Bad News And More Bad News

Scripture

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 
“As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
~Matthew 26:1-2, NLT

Quote

 God has the power and ability to transform bad news into good news, and that is good news.

~Ya’akov

Passover to the Jews was like Christmas to us; it was by far the greatest time of year. Jerusalem would swell with pilgrims, some estimate that as many as two million would flood the city. The Mount of Olives is actually higher than Zion and the pilgrims would camp on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. There camp fires made the mountain side look like a giant Christmas tree at night. On the eve of the most festive time of year, Jesus said, “The Son of man will be handed over to be crucified.” This was horrible news to the disciples: it was the last thing they wanted to hear. A few hours later Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.” Wow, more bad news and it left the disciples deeply distressed. Distress is extreme stress so deeply distressed must mean very extreme distress. Then just minutes later Jesus says, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of Me.” That again, is the last thing they wanted to hear. Jesus predicting their apostasy and cowardice. What do we do when we get bad news on top of bad news? How do we cope with distressing news?


Thursday I walked into Roger’s hospital room and I saw dejection on his face. Dot began giving me an update on his medical condition. The doctors were not giving them any good news. Basically, he said, “No more treatment, it is not doing any good.” When I got home, I heard some more news {personal} that was distressing and before I retired for the night I got a call from Edith Bennich. She said, “Bro. Jack, they are not giving Larry and Linda any hope. They are moving him to a COMFORT CARE room. There is nothing they can do.” I carried all this bad news to bed with me and the LORD or the steroid shot woke me up a little after four. I went to my study and opened my bible to Matthew 26, one of my three scriptures for the day. As I read, I saw the progression: bad news, more bad news and even more bad news–all in one chapter, all within 24 hours. 


Of course no one wants to hear bad news. Bad news distressed the disciples and it is distressing to me. I don’t watch TV news because it depresses me. They never have anything good to say. Now they blaming Trump for the pipe bombs. But there is one comfort: God has the amazing ability to transform bad news into good news. The bible says in Hebrews 12:2, “Jesus…Because of the joy awaiting Him, endured the cross, and disregarding its shame.” I told Dot and Roger, “We know that all ends well. In Christ we have a bright future, the problem in the interim.” They understood and agreed. Jesus is going to do more than heal Roger, He is going to give him a body that will never be subject to pain or disease, but between now and that new body, there may be some discomfit and suffering. Jesus felt the pain and discomfort of suffering on the cross but He was able to look beyond the suffering and shame. There are times when we have to look beyond the present. I endured a lot of grueling football practices by thinking about the cold shower I would take as soon as practice was over, which was always dark. Losing these bodies one step at a time is painful. I had to get a cortisone shot in my knee this week and a rescue inhaler last week. I’m down to one lung basically and Roger has problems with both lungs. Our bodies are getting old and they are wearing out and this is distressing.


The GOOD NEWS about Jesus trumps the bad news about our sin, frailty and shame and the suffering that results. What was horrible news to the disciples on the eve of Passover became wonderful news at the resurrection. In a manner of speaking: Jesus trumped Passover [slaying of the lamb for our sins] with Easter [resurrection]. We have more than a slain sacrifice, we have a living Savior. He got a new body and so will we. He may have nail scarred hands to remind us of the price He paid for our salvation but the good news is–those hands will never be scarred again. His suffering for sin is over. No one entering heaven will say, “I sure wish I had my old body back, the one that aged, got tired, and hurt. Man I really miss those migraines and root canals or I wish I had my dentures and hearing aids back.”

  • Edith Bennich called me around 6:00 and said Larry Bennich {Tom’s brother} had passed. They had just moved him to a step down facility. I visited with the family today. I know they are going to have a grave side but I don’t know when. Pray for Linda, Jill and Sport. I think Mrs. Edith lost a sister-in-law earlier this week. Not sure but I know they had two family members critically ill. Someone told me Larry was sick a couple of months ago and I had every intention of going out to the house and talking with Larry. There were some things I wanted to tell him but I let it slip my mind. I got to talk to him twice after surgery but he was in discomfort. Once again, I made the mistake of assuming I had more time.
  • They were kidding me about Chloe Bug going to Huntsville, thank goodness. I took Ty, Ryder and Mylee. I just noticed something, did you catch it: Ty Ryder and Mylee. I walked over to HH and had a good visit with Kristen Sherman, Thomas and Barbara’s daughter. She is doing much better, PTL.
  • We got a bit of a late start yesterday morning and the traffic with rain was horrible. I almost got stressed. I decided to come back 36 so I could take my time and enjoy the ride: wrong, got in go-slow on 36. The waiting line at the junction of 67 was 50 cars long. I was glad to get home.
  • June and I watched the last quarter of the Trussville/Thompson game last night. Bear’s grand son appears to be a big boy and Tua’s brother looked good. He runs more than he passes but it makes those split second reads like his brother. There is no way he can be as good.
  • MY PIGSKIN PREDICTIONS: I’m going to take Arkansas over Vandy in a close one. Texas A & M over State. State has a great defense but with their offense, I just can’t put money on them {that’s a figure of speech}. I think Georgia will prevail over Florida, although I like Dan Mullins and would not be upset with an upset. I think Missouri has the ability to beat Kentucky but I’m going with the Big Blue Nation. I would really like to see Jeremy Pruitt do well but I think SC will win in a competitive ball game. I think I’ve enjoyed the college football season more than any ever but it is going by too fast. Words can’t express how much I enjoyed Purdue and Ohio State last week and tomorrow, I don’t have to worry about Alabama.

REVIVAL

Danville Baptist Church

November 4-7

Wade Morris

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *