Category Archives: Grace

The Friday that was Good

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Good Friday everyone. This is the Friday that was Good. Blessed be the Name of the Lord! Thank you Jesus for Calvary! Thank you for the cross. And even though it’s a couple of days away, I am so thankful He didn’t stay in the tomb. It is empty!!

You can read my other posts on Holy Week here, here, here, here and here. Please come back tomorrow and Resurrection Morning (before or after church!) for our final conclusion. 

“And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Mark 15:37, 38 NKJV.

The veil in the Temple separated the Holy Place from the Holiest of Holies. Only the High Priest could even enter the Holiest of Holies, no one else was allowed. Inside was the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod that budded, and Manna. The High Priest could only go into the Holiest of Holies once a year to roll away the sins of the people for another 365 days. (Day of Atonement)

This Holiest of Holies represented the presence of God.

The Israelites could not approach God for themselves. They had to have others to plead for their sins.

But everything changed on the Friday that was Good.

It is a Holy Friday and with good reason! We cannot talk of the Cross without realizing there was a Holy God, a Good God, paying the price.

Look at all that was going on in the spirit world when Jesus was dying. 

When Jesus took His last and final breath, the earth shook violently, thunder rolled and a magnificent thing happened in the Temple. The massive curtain, which, according to Jewish historical descriptions, was approximately 30 feet wide, 60 feet high and three inches thick, was impossible for man to rip apart! It was said that it took 300 priests just to wash it. That’s big.

That veil separated man from God’s presence. So when God literally tore it into two pieces, from the top to the bottom, it was very significant.

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2.

When Jesus died, things changed forever. We could now enter that Holy Place, God’s Presence, all by ourselves. Without fear!

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh…” Hebrews 10:19-20.

Now the priests were no longer the only ones who could WORSHIP!

Worship was now for everyone.

Do you realize what that means?

We are able to worship the Savior personally, have a living relationship with the One who hung on the cross!

And…it gets better.

We  can, and should, worship God anywhere! 

  • In a church, yes, please worship Him there!
  • Out in the woods? Worship Him!
  • Walking down the road? Worship Him!
  • Driving in your car? Worship Him!
  • About to have a meal? Worship!
  • Breathing today? Worship, worship, worship!

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16.

Because of Calvary, because of “It is finished”, we have direct access to Jesus Christ.

Don’t be discouraged today if you are quarantined on this Friday that is Good. Rejoice because the veil was torn and wherever WE are, HE is!

Friday is Good because without Friday there would be no Resurrection Sunday. Join me tomorrow as we anticipate the Risen Savior.

Kingdom2

When God is Silent

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Surely there have been times in your life that you have asked the question of the ages:

Why is God silent?

Does He not hear me? My prayers are not being answered, maybe He doesn’t love me. Have I done something wrong?

  • I don’t feel Him.
  • I don’t hear Him.
  • I definitely don’t see Him.

I am surely all alone in this world!

when God is silent

Haven’t we all been there? Maybe we have even lived there for a time? It isn’t easy.

Can we say it can be just plain difficult?

I am not one of those that is fortunate enough to hear the Lord speak in an audible voice to me every morning and say, “Good morning Nannette, time to get up, Sweet Daughter of Mine! Here is what I have planned for you today…”

But He does speak to us, in a variety of ways, mostly through His Word and prayer. And the two of them together? Even better chance you will hear that still, small voice of the Lord.

But sometimes, there is silence; and He is teaching us to trust Him.

Do you remember Thomas? Poor Thomas is still getting picked on as The Doubter. He said he wouldn’t believe that Jesus was alive unless he could see the nail marks in his hands and put his hand in his side. But Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 NIV.

Compare it to a marriage relationship. If your spouse is away on a trip, are you panicked that they don’t love you anymore?

  • You can’t feel them next to you.
  • You can’t see them.
  • You can’t talk to them if they are busy or in meetings.
  • You can’t hear them.

Does that mean that just because there is silence that their love means nothing any longer? Of course not.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Would it not be wonderful to think that the Lord is preparing us in the silence, to teach us to long for Him?

Of course, we want to be sure that there is not something keeping us from hearing from the Lord.

  • If there is sin, repent.
  • If there is anger, get rid of it.
  • If there is someone you need to forgive, go do it.

Clean up the heart. Draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to you. His Word promises that.

Can we trust God even when we don’t hear from Him? When we don’t feel Him every day? He promised to never leave us or forsake us, when there is silence we lean on His promises!

Can we keep on loving Him, serving Him, telling others about Him, just because we love Him, and not because He owes us anything in return?

C.S. Lewis said, “Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”

He never changes, He is always the same. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. And in an ever-changing world that is full to the brim of uncertainty, we can encourage one another by reminding ourselves of His faithfulness and remembering prayers that He has answered in the past.

You can trust Him, even in the silence.

What’s in a name?

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#FiveMinuteFriday! Word prompt is Woman. Join me for What’s in a name?!

Names are intriguing at times. Just take mine, for instance. No, really, take it! Yvonne is my first name but my parents have always called me by my middle name, Nannette, which I prefer. Yvonne was my grandmother’s name, it’s always an honor to be named after someone and I adored my grandmother.

Then there is the origin behind Nannette. Obviously, both names have French roots and even sound better if the French are doing the pronouncing. You might think my parents had some rich friends from Paris that visited often and the wife’s name was Nannette Eloise Babineaux (BAB-in-oh). Elegant. Classy. Cosmopolitan!

But no, my parents didn’t have French friends, had never been to France and didn’t take French in high school. They did have a friend though that influenced my name and that friend had a dog. A french poodle, to be exact. And the French poodle had a name.

Yep.

Nannette.

So, with all confidence when someone asks, “Who were you named after?” or “Nannette is such a pretty name, is it in your family?” Ugh.

I was named after a dog, people, a dog.

Names matter. Names are remembered. Names have lifelong consequences or blessings! The Book of Acts only briefly mentions a woman with an unusual name that we do not hear much of today.

In the 17th chapter of Acts,  the Apostle Paul is preaching on Mars Hill and addressing The UNKNOWN GOD that the people of Athens had inscribed on an altar. It is said that about 600  years before Paul preached in Athens that a devastating plague tore through the city. A man named Epimenides thought he could please the gods by sacrifice so he let loose a flock of sheep through the town and wherever they lay down that was where they sacrificed that particular sheep: to the god that had the nearest shrine. If it didn’t lay down near a shrine or temple then they sacrificed it To the Unknown God. But Paul let them know, “The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all life and breath and all things.” 

What comes next gives a woman a place in Biblical history and leaves us to forever wonder about her life, her relationship with God, her faith and her conversion.

“So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Acts 17:33-34 ESV. (Emphasis mine.)

A woman named Damaris? She is mentioned by name this one time in the Bible and we are given no other information about her except that she joined Paul and she believed.

The Greek meaning of the name Damaris refers to a calf or heifer. Probably not going to mention this to my expectant daughter-in-law as a name choice for our little one on the way!

But the Latin name means gentle and after reading the account of Paul’s sermon, understanding the background of the people in Athens and their infatuation with The Unknown God, I thought that maybe, just maybe, this woman named Damaris was given her name for a purpose, even if it wasn’t revealed to her parents at the time. Quite unlike me and my French poodle.

Her spirit was gentle and yet perhaps it was strong-willed, meaning when she was convinced of something she wasn’t about to let go. “But some men joined him and believed…and a woman named Damaris…” For a woman to be mentioned in scripture in this fashion was a big deal and says to me that she was singled out for a reason. She was wooed by the Savior, by the scripture, not only for her personal salvation but for her influence. Damaris was likely well known and perhaps looked up to in the community and when she joined Paul, when she believed in Jesus Christ, this gentle woman plowed through the rest of her life letting others know about the One who gave His life for everyone.  She wasn’t intimidated by those that did NOT believe, 

Can the same be said of us today? When we walk by do others get a sense of peace because we shine the Light of Christ or do they whisper about that woman who does nothing but cause division?

A woman named ___________________________. Insert your name here and determine from this day forward to be like Damaris. Even though we know so little…okay…. we know nothing about her; we are looking at that name and surmising that she was strong as a bull but yet gentle like a dove. A perfect combination for a soul winner. Be that woman!

(You might also like my humorous post about my alter ego. Read it here!)