Weeping for the Wrong Thing (Women Bewailing Christ)

"But Jesus turning to them said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.'" (Luke 23:28)

What are you sad over? I'd like to suggest it's the wrong thing. Let me explain.

Jesus is journeying down the Via Dolorosa, that confined and narrow, stone path leading out of Jerusalem towards Golgotha, the place of the Skull, where He will be crucified. There is a large crowd following along, including many women. These ladies are "mourning" and "lamenting" our Lord. (Luke 23:27) They're "grief-stricken" (NLT) over what's taking place.

It's a depth of sorrow that captures Christ's attention and causes Him to stop and turn. (Luke 23:28) And beyond that to speak. He does it because of depth of sorrow. He does it because the grief of these women is misdirected.

(And sometimes we get sad/concerned over certain things while we should really be sad/concerned for something else.)

The ladies are heartbroken. And who can blame them? This isn't a good thing that's happening (Christ being killed). None of us likes to see tragedy played out before our very eyes, especially when it's an injustice.

And yet Jesus still stops in His tracks to speak to the ladies about what happens to be their misplaced grief. They ought to be grieving, but it ought not to be over Him.

He says, "[B]ut weep for yourselves and for your children." (Luke 23:28c) He says it because there is impending disaster in the future for the Jewish people that the ladies are missing. The days ahead are so terrible and awful that the words in everyone's mouth and on the tips of everyone's tongue will be that it's a good thing to have never had children. (Luke 23:29) The Romans will come in 70 A.D. to destroy the city with fire (Jerusalem) and Israel will be no more (for 1,900 years).

It is because of their rejection of the Messiah (the women have a front row seat watching it) that all these things will come upon them. (History records the events as happening just as Jesus said.)

And it's these future events (future for the women in the story) that they should be grieving over. "Judgment day." It's coming for Israel. It's coming! And that's what our Lord tries to get the ladies' eyes on and bewailing/lamenting. "[B]ut weep for yourselves and for your children."

And so it's coming upon our planet, too. (Luke 23:30) Judgment day! Shout it from the rooftops! God is being rejected by the world. We don't want Him! (Do you see that? Or are you blind, too?) And so the Lord will give us up to what we really want. A world without Him! We will have "hell on earth" by our own choosing. There is no good (peace, hope, joy, life, etc) apart from Christ. (Selah~pause to reflect)

So what are you concerned with (a slick car, a big house, lots of money, prestige, a name for yourself, treasures on earth) versus what should you be concerned with (a world that's dying, the souls of lost men and women, the nearness of Christ's return, treasures in heaven)?

Jesus, help us to not weep for the wrong thing! \o/ #HeIsRisen

(Picture above in the public domain: HERE.)

You might also be interested in:

• Last Sayings of Jesus from the Cross (Part 1-7)
• Theories of the Resurrection

10 People Who Won't Be in Heaven After They Die

We never want to think about it, but it's true. There are some people who won't be in heaven after they die. And even Jesus Himself emphasizes that we don't have enough information to determine who these are from our point of view in His Parable of the Tares and the Wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43) Only He can know for sure. But there is another side to the coin. The Apostle Paul is clear about certain habitual sin patterns that mark individual's lives that are a sure sign of degeneracy. Remember, Christianity is not so much about perfection, it's about direction. (1 John 3:6-10) Are you in the habit of turning towards righteousness by Christ's help and out of a changed heart? (2 Corinthians 5:17; Psalm 30:11) Or are you in the habit of turning towards wickedness apart from Christ and out of a heart that refuses to ask for forgiveness and surrender to Him? (Romans 6:13; 10:9-10) The latter are among the 10 people who won't be in heaven after they die. Of that there is no question...

10 people who won't be in heaven after they die (1 Corinthians 6:9-10): (Each term is a link to Webster's definition.)

• Fornicators. Having sex outside of marriage.
  


• Idolaters. Offering devotion to something or someone above Christ.
  


• Adulterers. Cheating on your husband or wife.
  


• Effeminate (by perversion). A woman being a man; a man being a woman.
  


• Homosexuals. Having sex with the same sex.
  


• Thieves. Stealing someone else's goods.
  


• The Covetous. Obsessively desiring someone's stuff.
  


• Drunkards. Excessively drinking alcohol.
  


• Revilers. Speaking abusively.
  


• Swindlers. Capturing money, goods or property through deception.

"And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Want your sins forgiven and a new start? How to receive Christ into your heart and life (in 30 seconds): HERE.

(Picture in the public domain at wikipedia.org.)

The American Dream

Early this morning I had a dream. I only remember my dreams if I wake up right after I have them. After I awoke I looked at the clock and it was 3:33 a.m. This is my dream. I saw four open pits with cinder block walls. They shared a mutual wall on the back side and the outer left and right pits had individual outer walls. Each inner wall was shared with the pit on either side. They were like ovens, but were in the open and had no tops to them. There were small amounts of wood not consumed in the fires, but most were all out if not completely. The pit closest to me still had a smoldering flame and a man who was darker in skin color and had shorter dark, but curly hair and a mustache. I don’t remember his pants color, but he had a tee shirt with an open light blue shirt over his tee shirt. I got the impression that it was important to him to get this task completed. He was a worker of great importance. He had a pole that fanned out at the end into like a huge spatula, one that you could find in a pizza parlor. He went into the pit and tramped on the smoldering parts to expedite the process by breaking off loose pieces of charred wood. As he turned over the wood with the spatula, he went back to break off more pieces of charred wood and he picked up the remaining piece of wood in his hands. I noticed that it was an eagle with its wings spread out as if in full flight with its head looking down. I remember thinking how beautiful it was. Well crafted. How could this be? I could see the detail of the wings and the tail feathers and sense the might of this creature. I particularly noticed how large its beak was and thought that it was looking for prey. I have a lot of ideas on the symbols of this dream, but what I am sure about is God’s Word as quoted here in Joel:

Joel 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Joel 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

I think some of the symbols of the dream are obvious and it frightens me yet I know that God is on the throne. Maranatha (Bob Wilson; @accesssonora)