30 Day Challenge

Here is a challenge for you to take. For the next 30 days I challenge you to read the crucifixion account. You can read it as an augment to your daily devotions or you can make it your daily devotions. I have been doing this for about a week now and I have made it my daily devotions. While you are doing this I want you to make it a point everyday to tell yourself, "He did that for me." I know this, I have only been doing this for a week and it has changed my behaviors. I started to find that as I would go through my day and I would be tempted to sin that the Holy Spirit would remind me about the cross. It is so humbling to be reminded about the cross whenever I sin! The thought has crossed my mind so many times since I've started this that the one little sin that I commit, whether it be a little white lie or a covetous thought, was all it took to hang Jesus onto that cross. So I challenge you, read the crucifixion account for the next thirty days, but don't just read it, let it bathe you so that as you go about your day it will drip off every word you say, thought you think, and thing you do. And comment to me and tell me how it affects your walk. Christ's death is such a deep story full of love, mercy, and holiness. It should never be forgotten, even by those who claim it belongs to them.

The Shadow of the Cross

Something has been burdening me for a few weeks now and with the Easter season rolling around it is good for us to remember this thing: The Cross. Many times we equate the cross with salvation and we are correct in doing so. If it had not been for what was done on the cross we would have no hope for salvation. But I fear that many of us live our lives as if the cross were merely a means to an end. The cross is not just about our salvation but also about our sanctification. Many of us, I am including myself here, wake up in the morning and go about our day and do our own thing but do not care about what God thinks about our lives. We tell our bad jokes, we think our evil thoughts, we neglect to study God's Word and pray all without realizing that Jesus died for the very sins that we are committing. The cross is not an excuse to sin more since the punishment for sin is taken away, but it is a motivation to sin less. I strongly believe that if we took the time every day to consider the pain and agony that Jesus endured on the cross and that he did it all for your sins and mine we would be a different people. The cross should mean so much to us. The one thought that has been racing through my mind is this: Jesus died for me, the least I could do is live for him. Let's determine today that we will live under the shadow of the cross.

Buckle Your Seatbelt! This Sermon is Red Hot!

I have recently heard a sermon preached by Pastor Bob Kelly. He was a great man of God and this message is powerful. It was preached in 1995 and is called The Danger of Allowing a Lukewarm Heart. You can find it on this website! Grace Baptist Church. Hope you enjoy listening! Buckle your seatbelt!

Crucifixion: Pilates Travel Path

My first group of posts are going to be about the crucifixion story. I will be preaching to Granite Baptist School in chapel in May about the importance and seriousness of the crucifixion, so I want to immerse myself in the whole story. I am starting with a focus on a character that I simply find fascinating: Pilate. I'll make a few observations on this post and maybe elaberate more on my next:
So Jesus is brought before Pilate. As we put our focus on Luke 23, the chief scribes bring 3 accusations before Pilate: 1. He perverts the nation, 2. He forbad giving tribute to Ceaser, and 3. He claims to be Christ a King. Each of these accusations was meant to condemn him and many before Jesus likely had been condemned in some way for at least one of these three. The thing I notice is that Pilate disregards the first two accusations and simply focuses on the third (the biggest). We see that a common element is that in all four Gospels Pilate asks Jesus, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" (Matt 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3, and John 18:33) To which Jesus replies "Thou sayest" except in John where he elaberates on that phrase. Here is the strange part, after Jesus answers Pilates question with a simple "Thou sayest" as if to say,"you said it!" Pilate turns back to the people in Luke 23:4 and says, "I find no fault in this man." Here is what I think, Pilate may have believed in Jesus, maybe not completely but at least a little. Pilate gets hung up about this whole King thing! In John 19:14 we see that he is trying to convince the Jews to not crucify Jesus by saying, "Behold, your King!"
What finally gets me is what Pilate writes on the inscription above the cross, "Jesus of Nazareth The King of the Jews," to which the chief priests protest and say that he should write that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews, not that he was. Here is how this is significant: The inscription above the cross was meant to notify the people why the person on the cross was being crucified, therefore, to the chief priests it would only make logical sense for Pilate to write that Jesus claimed it, not that he actually was. But Pilate's response is great, you can just feel the snubbiness that he gives to the chief priests as he says, "What I have written, I have written."
Based on these facts and others that I will mention later, I believe that Pilate was awfully close to being a believer. Was he a believer, I doubt it, although some do think that he was. I see Pilate as a seeker of truth (As I will talk about next post) and one who greatly respected Jesus Christ. but as one who was unsaved.
What are your thoughts? Where is Pilate today? And what is the general feeling you get when you read about Pilate in the Scriptures?

Welcome to My Blog

Hi! My name is Curtis King. I just wanted to say hi right off the get go and then explain why I am blogging. I realize that I don't have much worth saying, I am not a well known preacher, or a deep theologian, or anyone of real consequence. I just wanted to write down what I have been learning in the Bible. Those who know me know that I am a goofy, silly guy (ask my fiancee! she will tell you stories!) But on this I just wanted to put down what God has been laying on my heart. I can't promise I will write with great eliquence or enrich you with my great wealth of knowledge, but I do help these thoughts will help you even a little! Talk at yall soon!