He Died and He Arose

Today is a day of celebration! 

     I like a good “Once Upon a Time” story that ends well. Yet, the story I celebrate today has no end. It is a story that started with a King who became an earthy man. He suffered and He died. In sadness I cry for the suffering He had to endure in death because that suffering was for me. The best part of the story comes next. Jesus Arose and He Lives!  

     I celebrate His resurrection. Because of the whole process of life and death, Jesus gave me an inheritance, and it will never end. In the words of Jesus, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” 

 

 

Palm Sunday

With Palm Sunday comes memories of a chain of events about to happen. 

     First, Jesus was cheered by the crowds as He rode a donkey into the city. There were shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

     Next comes the turning of events. I envision Jesus upon the cross dying for me, but then the darkness of this event turning to a glorious one when Jesus rises to live forever. It took only One God to send His One Son, but God used a diverse number of people to put Jesus on the Cross and a host of others who were witnesses to this event.

     There were people who waved palm leaves and cheered as Jesus entered the city on a humble donkey. There was the one who betrayed Jesus. There were the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, and the whole Council who held a consultation and bound Jesus. There was Pilate who questioned, “Are You the King of the Jews.” There was, again, the chief priests who stirred up the crowd. There were the religious leaders, also stirring up the crowd. There was the crowd who shouted, “Crucify Him!” There were the soldiers who placed a crown of thorns upon His head, mocked Him, and hammered the nails into His hands and feet. There were the believers and the unbelievers standing there watching, some laughing and some crying. There were the thieves on each side of Jesus, in which one was saved. There was Jesus’s own Mother and His disciples weeping.  There, in the crowd, was also a man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who would ask for Jesus’s body and dress Him for burial. 

     It took all of these people to set the stage for the day of Jesus’s crucifixion, but there was One other in attendance; the One who planned it all, and He was the One in charge. When Jesus cried out in a loud voice “It is finished,” God send a mighty earthquake. The rocks split, tombs broke open, and the dead were raised to life.

     Finally, I envision the angels attending the tomb, the rolling away of the stone, the resurrection., and the nail-scarred hands of my Jesus. 

     All of this was done for me! It was a planned event orchestrated by God and His Only Son. And, a mighty victory occurred!

 

Good Friday and Easter

This Good Friday we celebrate the death of Christ. We celebrate the expectation of the resurrection! 

     Jesus Arose!

     Every day, but especially at Easter, I am reminded of how God took the sinless Christ and, in death, poured my sins into Him so I could have God’s goodness poured into me if only I believe.

     The King James version of 2 Corinthians 5:21 states it like this, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us (me), who knew no sin, that we (I) might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

     The Living Bible version puts in like this, “For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our (my) sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us. (me)!” 

     When Jesus died on the cross, He took the sins of the world. When I believed, I received the Holy Spirit and by God’s grace I had God’s goodness poured into me. 

     For this I celebrate and "Praise the Name of My Lord!"

     

     

 

 

 

Water to Quench the Thirst

     During the past weeks, it has been hard to find water and then when I do, I am limited to how much I can buy.  The one consolation I have is in knowing that I possess the One water which will quench my thirst.  I need not look for it, and it comes with no cost to me.  If I am truly thirsty and my throat is dry, I can look to the One who came, for me, to die. I look forward to the coming celebration of Jesus' mighty resurrection.

John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." 

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.  

Weather Forecast

     I don't know about everyone else or every other place, but here in A Friendly Shade we can always use a little rain once July comes around.  The garden gets dry very fast. 
     However, the best weather forecast that I have seen which appeared on a church signboard is:

 "God reigns; The Son shines." 

 

     When we have God in our lives and truly believe in Jesus, His death, and His resurrection we can survive any weather which comes our way.  

Easter- Killing Jesus! and the Resurrection

     Easter weekend is here, so I am taking a moment in "A Friendly Shade" to think about the anguish my Lord suffered for my sake. 

Killing Jesus

 “Let Him die,” was the decree,

    yet killing Jesus was not to be.
“Kill Him! Kill Him!” followed the cry,
    but no reason why.

The mob moved within the crowd

    shouting in voices angry and loud.

“He’s spreading rumors all abroad,
    a common man, liar, and fraud.
“Kill Him! Kill Him!”
Oh! So much mayhem!

Soldiers took the whip to thresh,

    bringing blood and tearing flesh.
A vine of thorns became His crown;
To a splintered cross His hands were bound;
Nails pierced His hands and feet.
The crowd came alive and began to repeat,
    “Kill Him! Kill Him!”
People watched with faces grim.
Mockers spit in His face-
    beneath them, was His place.
The cross, slammed into the ground,
    anguish was profound;
Agony and pain
    doubled from bodily strain.
Blood covered barren skin,
    or what had been.

“Father, forgive them,” was heard by those standing there,

    just before the heavens opened, a Son to declare.
Rejected, mocked, battered, and shamed;
    a King, unnamed-
In death, the temple rent in twain.
The earth did quake the valley and plain.
Over it all, light turned to darkness,
    shouts ended in quietness.
Fear appeared on the witness face
    in that very place.
All was silence

     after the violence.

Kill Him! Kill Him,” had been the cry.
They did not know He would not die-
    nor why.
"Arise! Arise!" was God's own cry.
Salvation was the reason why.
A resurrection was God's decree;
    a plan foretold to set the sinner free.
The Son of God, a Savior, missing from the grave.
He arose to live! Souls to save.
A coming day for all to see-
Killing Jesus was not to be.
                              Mary Crisp Jameson

THREE DAYS!

     “The saddest and the happiest day was in 3 days.”  This was on a sign I saw during  Easter.  As Christians we can only imagine how the followers of Jesus felt, as they stood and watched Him hanging on that cross and even before, when they watched the abuse and the nails being driven into His hand.  Yet joy occurred in just 3 days.   Jesus gave us hope and life in his resurrection.  Death, burial, and resurrection-it all happened in three days.

     As I reflected on this in “A Friendly Shade,” I thought it might be interesting to discover what other Biblical events brought sadness or happiness in just 3 days. 
 
     I went back to Genesis 40 when Joseph was in prison with the Pharaoh’s butler and baker.  They both had dreams which Joseph interpreted. One ended up being a very happy day while the other ended sadly. 
     ¹² And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:¹³ Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
^{…………………
     16} When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:¹⁷ And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake meats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.¹⁸ And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:¹⁹ Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.²⁰ And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.²¹ And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:²² But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
     The question to consider here is, what did the butler do with his joy?  How long did it take before he remembered his promise to Joseph? 

     After the death of Moses, we find in Joshua 1 that the people were told they would finally possess the land promised to them.    This 3-day wait must have been very exciting as preparations were being made.   Here we must remember the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness because of disobedience and lack of faith. 
     ¹¹ Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

          I cannot leave out the story of Jonah who tried to flee from doing the Lord’s calling.   After being in the belly of a whale for 3 days, can you imagine the happiness of being back on dry land?    Then in Matthew we find a comparison being made.  
     ¹⁷ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights………Matthew12: ⁴⁰ For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

     In Mark 8, we find Jesus feeding the multitude after they had been with Him for 3 days. This act truly shows Jesus’ love and power.  Of course, His healing power had already, time and time again, been demonstrated to the people following him. 
     ² I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:³ And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. ⁴ And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?⁵ And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. ⁶ And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. ⁷ And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. ⁸ So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. ⁹ And they that had eaten were about four thousand:

     In Luke 2, we find the story of Jesus when Joseph and Mary were returning from the feast of the Passover.  Unknowingly, Jesus tarried behind, and Joseph and Mary had to return to look for Him.  After 3 days they found him in the temple.   In response to their question about why he has stayed behind, Jesus said,  vs 49: “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?”
     ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.  ⁴³ And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ⁴⁴ But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.  ⁴⁵ And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.  ⁴⁶ And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

     We also see in Act 9 when Saul was on the road to Damascus with intent to persecute the followers of Jesus, he was suddenly blinded by a light from heaven.  What joy there must have been when, after 3 days,  he could see again.  Here was a cruel man who suddenly had his life changed.  vs 20 “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”   

     ⁷ And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.  ⁸ And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.   ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

 

     There are many more references to 3 days in the Bible, but none overshadow the death, burial and resurrection of my Lord.    John 2: 19   Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.  

The saddest and the happiest in just 3 days certainly has meaning.           

 

"Killing Jesus"

     "A Friendly Shade," takes my thoughts in many different directions as I search for what to post.  This Easter season had me looking through the list of books downloaded on my Kindle.  I noticed, "Killing Kennedy", written by Bill O'Reilly, and remembered how much I enjoyed reading his book.  I have yet to order, "Killing Jesus," also written by Bill O'Reilly, but expect to read that one soon.   
     In the meantime, I decided to post my own version of "Killing Jesus."  As a matter of fact our pastor asked us to contemplate, explore, and share the death of Christ on the cross.  The sermon's scripture today was from Isaiah 53.  In verse 7, I was reminded of Jesus's great love for us as He took on our sins in silence.   "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth."
     By Jesus's actions, He basically said, "I will gladly, and in silence, lay down my life on the cross for you. I will pay the price for your sins." That is just what He did.  He bore the ridicule, the stripes on His back, and the nails.  He did that for me and for all of mankind.

          Killing Jesus

“Let Him die,” was the decree,

    yet killing Jesus was not to be.
“Kill Him! Kill Him!” followed the cry,
    but no reason why.

The mob moved within the crowd

    shouting in voices angry and loud.

“He’s spreading rumors all abroad,
     a common man, liar, and fraud.
“Kill Him! Kill Him!”
Oh! So much mayhem!

Soldiers took the whip to thresh,  

    bringing blood and tearing flesh.   
A vine of thorns became His crown;
To a splintered cross His hands were bound;
Nails pierced His hands and feet.
The crowd came alive and began to repeat,
    “Kill Him! Kill Him!”
People watched with faces grim.     
Mockers spit in His face-
  beneath them, was His place.
The cross, slammed into the ground,
    anguish was profound;
Agony and pain
    doubled from bodily strain.
Blood covered barren skin,
    or what had been.

“Father, forgive them,” was heard by those standing there,

    just before the heavens opened, a Son to declare.
Rejected, mocked, battered, and shamed;
   a King, unnamed-
In death, the temple rent in twain.
The earth did quake the valley and plain. 
Over it all, light turned to darkness,
    shouts ended in quietness.
Fear appeared on the witness face
    in that very place.     
All was silence
    after the violence.

“Kill Him! Kill Him,” had been the cry.   
They did not know He would not die-
    nor why.
"Arise! Arise!" was God's own cry.
Salvation was the reason why.

A resurrection was God's decree;
  a plan foretold to set the sinner free.
The Son of God, a Savior, missing from the grave.
He arose to live! Souls to save.
A coming day for all to see-
Killing Jesus was not to be.
                                         Mary Crisp Jameson