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Good Friday

“Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”- Psalm 2:12

Growing up, I always wondered why everyone referred to the Friday in Holy Week as: “Good Friday”, when it commemorated such an awful day! At least, it seemed awful to me as a child.

But then I grew up and realized that in some ways, it was a “good” day. Because the day Jesus hung on the Cross – was the day He paid the price for our sins And in that sense, it was good.. His suffering was immense. He was whipped and crowned with thorns. And then crucified for our sins. Though He Himself was sinless, He willingly paid the price for our sins so that we wouldn’t have too!

It’s hard to imagine Jesus waking up on Good Friday, knowing what was to come. Not only for Himself, but for those He loved!

One thought that comes to mind is: How much Jesus must have loved us! For at any time, Jesus could have removed His Hand, or even His entire self, from the Cross upon which He suffered, but He didn’t. He loved us that much! His determination to Save us and His love for us is amazing!.

And it wasn’t just the physical suffering, Jesus suffered great emotional pain as well. His Mother Mary stood at the Foot of the Cross. So many who truly loved Him watched too. Their suffering was His suffering as well.

And then, there was our Father. I can’t even begin to imagine how our Lord felt as He watched His only Son suffer so.

When Jesus died, darkness covered the land and a great earthquake occurred.

Jesus paid the price of our sins; let’s make His suffering worth it 🙂

The Last Supper

“The Lord is on my side: I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” – Psalm 118:6

There is just so much for us to contemplate regarding the Last Supper. Jesus’ pain as He sat with His friends, knowing what was ahead. Jesus’ pain in facing Judas’ betrayal. His coming sacrifice for our sins and His great Love for us.

Jesus knew what lay ahead and the sacrifices that He would make in order that our sins would be forgiven. He did not hesitate, though He knew the suffering that lay ahead for Him, He did not fear.

See, Jesus knew that as hard as the road would be that lay before Him, His Father would be just on the” other side”. He knew that, because He would pay the price of our sins, we would all have the chance to be on the “other side” with Him. And He knew that He would see those He loved very soon.

As painful as the Last Supper was, Jesus was not afraid.

And if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we won’t be afraid either 🙂

Spy Wednesday

“For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth” – Isaiah 60:2

Holy Wednesday is a very dark day in Holy Week. It is the day that many of us think about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Some Christians refer to it as Holy Wednesday and some refer to it as Spy Wednesday.

It’s hard to imagine how much it must have hurt Jesus, when his friend Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed Him. And while Judas was paid 30 pieces of gold for his betrayal, his reasons were probably more complicated than that. And he probably thought he was doing the right thing.

Fast forward to today, and those who do evil in our world probably think they are doing the “right thing”. But they are not.

During the Last Supper, Jesus said (regarding the man who betrayed Him):

“It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”-Matthew 26:24

There are some people on this earth that Followed Jesus for a time and then betrayed Him.

Food for thought…

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Will We Follow The Mob Or Follow Jesus?

“But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.” – Psalm 115: 4-7

“Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” – Psalm 115:8

There have been mobs who tried to destroy God’s People from the beginning. We see it in the Old Testament above and we see it in the new. There were mobs calling for the death of Jesus!

The mobs also tried, and try, to convince others to follow them instead of God. But God is clear, if we trust them-we will be like them.

And we can’t follow both, “for no man can serve two masters”

As Easter approaches, we get to choose once again. Will we follow the mobs of this world or will we Follow Christ? The mobs of today’s world are not unlike the mobs of the past. If we trust them, we will be like them.

If we Trust Jesus, we will be like Him :).

The Bridge

“For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:”-Isaiah 59:12

This Monday, we prepare for Easter, the most Holy Day of the year. But before Easter, comes Good Friday, when Jesus took all of our sins on Himself to Save us. And perhaps, this Monday, we need to take some time to think about what those actual sins are and tell God just how sorry we are for them-in Jesus’ Name.

It isn’t just the sins we commit. But how many acts of kindness have we failed to do? How many times have we been self-centered? How many times have we chosen to act for our own pleasure rather than God’s Will? How many times have we seen a person in need, but kept walking?

And how many times have we failed to love God or our fellow man as we should?

We all fall short, that’s one reason why Jesus’ Gift of Salvation is so incredibly important. We could never build a relationship with God on our own. And we could never make it to Heaven on our own.

Jesus is the Bridge.

Keep Praying :)

“You that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield” Psalm 115-11

“He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase you more, you and your children” – Psalm 115:13-14

“I believed, therefore I have spoken: I was greatly afflicted”- Psalm 116:10

Our Help, indeed our Hope come from the Lord. Nothing will change that! The world may change. Our nation, sadly, may change-but God will not.

God loves us and this will never change! His willingness and ability to answer out prayers will not change!

We need to pray for ourselves and for each other. We need to pray for our children. And pray for the lost. We need to pray for faith and for courage, and for love to fill our hearts.

God sent the Holy Spirit to Help and Comfort us. We need to call upon Him and ask Him to Help us-now!

We need to ask God that if we ever fail to hold on to Him, will He please hold on to us 🙂

Whatever we pray for; we need to Keep Praying!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

The Starfish :)

Heaven rejoices when even one soul is Saved! When even one person comes home.

Think about the story of the Starfish which has been adapted so many times. And remember that God created the Starfish:

“An old man was walking on a beach. There were thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the beach. And in obvious pain and with much effort, the old man would bend down and throw a single starfish back into the ocean.

Soon a little boy came along and said, “Hey Mr., why are you throwing that one starfish back into the ocean. You might Save that one, but there’s thousands that need Saving -so what does it matter”

The old man picked up a single starfish and said, “it matters to this one” ?

Sometimes it seems that there are so many souls in need of Saving; it feels overwhelming! How to begin?

Begin with one 🙂

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

Hope Still Lives :)

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Our Hope, and our Help have always come from the Lord. Our country has changed, but our Hope, and our Help, have not!

It’s hard looking at the events in the news this week and not feel that our country, that we love so much, is falling apart. But there is a saying, “Sometimes, when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.”. God has a plan for us, we just need to Trust God.

And here to is a word of Hope from Mary. When Mary appeared in Equador, She spoke of a time to come much like this. And She said that just when all looked lost, the Christian Church, meaning all of us, would be restored. :).

Keep Praying in Jesus’ Name and Keep Your Eyes On Jesus 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Faith Over Fear

Faith over fear: what does that mean exactly?

It does not mean that bad things will never happen to us. After all, we know that here on earth, bad things happen to good people. Just as we know that Jesus told us that in this world, “we would have troubles”.

However, one thing that it does mean is that if we Follow Jesus -in the end – we will go to Heaven where there will be only Joy and Peace for all eternity 🙂

Faith over Fear does mean that we do the right thing, even when we are afraid.

Faith over Fear also means that when we are afraid, we turn to God in prayer and ask for His Help, for “our Help comes from the Lord” always. And there is no situation on this earth that God is not able to handle 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God’s Law :)

“It is time for you, LORD, to work for they have made void your law”-Psalm 119:126

Millions seems to be disobeying God’s Laws these days. Just look at the children and adults murdered at the Christian school in Nashville!

Please pray the verse above everyday. We need our Lord desperately. And we need Him now!

And please pray for all of those who were hurt by this shooting. All those who loved someone who died. All of those who fear sending their children to school and all those children who are now afraid. And please pray for those who helped, such as the first responders, for they suffer too.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!