Getting to Know Me - Day 8 Satisfaction

Day 8 – Satisfaction

I have taken a Blog Challenge to blog daily for 30 days mostly about myself so that you and others can get to know me a bit better. Tell a friend about www.jacobfields.org this month, or like and interact with me on my Facebook ministry page at Facebook.com/Jacobwfields

Name a moment in life when you have been the most satisfied:

I am so blessed to say that I live in a constant state of satisfaction. I am so happy with the life I live, it is so much fuller than I could have imagined. I always imagined being married but not being so fulfilled by her companionship. I always imagined being a dad but never understood the euphoria that comes from seeing my son smile. I for several years have wanted to spread the word of God and impact lives for God, I never imagined what it would feel like to actually lead people who are in a place of unbelief to a relationship with God. So the moment I have been most satisfied is now, it has gone on for quite some time and I don’t see it ending anytime soon.

My satisfaction does not however negate the urgency of the Gospel and the drive to keep pressing forward in life.

As Always thanks for your time and giving this a read. If you enjoyed it share it with friends, you can do so easily with one of the buttons below. I pray that you will embrace life in the Love and Grace offered to you through Jesus Christ, and that you will always remember Jeremiah 29:11.  – For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, Plans to Proper You and not for harm, Plans with Hope for the Future.

Holy Week - Thursday

This week is a very special week. It is the most important week on the entire Christian calendar and within this week we remember the events that changed our world forever. I always try to do something extra special this week of the year, and this year I have chosen to journey with you through a book by Adam Hamilton. 24 Hours that Changed the World is a great book with only 7 chapters. So Each Day - Monday to Easter Sunday - I will review a chapter from the book. I very much recommend that you click the link here and overnight yourself a copy so that you can join in the discussions of each chapter in the comments below.

Chapter 4 - Jesus, Barabbas, and Pilate

Today's Chapter challenges me in many ways. It discusses the events of Pilate. At first, we have the accusations. There is something that happens even here that we as Christians should learn from. When hurtful and accusatory words were spoken about/ to Jesus, He did not become defensive. He did not himself become accusatory. He remained silent. This is so different from normal that a man, who had no historical problem with killing Jews, was hesitant. Something about Jesus stood out to Pilate so much that he "washed his hands" of Jesus Blood. So what is it about being calm and not defending yourself is so compelling that it would lead to this? It is just so unusual. The first thing I do, and many people I know, is to answer harsh words with harsh words. When someone speaks negatively to or about me without even thinking I react defensively often in a way that is just as petty as what is being said. In fact, this concept is so pervasive in human interactions that one of the best books on how to relate to people is almost exclusively about this subject, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. If we are to be like Christ this is a very significant lesson.

In this chapter Hamilton also clearly communicates the idea of Substitution. Substitution is the belief that Christ who was sinless took the place of the sinners on the cross that we may be saved from sin and death and brought back into relationship with God. This belief means that the death Jesus Died was intended for me, and for you. The way that this is highlighted almost makes me jealous of Barabbas on that day. He was the first to experience the realization that Christ took his place on the cross when Pilate released him to the crowd while shouting to Crucify Jesus. Can you imagine a beaten and bloody Christ, standing silent across from you about to be lead to and nailed on a cross to die and you who have been guilty of murder (all sin is equal in the eyes of God) are being set free? Can you imagine looking into his eyes knowing that you should be in his place?

Can you imagine the reassuring look he might give back saying "don't feel guilty I choose to take this that you might live to know a God who LOVES YOU."

If we can put ourselves in Barabbas' place in that instance how would our lives change?

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Holy Week - Wednesday

This week is a very special week. It is the most important week on the entire Christian calendar and within this week we remember the events that changed our world forever. I always try to do something extra special this week of the year, and this year I have chosen to journey with you through a book by  Adam Hamilton. 24 Hours that Changed the World is a great book with only 7 chapters. So Each Day - Monday to Easter Sunday - I will review a chapter from the book. I very much recommend that you click the link here and overnight yourself a copy so that you can join in the discussions of each chapter in the comments below.

Chapter 3 - Condemned by the Righteous

Today we are reminded of several things that are present in the world today that cause pain. When looking at the story of Jesus' so called trial at the Sanhedrin we are reminded of the damage we can cause from love of power, authority, and respect of peers or fear of loosing such things. Surely of the 71 members of the Sanhedrin or those simply observing the spectacle someone knew that what was happening was not right. Spitting, Taunting, Beating, and lying are not things looked favorably on by the Torah and would not be model behavior that the so called righteous would normally display. In the secrecy of those early morning hours without the accountability of the public, the moral examples in Jerusalem became bullies. And even though it is likely that not everyone participated in the belittling of Jesus, it is clear that not one spoke up for what was right.

How often do we fall victim to defaming another around us? When we speak with negativity about people we seek to justify ourselves by claiming as truth the most negative examples we can think of to describe a person. How does that make us any different or any better? When we do this to people we know are we not doing it also then to Christ whose image humankind was made in? When we do this are we not belittling God's Creation? Or what about when we simply fail to speak up? What about when we simply fail to do what

is right? I know you are thinking well if that is what is required then we might as well give up because we can't live to that expectation every time. That is exactly the point! You and I will continue to mess up every hour of every day we will fail to live in perfect community failing to lover our neighbor and failing to hear the cry of the needy. This is why Christ has died for us: so that we would never give up. He took our punishment; he took our death so that we might live better tomorrow than we did today never being ashamed of the times we have failed but instead using those instances as examples to drive ourselves and those around us to a better future.

It is no coincidence that Peter's Denial is also a part of this story. As Adam Hamilton points out the story of Peter's denial is present in all of the gospels so many people would have had to have heard the story for this to happen. Yet the only one who was there to pass on the story was Peter himself. This example challenges us to use the deepest and darkest embarrassments and failures of our life in a way not only to challenge others to move beyond our flaws but as a way of highlighting God's love and Mercy and how if he can forgive even that, then surely there is hope for us all.

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