Oh Glorious Day!

31 Sunday Mar 2013

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In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Luke 24:5-7

Happy Easter! I hope you were able to recognize the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today. We attended a traditional Lutheran service at my childhood church and then our regular church for a more contemporary celebration. It was an awesome morning of worship and praise for our Messiah!

At the second service, someone prayed for the many believers who did not have the freedom to gather and boldly proclaim the glory of our risen Lord. We lift up those brothers and sisters tonight and sing just a little bit louder for them!

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day!

Here are a few of my Easter favorites, old and new:

Thanks for following along with me on the 40 Days of Lent. I pray that God has met you in this time of reflection on His Word. Let us all go forth with a renewed sense of purpose in the Gospel.

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!

Were You There?

30 Saturday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from John 20:1-31.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?

(Listen to it here: Were You There)

We sang this last night at the Good Friday service, also known as the Tenebrae. The service had gotten progressively darker with the lights dimming after each reading from scripture. We sang this song in complete darkness as an image of Jesus on the cross was projected before us.

It was incredibly powerful, moving me to tears (like this song tends to do every year!). After a brief blessing from the pastor, we all left in silence.

Before getting into our cars, my mom leaned over to me and said quietly, “Did you know that hymn is a slave spiritual?”

Sure enough, my mom sent me a few emails later in the evening with details about the evangelism of slaves and history behind their soulful hymns.

(PBS did a great series on this if you are interested: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/index.html)

When I consider the brutal existence that many slaves endured, it moves me deeply to listen to these words of faith and conviction.

An article on CBN writes beautifully about the connection slaves found to Jesus:

“How was he able to forgive?” they questioned. “What was it that enabled him to love those who were unlovable?” Was he in pain? They were in pain. Did he have to drink the cup of suffering? They had to drink theirs, too. Yes, their cross was one with his cross. Jesus died for the sins of all men, of every color. He had to be who he said he was. How else could he have done what he did? In time, they embraced Jesus as their Savior, and they experienced His peace, His grace and forgiveness, and His hope for the future.”

Tomorrow we get to rejoice in the freedom of new life in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May we also celebrate the freedoms won in this country and pray for the liberation so many others still yearn for today.

Blessed Redeemer, Precious Redeemer

29 Friday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from John 19:28-42.

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:28-30

My soul sits heavy today.

I know that victory has been won and that Christ has Risen.

But to fully celebrate that victory on Easter morning, I find it necessary to reflect on all the ways I am also responsible for the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It’s like the story He told to Simon when the sinful woman anointed Him with oil:

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said . . .

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Luke 7:41-43

Sometimes I like to pretend that I’m keeping it all together pretty well. I become numb to my sinful ways and trick myself into believing that I don’t need the precious sacrifice of Jesus.

I know, it’s pathetic.

And if it weren’t for my marriage, a good church and the humbling support of friends, I think God would have to spend a lot more creative energy getting me to remember Him and the power of the cross.

The truth is, I am still a sinner. I didn’t magically become perfect when I became a follower of Jesus. I just acquired His power within me to pursue His perfection. And so I continue to be made new.

The cross is the greatest reminder of my sinful ways. It is incredibly painful to see re-enactments of the crucifixion but it snaps me out of my numb ignorance to the pride, anger, envy, and deception that continue to show evidence in my life.

I’m looking forward to the Good Friday service we will be attending tonight because I desire to be humbled by God and the sacrifice of His Son. If you don’t have plans to attend a service, I encourage you to read the full scripture of the crucifixion of Jesus which you can find here, here, here, and here. You may also want to participate in some worship of your own. Here are some great hymns and some more contemporary songs to observe this powerful and solemn day:

Blessed Redeemer – Casting Crowns

Jesus Paid It All – Newsboys

O Sacred Head Now Wounded – Fernando Ortega

In the Cross of Christ I Glory – Holland Davis

Lamb of God – Sarah Reeves

The Power of the Cross – Kristyn Getty

Worthy is the Lamb – Hillsong

Just As I Am – Brian Doerksen

Heavenly Father, I confess my complete inability to be whole without Your redeeming power and ask for Your forgiveness in all the ways I have failed and continue to fail You. Thank you Jesus for being the Lamb who sacrificed yourself for our sins. In the words of my nephew, You died so that the people could live longer. Not only longer, but freer and richer. We praise You for the complete freedom You won for us in Your victory on the cross. Hallelujah! We wait expectantly for the day You will return. Amen.

