Tag Archives: Easter

Because He Lives!

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Continuing Easter week! You can read my other posts from this week here, here and here.

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

I love the beginning of this passage. I don’t believe I had really noticed it before but I am so happy the Lord allowed me to see it today.

They sang a hymn.

Wouldn’t you love to know what the Lord sang with His disciples before Gethsemane? Before standing in front of those that would beat Him and mock Him? Before Calvary? Before “It is finished.”?!

It is enough to know they did, even if we do not know the words. It likely was not Bill and Gloria’s ever-popular Because He Lives, although that would have been a good one! (smile) There is truly so much strength in song, in praise and worship. This week is one of the best for old hymns.

I love the new songs to be sure. I’m not one that says there is nothing worth listening to today. Yes there is! So many songs speak of the blood and redemption and they sing to our great God, directly sing to Him instead of just singing about Him. if you can’t find anything, ask me, I will point you in the right direction (smile). But I digress, that is another post for another day!

I was raised with a songbook in my hands and on Easter mornings I can still recall turning to our favorite pages to sing songs such as “He Lives!”, “The Old Rugged Cross”, “Jesus Paid it All”, and “Because He Lives”.

But it’s the next part of the text that really spoke to me.

And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’  Peter said to him, ‘Even though they all fall away, I will not.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.’  But he said emphatically, ‘If I must die with you, I will not deny you.’  And they all said the same.” Mark 14:26-31 ESV.

You will all fall away.

One of the saddest passages in the Bible! Jesus knew that the disciples would leave Him, yet He went to Calvary anyway.

He knew Peter would deny Him, but He paid the price.

Some of those that were the closest to Him for the last three years would walk away when He was facing the trial of His life.

The last part of that section says, “And they all said the same.” They all said, just like Peter, that they would never forsake the Lord, they would even die with Him. I believe at that moment they were sincere but when it came down to facing the soldiers, they couldn’t hold up.

We have all fallen away at some point in our lives. We might not have been like Peter and said, “I never knew Him!” but we have failed, just the same.

He knew we would. He knows we could again. Yet on to Calvary He went, enduring the suffering and agony of a crucifixion, the cruelest death anyone could face.

Why? Because He loved us.

Jesus looked ahead, PAST Calvary, to our futures, and endured the cross.

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Without Calvary, we would have no hope and no future.

What do you need hope in today? Good Friday (the cross) and Easter Sunday (the Resurrection!). It’s all wrapped up in that weekend, but it didn’t end there. The blood that was shed that day still covers sin today. The price He paid all of those years ago is still good today! We just have to accept it.

Some are still not able to gather in their church buildings again this year or it may look differently than it has in Easter’s past. Wherever you celebrate this weekend, celebrate with all of your heart. We know we don’t have to be in a building to worship or to share with others.

Is it well with your soul? It was all for a purpose, friend, He IS coming back and the signs are all around us…turn to Jesus today!

Blessed Easter!

Kingdom2

No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s!

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No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s! Still tip-toeing up to Easter morning…you can read our other postings on Holy Week here and here.

Jesus has left the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed “great drops of blood”…asking the Father to remove the “cup” from Him.

“Not my will, but thine be done.” Prayed Jesus.

The disciples slept on…and on…and on. Jesus could not keep them awake. Yet this was a battle He had to fight on His own.

“Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” Matthew 26:46.

The current battle is at hand. Jesus has wrestled all night with His fate, knowing the great task before Him. Yet He gives in to the will of the Father.

“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.”

When I was younger, I always felt a little sorry for Peter. He thought he was doing his Lord a favor by intervening on His behalf and chopping off the ear of a soldier! “Impetuous Peter”, we call him. Jesus responds to his hasty overreaction in this fashion,

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’” Matthew 26:52-54 NKJV.

Put your sword in its place, Peter! Put your sword in its place ___________ (insert YOUR name here).

How many times have we been like Peter? We think we have it all figured out. We know the ending (or so, we assume). We do not understand why God has not intervened in the situation and just with His spoken Word, sentenced everyone involved to the Lake of Fire. That might be a little dramatic but we are that impulsive at times.

Friends, it isn’t our battle.

The cross belonged to Jesus. He had to give, He had to suffer, He had to endure to the very end. All of this so we would not have to! Yes, He did it for YOU.

Every battle you have faced since you embraced the cross, the CHRIST, has been handled by Jesus.

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He fights.

You rest in confidence.

He wins.

See, He didn’t stay on the cross. Please do not keep Him there! He had to go to Calvary, He had to give His very life as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb so there would be no more need for a sacrifice!

The veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing the perishing of the Law and instituting of Grace. No more need for a sacrifice or a mediator. No need to confess your sins to a priest or live in rules and rituals.

He paid the price. He fought the battle. He continues to fight for YOU and ME. On our behalf, He can move mountains, crush the enemy, and send the answer in a moment.

We face anxiousness in this Uncertain Season we find ourselves in right now. But none of it is a surprise to our God! Call on Him, give Him your fears and doubts and flood your days with worship and The Word. He doesn’t intend for you to fight this battle alone either. Be encouraged, Sunday is coming!

Kingdom2

Hosanna! Save now!

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So many images, memories, and scripture come to mind.

A lifetime of Good Friday’s, and Resurrection mornings!

I have even been to a few Sunrise Services over the years. Even though I might have grumbled and complained a little at the time, they were wonderful experiences. Getting up before dawn just to be at church, or an outside gathering, to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord is special. Very special.

I do love and revere the week of Easter. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and everything in between,  should be a time to give thanks.

Strong’s Concordance gives the original meaning of “Hosanna” as “Save now, or Save, please”, specifically in the Old Testament where it is referenced in the Psalms. “Save now, I beseech you, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech you, send now prosperity.” Psalm 118:25.

And Clarke’s commentary has this to say,

“Save now, I beseech thee – These words were sung by the Jews on the feast of tabernacles, when carrying green branches in their hands; and from the הושיעה נא hoshiah nna, we have the word hosanna.”

So when Jesus entered Jerusalem, humbly riding on a donkey, or colt, it would have been appropriate for the Jewish people to cry out,

Hosanna! Save Now!

Some assumed He had come to reign as King on this earth, to save them from their life of “serving” the Romans. They wanted a deliverer!
Jesus did not come to be an earthly king, He came to reign in the hearts of men and women. 

But to others, the  term had changed over the years to mean something a little different. Psalm 118:26, the very next verse, is followed with; “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This cry for help, “Save now!” was immediately answered with shouts of praise that the Deliverer was coming! Salvation was on its way! Whether they recognized it or not, the answer to their prayers was entering the city.

They would not only be delivered, they would truly be SAVED!

  • Saved from their sins and made new creatures! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
  • Saved to rise again on that great, and coming, Day of the Lord! “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.
  • Saved to live a life full of the Spirit of God, sharing the Good News! “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
  • Saved to make a difference in the life of others! “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45.
  • And saved…to someday spend forever with the Lord. “He that overcometh , the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his nameout of the book of life…” Revelation 3:5.

He gave them more than they imagined, more than they asked for. He gave His very life so that they (and we!) would not have to.

He came as Hosanna…in the Highest…and then forever changed the world.

Join me all this week as we reflect and celebrate the Resurrection and feel free to share your Holy Week remembrances with us!

Kingdom2