It seems that Tuesday of this week in Jesus' life was a busy day. I'm not 100% sure on these details, but it looks like this is correct, though each Gospel has it laid out a little differently. None the less, much was happening on this day in Jesus' life, and He had much to complete before Friday. Here is what I believe happened.
The first thing in the morning Jesus curses the fig tree.
Jesus' authority is challenged in the temple.
Jesus teaches in parables and confronts the Jewish Leaders.
Jesus laments over Jerusalem.
Jesus foretells the end of the age.
The Greeks ask to see Jesus.
The Olivet Discourse.
Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
Each night it appears that Jesus stayed in Bethany, about 2 miles away from Jerusalem, possibly with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. What a glorious time this must have been for them. I wonder if Jesus was even more focused than usual? The Bible doesn't record for us any time that He laughed, but I would think this would not have been a time of much laughter for Him.
How much more was He teaching them than He had been previously? He only had a few days left; if I knew when my last hours on earth were, I would be giving many final instructions. His final instructions were much more important than mine could ever be. Did they understand more today than previously? Isn't it awesome that He has left us His final instructions that we can read whenever we like? Should we not be more interested?
The power of sin in Judas' heart had to be incredible. For him to spend 3 years with God incarnate and turn his back on Him and sell Him for a few dollars is unthinkable, but this was all the Father's plan and Jesus tells us that no one took His life, but He laid it down willingly, and Judas was just part of that plan.
As I am thinking about this week, much differently than before, I am humbled by the fact that Christ would go to such lengths for me; He calls sinners to repentance just for His glory. He doesn't need our praise to make Him great; He is already great, we just get to worship Him because He allows it. We can have righteous thoughts about our Great God, because He draws us to Himself, and gives us the righteous thoughts.
We would have been the people going on with our daily lives, busy before the "holiday weekend"; making preparations for the guests coming over; all caught up in the celebration of what? Oh, we totally missed the point of the celebration by being so busy.
What will this Tuesday hold for you? Are you thinking about the seriousness of this week? Is this week any different than any other week of the year, but it happens to have a "mandatory church day" affiliated with it? Or, is this the most amazing week of your entire year?
God left Heaven to come to earth and be killed for you and me and this week is the week when we celebrate His sacrifice on our behalf; should we not be more serious this week? Should this not cause us to stop and reflect on the cost?
Lord, may we be a thankful, humble, repentant, grateful and worshiping people. May our lives reflect the life that You gave to us. May we be lights in a dark world. Give us boldness to tell of Your greatness. This is a most glorious week. A week that cost You Your life, to give us ours. If we are silent, the rocks will cry out in our place, so may we NOT be silent. Thank You for Your unspeakable Gift. May we be excited to share the Good News with others.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
There had to be a huge buzz in the air, as so many were following Jesus by now. The Jewish leaders were all trying to figure out how to get rid of Jesus, and quickly, since they could see that He was very different from them and they didn't want to lose their influence. The Father had it all worked out; they didn't need to plan anything more than He had already done. All they needed to do was give in to their sinful hearts and the rest would be history.
What a Day this would be. Prophecy fulfilled as Jesus cleanses the Temple. Can you imagine what the leaders of the synagogue were thinking when Jesus runs them out? What were the "regular" people thinking as they watched Jesus do this? They had to have been confused and delighted as they saw their leaders, who had put so many burdens on them, confused and irritated with Jesus, and yet delighted, because maybe this Jesus could be different from their present leaders.
The money changers may have been thinking, "Who does this Jesus think He is anyway? Taking away our profit center. How dare He do such a thing?" They were so lost in their traditions that they couldn't see the True Lamb that was standing right in front of them, as they were trying to sell their sacrificial animals.
How deceptive our hearts can be. Having eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear until the Great Physician comes and opens them and allows us to know the Truth. Were it not for grace we all would go the way of the leaders and the money changers.
After this, what was the rest of the day like for Jesus and the disciples? What was the conversation over dinner that night? Jesus was only going to be with them a couple more days, in the flesh, and they really had know idea what was going on yet. Were they talking politics while Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven? Their thoughts had to be on where they would be positioned, and Jesus knew what was to come for them.
Christ knew the price He was going to have to pay in just a few days. The weight of the world's sin was going to be on Him. The Father would turn His back on the Son. He knew all this and yet He proceeded with the Father's plan.
Amazing Love,
how can it be,
that thou my God,
would die for me.
Thank You Father for Your great love toward us. You devised the plan to take away our sin, even at the cost of Your Son. Thank You Jesus for submitting to the will of the Father, that we might have life, and life more abundantly, in this world and for all of eternity and thanks for leaving us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us, to be our comfort and strength that we might endure this world. What an amazing plan to save Your enemies and make us friends.
What a Day this would be. Prophecy fulfilled as Jesus cleanses the Temple. Can you imagine what the leaders of the synagogue were thinking when Jesus runs them out? What were the "regular" people thinking as they watched Jesus do this? They had to have been confused and delighted as they saw their leaders, who had put so many burdens on them, confused and irritated with Jesus, and yet delighted, because maybe this Jesus could be different from their present leaders.
The money changers may have been thinking, "Who does this Jesus think He is anyway? Taking away our profit center. How dare He do such a thing?" They were so lost in their traditions that they couldn't see the True Lamb that was standing right in front of them, as they were trying to sell their sacrificial animals.
How deceptive our hearts can be. Having eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear until the Great Physician comes and opens them and allows us to know the Truth. Were it not for grace we all would go the way of the leaders and the money changers.
After this, what was the rest of the day like for Jesus and the disciples? What was the conversation over dinner that night? Jesus was only going to be with them a couple more days, in the flesh, and they really had know idea what was going on yet. Were they talking politics while Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven? Their thoughts had to be on where they would be positioned, and Jesus knew what was to come for them.
Christ knew the price He was going to have to pay in just a few days. The weight of the world's sin was going to be on Him. The Father would turn His back on the Son. He knew all this and yet He proceeded with the Father's plan.
Amazing Love,
how can it be,
that thou my God,
would die for me.
Thank You Father for Your great love toward us. You devised the plan to take away our sin, even at the cost of Your Son. Thank You Jesus for submitting to the will of the Father, that we might have life, and life more abundantly, in this world and for all of eternity and thanks for leaving us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us, to be our comfort and strength that we might endure this world. What an amazing plan to save Your enemies and make us friends.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Absolutely Different
"The glory of the Gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariability attracts it. It is there that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first. Our ambition should be to be like Christ, the more we are like Him the better, and the more like Him we become, the more we shall be unlike everybody who is not a Christian". M. Lloyd-Jones
The world has done a masterful job at getting us to buy into the idea that birds of a feather will reign together, but this could not be farther from the truth. We need to be separate from the world in how we live, but in the world to share the Gospel with it; In the world but not of the world.
This is not easy when everything around us is telling us different, but that is why we need to encourage one another to love and good deeds, speaking to each other in songs, and hymns and spiritual songs, so we are reminded of who we are in Christ. If you are forsaking the fellowship of believers, you are missing the opportunity to be encouraged and strengthened along the way.
Just a little side post as I was reading this afternoon.
The world has done a masterful job at getting us to buy into the idea that birds of a feather will reign together, but this could not be farther from the truth. We need to be separate from the world in how we live, but in the world to share the Gospel with it; In the world but not of the world.
This is not easy when everything around us is telling us different, but that is why we need to encourage one another to love and good deeds, speaking to each other in songs, and hymns and spiritual songs, so we are reminded of who we are in Christ. If you are forsaking the fellowship of believers, you are missing the opportunity to be encouraged and strengthened along the way.
Just a little side post as I was reading this afternoon.
All That Thrills My Soul is Jesus
This is a song that I grew up singing along to with a Scottish Men's Choir recording that me dad had. There were a couple hundred men singing acapella, with a Scottish accent. It was glorious, even for a 10 year old. Great words.
All That Thrills my Souls is Jesus
Who can cheer the heart like Jesus,
By His presence all divine?
True and tender, pure and precious,
O how blest to call Him mine!
Chorus
All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.
Love of Christ so freely given,
Grace of God beyond degree,
Mercy higher than the heaven,
Deeper than the deepest sea!
Chorus
What a wonderful redemption!
Never can a mortal know
How my sin, tho red like crimson,
Can be whiter than the snow.
Chorus
Every need His hand supplying,
Every good in Him I see;
On His strength divine relying,
He is all in all to me.
Chorus
By the crystal flowing river
With the ransomed I will sing,
And forever and forever
Praise and glorify the King
Chorus
Thoro Harris, 1931
All That Thrills my Souls is Jesus
Who can cheer the heart like Jesus,
By His presence all divine?
True and tender, pure and precious,
O how blest to call Him mine!
Chorus
All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.
Love of Christ so freely given,
Grace of God beyond degree,
Mercy higher than the heaven,
Deeper than the deepest sea!
Chorus
What a wonderful redemption!
Never can a mortal know
How my sin, tho red like crimson,
Can be whiter than the snow.
Chorus
Every need His hand supplying,
Every good in Him I see;
On His strength divine relying,
He is all in all to me.
Chorus
By the crystal flowing river
With the ransomed I will sing,
And forever and forever
Praise and glorify the King
Chorus
Thoro Harris, 1931
Palm Sunday
Today is Palm Sunday. What a week this must have been for Jesus. He knew His time line and He knew exactly what was to come.
Was this in the morning or afternoon? I don't know for sure, but I can picture the crowd going up to Jerusalem from Bethany, walking up the hill among the olive trees, the sounds and smells of the season all around. Birds singing as their Creator walks by. Did they know who He was? Were the figs on the trees this morning extra sweet?
The crowd and the disciples were thinking something very different was going to happen. They were getting ready to take over the city, or so they thought. They were getting ready to be the new rulers of Jerusalem, but they were very mistaken.
Jesus knew the plan, He had told them the plan many times, but they hadn't really gotten it yet. In a week of so it would make a lot more sense to the disciples, but most of the crowd would never understand; they were just hanging around to see what new thing Jesus was going to do next. His "new thing" was to give His life for us.
