Miscellaneous | Be Still...

Holy Week 2020 – Tuesday

How did Jesus spend his last days? All these years later, what do his final words say to us? We have entered into Holy Week. In pastoral ministry over the years, this has been one of the busiest weeks of the year. Easter morning would often arrive and the week before would seem only a blur of preparations. How can you celebrate the resurrection joy when you haven’t taken time to feel the agony and desperation of Jesus’ final hours?

This year, in 2020, the whole world has been given a notice to isolate, to “socially distance” from co-workers, friends, neighbors, and loved ones. No church gatherings will take place. There are plenty of people feeling the agony of loss and the desperation of the unknown. Yet for this week, I want us all to try and focus on Jesus. Let’s set aside the craziness of the world’s events and just be in the presence of Jesus. Walk with him in his final days. Feel his passion. Sense his strength. Hear his promise that death has no power.

Luke 2:8-20 – Be Like The Shepherds

Read Luke 2:8-20

If you’re like me, you’ve heard the Christmas story over and over again since you were a little child. You may have played an angel, a shepherd, or a wise man in a pageant or two. In my case, I don’t have that childhood memory because our church didn’t do that. I sang in a choir instead. Choir robes weren’t the same as a costume! I suppose that’s why as an adult, and as a children’s ministry director, I was so excited to bring this tradition to hundreds of children. Those are definitely memories I treasure.

Do we really understand the shepherds in the story? You know, the lowly ones left to tend to their flocks day and night. In the culture of the day, shepherds were not the admired ones in society. Little boys did not dream of being a shepherd. Of course, if you came from a family of shepherds, you would probably be a shepherd by default. It’s easy for us to look down on them because of how they were viewed by the rest of the population, but God didn’t. God gave them a very special gift.

He is Risen Indeed

“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples…’” Mark 16:5-7

“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Luke 24:6-7

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Matt. 28:6

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” John 11:25

“And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” 1 Cor 6:14

Listen to He is Risen HERE.

Hallelujah. Today is the day of all days to celebrate. No matter what you may be going through, you are not alone. You are being held in the arms of a risen Savior! Let the joy of Jesus’ victory wash over you. We don’t need to be bound by our darkness.

Listen to Resurrection Power HERE.

We are living in the light of Jesus’ goodness because of what Jesus did for us. He gave us freedom, and we can live with him forever. We have Jesus’ power inside us, and we are unstoppable.

Rejoice today that you know Jesus.

Let’s pray. Lord, I am so thankful for the freedom you have given me. I know that whatever comes my way you are here with me. I just need to call on YOUR power and not try to be the hero all the time. You have gifted me to help others, and Lord, I pray that it is with this new freedom I will see those people raising their hands. We are redeemed and forgiven. Hallelujah. Thank you for what you did for me! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 27:14 – Between Death and Life

Psalm 27:14 says: “Wait for theLord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

We wait in stillness for the resurrection. We stand in awe of what our Lord and Savior did for us. This is the day we remember his body lying in the tomb. Yet his soul descended to the depths of hell. It is just as we proclaim in our Creed.

For those Jesus left behind that day, they mourned. They hid in fear. They rested for it was the Sabbath. It must have been so surreal. Just a few short days before there had been such a triumphant entry into Jerusalem with shouts of Hosanna! Jesus was king. What happened?

Good Friday – Perfect Love

Read Isaiah 53:3-5

Jesus was pierced for our transgressions. He endured suffering for you and me. We need to take a pause from our busy lives and remember.

Watch and Listen to PERFECT LOVE (Mary’s Song) HERE.

We may each have a special memory of a Good Friday service that touched our hearts. Or perhaps it’s a remembrance of when it first struck us exactly what Jesus had done for us.

Take time today to reflect on this act of love. The greatest gift of all. Not only did God leave his heavenly throne to become one of us, but he also died a horrendous death so we could live. That was his earthly mission.

Jesus said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30). What was finished was his earthly life as a man. What was to begin that day was his everlasting reign as King of Kings.

Our sins were nailed on the cross with him that day. Jesus paid the price. We have been redeemed. How does that make you feel?

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Let your legacy of faith be renewed today.

Let’s pray. Lord, I am overcome with emotion. What you have done for me takes my breath away. The gratitude in my heart is overflowing. I want to be better. I want to be the best I can be for you. Help me to reach others so they can feel your love and follow you, too. Equip me to be a servant. In your precious name, I pray. Amen.

If you’d like to watch some other touching clips:

We Are the Reason

Mary Did You Know