided that while the accused was indeed from Galilee, the alleged crimes had been committed in Jerusalem, under the jurisdiction of Pilate, and hence Herod returned the accused to Pilate’s court, where he was judged and sentenced to death.

Ladies and Gentlemen, you may well ask yourselves what was the reason for what might best be described as legal shenanigans. In my view, there are two issues which need to be born in mind at this point. Firstly, the Jewish religious leaders do not have the authority to execute a criminal. They tried the accused and found him guilty, but they were constrained by the occupying powers to hand him over to Rome for sentencing. The second issue is that Pilate was desirous of conferring the responsibility for the judicial process against the accused to an alternative jurisdiction. Or to express the same thoughts in more common parlance – he wanted to pass the buck. We shall encounter further episodes of this ‘buck passing’ as we review the details of the legal process.

Trial before the Sanhedrin
See Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verses 53-65

It is clear to anyone reading the transcripts of the case that the trial was prejudiced against the accused from the outset. It was, what might be called a ‘put up job’.

Numerous witnesses were called against the accused (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verses 55-56) but no one was able to corroborate their testimony. Unsubstantiated testimony is, of course, not considered as valid evidence in our legal system, and so we must discount everything that was said by these witnesses. However, the simple fact that the authorities insisted on bringing forth a large number of dubious witnesses is a clear indication that they wished to find the accused guilty whatever the cost.

A number of witnesses brought the specific charge against the accused that he said he would destroy the temple in Jerusalem and rebuild it in three days. (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verses 57-59) though even here the evidence of the witnesses was contradictory and had to be discounted as part of the evidence.

It is instructive to note the behaviour of the accused in front of these unsubstantiated allegations. (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verses 60-61). Rather than defend himself against the indefensible, the accused maintained a dignified, and might I say, remarkable silence.

From this rather tawdry scene of put-up witnesses we move to the main submission for the prosecution, made by no lesser person than the High Priest himself. (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verse 61) Here, at least we see some clear questioning. The High Priest clearly asks whether the accused is the Messiah, the Son of God. Clearly, there is no greater infraction of the Jewish legal code. To make oneself equal to God is a crime that merits an automatic death sentence. So it is somewhat surprising to us to read in the transcripts of the trial that the accused answers in the affirmative to the High Priest’s question. (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verse 62). In fact not only does the accused assent to the High Priest’s accusation, he compounds his apparent guilt by calling himself the Son of Man. To those versed in Jewish law, the accused is clearly quoting from the books of Daniel and Psalms and making himself out to be the equal of God. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury with those few words, the accused apparently declared himself guilty and condemned himself to death.

Trial before Pilate
See John's Gospel chapter 18 verse 28 to chapter 19 verse 16

And so we move on to the trial before the Roman Governor Pilate. Let me remind you, Ladies and Gentlemen, the accused had been found guilty of blasphemy by the Jewish court and found deserving of the death penalty. However, under Roman occupation, the Jewish leaders did not have the right to punish people with the death penalty and so it was necessary to try the accused before the Roman authorities. However, blasphemy against a Jewish God was not a crime punishable by death under Roman law. Because of this, when the Jews brought the accused before Pilate, they initially refused to state the crimes against him (John's Gospel chapter 18 verses 29-31). In this case, Pilate quite rightly refused to try the accused, and returned him to the Jewish authorities. They however, refused to retry the accused, telling Pilate that they wished the accused to be executed. So, even before the accused could be tried before Roman law, the accusers were pressing for the death penalty.

At this point, the records are not entirely clear, and it is difficult to be certain about the exact chronology. At some point in the proceedings, Pilate attempted to hand the accused over to Herod for trial. However, on thing is very clear, neither Pilate, nor Herod were able to find any cause for executing the accused. (Luke's Gospel chapter 23 verses 14-16). Having found the accused innocent of any crime under Roman law, Pilate should have released him – though he would have been within his rights to have him roughed up a bit for offending the Jews so thoroughly.

Pilate offered to release the accused (- it is custom for the Roman authorities to release a prisoner at Passover time -) but the crowd refused to see the accused released and instead called for Pilate to set Barrabas, a notorious terrorist, free instead. It seems incredible that the Jewish authorities would prefer to see a dangerous criminal released into the community rather than a wandering preacher who had done no one any harm, and was actually on record as healing the sick and raising the dead – but this is what they asked for.

Furthermore, the Jewish authorities further compromised their integrity later in the proceedings. (John's Gospel chapter 19 verse 12). Once again, Pilate attempted to set the accused free, but at this point the religious authorities subtly made a change in the charge levelled against the accused. Rather than accusing him of blasphemy, they accused him of setting himself up as a rival to Caesar. Obviously, as Roman governor, Pilate had to take this charge seriously. He may not have been interested in Jewish religious disputes, but any threat to Roman rule was very much under his authority. Of course there was no evidence to link the accused to a revolution against the Roman authorities – in fact he was on public record as telling the Jewish people to pay their taxes to Rome – something that the Jewish authorities tended to oppose. (Matthew's Gospel chapter 22 verses 19-22). The Jewish authorities then claimed that they were faithful citizens of Rome – something that defies belief given their history (John's Gospel chapter 19 verse 15) and that they wanted the accused killed because of their faithfulness to Caesar.

