A Living Temple

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– King Solomon on Mount Moriah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
2 Chronicles 5:2-6:11 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

 

The Lord promised Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky. And yet, after waiting twenty-five years for Sara to have a child, the Lord told him, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and sacrifice him”.

 

Early the next morning, Abraham started his three-day journey to take Isaac to the mountain that the Lord would show him. Once there, he built an altar and bound Isaac. But when he raised his knife, the Lord provided a ram as a substitutionary sacrifice. The name of the mountain was Moriah.

 

Over 1000 years later, Solomon, the king of Israel, had a temple built for the Lord on Mount Moriah. He used the finest materials – cedar, gold, silver, bronze and precious stones. It was constructed by the most skilled craftsmen. The ornamentation was intricate. Gold overlay was everywhere. It was magnificent!

 

Once completed, Solomon planned a dedication that would be rivaled by none. He waited eleven months for just the right time - the Festival of Tabernacles. Then he summoned “the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of Israelite families”.

 

The Levites, who were musicians, played cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. All the people joined in singing and praising the Lord, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” To honor the Lord, so many sheep and cattle were sacrificed that they couldn’t keep count.

 

Finally, the priests took the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place. Then as they withdrew from there, the room filled with smoke. So much so that they couldn’t continue their service.

 

¹ Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. ² Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”        NLT

 

However, the story of Mount Moriah is much more than a substitutionary ram saving the life of Isaac. Or Solomon’s magnificent temple built for the God of Israel to reside forever. It’s the story of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who changed everything.

 

Almost 1000 years after Solomon built his temple, Jesus taught and healed in Herod’s temple… also built on Mount Moriah. 

But his sacrifice will save not just one but all who have faith and follow him. And his home doesn’t depend on a physical building because now he lives in our hearts, a living temple. Paul put it like this.

 

^16b For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
    and walk among them.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.     NLT   2 Corinthians 6

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Big Picture

A series on Pauls’ prayers
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Ephesians 3:14-21 

[Paul was a controversial figure in the first century church. But it could also be argued that he was the most dynamic and influential apostle. In this series we’ll be looking at Paul’s prayers and what he has to say to us today.]

  

“You can’t see the forest for the trees”

 

This well-known saying is used when someone is so focused on the details of life that they’re unable to see the big picture. We’re particularly vulnerable to this when life is difficult and we’re facing struggles. We get so focused on our problems, that we can’t see the possibilities.

 

In the Ephesian church, there was a large number of Gentile believers. Because of this, Paul wanted to make sure that they understood that they had an equal standing in the church. In doing so, he didn’t get so involved in the details that he wasn’t able to see the big picture.

 

⁶ And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. ⁷ By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.                                                    NLT            Ephesians 3

 

These thoughts prompted Paul to “fall to my knees and pray to the Father”.

 

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ^17a so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

17b And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…    NIV

Through his prayer, the ultimate outcome that Paul was looking for was this.

 

¹⁹ So that you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.                NLT

 

But, there’s this thing called life that keeps getting in the way of experiencing the love and fullness of Christ. When we’re in the thick of things, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. The trees keep getting in the way of God’s love.

 

However, in his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

 

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.                NIV        Romans 8

 

In the context of Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians, the saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees” is a metaphor. The forest is God’s love. It’s also the big picture.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

A Scene from a Horror Movie

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
The demon possessed man.
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Mark 5:1-20 

[In this series we’ll be looking at people who lived in the wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is faithful, that He loves you and is always with you.]

  

When I was a kid, I loved watching horror movies. One of the scariest was Psycho. I can still hear the screeching sound just before the shower scene where a deranged Anthony Perkins viciously kills Janet Leigh.

 

But nothing rivals the scary scene that Jesus faced. Larger and larger crowds of people had been following him. In an effort for some peace and quiet, he and his disciples sailed at night across the Sea of Galilee when a sudden storm threatened their lives. Jesus calmed the waters and the disciples fear.

 

But fear would come again!

