Yesterday, in preparing our hearts for Easter, I shared about identifying sin in our lives; but remember, the evil one who tempted and rejoiced when you fell to sin wants you to hold you down with guilt and shame. And keep you there. The evil one is masterful at deceiving, even God’s children, into believingContinue reading “Overcoming Guilt and Shame”
Tag Archives: Easter
An invitation to reflect and confess and prepare our hearts for Easter
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Cor 3:16-17) If you are a Christian, you (fill in your name)Continue reading “An invitation to reflect and confess and prepare our hearts for Easter”
Hard words as we prepare our hearts for Easter.
He came for the messed up sinner. I think a lot about that as Easter approaches in just a couple of weeks. We love that He ran after the prodigal, ate with the tax collectors and stepped in to prevent the stoning of the woman caught in adultery. We love that He left the 99Continue reading “Hard words as we prepare our hearts for Easter.”
He is RISEN!! Go and tell!
The ground shook.The angel appeared.The stone rolled away.The soldiers fell like dead men.The grave empty.Death defeated!The Way Made!Victory complete. JESUS IS RISEN! “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. John 20:6 Oh, believer, you may not have seen the resurrection with your human eyes, but you know it is all true.Continue reading “He is RISEN!! Go and tell!”
SILENCE
Silence. That day after the Savior had died. The pounding of the nails, the jeers of the crowd, His cries of pain. Now Silent. His body in the tomb. What now? They surely longed to hear His comforting voice. But Silence. They had left jobs, families, everything to follow Him. Now what? Silence. Nothing.But.Silence. Confused,Continue reading “SILENCE”
The Question No One Can Answer For You
As the religious leaders and the crowd cheered for His crucifixion, Jesus was brought before Pilate, who finding no fault in Him, asked the question we all ultimately must ask ourselves— “What then shall I do with this Jesus who is called Christ?” Matt 27:22 The question is meant to be personal. No one couldContinue reading “The Question No One Can Answer For You”
The Two Beside Him
Those two criminals.Bleeding.Bruised.Guilty. In the Savior’s final moments, one criminal hung on each side of Him. Those two represent all of us. We are each likeoneor the otherof them. It’s no accident, this true picture. There they were.So close to Jesus.Can you imagine? They both knew who He was.But only one of them would beContinue reading “The Two Beside Him”
Maundy Thursday
Thursday. The day before Jesus would die. The precious Messiah bends down to wash His disciple’s feet then takes the bread and the cup of Passover with the men in the upper room… knowing, full well, He would soon be their perfect Lamb. The Lamb. The Perfect Lamb… soon it would be His blood spillingContinue reading “Maundy Thursday”
Waiting Wednesday
Silent Wednesday. It’s what some scholars call this day of Holy Week. Jesus had spent Tuesday preaching and warning, being aggressively challenged by the religious leaders and watching his friend Judas slip away to make a deal to betray him. But then there is Wednesday. Silent Wednesday. Waiting Wednesday. Jesus knew what was coming. MaryContinue reading “Waiting Wednesday”
Do you hear His words?
I wonder about that morning after the Triumphant entry, after Jesus had rode in on the donkey, after the crowd had cheered and waved palm branches…I wonder, did He look around at His disciples? I wonder, as the disciples still celebrated the over breakfast, did he wonder if they remembered what He had told themContinue reading “Do you hear His words?”
It’s Palm Sunday
With smiles on their faces and exuberant expectation, the crowds waved the palm branches shouting, “Hosanna” which literally means, “Save Please!” and then, just a while later, that same crowd would scream, “Crucify Him!” And we question, how could they so quickly change? How could they question the famous one, the Miracle Maker, who hadContinue reading “It’s Palm Sunday”
Jesus is Risen!
The ground shook.The angel appeared.The stone rolled away.The soldiers fell like dead men.The grave empty.Death defeated!The Way Made!Victory complete. JESUS IS RISEN! “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. John 20:6 Oh, believer, you may not have seen the resurrection with your human eyes, but you know it is all true.Continue reading “Jesus is Risen!”
Silence
Silence. That day after the Savior had died. The pounding of the nails, the jeers of the crowd, His cries of pain. Now Silent. His body in the tomb. What now? They surely longed to hear His comforting voice. But Silence. They had left jobs, families, everything to follow Him. Now what? Silence. Nothing.But.Silence. Confused,Continue reading “Silence”
The Two Beside Him
Those two criminals.Bleeding.Bruised.Guilty. In the Savior’s final moments, one criminal hung on each side of Him. Those two represent all of us. We are each likeoneor the otherof them. It’s no accident, this true picture. There they were.So close to Jesus.Can you imagine? They both knew who He was.But only one of them would beContinue reading “The Two Beside Him”
The Question No One Can Answer For You
You know, no one can answer the question for you. And I know, the whole thing, the nails, the Bloody Cross, -the thought is horrific. We’ve heard the story. We’ve been told, it’s not about bunnies and that day, it changed everything. That day, that Good Friday, looked anything but “good”. Early in the morningContinue reading “The Question No One Can Answer For You”
I wonder about that morning…
I wonder about that morning after the Triumphant entry, after Jesus had rode in on the donkey, as the crowd had cheered and waved palm branches…I wonder, did He look around at His disciples? I wonder, as the disciples still celebrated the next morning over breakfast, did he wonder if they remembered what He hadContinue reading “I wonder about that morning…”
It’s Palm Sunday
With smiles on their faces and exuberant expectation, the crowds waved the palm branches shouting, “Hosanna” which literally means, “Save Please!” and then, just a while later, that same crowd would scream, “Crucify Him!” And we question, how could they so quickly change? How could they question the famous one, the Miracle Maker, who hadContinue reading “It’s Palm Sunday”
JUDAS HEART
I am sitting here thinking about Judas. Yes, Judas. Do you ever wonder what Judas was thinking? What could cause him to do what he is famously known to have done? Our human eyes have never beheld the Savior. We weren’t there when He healed the sick and walked on water. We never shared aContinue reading “JUDAS HEART”
HE IS RISEN!
The ground shook with supernatural tremor. I wonder did the distraught, discouraged disciples suspect something when they felt it? The angels appeared. The mighty Roman soldiers fell like dead men. The stone was rolled away. The grave was empty.Death had been defeated.The Way was Made!Victory was complete. JESUS IS RISEN! Can you imagine the utterContinue reading “HE IS RISEN!”
Good Friday. How could this be GOOD?
The picture is horrific. Our eyes want to turn away. We know. We’ve heard the story. We’ve been told, it’s not about bunnies but about a bloody cross. That day, that Good Friday, that day that looked anything but “good” – that day everything changed. Early in the morning on the day Jesus would beContinue reading “Good Friday. How could this be GOOD?”