Finally, Pilate declared that the accused was not guilty of any crime against Roman law (Matthew's Gospel chapter 27 verses 23-25). However, he also handed the accused over to the Jewish authorities so that they could execute him, declaring in a phrase which I fear may become well known in future years, that he washed his hands of the affair.

It is interesting to review Pilate’s actions during this process. It is clear that he wanted to avoid making a decision at all costs. Initially he tried to pass the judgment off to Herod and then when that failed, he refused to release the accused even though he found him innocent – rather he passed the accused over to the Jews and allowed them to execute him.

So let us review the situation as we find it. The accused, Jesus of Nazareth was found guilty of blasphemy under Jewish law, but he was not guilty of any crime under Roman law. We are forced to conclude, therefore that his execution, under Roman law, was not lawful.

In closing my presentation, I would like to briefly examine the crime of which the accused was found guilty – blasphemy (Mark's Gospel chapter 14 verse 62). We have already seen evidence that shows that the accused apparently admitted to the crime of blasphemy when under questioning by the High Priest. Thus it would appear to be an open and shut case. Claiming to be equal to God is a crime under Jewish law, and Jesus of Nazareth made that claim. However, there is one situation in which it would not be a crime to claim equality with God – that is in the situation where the individual making the claim, is in fact God. In other words, if the claims the accused made were true, he would not be guilty of any crime. So in the interests of fairness, let us briefly examine this seemingly fantastic claim.

Jesus of Nazareth was clearly an exceptional and gifted man. We do not have time to review all of the evidence here, but there are numerous eyewitness accounts of him healing people of chronic sickness, accounts of him feeding large crowds of people with virtually no food and even accounts of him changing the weather and raising the dead. The accused referred to these events as signs and claimed that they demonstrated that his claim to be equal with God was true.

In particular, (Matthew's Gospel chapter 12 verses 38-40) he made one specific claim that can be verified. About a year before his execution, the accused claimed that he would be buried under the ground for three days. As you will know, on the third day after his execution, the accused’s body disappeared from the grave where it had been placed. Initially, the Roman authorities claimed that this was because his followers had stolen his body – though they failed spectacularly to explain how a group of fishermen could have stolen a body guarded by crack Roman troops. However, in the ensuing weeks, the accused was seen walking around by hundreds of reliable witnesses (1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 6) who can be questioned today.

So let us review the evidence. The accused claimed that he was equal with God, and that he would prove it by not staying in his grave beyond three days. Then three days after being executed, he left his grave and was seen by numerous witnesses. The conclusion that we are forced to draw from this evidence is that the accused was correct when he asserted that he was equal to God.

So in conclusion: Jesus of Nazareth was not found to be guilty of any crime under Roman law. Equally, the charge of blasphemy raised against him under Jewish law is unfounded because all of the evidence points to him actually equal with God.

Jesus of Nazareth was executed under Roman law, punished for crimes which he did not commit. These leaves one question which this inquiry cannot answer. If Jesus of Nazareth was not guilty of any crime – whose punishment did he receive?

This article is based on a talk first given by Ed Arthur at Waterfront Church, Southampton, on Sunday 21st March 2004.

Maillot Jaune

Will Lance ride????

Maillot Jaune: "2005 Tour de France Stage List
July 2: 1st Stage Fromentine - Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile 19km (Time-Trial)
July 3: 2nd stage Challans - Les Essarts 182km
July 4: 3rd stage La Chataigneraie - Tours 208km
July 5: 4th stage Tours - Blois 66km (Team TT)
July 6: 5th stage Chambord - Montargis 179km
July 7: 6th stage Troyes - Nancy 187km
July 8: 7th stage Luneville - Karlsruhe (GER) 225km
July 9: 8th stage Pforzheim (GER) - Gerardmer 235km
July 10: 9th stage Gerardmer - Mulhouse 170km
July 11: Rest Day at Grenoble
July 12: 10th stage Grenoble - Courchevel 192km
July 13: 11th stage Courchevel - Briancon 173km
July 14: 12th stage Briancon - Digne-les-Bains 187km
July 15: 13th stage Miramas - Montpellier 162km
July 16: 14th stage Agde - Ax-3 Domaines 220km
July 17: 15th stage Lezat-sur-Leze - Saint-Lary-Soulan (Pla-d'Adet) 205km
July 18: Rest Day at Pau
July 19: 16th stage Mourenx - Pau 177km
July 20: 17th stage Pau - Revel 239km
July 21: 18th stage Albi - Mende 189km
July 22: 19th stage Issoire - Le Puy-en-Velay 154km
July 23: 20th stage Saint-Etienne - Saint-Etienne 55km (TT)
July 24: 21st stage Corbeil-Essonnes - Paris Champs-Elysees 160km "

We survived the ice storm of 2004

Wow! What an ice storm we had on 12/23/04 here in Columbus. We had over 2" of ice on everything. I have attached two pictures to give you an idea of what it was like. The trees were bent to the ground, and it was alomost impossible to get into the cars. We lost power for about 15 hours. The office was closed (although I was on my way to work when I got the call). But we survived, went to Wooster for Christmas, where my parents were out of power. Thet stayed without power for about 5 days or so. We stayed at Lisa's parents who had power most of the time. A unique Christmas to say the least. The last couple of days here in Columbus the temperature has reached the 50's and now the ice is gone. Winter in Ohio!!!