The Wondrous Cross

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent post is from Luke 23:26-49.

back bay

I’m battling a cold and haven’t been able to think too hard for the past 24 hours. So instead of sharing my thoughts on today’s scripture, I just want to leave you with the words from one of my favorite hymns, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Goodnight, all.

 

Some Thoughts on Easter

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from Matthew 27:27-44.

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Matthew 27:27-31

People complain about the commercialization of Christmas and the birth of Jesus becoming buried beneath presents delivered by a jolly old white-haired man.

What about Easter?

I hadn’t really given the plastic eggs, chocolate bunnies and frilly dresses much thought until I read this post by Jen Hatmaker called A Broken Hallelujah.

“This is the week Jesus rose to his task and split history in two. This is the week he rode on a donkey, cried in the garden, suffered on the cross, rose into glory. This is the week that sinful, broken humans were granted a pardon, justified to perfection and set free. It is too miraculous for words. Songs and sermons fail us; we huddle at the cross, overwhelmed by the punishment that brought us peace.” (A Broken Hallelujah, Jen Hatmaker)

(Okay go read the whole thing and then come back!)

What do you think?

I’ll be completely honest here. I love getting an Easter basket. I love candy. I also really enjoy the big Easter feast with lots of delicious food and special company. It makes the day feel like a joyous celebration. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

But the endless commercials about Easter outfits and extravagant baskets full of candy in this most sober and reflective week of the year do seem offensive. I would love to see people focus on service rather than keeping up with the Joneses or giving their kids the biggest and best Easter basket.

Like Jen, Easter is the most tender season for me. Lent is more precious to me than Advent, as much as I really do adore the expectation and trimmings of Christmas. Some of my favorite “church memories” are the contemplative services of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

My childhood church holds an Easter vigil of prayer from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. The year I shared an hour with my mom was one of the most special hours of prayer I’ve ever experienced. It felt so holy and sacred.

So yeah, the plastic eggs and the chocolate bunnies do seem to take away from that. And I can imagine that Easter Sunday at some churches can feel like a fashion show or a contest to see who looks the most put together and fancy for the resurrection of Christ.

(While my mom did look for a proper Easter dress for me, her biggest concern was not looking the best at church. She was desperate to find me a dress with long sleeves for what was always a cold and sometimes even snowy holiday in Maine!)

I’ll probably eat some pastel colored Peeps this weekend and I will definitely enjoy a big Easter dinner with my wonderful family. But the best part of Easter will be the quiet reflection in the days leading up to the morning when we get to shout: He is risen indeed!!

What are your favorite Easter memories? Do you think the secular aspects of Easter detract from observing the resurrection of Jesus?

 

Sunday Night Worship, 6

24 Sunday Mar 2013

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The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 118:22-29

I Surrender All – Jadon Lavik

The Love of God – MercyMe

O Praise Him – David Crowder Band

Breathe – Marie Burnett

Break Every Chain – Jesus Culture

Here’s to praising God as we enter Holy Week. We are thankful that He has already risen! Hallelujah!

Waiting…

22 Friday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from Luke 22:39-62.

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke:22:43-44

We’ve been doing a lot of waiting lately. A LOT. Sometimes God moves very quickly and other times, He makes us wait. You know what I mean, don’t you? Whenever things are out of our own control, it seems to take for-ev-er. Man, does it test my patience!

I was a little stumped with this passage, once again, because it is now the fourth time we have read the same scene of Jesus at Gethsemane. I was doing the dishes after dinner tonight and thinking about something we are waiting for right now when a thought hit me regarding this scripture:

While I don’t know the outcome of what we’re waiting for, Jesus did know what lay before Him. But He still had to wait. And what did He do?

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:39-42

Even as I write this, I am struck by the truth of Jesus praying “yet not my will, but yours be done.” That is almost word for word what I have been praying over this “unknown” in our lives right now and what I have prayed many times in the past.

Because in my weakest moments, I just want things to go my way. I want the answer I’m looking for and I want God to deliver.

But rarely do I know what’s best for me or my family. God has shown me time and again how His plans are so much greater than mine.

So I pray tonight, Lord, that Your will be done. That we should find ourselves more in line with Your plan for our lives than our own and that we would learn to love that plan so much more than anything we could cook up ourselves.

We look to Jesus as an example of how to wait, prayerfully, for the next scene to unfold in our lives. I’m ready for the Passion story to move forward because I know that the ending is good. May we believe that our story also ends in triumphant victory.

Praise the Messiah, Son of the Blessed One!

21 Thursday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from Mark 14:32-72.

I’m going to be honest with you today. It’s the third day of this scene in the passion narrative and I just don’t have any new thoughts! So how about we let Jesus speak for Himself today:

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:60-62

Praise the Messiah, Son of the Blessed One!

It Would Be Good if One Man Died for the People

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Today’s Lenten reading is from John 18:1-18.

When I get to this part of the story of Jesus, my mind can’t help but consider all the ways the ending could be different. Not just consider … hope, pray, yearn for a different ending because at this point in the story, I have fallen for Jesus and can’t bear the thought of knowing His brutal torture and death are coming up next.

(I will never forget seeing the Passion of the Christ and sobbing through most of the movie with my girlfriends, right Mrs. Agaba?)

So I started reading today’s scripture with my heart almost grimacing. I even thought to myself, “Great, now we are getting into the dark part of the story, what on earth am I going to blog about without depressing my readers?”

And then I read this paragraph and stopped.

Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
John 18:12-14

Say what?

I almost laughed out loud at the irony. Caiaphas, in his evil, selfish plotting states one of the simplest and most profound truths of life:

it would be good if one man died for the people.

Now I’m sure Caiaphas’ definition of “good” is quite different from the precious, unparalleled goodness of Christ dying for our sins. But don’t you find it ironic (amusing even??) that Caiaphas said this, not knowing that out of his twisted, malicious intentions, God was orchestrating the greatest good that would ever happen on earth.

What a gift to be reminded of this as we begin exploring the dark, painful parts of the Gospel. God is our all-powerful Father and He creates bright, shining light out of  overwhelming darkness.

The Power of Prayer

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Today’s 40 Days of Lent reading is from Matthew 26:36-56.

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:40-41

We are called to pray without ceasing and in this passage, I am reminded of just how essential prayer is to both our own lives and in the greater story God is telling.   The passage at the beginning of this post is a direct command from Jesus to the disciples about prayer. And I believe it is a directive to us as well.

Sometimes it can feel unattainable to follow Jesus in terms of living blamelessly as He did. Of course, we can’t be 100% successful with this because we are all ongoing works in progress. However, I am greatly encouraged by the intensity and persistence in the way Jesus prayed. This discipline of His is perhaps seen best in this scene at Gethsemane:

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39

I can’t read this without feeling a little catch in my throat. Just picture Jesus feeling such sorrow that He falls to the ground calling out to His father. It touches me so deeply to know that He felt the same emotions we feel every time we encounter tragedy, fear or devastation.

The Bible makes clear how critical prayer played in Jesus’ role as Savior and Messiah. He gave us the best example of the incredible power of prayer and the deep connection available to us with God. He had a bitter cup of suffering placed before Him and He drank it willingly, drawing strength from His relationship with the Father.

I know that my flesh is weak and I thank Jesus for the reminder that we have an open line of communication with God to strengthen our willing spirits. May we all tap into the power of prayer this week and be reminded of its necessary and life-giving force in our lives.

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