Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2016

Man of Sorrows, Lamb of God

Easter will soon be here, once again!
For so many reasons, this is my favorite holiday. But it's also one of the most emotionally draining times of the whole year for me.
Let me explain:
Every year, the Easter story is(or should be) re-read and re-lived for all believers. It is not only a reminder of the great sacrifice Jesus made for us, but also the great promise of one day being re-united in eternity with Him. 
When I think of the pain, ridicule, and suffering he endured, my heart aches. What human being wouldn't feel empathy for any person who would have to endure such persecution!?!
Then, I'm reminded that He did it in place of what should have been my suffering and punishment! I deserve it, but He took it for me! Talk about feeling some guilt!!
Then, I realize how much He really loves me, to do that! And my mind cannot even fathom that kind of love! (the closest I could compare it to is the love I have for my own child). And I am overwhelmed by it!!
As I contemplate this love and sacrifice, I am full of gratitude...so full of thankfulness that mere words cannot express it! I can only weep over all I know about my Savior - who is also my Friend!

Then, finally, I end the experience of this holiday season full of joy and anticipation, for I know that He is risen and He lives!! And when it is time for the end of this life, I will live with Him forever in heaven!! Could we ever wish for anything more wonderful and joyous!!?!! (It has always perplexed me how anyone who truly hears and understands the story of Easter could reject such love and promise!)

I recently watched this video and song by Hillsong. What a magnificent overview of the Easter story and what it is all about! 

·         "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isa 53:4-5

·         Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe in this?" John 11:25-26 

·         "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:8-11 


·         "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, " 1 Peter 1:3-4

Over the next week and a half, may we think upon this horrific, yet wonderful event in history with much sadness, gratitude, joy, and anticipation!!

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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Holy Week:


In the days between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, we see the final week of Jesus' life on earth. This week was so important that the Gospel of Mark devotes about 40 percent of its pages to this one week. This was the great climax of our Lord's ministry on earth, when He came to Jerusalem to reveal His most crucial teachings. And at the time of great conflict with Jerusalem's leaders, He was crucified. But on the third day, God raised Him from death. Holy Week begins with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) and ends with Jesus' resurrection (Easter).

 As you prepare for Easter and observe Holy Week, you can follow along through the week's events in these Scripture readings:
Palm Sunday: A Triumphant Entry- Mark 11:1–11
  • On this day, Jesus entered the city “in triumph,” riding a donkey and listening to the cheers of the throngs of the Jews all around Him. His entry is met with the simplest gesture of celebration, gratitude, and welcome from ordinary people of whom He treasures. This story speaks richly to us about what God values. Jesus leads without pageantry. He is gentle, humble, and unpretentious. May we celebrate and welcome Jesus into our lives today in the same manner!
Monday: Jesus at the Temple - Mark 11:15–33
  • The temple had evolved into a commercial enterprise with rules that restricted access to only certain people. After overturning many of the tables of the merchants and moneychangers, Jesus said, 
“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations ?  
Jesus did not miss an opportunity to include those who were usually excluded. This means many of us who feel unworthy or excluded should be welcomed and act hospitable when we meet God’s people. You should feel welcome regardless of your background or history and extend that welcome to others.
Tuesday: Friends in Bethany - Mark 14:1–9  
  • While Jesus was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, Mary came and anointed Him with expensive perfume. It was a lavish gift, but more importantly, through her action, Mary showed her acceptance of the reality of Jesus’ impending death. Reflect on this. How can we also show our acceptance of Christ's death on the cross to take our place and erase our sins.
Wednesday: The Essence of Faithfulness - Mark 12:28–34
  • During this week, Jesus taught for hours inside the Temple. When a teacher asked Him what was most important commandment, He replied, "
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (vs. 29-31)
God asks us for our undivided devotion, but He also asks us to love richly those who are around us. May we remember to love as Jesus loved.
Thursday: In the Upper Room - Mark 14:12–31
  • Jesus had prepared a room where He and His disciples would meet and celebrate together. His final meal, eaten this night, is one of His best-known activities. We call it the Lord’s Supper. Foot washing was also a common practice—however it was one that was always done by a servant. By His action, Jesus clearly demonstrated a model of how His followers are to live.
 “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14) 
We, as Christ-followers, are to join Jesus in this work. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15 NIV). May we imitate Jesus’ service to others in our own lives.
Good Friday: The Final Moments - Mark 14:32–15:47
  • Have you ever wondered why Good Friday is called good? I have. So, I looked it up and this is what I read. "The Baltimore Catechism declares that Good Friday is called good because Christ, by His Death, "showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing." Good, in this sense, means "holy," and indeed Good Friday is known as Holy and Great Friday. Many also refer to Good Friday as "Holy Friday".*source   
Perhaps some of the most famous words Jesus spoke are those reported by Luke: 
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 ESV).
This is a fulfillment of His frequent teaching: 
“I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’” (Matthew 5:44 ESV). 
On the cross, He forgave and loved even those who were hostile to Him and to those who crucified Him. He does the same for us. May we, as Christians, love our enemies as Jesus did. That Friday afternoon, Jesus “died and was buried.” 
Saturday: It is finished! - John 19:30
  • As Jesus died, He called out, “It is finished!” There was no further price to pay; sin had been atoned for.  Some Christians recognize Holy Saturday, the seventh day of Holy Week, as the day on which Jesus “rested” from His work of providing salvation.  After His crucifixion, Jesus was laid in a nearby tomb, and His body remained there the entirety of Holy Saturday. Jesus’ disciples and His family no doubt mourned tremendously because few believed His promise of resurrection. They thought this was the end, and they grieved deeply.  
  • Holy Saturday has traditionally been a time of reflection and waiting, the time of weeping that lasts for the night while awaiting the joy that comes in the morning (Psa 30:5). Some observe the "Easter Vigil",  an evening service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. On this day, may we reflect on the final moments of Christ's death and the anticipation of His resurrection that is to come!  *source 

