Category Archives: Holy Week

Show Us The Father — Life

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Today is Mark 15 and 16.

Every time I read the account of the crucifixion, I feel a sense of sadness. To think of the accusations, the false trial, the mocking, the beatings, the carrying of the cross up the hill of Golgotha, the nails being driven into Jesus, and Him being lifted up on the cross… such sadness.

But Praise God the story does not end in death.

Jesus came to show us life! Not only show us, but to make the way for us to experience His life. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” We experience Life when we experience Him! He and the Father are one. Our Heavenly Father is life!

From the moment of creation, when Our Heavenly Father breathed life into every living being, until now. He is the ultimate source of life. The very breath of life we experience in our lungs comes straight from Him. However there will be a day when that breathing will cease in each one of us… What then?

Jesus showed us on resurrection Sunday what God’s good plan for us is — resurrection life! Eternal life!

We do not have to fear death. Our Heavenly Father desires for us to experience His eternal life. Sin brought death into our world, but we do not have to experience an eternity of the separation of death. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Show Us The Father — Abandoned

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Abandoned — To give over entirely.

Today is Mark 14.

Jesus at any moment in His 33 years on earth could have changed His course to the cross. He knew exactly why He had came. He knew how this would all play out. He knew the rejection He would suffer. He knew the pain He would endure. Yet He “abandoned” Himself. He gave Himself over to the purpose of His Heavenly Father.

Over and over in this chapter He warned the disciples that He was going to suffer and die. But He chose to abandon His will that desired for His Heavenly Father to “take this cup” from Him. Then He spoke these words, “Yet not what I will, but what You will.” (Verse 36)

Jesus gave Himself. The Father gave His Son! (John 3:16). Our Heavenly Father abandoned, gave over entirely, His Son for us out of His love. When I consider this great love, my thoughts go to what my response should be.

In every situation and circumstance of my life, may I echo the words of my loving Savior. “Yet not what I will, but what You will.” My Heavenly Father gave without reservation His only Son. Jesus gave without reservation His very life. May I give without reservation EVERYTHING I am and live a life that is abandoned to God’s will!

Reflections on John 21: “Do you love me?”

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Have you ever made a conscientious decision to disobey God? I have. Have you ever made a choice to go and do things your way instead of His? I have. Have you ever found yourself sitting with Him after you have done one or both of these things feeling unworthy or unloveable? I have.

In today’s chapter Peter is sitting with Jesus face to face next to a breakfast that Jesus had prepared for him and the other disciples who were with Peter. Jesus always has His way of speaking to our hearts. “Simon son of John (Peter’s given name) do you love me?” Three times He asks Peter this question. Each time replying “Feed my lambs”, “Feed my sheep.” Ending the third time with “Follow me.”

I believe Jesus did this once for each time Peter denied Jesus as He was watching Jesus be tried and led to crucifixion. Jesus did not look at Peter and say, “You know Peter… you are a failure. I have no use for you.” He instead told Him to care for God’s flock, His church, and to follow Jesus for the rest of his days.

I stand in the same place as Peter faced with my willful choices to sin. I know the places it has led me. I know the pain of failure. Yet Jesus calls to me as well. In fact, we all do this. He wants us to let Him pick us up set us firmly on His rock and to use the things meant to destroy us to proclaim Jesus as Victor over all! Feed Jesus’s sheep with the truth of the Word and Follow Him!

Side note- Peter did just what Jesus said. He preached at Pentecost and 3000 Believed in Jesus! Think of what Jesus can do through you when you answer the question, “___________ do you love me?”

Reflections on John 20: The Breath of Life Once More!

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“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22 ESV

Death could not hold Jesus! This chapter records many accounts of the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples. Historical texts of that time written by the Jewish historian Josephus confirm the resurrection to be true. The evidence of the resurrection occurring is overwhelming. It is truth that we can build our lives upon! Our Lord Jesus is alive!

What strikes me in this chapter is how real the encounters the disciples had with the resurrected Jesus were. Disheartened, frightened, unbelieving, misunderstanding, unconvinced, disciples are the very ones Jesus came to after His resurrection. He came to them so they could live in peace, without doubt, believing. Not only did He appear to them, He restored! Jesus set right all that was wrong when sin entered our world.

