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When Jesus came to Golgotha,
They nailed Him to a tree,
They drove great nails
Through His hands,
And made a Calvary.
They crowned Him with
a crown of thorns,
Red were His wounds, and deep;
For those were crude and cruel days
And human flesh was cheap.
When Jesus came to Westland,
They simply passed Him by;
They never hurt a hair of Him,
They only let him die.
For men had grown more tender
And they would not give Him pain;
They only just passed down the street
And left Him in the rain.
Still, Jesus cried, “Forgive
them, Lord,
They know not what they do!”
And still it rained the winter rain
That drenched Him
through and through.
The crowds went home and
left the streets
Without a soul to see;
And Jesus crouched against a wall
And cried for Calvary.
Adapted from Studdart-Kennedy,
English poet
“When Jesus Came
to Birmingham” |
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When
Jesus walked the streets of Palestine, He created a great stir. Every
one had an opinion about Him. Some said, “He is a good man”, while
others said, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” (Jn
7:12). While many believed in Him, others wanted to seize Him and do Him
harm. (Jn 7:40-43).
Emotions ran
high concerning Jesus and were fickle. The Jewish rulers turned the
people quickly against Him. The people hailed Jesus as King at the first
of the week (Jn 12:13), but by the end of the week shouted, “Crucify
Him!” (Jn 19:15).
As the poet
Studdart-Kennedy puts it so well, it is hard to imagine Jesus producing
the heated response in Westland that He did in Pale-stine 2000 years
ago. Rather, if Jesus came to Westland and spoke, would He not find
Himself ignored, mourning in the cold rain due to men’s indifference-
“You must worship your
Creator”
“Who cares?”
“You must turn from sin”
“Who cares?”
“I am the Good Shepherd,
follow My Word”
“Who cares?”
“I was crucified so God
would forgive your sins”
“Who cares?”
Isn’t this how
men in Westland react to the Word of Jesus that they don’t even bother
to read? If He came to Westland, would it be any different?
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The indifference to the
gospel of Jesus Christ seen in Westland, in Michigan, and throughout
the United States thankfully is not seen everywhere in the world. Ed
Smith, a preacher of the gospel who lives in Flint, traveled with his
family last summer to Africa to tell the Good News. Ed and his family
found many men, women, and children who had great interest in hearing
about Jesus and His message of salvation. Ed traveled extensively and
taught those who were enthusiastic to learn, even several in a
maximum-security prison. The Palmer Rd. church has invited Ed to
share the news of his work in Africa with us and with the community.
For the church, Ed’s lessons will serve as a motivation to renew our
evangelistic efforts, even though, in general, the community is so
indifferent. Perhaps there is a soul right here in Westland (perhaps
it is you) who “hungers and thirsts after righteousness” (Mt 5:6) just
as many are eager to do in Africa and we want to find them (you). For
those of you in the community, as Ed tells how some of the poorest in
this world have found true riches in Jesus Christ, you will be stirred
to a greater spiritual interest- an interest that will lead to the
spiritual transformation of your life and to the salvation of your
soul. Won’t you please join us for this series of lessons? Here is
the schedule:
Friday,
February 25th @ 7:30 P.M.
Saturday,
February 26th @ 11 AM and 4 P.M.
Sunday,
February 27th @ 10 A.M.
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What will you do with Jesus? The question comes to
you!
And you must give an answer, For something you must
do.
“What will you do with Jesus?” It comes by night and
day;
With pierced hands uplifted, He waits- what will you
say?
What will you do with Jesus? He’s knocking at the
door!
Refuse Him soul, no longer; Lest He should plead no
more.
What shall it be? What shall it be? What shall your
answer be?
What will you do with Jesus? O what shall your
answer be?
-- James Robinson
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