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection - 

He is not here!!!
(I will be writing a separate post for this special final day of Holy week....
come on back to read that post next week!)
Until then, have a blessed week!!


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Monday, March 9, 2015

Lent: Surrender

Another week has passed. God continues to work in my heart and show me so much that I need to learn about life, about God, about love...and about pain and hardship. In my last "Lent" post, I wrote about sacrifice. I shared that God was showing me how real sacrifice (similar to the greatest sacrifice ever, which was made by His Son) comes with much pain and difficulty. It truly seems, as we live life, we are surrounded by so much pain and difficulty. This past week, I have discovered that pain and hardship can touch those closest to us, as well. 

 This past week, I've learned that, both my stepfather and father-in-law, who each have struggled with physical ailments, were found to each have a mass in their abdomens. (Talk about timing!) They will each soon undergo testing to see if the masses are cancer or not. I am learning through this difficult time, that all we can do as a family is love each other, pray, and surrender all to God! I covet your prayers for both my parents and my husband's parents. 

 During this lent season, there may be so much for each of us to surrender up to God in our lives. 
Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Surrendering your life means:
  • Following God's lead without knowing where he's sending you;
  • Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come;
  • Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;
  • Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

Genuine surrender says, "Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another's life, please don't take it away!" 
This level of maturity doesn't come easy. In Jesus' case, he agonized so much over God's plan that he sweated drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.  source

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it. source

This song below is one I've sung many times in church, but now the words and tune comes back to my mind and all I can do is sing it.




Prayer:
O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray; and to concentrate my thoughts on you; I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me. . . .

Restore me to liberty, and enable me to live now that I may answer before you and before men. Lord, whatever this day may bring, I pray that I will surrender all to You!

Amen.
Prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Germany, 1906-1945)

Psalms 121 NLT

1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the lord , who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The lord himself watches over you! The lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7The lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.


Another song that came to mind to help me remember that God tells us to come as we are to Him!!


Lent is the season,when we look toward Easter, the Resurrection. When our lives are placed in Christ, then we share in his life, both the good and the bad. We share in his sufferings, in his death, in his righteousness and in his resurrection. As God’s children, we are co-heirs with Christ, sharing in who he is and what he has done. Some of us will spend time in reflection, repentance, and self-denial. As we do these things, let us do so with a sense of surrender...knowing we are united with him — forever in glory!    Source


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Sunday, March 1, 2015

Lent:The Meaning of Sacrifice


What is the meaning of sacrifice?
The Merriam -Webster Dictionary has many definitions, one being
"The act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone."

Examples of SACRIFICE

  1. The war required everyone to make sacrifices.
  2. No sacrifice is too great when it comes to her children.
  3. He made many personal sacrifices to provide help to the city's homeless people.
  4. The runner went to second base on a sacrifice.
Observing Lent for many believers, means giving up, or sacrificing, something they enjoy or love for a period of time. I had never tried this tradition before and this year I felt compelled to see how it may help me grow in my understanding of the Easter story and in my relationship with the Lord. Well, I had no idea what lie ahead for me, as I began this journey, a little less than 2 weeks ago. 
What I gave up - Being my first experience with this, I decided to go simple, and give up my favorite drink, vanilla chai latte' for 40 days. 
I thought it would be fairly simple, but it hasn't been. 
I thought it would be nice to show I could give something like tea, up and it would bring me closer to God. But, God had something different for me in mind...

The physical and emotional pain and hurt I have struggled through may seem tiny, compared to the suffering of many martyrs and in the life and death of Christ, Himself, but for me, it has had a monumental impact!

This past week was a really rough one...I think God may have planned it that way as a part of my lesson during Lent. 
He was saying, "Ann, you think giving up tea for 40 days is a sacrifice? You have no idea what sacrifice REALLY is, until you feel physical pain, too." 
So, I have been having some really painful digestive issues, which has been an issue for me on and off for several years. (I have seen doctors, but not had a diagnosis. I had my gall bladder removed 5 years ago, and that may be part of the issue.)
Then He said, "You also don't really understand sacrifice, until you feel the pain of rejection...even by those who are closest to you." 
The past few weeks, I have been hurt emotionally by the actions of some close family members. 

With all the stress of these things around me, I sought relief through prayer and reading Scripture, but there was little relief. I pleaded with God, but felt like I wasn't being heard. 

Then, when I felt like I was at the end of my rope, I turned back to the one earthly thing that have given me relief (as temporary as it is)...my vanilla chai latte'. I had every excuse in the book for my reasoning to doing what I had wanted to NOT do for Lent, but ultimately, I gave in. I felt awful for giving in, on top of the fact that my physical ailment and emotional state were/are still there. I guess that's why it's been so difficult also for me to not be so hard on myself.

I had been so disappointed in myself, as I was reminded of how difficult it was for Jesus, when He went through so many trials, temptations, and sufferings.
 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent  submission.   Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered  and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9)

Today, though, I was given some real encouragement during our church service!.

The theme was: Into Thin Air - "God is calling each of us to take a step of faith towards Him. We can have confidence that despite the difficulties and uncertainties of the journey, He is there for us. There is no better time than right now to stop, consider the moment, and move beyond our fears and failures to follow Him as he leads us Into Thin Air."

Yes, He calls us to sacrifice and obey:

Psalms 51:17 NLT

The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
A Call to Remember and Obey
Deut. 8:1-3
“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the lord swore to give your ancestors.Remember how the lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
We often wrestle with the reasons behind our perpetual consumption. When we decide to relinquish that thing that fails to truly satisfy, we come face-to-face with some tough questions. 
Can we believe Jesus when he says, "People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"? 
How can we make room for the Savior in our buried and burdened lives? 
Can we grasp the reality of Good Friday and live within its irony?

Paul said some very wise words, as he experienced some of the very same setbacks and shortcomings
Philippians 3:7-14,  
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-5
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 
The failings of my own life reminds me of my mortality, which is an important part of Lent. As we recognize our humanness and need for a Savior, we are reminded that Jesus saves not only by the blood He shed for us to deliver us from our sins, but also in His resurrection, which gives eternal life for all who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, giving Christian believers hope for healing, being saved from our sins, and victory over death. 

While we are humbled by the wrongs of this world and our own sinful ways, we are encouraged by the hope we have in Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Nothing can separate us from His love.(Romans 8:35)  No matter where we’ve been, what we’ve done, or where we are in our lives now, Jesus loves and saves.
ROMANS 8:35,37
 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

Prayer: 
God of life and death, teach us to hold out for a deeper life, for the prayerful consciousness that enables us to transcend our petty desires for security, comfort, and self-image, so that we may be free to rest in communion with you. We do want life, but we want the Big Life, which includes You. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice of Your Son in order that we might live. Because of it, we are cleansed, forgiven and promised a place with You in your heavenly home! May we always give of ourselves in appreciation. Amen.  ~Rev. Dr. Jerry Chism   
We also sang this very familiar song in church. What a great reminder that Christ alone is our Cornerstone, Whose grace is always available, even when we fail Him!
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Everything is Blooming!!

Well, if it wasn't evident in my last post, it’s definitely very evident this time around!! Spring has sprung!!! We’ve been keeping so ...