 

It was still dark when they reached the shore. Imagine how frightening it must have been when Jesus was immediately confronted by a naked man who was possessed by an evil spirit. When he saw Jesus, he ran up to him, fell on his knees and screamed in an unearthly voice.

 

This man had supernatural strength. In the past, he had been chained hand and foot and kept under guard. However, he always managed to break the chains. Nobody was strong enough to subdue him. He was out of control crazy.

 

⁵ Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.                      NLT

 

Following this, something even more bizarre happened. The demon begged Jesus not to torture him but to send him into a herd of nearby pigs. When Jesus complied and exorcised the evil spirit, the entire herd of almost two thousand pigs plunged down a steep bank into the lake and drowned.

 

The final scene of this story is Jesus sitting with the man who had been possessed but now was fully dressed and in his right mind. He was no longer driven by the demons. He was no longer living in the wilderness. He was at peace.

 

In our culture, people commonly don’t believe in demons or evil spirits. But we can understand and agree that there is something within us that keeps us from doing the good that we desire to do. Something within us that we struggle with.

 

Paul wrote at length about this struggle in Romans. He described how he wanted to do the right thing but kept doing evil. Then he came to this conclusion.

 

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.   NIV

 

Most likely, your struggles haven’t been like a scene from a horror movie. But we all struggle with sin. Thankfully, Paul didn’t end by just describing this struggle. He went on to give these words of hope, not only for him, but also for us.

 

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!       NIV

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

The Sign

A Series on Lent
The stories of Passion Week – Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 19:1-37 

[Lent is a 40-day season of personal reflection with the purpose to prepare your heart to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. In this series on Lent, we will be looking into the stories of Passion Week. How the people who were directly involved were impacted and how that applies to us today.]

 

Twice a week I’ve been going to a Silver Sneakers exercise class at a nearby gym. When walking through the weightlifting room I often see many of the same people working out.

 

For some, it’s easy to tell that they work out regularly. Their biceps are huge, their chest is broad, and their thighs are thick. Apparently, they take to heart some signs in the gym that proclaim: “NO PAIN. NO GAIN”!

 

Jesus was subjected to intense pain – physical, emotional and spiritual. During his trial before Pilate, the Roman guards mocked him as the king of the Jews. They placed a crown of thorns and a purple robe on him. They slapped him in the face. Finally, they flogged him, which is the usual punishment preceding crucifixion.

 

Several times during the trial, Pilate tried to convince the chief priests to drop their charges. He told them multiple times that he found “no basis for a charge against him”. Yet the chief priests persisted. They were relentless and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted… Jesus crucified.

 

Finally, there was a climactic confrontation between Pilate and the chief priests. They must have worked themselves into a fighting frenzy because they proclaimed a political alliance that would hurt them in the synagogue. Here’s what happened when Pilate presented Jesus as their king.

 

^14b “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.              NIV

 

Jesus had come to replace the sacrificial system that had been in place since the time of Moses. The chief priests saw Jesus as a threat to their position of power, and found a way to eliminate him. But in so doing, they actually facilitated the very change that he came to make.

 

¹² With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.                        NLT

                                                                                    Hebrews 9

 

While Jesus hung from the cross suffering a painful death, the Roman guards callously gambled to win his clothing. Mary, Jesus’ mother, stood nearby possibly over hearing their course conversation. Following this, Jesus said something that could send chills down your spine.

 

³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).                  NIV                  Mark 15

 

Like the sign at my gym, Jesus had his own sign.

 

¹⁹ And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.    NLT

 

Figuratively speaking, the sign can still be read today in significantly more languages. The truth of the sign remains unchanged. However, it’s not a sign for us to just read, but to change our life as a follower of Jesus, the King of kings.

 

For he is risen. He is risen indeed!

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

It’s Not Fair!

A Series on Lent
The stories of Passion Week – the trial
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 18:28-40; 19:1-16 

[Lent is a 40-day season of personal reflection with the purpose to prepare your heart to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. In this series on Lent, we will be looking into the stories of Passion Week. How the people who were directly involved were impacted and how that applies to us today.]

