A New Thing…It’s Easter Sunday Y’all!

Hello World!!!

As I listen to the birds chirping outside my window and see the dark of night fade to blue, my spirit feels lighter…One of the reasons that I love Easter is that it officially ushers the world into spring…Winter has finally packed his bags and gone away for a few months, and Spring, with her flirty self, is here…And everything is blooming too…I can tell because my throat is itchy and my eyes are watering…Even nature knows that new things are on the horizon…that is The Promise of Easter…

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

Jesus is doing a “new thing!” He made a way out of no way!  He is making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland…Can’t you tell? I overheard my mother talking to my uncle yesterday as she was making something good to eat for today (Yep, I will be all up my momma’s house eating today after church…) I wanted to say something, but you know how it is sometimes – even though I’m grown now, sometimes you can’t interrupt grown folks’ conversation…and my momma and uncle are still more grown than me…My momma said to my uncle that sometimes we Christians give ourselves such a hard time sometimes and that we will never be perfect right here on earth…And that’s why Jesus died…Let’s face it, we will never be perfect, but Jesus is…and today, we can revel in His sacrifice for us and remember that absolutely nothing can “separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:38-39) Not that we should act a fool, do wrong on purpose and use our imperfections as an excuse – naw, that’s not what His sacrifice is about…It’s about trying to do our best while realizing that we can never be perfect…

Happy Easter!

Any thoughts?

P.S. Listen to Tramaine Hawkins tear up the song “Changed!”

Holy, Holy, Holy…

Hello World, 

A week from today, we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ…and so today is the first day of Holy Week…And we are commanded in His Word to be holy…

1 Peter 1:15-19 (New International Version)

15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

 17Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

As I go throughout the week in the hustle and bustle of daily living, I pray that I will pause and take time to thank God for His sacrifice for me…Sometimes I am stunned that I even call myself a Christian…Not because I don’t feel love for the Lord in my heart, but because I am a person that is ever so prone to anxiety and fear…You would think with all of the verses in the Bible about not having fear and anxiety, I would not be this way…but it is what it is sometimes…And yet as I type these words, I know that the Lord loves me — an anxious and fearful sinner…

And I so as I revel in His love for me, I have to offer my praise….And we are commanded to praise the Lord in His Word…

Psalm 150 (New International Version)

Psalm 150

 1 Praise the LORD. [a]
       Praise God in his sanctuary;
       praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power;
       praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
       praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
       praise him with the strings and flute, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
       praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
       Praise the LORD.

In Jesus’ name, amen, amen and amen…

 

 

We Fall Down…But He Got Up!!!

Hello World!!!

Two words. He. Arose…I could stop there, but I won’t…At the Maundy Thursday service I attended a few days ago, each person was given a scripture to read as a part of the service…

Below is the scripture that I read:

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, Sit here while I pray. 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. Stay here and keep watch. 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Simon, he said to Peter, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?  38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Mark 14:32-41

I have been meditating on these scriptures since then, and I think I know what the Lord is saying to me through these verses, and what I think is confirmed by another translation of the same scriptures. The first version is the New International Version of scripture, and the second version is the Contemporary English Version.

32Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and 34told them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”  35-36Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, [a] if it is possible, don’t let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. [b] But do what you want, and not what I want.”  37When Jesus came back and found the disciples sleeping, he said to Simon Peter, “Are you asleep? Can’t you stay awake for just one hour? 38Stay awake and pray that you won’t be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.” 39Jesus went back and prayed the same prayer. 40But when he returned to the disciples, he found them sleeping again. They simply could not keep their eyes open, and they did not know what to say. 41When Jesus returned to the disciples the third time, he said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? [c] Enough of that! The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners.

Although Jesus Christ knew that He came to Earth to die for our sins, He clearly did not look forward to this ultimate sacrifice. And so He prayed that He would not have to die in the Garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion. He accurately told the Father that God could remove our sin without Jesus having to lay down his life as God is all powerful. I think Jesus wanted His disciples to petition the Father on His behalf…He asked them three times to pray…Yet they failed Him each time.  Instead they chose to sleep. After His third request, I believe Jesus knew what the Lord absolutely required…something supernatural would have to supersede the natural because the natural wasn’t going to cut it.

I know I can apply this scripture to my life. I think sacrifice is a requirement in the life of a Christian. We may not be required to die on the cross, but we do have a cross to bear – that cross may be different for each person. And who wants to bear a cross…We may pray and ask several people to pray that we don’t have to bear that cross, but in the end, we realize that there is no way to it- unless you go through it…That’s a hard pill to swallow…As I type this post, I know there is something I must sacrifice, but I would rather not…What in your life is God asking you to sacrifice that you rather not… As I ponder on my current cross, I just have to sigh….Thank God, when I’m ready to do my part, I can ask God to supersede the natural and help me….Yes, I fall down…a lot…but thanks be to God, He Got Up and eventually I will too…

Anyway, it’s something to ponder on this blessed Easter Sunday!!!

Any thoughts?