Tag: Jesus

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The Place of The Skull

The action of this week in history really picked up over Thursday night and all day Friday.  A midnight arrest, a corrupt and unlawful trial, a quick and dirty pardon and then a march to the place called “The Skull”, and then an ole’ fashioned Southern lynching took place at the hands of the Roman government persuaded by the Jewish leaders of the day!

Yes, the Christ, the Son of God, was nailed to a cross and hung for hours before he gave up the spirit and from that some of my favorite verses where written

50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and died.

51 Then the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart.52 The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from the dead.53 They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from the dead and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.

54 When the army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!” Matthew 17 NCV

And freedom was delivered, to the people of the world!

Andrew gets to read today in a little gathering from the 53 chapter of the book of Isaiah . I thought it was worth sharing on this Good Friday a little bit from that chapter.

4 But he took our suffering on him
and felt our pain for us.
We saw his suffering
and thought God was punishing him.
5 But he was wounded for the wrong we did;
he was crushed for the evil we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him,
and we are healed because of his wounds.
6 We all have wandered away like sheep;
each of us has gone his own way.
But the Lord has put on him the punishment
for all the evil we have done.

and then the greatest part of it all

12 For this reason I will make him a great man among people,
and he will share in all things with those who are strong.
He willingly gave his life
and was treated like a criminal.
But he carried away the sins of many people
and asked forgiveness for those who sinned.”

So, even though he was the Son of God, he let himself be killed by men, for those very men and for us. But the news doesn’t stop there.. wait until Sunday!

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Follow Thursday

WOW. After a day of inactivity the action really picked up on Thursday at the Passover got into full swing and the activity that leads the the cross begins moving in quite a rapid succession of events. There are so many great points to identify and to focus on in these events that it is a bit of a struggle to only pick one.

But there is an event that seems to define the evening activities of this Passover Thursday, as the Christ, the Lamb, gathers his men for one last meal, one last time to teach, one last time to give them the instruction they need before the show really starts. It’s a little like that last practice before the big game, as coaches struggle to find that one piece of information that his players should hold above all else they have learned. And look what Jesus tells them, after he washes their feet in an educational “hands-on” interactive instructional session:

10-12Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

12-17Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life. (John 13:12-17, The Message)

He tells them, and through them he tells us – Be a servant, follow my example. Do what I have done, act like I have acted – give your life for the others.  So, speaking of following, here is a little short video clip about following him.

Hm, follow him, imitate him, act like him.  I wonder what would happen if we do?

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Selling Out?

There’s not much written about what Jesus did on Wednesday on this week. I guess we must assume he spent the day doing his normal chores and then heading off in the evening to Wednesday Church.
Seriously, it is interesting that with all the recorded events on the others days, we really see no action today, except for the agreement between the religious leaders and Judas to sell him out.
Old Judas, the traitor. But I can’t help but think about how many times I decide to sell out and not follow the Christ for my own personal gain. How about you.

So on this day when those most unholy negotiations took place, consider the negotiations on your docket today. Consider your motivation and your ability to be steadfast to the one who will set you free.

 31-32Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (John 8:31-32, The Message)

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My Favorite Week

It;s Friday and for those of you that don’t have that song still stuck in your head you realize that we are on the verge of one of my favorite weeks of the year.  It kicks of this weekend with what has been called Palm Sunday and then ends next week with the Resurection day on the Passover!  This is exciting stuff.

And so today I thought I would share one of my favorite verses and one of the verses motivates me to keep writing this blog.  When Jesus was entering Jersalem he was being praised by the residents there, much to the chagrin of the “religious leaders” of the time.  Take a look:

 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

   “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

   40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:35-40, New International Version, ©2011)

What I love about this verse is that Jesus says hey if you silence them, even the stones will cry out and testify to me! That’s pretty powerful!
But why does that motivate me? As much as I would love to see stones literally praising him, I think that is my job to testify of his love and grace and mercy.
How about you, are you letting the rocks do your job, or are you keeping them relegated to a back up role?

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Stuck On One Thought

Wow What a game. I was thinking today I would write about the great Steeler comeback (FAIL), or the awesomeness of the commericals. However, outside of a devoted beaver, a epic theft sequence of some car, and the resurrection of grandpa thanks to some Doritos, there was just not much else there to write about.

So today, there is just one thing on my head. It was stuck there yesterday morning as I heard an outstanding lesson about the women at the well from John 4. The part of this that has stuck with me is the end of the conversation between the women and Jesus here:

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:25-26 (New International Version, ©2010)

Man, I just can’t this this out of my head. This dude Jesus, says that he is the Messiah, the Savior of the World that was predicted, and then those around him claim that again later in the chapter.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:42 (New International Version, ©2010)

This thought is so oustanding, so complex, so motivating and so uplifting, that this has just stuck with me for the last day. These words cannot be dismissed. There is something that you have to do with these words. Some decision must be made. Contemplate this and think about what you will do with these words.