He could see the hypocrisy in their hearts; He could see their motives and yet He still stayed with the Father's plan.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
Was this in the morning or afternoon? I don't know for sure, but I can picture the crowd going up to Jerusalem from Bethany, walking up the hill among the olive trees, the sounds and smells of the season all around. Birds singing as their Creator walks by. Did they know who He was? Were the figs on the trees this morning extra sweet?
The crowd and the disciples were thinking something very different was going to happen. They were getting ready to take over the city, or so they thought. They were getting ready to be the new rulers of Jerusalem, but they were very mistaken.
Jesus knew the plan, He had told them the plan many times, but they hadn't really gotten it yet. In a week of so it would make a lot more sense to the disciples, but most of the crowd would never understand; they were just hanging around to see what new thing Jesus was going to do next. His "new thing" was to give His life for us.
He could see the hypocrisy in their hearts; He could see their motives and yet He still stayed with the Father's plan.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
Dinner with Jesus
The night before the Triumphal Entry had to be a pretty special night. Though the disciples didn't know what was to come the next week that Sabbath dinner had to be pretty amazing.
Jesus has dinner with Martha and Mary. Can you just smell the dinner? The sounds of serving utensils, cooking and visiting in the air. Sweet fellowship of the disciples with their Lord. Mary brings in this very expensive perfume, and fills the room with fragrance. That had to bring the conversation to a halt. All eyes were now on Mary and Jesus. Mary doesn't care if others are watching, she is here to worship her Lord.
The story generally gets told of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, Judas asking why they didn't just give the money to him, so he could steal it and Martha serving, but I think something else significant is happening here. Jesus is having dinner with Lazarus.
As one who gets to eat meals with one who has been "dead", I get the point how special this must have been. Jesus is having dinner with the one He loved after He raised him from the dead. I do understand that Lazarus was much more dead than Grant.
The sisters must have been beside themselves, looking over at Lazarus. What a miracle to get to have dinner with their brother again. Every time Martha walked by him she must have shook her head in disbelief. Mary knew it was special, but she was focused on Christ. She loved her brother, but she loved Christ more. Her brother was special, but Jesus was more special. She understood the preciousness of Christ and that He requires our willingness to leave all earthly things to follow him.
There is nothing we have here that compares to Christ. There is nothing worthy of our worship but Christ. There is no fellowship that should supersede our fellowship with Christ.
Oh that we might have fellowship and worship like He is with us today, because He is. Would it be difficult to talk about spiritual things if Jesus was sitting at the table with you? Would the attention be on you, or Jesus?
Jesus has dinner with Martha and Mary. Can you just smell the dinner? The sounds of serving utensils, cooking and visiting in the air. Sweet fellowship of the disciples with their Lord. Mary brings in this very expensive perfume, and fills the room with fragrance. That had to bring the conversation to a halt. All eyes were now on Mary and Jesus. Mary doesn't care if others are watching, she is here to worship her Lord.
The story generally gets told of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, Judas asking why they didn't just give the money to him, so he could steal it and Martha serving, but I think something else significant is happening here. Jesus is having dinner with Lazarus.
As one who gets to eat meals with one who has been "dead", I get the point how special this must have been. Jesus is having dinner with the one He loved after He raised him from the dead. I do understand that Lazarus was much more dead than Grant.
The sisters must have been beside themselves, looking over at Lazarus. What a miracle to get to have dinner with their brother again. Every time Martha walked by him she must have shook her head in disbelief. Mary knew it was special, but she was focused on Christ. She loved her brother, but she loved Christ more. Her brother was special, but Jesus was more special. She understood the preciousness of Christ and that He requires our willingness to leave all earthly things to follow him.
There is nothing we have here that compares to Christ. There is nothing worthy of our worship but Christ. There is no fellowship that should supersede our fellowship with Christ.
Oh that we might have fellowship and worship like He is with us today, because He is. Would it be difficult to talk about spiritual things if Jesus was sitting at the table with you? Would the attention be on you, or Jesus?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Easter Tradition
I am not a tradition person at all, so I need some help here.
Does anyone have a great tradition for Easter? We have a bit of a strange one this year as "dead boy" and his brother don't come back from England until Easter evening, but I would like to get some sort of idea what others do for this most triumphant of days.
Does anyone fast on Friday-Saturday to feast on Sunday? Does anyone have a sort of "upper room" kind of meal? I just want this Easter to be more spiritually focused then it has been in the past for our family. Especially since we now have our own personally resurrection day with Grant and I can see what He is doing in my heart through this.
You will be required to post a comment, but remember that it encourages others when you do:)
Does anyone have a great tradition for Easter? We have a bit of a strange one this year as "dead boy" and his brother don't come back from England until Easter evening, but I would like to get some sort of idea what others do for this most triumphant of days.
Does anyone fast on Friday-Saturday to feast on Sunday? Does anyone have a sort of "upper room" kind of meal? I just want this Easter to be more spiritually focused then it has been in the past for our family. Especially since we now have our own personally resurrection day with Grant and I can see what He is doing in my heart through this.
You will be required to post a comment, but remember that it encourages others when you do:)
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