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    Torches of the Soul 2: Another Journey of Biblical Reflections
    Torches of the Soul 2: Another Journey of Biblical Reflections
    Torches of the Soul 2: Another Journey of Biblical Reflections
    Ebook133 pages2 hours

    Torches of the Soul 2: Another Journey of Biblical Reflections

    By Saundra L. Washington D.D.

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    As a nation and as a world, our spirits are anguished and tormented for lack of spiritual food. Our longing reaches to the very depth of our being. We are so desperately hungry that we hardly know what to do with ourselves. Our souls are in deep sorrow and the sounds of spiritual hunger resound throughout the universe.

    In Torches of the Soul 2, you will feed upon twenty-one reflections from the treasures of God’s Word. Prepare to visit Gadara and stand in amazement as the people beg Jesus to leave their city; join the company of disciples as Jesus spends His last days in Jerusalem; listen in on the urgent plea of the other criminal and appreciate why we believe God to be a God of second chances; transport back in time to glean insights from the faithful of Genesis as well as learn what constituted capital crimes against God during those primitive times; journey with Joseph from the pit to God; explore the Biblical doctrine of hell; get the answer to the question of how Satan can drive out Satan and much more.

    I am convinced that it is only when we realize and recognize that greater Source outside of ourselves that we are able to even hope to understand our own life or to deal adequately with life’s many complexities. These reflections nourish the soul, strengthen the will, and connect you with the Source of power that satisfies our spiritual appetite and enables victorious living.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSaundra L. Washington D.D.
    Release dateMay 8, 2011
    ISBN9781458128645
    Torches of the Soul 2: Another Journey of Biblical Reflections
    Author

    Saundra L. Washington D.D.

    Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,Christian writing in particular is an expression of my passion to educate and inspire the body of Christ. I enjoy writing (and reading) and perhaps the clue that it was to play a vital role in my future can be traced to my love of writing as a child. Actually, it was not writing but scribbling (smile). I would scribble pages and pages and go show my masterpieces to my mother for her critique. She always complimented me on how wonderful my stories were and had me interpret the meaning from time to time. But, to be honest, I never contemplated writing beyond those childhood illusions and fantasies. God does indeed work His will into the lives of those committed to Him.So now, decades later, semi-retired from pastoral responsibilities, I felt the Holy Spirit's urging to write what I otherwise would probably be orally teaching or preaching.I believe you will find my eBooks interesting, spiritually strengthening, educative, informative, motivating and encouraging as you grow in your spiritual walk.You are encouraged to view samples from each eBook to get a “feel” for content.God bless you and thank you for surveying my eBooks and perusing this profile.All glory to God!

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      Book preview

      Torches of the Soul 2 - Saundra L. Washington D.D.

      Torches of the Soul 2

      Another Journey of Biblical Reflections

      Saundra L. Washington D.D.

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      ******

      Torches of the Soul 2

      Copyright 2011 by Saundra L. Washington D.D.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica. The King James Version (KJV) is in U.S. public domain.

      ******

      Dedication

      To the honor and glory of God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Holy Spirit our Sanctifier.

      To all my brother and sisters in Christ Jesus.

      ******

      Foreword

      As a nation and as a world, our spirits are anguished and tormented for lack of spiritual food. Our longing reaches to the very depth of our being. We are so desperately hungry that we hardly know what to do with ourselves. Our souls are in deep sorrow and the sounds of spiritual hunger resound throughout the universe.

      In Torches of the Soul 2, you will feed upon twenty-one reflections from the treasures of God’s Word. Prepare to visit Gadara and stand in amazement as the people beg Jesus to leave their city; join the company of disciples as Jesus spends His last days in Jerusalem; listen in on the urgent plea of the other criminal and appreciate why we believe God to be a God of second chances; transport back in time to glean insights from the faithful of Genesis as well as learn what constituted capital crimes against God during those primitive times; journey with Joseph from the pit of devastation to God; explore the Biblical doctrine of hell and get the answer to why good things happen to bad people.

      I am convinced that it is only when we realize and recognize that greater Source outside of ourselves that we are able to even hope to understand our own life or to deal adequately with life’s many complexities. These reflections nourish the soul, strengthen the will, and connect you with the Source of power that satisfies our spiritual appetite and enables victorious living. To God be the Glory!

      ******

      Table of Contents

      As Jesus Nears the Cross

      The Forgotten Mother Church

      Then Came God’s Grace

      The Faith of Genesis

      Capital Crimes against God

      From Pit to God

      Doctrine of Hell

      Get Out Of Town Jesus

      Paul’s Letters

      How Can Satan Drive Out Satan?

      The Great Manifesto

      Qoheleth’s Legacy

      Death’s Gate

      The Lamb Triumphant

      Something about God’s Grace

      Heart Failure

      A Matter of Law

      Who’s To Judge?

      Playing the Church Game

      The Black Church

      Why Good Things Happen to Bad People

      ******

      As Jesus Nears the Cross

      Because the Gospel of Mark dedicated almost half of his book to the story of Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem, we know it is a sign of the significance early tradition attached to the death of Jesus in its proclamation of the Gospel message. Dominant in his portrait is Jesus’ intense preoccupation with teaching His disciples that He must suffer. It was not optional or a blind necessity, but the will of the Father which was also the will of Jesus.

      When Peter confesses Jesus as Messiah and on behalf of the others, it marks the transition from Jesus’ public ministry to the story of the closing days which are spent mostly in the company of the twelve. But in spite of the fact that they had acknowledged Him as Messiah, the disciples are commanded to keep silent.

      The twelve are enjoined to silence because they remain unqualified to preach the Gospel of a crucified Messiah who will reach His throne by the divinely appointed way of suffering and a shameful death. At this point, they are still men who think of the messianic kingdom in terms of worldly sovereignty and nationalistic aspirations. That they were still ill-equipped in their education and training is revealed in Jesus’ stern rebuke of Peter. Are these men, with all their materialistic aims and selfish ambitions, the rock on which Jesus seeks to found a Church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail?

      Marks narrative in 8:27-10:45, is impressive as he sets before us all not only the magnitude but the apparent hopelessness of the task of teaching the way of the Cross. It is not without significance that Mark opens this section with a story of a blind man at Bethsaida, and then closes the section by telling the story of another blind man, Bartimaeus.

      It is clear that Jesus seeks to open their eyes but they remain blinded to the end. The transfiguration experience with its authenticating voice from heaven is an encouragement to Jesus. The voice is the voice of the Father proclaiming as at the Baptism, that the way the Son is treading is the way of His own purpose. But nothing seems to be conveyed to the minds of the disciples. When the experience is over, they see Jesus only, the same Jesus as before, bent on His own destruction and the shattering of all their hopes. And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only (Mark 9:8).

      At one point in the journey there is inserted what seems to me a sort of vignette of the Master walking, most unusually, ahead of His disciples, while they follow in fear and amazement. Even as the final days of teaching the about the Kingdom of God, the traditional Jewish Messiah still dominates their thinking. There is nothing more difficult to penetrate than a mind cumbered with the dead weight of materialism.

      It is not surprising that as Jesus nears the Cross, the treachery of Judas, the denial of Peter, the flight of the disciples, are not suppressed; much less excused. Both disciples and judges were guilty men but we read of no comment of condemnation pronounced upon them by Jesus, an observation many of us need to heed.

      Jesus Himself is silent during the trial and refuses to reply to the charges made against Him. It is the apparent silence of One whose mind is living on a plane of thought which no insult can reach. It is the silence under suffering of the Servant who was conscious of the death God had in view for Him. It was the purpose of His ministry on earth. He reveals His full awareness of that purpose, and the assent of His own heart to it, when He says; The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Ransom here simply means deliverance. A deliverance that could not be accomplished in any other way and with all His heart Jesus is obedient to His Father’s will.

      I might add in passing that this is what distinguished Jesus’ death from the martyrs’ death. His death prison is locked from the inside. That He should die is the will of the Father which Jesus freely and wholeheartedly embraces as His own. Remember, Jesus thought of His whole ministry as the coming of the Kingdom of God and the realization of the Day of the Lord we read so often in the Old Testament. It was the goal of history; all the great issues that were concentrated in the history of Israel converged in Jesus Christ. His death is the final act of the Servant to mankind.

      In view of death, when even His most faithful and devoted disciples review their lives and give thanks for and seek the forgiveness of God, our Lord regards His sacrificial death as the last act of a life of unbroken fellowship with God and perfect moral obedience as His beloved Son. The sacrifice of Jesus was offered as His life was lived, in the service of others. Without that sense of a life of perfect service, this ultimate sacrifice would have been in vain.

      The Biblical passion story of Christ, however, never allows us to forget that His life of perfect moral obedience and complete fellowship with the Father was not sustained without moments of intense spiritual struggle and deepest mental suffering. The agony in Gethsemane and the cry of neglect on the Cross are salient examples. Mark tells us that Jesus began to be deeply troubled and distressed. To His disciples He said, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.

      The disciples were oblivious to the fact that they themselves, their future and the future of the community of which they were the founders, were causing Jesus the deepest concern. The anxiety of Jesus regarding His disciples, individually and collectively, is a marked feature of His thought as He neared the Cross. There were other moments when, in a spirit of great trust, He could say to them, Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. But now they had failed entirely to apprehend the central meaning of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

      Only one human being, the woman who anointed Him at Bethany, by her own generous action revealing an overflowing devotion, showed that she was with Jesus in spirit and had entered into His own mind in face of the approaching tragedy. Her action He immortalized, giving her a place in the Gospel story. I tell you the truth, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. Mark 14:9.

      The disciples had all deserted Him

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