HAVE YOU EVER...celebrated Good Friday?

I love this week.  I had a 4 year old tell me the other day, “Miss Angie, Easter is my FAVORITE holiday!” Knowing that she is a precious lover of Christ, I knew she was not talking about the Easter bunny!

My church always has a Maundy Thursday worship service on the Thursday night before Easter.  This is one of my favorite services each year.  It really reminds you of the price that Jesus paid for you and me.  We always go home in the dark and in silence contemplating Easter morning!

I am sad to say that nothing usually happens between Thursday and Sunday for me.  Even though, we usually have Good Friday off from work or school.  We don’t really celebrate it.  Not that it should be celebrated, but it should be focused on or revered more.

I can’t wait until Sunday morning when I can remember that the tomb was empty too!  But Jesus died on Friday night.  The veil was torn.  His blood was shed.  Satan thought that he had won another battle.  A big one!  We can’t just skip that part of the story, because we don’t want to think about it.

And when I think,

That God, His Son not sparing;

Sent Him to die,

I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross,

My burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died

To take away my sin.

HAVE YOU EVER thought about it?

"How Great Thou Art" Hymn, Isaiah 53:5, John 19:34

HAVE YOU EVER...met someone who was famous?

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!”  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Blessed is the king of Israel!”  John 12:13

This week is Palm Sunday!  This day churches celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ Jesus into Jerusalem.  This was the Sunday before he would suffer and die for us.  These people had no idea.  They knew that scriptures had foretold of a coming king who would save them, but they had NO idea what he was going to do for them.

Jesus was famous!  I would like to think that I would have wanted to see Jesus and believe in him.  Not just one of the people that wanted to see some famous guy going by.  What’s all the hubbub about?  Jesus had made the lame walk, blind men see, and even raised Lazarus from the dead!

I remember traveling to Springfield one summer day with my parents when I was younger just to see the president drive by in his limo.  Which one is he in?  We had no idea, if he was really in one of them.  I had a friend of mine who got to miss a day of school in high school to go hear President Bush speak at a college for graduation.  It was also exciting when Roy Blunt was the president of SBU while I was there.   He had been the governor!  I actually had the strange fortune of spending a few evenings hanging out at his house.  Fancy!  He wouldn’t know who I was though.

When we think of famous people, we think of rich people from the movies.  Someone who has won an Oscar or a Grammy!  My sister and I like to play the game…If you could hang out with someone famous for a day, who would it be?  Sadly, I have never answered Jesus, because he wasn’t really that famous.  He was more infamous to some people, like the Pharisees. 

I love historical Bible stories like this.   This one is written in all of the four gospels.  There are things that are special and different about each account.  Matthew 21:2 says that Jesus told his disciples to go to the village and find a donkey tied next to her colt and bring them both to him.  The other 3 gospels only mention the colt.  Mark 11:11 says that after the triumphal entry, Jesus went to the temple and looked around at everything, but it was late so he left with his disciples.  We know that the next day he goes back prepared to take care of “business”.  Luke 19:40, is awesome when the Pharisees tell Jesus to tell the people to stop.  Jesus says, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  The saddest is John 12:16.  The Bible says that the disciples didn’t understand.  It was only until after it had all happened and had been written down that they realized. 

All four gospels have the phrase that the people were chanting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Wow!  Some of them got it right, if even for a little while.  He is worthy of our praise.  I love watching the kids carry the palm branches.  There is always some big choir or orchestra piece playing while they march down the aisle.  We look at how cute they all look.  This Sunday, think about why they are really doing it.  God had a plan that Jesus was fulfilling for you and me!

HAVE YOU EVER…waved a palm branch?

Psalm 118:26, Zechariah 9:9

HAVE YOU EVER...felt unworthy?

In Matthew 8:5-13, there is a story of a centurion soldier who comes to Jesus to have his servant healed.  His servant is at his home and cannot even get out of bed.  Jesus, of course, says that he will go to his house to heal him.  The centurion stops him and says that he is not worthy to have him under his roof, but that Jesus has the authority to heal him without going to his house.  Jesus heals his servant!

I wonder if his house was not clean, because his servant had been sick in bed?  I know I’m crazy.  But if Jesus came to my town, my house would be spotless in just the slim chance that he came by.  The more I thought about this, I figured Jesus would have known my true heart, and not been too impressed by my clean house.   I guess I’m not worthy.

When Jesus allowed Peter to catch hundreds of fish, he too said “I’m not worthy.”  When Abraham stood before the Lord being commissioned he felt unworthy.  Have you ever felt like God was talking to someone else or how could he work in your life like that?

Jesus works in our lives to make us worthy.  Think about the ways he served so many unworthy people in the gospels.  He told the Pharisees in Matthew 9:12-13 how he was with sinners in the same way that doctors are with sick people.  People who are righteous or well don’t need a doctor.  Jesus washes away our sins making us worthy of the Father and our salvation.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  Luke 15:7

I have been dealing with this lately.  I know that the Lord is my redeemer, but do I really trust him to make me worthy?  Yes!  I am done worrying if he loves me and am I special enough!  

I AM his child!  I am going to start seeking Him MORE to make me MORE worthy.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matthew 6:33

HAVE YOU EVER…felt worthy?

Psalm 37:3-4, Luke 7:6-7

HAVE YOU EVER...looked into the light?

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible.  Ephesians 5:13

Recently our pastor preached on opening our eyes to God.  That night Alex brought me a book to read.  It was part of a set on the 5 senses.  This one was focused on eye sight.  Now, either Alex was actually listening to the sermon or God loves coincidences.  I like to believe both.

Have you ever thought of the incredible human eye ball?  The little black part in the middle of your eye is the pupil.  It lets light into your eye, but it also protects it from light.  When you see bright light, your pupil gets smaller.  When the lights go off, your pupil gets larger to let in more light.  Definitely a design from God!

Your iris is the outer coloring of your eye.  I have always been subconscious about my eye color.  My mom has beautiful blue eyes and had blond hair.  My dad had dark hair and dark eyes.  So my hair is turning gray like mom’s and my eyes are a hazel green brown mix.  My irises are not very appealing. 

Then there are near sighted or far sighted people.  Some people’s eye balls are more round and some are shaped like footballs.  Some people wear glasses or contacts, while other crazy people have laser corrective surgery.  Both of my grandmas had cataracts. 

Some people are born blind.  I am afraid of the dark.  I would not want to be blind.  How would you feel if you lost your eye sight later in life?  One of my favorite hymn composers is Fanny Crosby.  She was blind.  She was not born blind, but after an illness as an infant and a quack of a doctor, she became blind.  She was still an amazing musician and wrote probably most of the hymns you have memorized. 

One of my favorite stories about Fanny Crosby is whenever people asked her if she wished she could see or if she had memories of seeing or if she was mad about not being able to see she always had the most amazing answer.  She knew that one day she would walk into heaven and the first face she would see would be her Savior.  She even wrote a poem about how thankful she was to God for being blind when she was just a child.  Can you imagine!?! 

I cannot imagine this perspective on life, because I do not have a disability.  Fanny Crosby didn’t think she did either though.  She sang, played the piano, and wrote beautiful poetry and music.  I bet she still is doing that in heaven today.  I’m going to be making music with her some day.  Our eyes will be wide open to the light of the world, Christ Jesus.

This is my story, this is my song.  Praising my Savior all the day long!

HAVE YOU EVER…sung a Fanny Crosby hymn?

Psalm 123:1, John 3:21, John 8:12