All four gospels talk about the night before Jesus died, but only John details Jesus' instructions to his disciples. Jesus lets the disciples know that He will be leaving them, and they respond with surprise, confusion and dismay. He lets them know that He has to leave so that the "other advocate" can be with them. If we think of an advocate as a legal advocate in today's world, it is someone who represents you, someone who stands up for you and even someone that makes a case for you. With God the Father as the judge, Jesus is our defender and our advocate. He is making a case for us with God. But after that, the analogy breaks down. Jesus didn't just represent us and make a case for us. When God, the judge, pronounced us guilty, instead of the sentence being imposed on us, Jesus took the punishment through his death on the cross. I'm not aware of any defense attorneys that have done that for their clients. So if Jesus is our advocate, who is the "other advocate" he refers to. The other advocate is the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us. While Jesus, the first advocate, speaks to God on our behalf, the Holy Spirit, the other advocate, talks to us for us. I want to do a better job listening. And I pray that is true for each of us today.
Getting Deeper with Tom
If you clicked on the GettingDeeper link looking for the SpotOnTheLake Water Depth Guide, this ain’t it. This blog gives our lake community, and anyone else that might be interested, a chance to share ideas about things that matter.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
The Other Advocate
Thursday, October 10, 2024
An Open Purse
Robert attended Pasadena Nazarene College and spent the next several years as an evangelist traveling across California working mostly with troubled teens. He joined an organization called Youth for Christ, and became close with Billy, who was one of the leaders there. Robert's involvement in Youth for Christ took him overseas where he was moved by the poverty and despair of the war-torn areas that he visited. He founded an organization called World Vision International dedicated to helping children out of poverty. He then started Samaritan's Purse dedicated to providing food to starving children and helping with disaster relief.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Flood Of Emotion
I posted this week at SpotOnTheLake encouraging readers to do what they can to help the victims of hurricane Helene. I'm sure there are 100's of stories of heroism that have been circulating about rescue workers and private citizens that have been able to help victims, but this one got caught on live TV. Bob Van Dillen was doing a live broadcast from Peachtree Creek in Atlanta. He heard a woman calling out from a partially submerged vehicle and he called 911. The screams became more intense, and he realized that someone needed to help right away. He stopped the broadcast and waded in chest deep water to the car to free her. The cameras rolled again as he was carrying her to safety clinging to his back. Bob was very humble in his remarks afterwards downplaying his actions, but as we all know, the risk of entering high, moving water can be very dangerous. I can't say for sure, but I hope my response would have been the same as his. We lift up continued prayers for all of those affected by the storm. Summary video Longer video with interview
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Something To Wine About
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
May I have the next dance?
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Thirst Quencher
As Jesus made his way from Judea to Galilee, he passed through Samaria in the middle part of the day. The heat was intense and Jesus' thirst was almost overwhelming. He found a seat near a well, but had nothing to draw the water with. A Samaritan woman was coming to the well for water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. For Jesus to speak to her was shocking for three reasons. She was a woman; she was a Samaritan, and she was a moral outcast, as she was by herself in the middle of the day, instead of taking care of her family. She challenged Jesus as to why He would speak to her, and He responded. "If you knew the gift of God, and who you were speaking with, you would have asked me for living water." Confused, she questioned, "How could you provide me with water when you have no way to get it from the well?" Jesus replied, "Whoever drinks the water from the well will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the living water will never be thirsty again." She then asks Him for the living water, but Jesus tells her to go get her husband. She confessed that she didn't have a husband, and Jesus confirmed that she has had five husbands, and she was currently sleeping with a man she wasn't married to. The woman recognized Jesus as a prophet and told Him that she knew the Messiah would come, and when he came, He would explain everything to her. Jesus declared, "I am He".
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Mental Health Crisis
Once again our country is dealing with a sick or troubled individual who has decided the appropriate response is to shoot and kill innocent people. Only this time, the incident is in my backyard. People I work with and go to church with have students at Apalachee High School. Thankfully, their children were not harmed physically, but I can't imagine what they and their families went through yesterday. The shooting will change their lives forever, and I hope and pray that they have extended family, friends and counselors that are able to provide some level of comfort. I am all for whatever we can do to make schools safer, but I have to believe if someone is that sick, they will find a way to act on their impulse, even if it is outside of a school at some other less protected venue. I think our only hope is to do a better job recognizing and addressing the mental health issues that are leading to these tragedies. I am not an expert, but I did find these resources for help: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Crisis Services at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health. If you are struggling with anything, I would welcome a call at 678-469-9917.