In 1892, James Naismith invented the game of basketball. According to Wikipedia, beginning in 1924 foul shots were taken when a player was fouled. This included a one and one free throw which occurred when the opposing team reached a specified number of fouls.

 Fast forward to 2023, 100 years later. My oldest granddaughter played on the eighth-grade school basketball team. Early in the season, there was a game where the referees were clearly not following the one and one rule correctly.

 

Feeling like they were treating my granddaughter’s team unfairly, I yelled at the top of my lungs to let the refs know… twice! Everyone in the gym heard me! After the second time, a nearby spectator quietly informed me that the rule had been changed that year. I wanted to crawl under the bleachers.

 

Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus was treated unfairly.

 

At the beginning of Passover, the chief priests and elders had made plans on how they could get Jesus crucified. In Deuteronomy, the Mosaic Law states that anyone who is crucified is cursed by God. Therefore, the chief priests and elders rationalized that if Jesus was crucified, his messianic claims would be discredited.

 

They were willing to take any means necessary to accomplish their goal. To this end, they offered a substantial reward to catch him. They found false witnesses to testify against him. They shouted for Barabbas to be freed and Jesus to be crucified.

 

All of this was done, not in the name of justice, but in an effort to protect their position and power. They wanted to keep the status quo and Jesus was a threat. For them, the ends justified the means.

 

Their hypocrisy was unfathomable. During the trial, they wouldn’t go inside Pilate’s palace because that would make them ceremonially unclean and prevent them from eating the Passover meal. But, in their mind, it was okay to kill Jesus.

 

“It’s not fair”!

 

Who hasn’t said that before? Maybe you felt like a sibling got preferential treatment. Or, your co-worker got the promotion that you deserved. Or, that the refs weren’t calling the game fairly.

 

None of these compare with how unfairly Jesus was treated. And yet, it was a part of God’s plan of redemption. Someone had to pay the price for our sins. The only one who could meet the demands for God’s justice was the unblemished Lamb of God.

 

Through an ironic turn of events, what the chief priests had intended as a curse that would ruin Jesus, became a blessing that brought us life. It wasn’t fair. But it was loving.

 

¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”        NLT   Galatians 3

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Mr. March

A Series on Lent
Jesus comforts his disciples
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 14:1-11 

[Lent is a 40-day season of personal reflection through prayer, fasting and giving in order to prepare your heart to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. We will be following Jesus through the Gospel of John as he enters Jerusalem for Passover, and the ensuing events that led up to his trial, crucifixion and resurrection.]

 

Tom Izzo is the Hall of Fame head coach of the Michigan State University men’s basketball team.

This year marks the twenty-fifth consecutive year that he has led his team to the NCAA tournament known as March Madness. It’s more than any other coach in history. Because of his record, he’s been given the nickname of Mr. March.

 

At the end of February, the team was riding high scoring over 80 points per game. But during the Big Ten Tournament, they lost to the second to the bottom seeded team. Their confidence was shaken. How will Coach Izzo prepare his team to face the challenges of March Madness?

 

The disciples were riding high as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and later was given a king’s reception into the city of Jerusalem. They were celebrating the Passover together in the upper room when Jesus dropped a bombshell... one of the disciples would betray him. Not only that, but Peter would deny him.

 

The disciples were shocked. Their confidence was shaken. Just when everything appeared to be victorious, their world was turned upside down. How will Jesus prepare his disciples to face the challenges of the next few hours? Like Coach Izzo, Jesus will point to himself.

 

¹ “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.    NLT

 

⁶ Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  NLT

 

The disciples can trust Jesus because he’s the conduit to the Father. Not only is he the conduit, but he and the Father are one.

 

^9b ...Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! ^10b …The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.     NLT

 

Jesus also promises that he is preparing a place for them in his Father’s home.

 

³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  NLT

 

The disciples lived with Jesus twenty-four seven for three years. They trusted him through the good times and the bad. Now Jesus asked them to trust him again. In the same way, Jesus asks us to trust him again.