Jesus breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The breath of God breathed on man, sounds familiar doesn’t it? Genesis 2:7 speaks of the other time God breathed on man with the breath of life.

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7 ESV

Of all creation only one creature received God’s breath, the breath of life, mankind. Sin had brought death at the fall of man. But our resurrected Jesus has defeated death and once again God breaths His life into us! When we receive Jesus as our resurrected Lord, Jesus breaths on us as well. His Holy Spirit enters us, His life, His breath!

The resurrection of Jesus assured us that we are no longer subjected to the separation that we all experience by death. Because God— Jesus has breathed, the life giving breath of the Holy Spirit, on us once more !

Reflections on John 19: Where Do You Come From?

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Pilate could not find a good reason to crucify Jesus. He knew the religious leaders of the Jews had brought Jesus to him out of jealousy. Pilate had Jesus beaten in hopes that this would suffice the crowds. As Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd he told them, “Here is the man!” The crowds shouted all the more loudly crucify Him! At this point, the Jews told Pilate that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. This made Pilate afraid. He asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” Once again Pilate is faced with a decision and it had become crunch time. He tried to wiggle his way out of making the final decision to crucify Jesus.

What complicated matters was Pilate had heard that Jesus was not only King, but He was the Son of God! The Romans were surrounded with a long list of gods/ idols they worshipped. They feared offending or angering any of their long list of gods. The possibility of Jesus being God made Pilate shutter. He wanted nothing to do with Jesus being crucified. Wanting to verify what he had heard from the Jews he asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?”

We often live our lives as Pilate did. We want to live in conformity of the world around us, but we also have Jesus- the man standing in front of us. We understand where Jesus came from. We know Jesus is the Son of God, yet we don’t want to fully live in that reality. It would mean an upset of our lives, our control, our power over ourselves. Pilate knew where Jesus came from, but in order to preserve his power, his way, his “self”, he handed Jesus over to be crucified.

Jesus is before us today. We ask the same question Pilate asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” May we decide to give ourselves in response to what we already know is true, Jesus is the Son of God our Heavenly King!

Reflections on John 18:1-23: I Am He

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This chapter records the beginning of the events that led up to Jesus’ crucifixion. When the soldiers came to arrest Him and they told Jesus who they were looking for, “Jesus of Nazareth”, Jesus spoke the words, “I am He.” John records the reaction of the soldiers. “They drew back and fell to the ground.” Why would they react in such a way? They were men carrying weapons who had come with authority and power.

The soldiers had come in contact with the King of Heaven, who had ultimate power and ultimate authority. His words were spoken centuries before when He told Moses, “I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14) It was understood by the Jews of Jesus time that God was “The Great I Am.” Jesus spoke the same declaration, “I Am.” When encountered with Jesus’ words declaring Himself God, they “fell to the ground” at the power of Jesus’ words.

Jesus could have stopped the events to follow at any time. His words were powerful enough to cause big burly soldiers to fall down. BUT He did not stop what would happen. He was determined to follow through with total submission and total obedience to His Father’s will knowing exactly what He would suffer.

What love! And What an example to us who desire to follow Him with all our hearts! May we follow Him with total submission and total obedience to His will and His plan for our lives as well!

Finally Free (Poem Originally Written 2007)

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Good Friday is here! Reflecting on what Jesus did on the cross becomes the focus of this day. Where would I be had Good Friday never happened? No hope, Fear, Torment… Lost. The truth of the matter is it was my rebellion, my choices, my sin that Jesus took upon himself on the cross. He essentially did the equivalent of running into a burning building and pulling me out at the cost of His own precious life. All this so I could be free and experience His love. He is just that Good! 

Finally Free- (originally written 3/4/2007)

I know where I come from.
I know You are the Holy One
With sin filled heart I spat in your face.
I am nothing apart from your grace.

Your nail scarred feet ran to rescue me. 
Your blood stained hands reached out to me.
From the fire you have pulled me.
Oh what I owe is too much to see. 

Your arms of love surround me. 
And draw me to the side pierced for me. 
You saved me
I am finally free!

May I kiss the hand of the one who saved me. 
With grateful tears may I wash your feet. 
I long to gaze in your beautiful face. 
I am grateful for your grace.  

Your arms of love surround me.
And draw me to the side pierced for me.
You saved me
I am finally free!

“I Want What I Have Paid For”

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“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.”

Isaiah 53:5

(Last Sunday afternoon I spent some time surfing the internet. I came across a church service online from a church that my husband and I attended years ago. This illustration came from their opening of the service. It struck me because it is something I’m sure we all experience. In fact, I experienced it a couple of weeks ago, so I will relay my occurrence.)

Every once and awhile I get a hankering for a large McDonalds UNSWEET Tea. It’s a dollar and some change, so when I’m out and about it seems like a little treat to me. I DO NOT LIKE the Sweet Tea. It is so thick with sugar. I feel like I’m trying to suck down some kind of syrup. So strange as it may seem Unsweet is what I go after. Two weeks ago, I took my grandson for a ride in my Jeep. We ran through the McDonald’s drive thru to get him an ice cream cone and me… you guessed it an UNSWEET tea. I tried my best to enunciate in the drive through order box that I wanted UNNNNNN Sweet. So, I felt pretty confident they would get it right. I handed the mini-ice cream cone to my grandson and sat my Tea in the cup holder. Off we went. All was well until I finally found the straw they gave me, stuck it in the cup, and took a swig. SWEET… UGH! I was already down the hill and entering the roundabout towards the next destination. My first thought was, “Oh well, you didn’t really need it anyway.” But then it hit me. I paid for Unsweet. I wanted Unsweet. I will go back and get it. So I did. I pulled up to the window and explained that I had purchased an Unsweet Tea and they had given me sweet. In a matter of less than a minute, I was happily pulling away from the window with the Tea I ordered. All this over a cup of tea that cost me a little over a dollar and some change. But I wanted what I paid for.

Starting today, Palm Sunday, we have entered Holy Week. I come from a tradition that observed little of the week with exception of Good Friday. But In more recent years I appreciate the remembrance and celebration of the days leading up to Easter Sunday. Especially the observance of Good Friday. Reflecting on the price Jesus paid for me to live free each year is so very important. As the verse above states, “The punishment that brought us peace was laid upon Him”. He gave all of Himself, so we could be in relationship with Him and live the life we were originally created to live before sin entered and our world, our lives were broken. We however choose to live lives that are far from what He purchased for us to live. He came that we would “have life and have it more abundantly” or as some versions say “to the full”. John 10:10. He came to make us subjects of His royal kingdom, heirs to His promises. Yet we choose to do what I almost did at the roundabout when I discovered I did not get the Tea I paid for: think oh well, I don’t need it anyway, and drive away… BUT Jesus wants us to live in EVERY Blessing He paid for us to live within. He “Wants what He paid for ” in our lives. He wants us to not settle, but to be willing to pursue and run towards the “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14. He wants us to “take ahold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of Us”. As we go through each day approaching the celebration of Good Friday and then Easter, I believe God wants us to reflect on this one thing. As the old Hymn says, “Jesus Paid it all. All to Him I owe…” Am I living a life full of what Jesus paid the price for me to obtain? Am I experiencing His peace? If not, time to go through the spiritual roundabout back to where you got away from HIm and the peace He paid for you to have. Am I experiencing His joy? If not, time for a U Turn Go back to the only true source of Joy, Jesus. Am I living in His Love? No? Go back to the place you were when you walked away from your First Love. He paid such a great price on the cross so we could live in these. Don’t cheapen the tears that rolled down His face, the bloody stripes across His back, the nail prints in His hands and feet, by being unwilling to go back to Him. He is saying “I want what I have paid for in your life!” not because He is a “demanding” God, But because HE IS GOOD! And He loves us SOOOOO much! He is not satisfied for us to have a half fulfilled life. He wants to overflow us with ALL He has paid for, we are the ones who choose to go after it by going after Him or going our own way, turning down the Good He offers us.