Jesus is Alive!

     Praise God for miracles!  We all have them in our lives, although, many go unnoticed.  However, for the Christian, there is one miracle, whether at Easter or anytime, that cannot go unnoticed.  It is threefold:  
     Jesus died.
     Jesus was buried.
     Jesus arose. 
Hallelujah!  Jesus is alive!

Dressed in Splendor

     I have gotten into the Book of Psalms which is about words of music or poetry that offer up feelings to God.  As I read, I decided to put together my own words of feelings.  So here they are.

                                      Dressed in Splendor

Lord, from North to South, East and West, your wonders are eloquently dressed;

  The snowy mountain peaks, the raindrops that grace my cheeks,
  The flowering meadows, the woodland shadows,
  The bubbling brooks, the waters seeping into creeks and nooks,
  The shimmering sand of the desert floor, and so much more.
The miracle of your hand is seen across the land;
  The oceans deep, bordered in sleep,
  The light of morning shimmering loud or cast in fair or menacing cloud,
  The stars, the moon, commanding the night in peaceful tune.
You, O Lord, are over it all;
  The barren trees of winter to the summer ones dressed in splendor,
  The flowering blossoms of spring and all your love brings.
  The winds, the rains, the storms obey your call,
The wonders of your hand are set by your command;
  The flocks, the herds, all creatures, and matter of birds,
  The fish of the sea, all mortals that be.
Lord, from North to South, East and West, your wonders are eloquently dressed.
                         Mary Crisp Jameson 3/15/2018

Easter

     Seldom do I miss church, and I cannot remember the last time I missed an Easter Sunday.  This next Easter Sunday may be an exception.  I have long since stopped buying special "Easter" frocks, because Easter Sunday is about Jesus, the crucifixion and the resurrection, not in the way I dress.  However, in my humanness, I will probable miss this Easter because of some recent surgery.  I had a rather large basal cell cancer removed from the top of my nose which also required the skin to be reconstructed to cover the surgical area.  It required 70 stitches with 40 of those on the exterior surface.  These stitches were removed this week, leaving bright red areas covering the nose, with instructions not to apply makeup for 30 days.  NO MAKEUP! Are you kidding me?  That, in itself, is enough to keep me away from large public crowds.  Vanity! Vanity!  I know...  
     On the other hand, how do I prepare for Easter?  It should not be in dinner menus, cosmetic makeup, or in dress attire, but in my heart.

   
E mbrace Jesus

A spire to love Him more

S tay attuned to His Word

T ake time to form a relationship with Him

E nter into praise for His death, burial, and resurrection

R eflect on the victory of life over death and the return of Jesus

Oh, Lord, let me celebrate Easter and the miracle it represents.  

Interceder

     The In Touch devotional reinforced the need to schedule daily prayer time and set it as a priority.   I truly cannot develop a loving relationship with God by only giving Him a fly-by-the pants quick sentence or two.  He deserves much, much more.  This is not only important in forming a loving relationship with God, but it is also important in being an interceder for others. 
     What would become of my peace of mind if I did not have Jesus interceding for me?  

Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." 

Romans 8:27 "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."

Hebrews 7:28 "Therefore he is able to save completely, those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

     I am so thankful to Jesus providing for me the words I cannot properly express myself.
     When I think about how Jesus intercedes, I also see that I can also be an instrument for others.  My prayer life needs to lift up the names of others to God.  Why? Why when God sees all and knows all, do I need to pray?  I believe God wants to join with me as one in my requests.  He wants to hear from me. He wants to share time with me in all my concerns.  He wants to see that I love others enough to pray regarding their struggles, their sicknesses, and their losses.  God wants to know I am concerned enough about the leaders of my country, my friends and family members, my community, and my church enough to pray for them.  
     God hears, heals, and sees all.  He listens to the voices of His children.  God will take action in His way and in His timing, but I must continue to pray. 
    

In My Heart!

     I have never been a big traveler and never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would have the glorious opportunity to see Israel, the Holy Land where Jesus walked.  This was, for me, the trip of a lifetime, but even if I had never been able to go, I would have always been blessed by the experiences I have-- just where I am. 
     Looking back over the trip, my most memorable sites were the Sea of Galilee, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden Tomb.  

     It was raining when we first stepped onto the boat to take us for a ride on the Galilee.  The ride was amazing and the boat captain, a converted Christian Jew, sang some inspiring Christian songs.  As I began the ride, and after returning home, I was able to connect more fully with this freshwater sea.  This was where Jesus first began His ministry as he walked along the shore and invited fishermen to "follow Him."  This was the area where Jesus healed the blind and the lame.  This was the area where Jesus fed the 5000 with only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.  However, if I had never been blessed with this wonderful Israel trip, I have the opportunity every day to hear Jesus say to me, "Follow me!"  The question every day is will I choose to take His hand and "follow Him?"   





         At the Garden of Gethsemane, I was impressed by the way it had been maintained.  I couldn't help but be reminded of how the disciples were unable to remain awake while Jesus knelt in agonizing prayer, so much so that "His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."  I was honored to be able to sit beneath an oil tree and offer up my own heart-felt prayer to the Jesus who may have just knelt in this very spot.   Yet, even if I had not been here in this garden, I am so very blessed to know that Jesus hears my daily prayer just where I am every day.  I am further blessed to know that just as He loved His disciples who could not remain awake and pray with Him, He also loves me when, in my human weakened state,  I, myself, fall asleep at night while in prayer time with Him.  In Matthew 26, I hear Him say, "Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand..."          

                                

     Finally, at the Garden Tomb, I knew what to expect.  Jesus was not there!  The Tomb was empty.  However, I was expecting a simple hole in a mountain.  This was actually a small room carved out of a huge stone or cave.  The room may have been used as a weeping area, but I have no knowledge of that.  To the right was a short step down with a separate area carved out for the body.  The one thing I do know was that Jesus was risen, and He was not there.  Many still disbelieve and may even wonder what happened to Him.  Yet, I know.  He is here.  He is Alive!  He is with His Father.  He is everywhere.  He is here in my heart, and He intercedes for me everyday, just where I am. 

Chose Who You Will Serve

     When I think about who I want to walk beside every day, the One who comes to mind is Jesus.  That is who the disciples also decided they wanted to walk with and to have a relationship with.  When Jesus says, "Follow me," we all have to make a choice, just as the disciples did. 
     The disciples chose to follow Him.  They chose to accept Him as their Master.  They chose to have faith in Him.  They chose to love Him.  Yet, when I read about Peter, he also chose to deny Jesus.  Judas chose to betray Jesus.  The difference between Peter and Judas was that Peter  chose to ask for forgiveness, and received peace. 
     What were their rewards for following Jesus?  They saw Jesus "hush the wind and calm the sea." They saw Him heal the lame and the blind.  They watched as He cast out demons.  They saw Him raise the dead.  They saw Him carry His own cross.  They saw Him mocked and scorned.  They saw Him carry His own cross to a death in which He died for them and for all mankind.  They knew His love. 
     What are my rewards?   I have a Savior who hears my every request.  I have salvation through His grace.  I have forgiveness when I fail Him, if I choose to ask.  I have His love and His peace which "surpasses all understanding." 

Follow Me

     Day 3 on the Sea of Galilee --- I am finding that so many important events happened in and around the Sea of Galilee.   



     In Matthew 4 the beginning of Jesus's ministry, which is right after his temptation in the wilderness, starts in Capernaum near the sea.  "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:...The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles..."
     There, He called some disciples as he walked by the Sea, making them "fishers of men."
     He taught and healed multitudes of people from Galilee...
     He calmed the Sea when his disciples pleaded to be saved from its wrath during a storm.
     He fed the five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. After they had eaten, "Straighway, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship..."
     It was after this that "Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."  Peter had the faith, although short-lived, to step out and walk on the water.
     Jesus did so much, not only around the Sea of Galilee but elsewhere, as well.  While He was walking here upon the earth in human form, I must remember the one reason He came was to call us to Him; to believe in Him. 
     As I associate all the events during His ministry around the Sea of Galilee and in other areas, the  one most important fact to remember is when He said, "Follow me."       Time after time in scripture, Jesus says, "Follow Me."
     To the disciples, he said, "Follow me."
     To the young scribe he said, "Follow me."
     To the Tax Collector he said, "Follow me."
     To Levi, the son of Alphaeus he said, "Follow me."
     To me, to His sheep, he says, "Follow me."

John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

 

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

    
    
     


     
     

Galilee

    Yesterday, I wrote about some events surrounding the Sea of Galilee.  I wanted to remind myself of some of them, mainly because I have just had the wonderful experience of being there.
     To my amazement, the IN TOUCH devotional this morning was about another event which  happened upon the Sea of Galilee.  This one was found in Matthew 8:23-27 where we read about how Jesus calmed the waves crashing over the deck of the boat.  The disciples were frightened while Jesus was sleeping. They asked, "What kind of man is this that sleeps while the boat heaves and pitches?"  The writer tells us,  "The One who created the seas. Jesus knows how a storm brews and what energy causes a wave to stay in motion.  He is a divine Being cloaked in humanity, who can rebuke the winds and sea so they become calm... The big picture is that He is the only man worthy of glory, honor, and praise."
     This led me to write the following praise for the day:

Lord, you are worthy and noble,

calming the crashing waves,

commanding them to be quiet and mobile.

You speak to the waves and the winds-

all that transcends.

As then, in the great Galilee,

even now, protecting your own, including me.  

Lord! You are worthy of glory and honor.

Let me praise you now and longer.  



Sea of Galilee

     I have just had a highlight experience; a visit to Israel!   One of the most memorable parts of the tour was a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  At between 600 to 700 feet below sea level, this is probably the lowest freshwater lake and also one of the greatest sources of water for Israel. 
     It was at the Sea of Galilee that Peter walked on the water.  (Matthew 14:29 "And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.")   This is also the sea that some disciples left their work to follow Jesus.  (Matthew 4:18-19 "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."  Vs. 21-22 "And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.")
     Oh, to have the faith of Peter even for just a little while as he stepped out of that boat! Oh, to have the faith of these men who dropped their nets and left their families to follow Jesus!  It takes complete faith and lack of fear.
     Matthew 14: 27 "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."