 

These verses, these promises spoken to the disciples, are spoken to us too. Jesus loves you. He’s faithful. He’s always with you. That’s way better than Mr. March.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

 

We Are… Marshall

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 5 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

The 2006 movie titled “We Are Marshall”, is based on a true story about a college football team, a school and a town that needed to mourn a tragic loss and to heal. On November 14, 1970, a plane crashed that was carrying the Marshall University football team, coaches, staff and boosters. All died!

 

In the movie, the newly hired coach gave his newly recruited team an inspirational message before their first game. He took them to the memorial site where six of the deceased players were buried. This is an excerpt from his message.

 

“When you take that field today, you’ve got to lay your heart on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game, but if you play like that, we cannot be defeated. This is your opportunity to rise from the ashes and grab glory.”

 

The players responded with a “we’re ready-to-run-through-a-wall coach”, call and response chant of - “We are… Marshall”!
(You can watch this scene by clicking on the link below.)
We Are Marshall

 

In the closing paragraphs of John’s letter, he summarizes several significant themes. He does it with a repetitive phrase starting with “We know”. As I read these it reminded me of the movie. It’s not a call and response like the Marshall chant, but it has that feel to it.

 

In a way, John’s giving the believers a pep talk to teach them; prepare them; inspire them. They’ve already faced the adversity of heretical teachings which led to people they knew, some of them were likely friends, rejecting their faith and leaving the fellowship. Plus, the believers would certainly face more adversity.

 

¹⁸ We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.            NLT

 

As you read these verses, could you feel the rhythm of the chant from the movie? We know… that God’s son holds you in his arms; we know… that you are a child of God living in a sinful world; we know… that you live in fellowship with the Son of God.

 

Do these words move your heart and soul? Like the players, are you ready to run through a wall for your faith? Do they inspire you to “rise from the ashes and grab glory” for the Son of God?

 

John also wrote these simple words of encouragement for us.

 

¹¹ And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.    NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

“Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!”

A Series on Lent: Peter’s Journey
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Mt 16:13-23

[Lent is a time of reflection. During Lent, we will be looking at Peter’s Journey to learn how his reflections on his own life, his culture, his religion and his savior changed his life forever.]

In the movie “300”, there’s a dramatic scene where the Spartans, who are heading into the Battle of Thermopylae, cross paths with the Arcadians, who are also going to battle. However, because of their small number, the Arcadians question the commitment and ability of the Spartans to defeat the Persians.

King Leonidas asks some of the Arcadians, “What is your job”. To which they timidly respond, “A potter, a blacksmith, a sculpture”. 

But when Leonidas shouts, “Spartans, what is your profession!” They resoundingly respond with a fearless war cry. “Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!”

 

(You can click on the link below to watch this brief scene.)
 "Spartans, what is your profession?"

His point is that the Spartans would follow him into battle anywhere because they were raised to be warriors; trained to fight; drilled to defend. It is in their DNA. Bottom line… they would follow Leonidas to their death.

 

Jesus had led his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi, a part of the country that was predominantly Greek. He seems to want to gauge what people think of him there; who they say he is. But really his question is directed at the disciples.

 

¹⁵ Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”            NLT

 

Peter seems to hit the nail on the head. Because of this, Jesus commends him and blesses him. He gives Peter a new identity… the rock. He gives him a vision for the future and the leading role that he will play. Jesus inspires and motivates Peter to follow him into battle.

 

The only problem is, Jesus isn’t going into battle. In fact, soon after Peter’s confession, Jesus begins to teach his disciples that he will be going to Jerusalem where he will “suffer many things, be killed and raised to life”. Because of the inspirational blessing of Jesus, Peter chastises him for such talk.

 

Apparently Peter still didn’t understand why Jesus came.

 

Every week at my church I recite the Apostles Creed saying what I believe. It’s a way of answering the question that Jesus asked his disciples; “Who do you say I am”. 

Every week I get the right answer. But I’m not so sure it’s from my heart. I’m not sure that I’m ready to follow Jesus into battle like the Spartans.

 

“Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!”

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams