It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming

 

It’s Friday but Sunday is coming!

It’s Friday

Beat, bleeding, betrayed and berated Jesus is sentenced to death!

But Sunday is coming

It’s Friday

They nail Him to the cross and watch for Him to die as the sky turns black

But Sunday is coming

It’s Friday

The Son of God

Creator of All things

Takes the sin of the world

But Sunday is coming

It’s Friday

The punishment for my sins are laid on Him

God the Father turns away

The Son of God

Let’s out His last breath

But Sunday is coming

It’s Friday and the mourners cry

The apostles flee

The world is dark

Hope is dead

But Sunday is coming!!

Sunday is the day of Promise

The Day of Fulfillment and Joy

The Day that Death lost it’s sting

And the Grave lost it’s hold

Jesus, The Lord of All arose

And left the burial cloth behind

Jesus, The Risen Lamb that was slain

Lives so that we may live with Him

To those of us who believe

To those who call Him Lord

There will be troubles and trials

These will be our Friday’s

But if we believe

But if we call Him Lord

There will be victory

There will be Sunday

God Bless You on this Resurrection Sunday

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Rev 1:4-8 nkjv

This is a reposting of something I wrote years ago but in light of the Cover-19 pandemic these words and the sentiment they convey are even more relevant now. Be encouraged. Trust in Jesus and Love one another.

Coronavirus, Christ and Common Sense

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. How many times have we heard this scripture in sermons, songs and writings? Trusting in Jesus is so easy when things are going well. When we are healthy, happy and prosperous. When our jobs are secure and our loved ones well. But how do we react to adversity? Where do we turn when life becomes challenging? When the days turn dark and fears attack like arrows? This isn’t how we thought this Christian life would be. Turning our lives over to Jesus and repenting of our old ways was supposed to bring blessings and bounty right?

The truth is that Jesus never promised that we would be exempt from trials and tribulations. He did, however, promise to be there with us through whatever it is we experience. John records how Jesus revealed the events that were about to unfold just before His darkest hour.

Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone.

And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation;

but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:32-33 NKJV

In the world you will have tribulations. Notice He never promised to keep us from experiencing difficulties, trials or tribulations . He did promise to be with us always even to the end of this age (Matthew 28:20) and that He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5 )

So, as we see the events unfolding around us we as believers should take a stand against the fear and hopelessness that wishes to overtake us. We, now more than ever, are not alone.

There’s an old saying I remember from my early days in my walk with the Lord. It goes – Work each day as if it all depends on you and Pray every day as if it all depends on Him.

Some take offense with such a suggestion but I came to believe that as Christians we must put feet to or faith. After all no man lights a candle and hides it under a bushel.

With this in mind I would encourage the Body of Christ to exercise their faith in a way that shines a light into the darkness of this Coronavirus trial. We are not of this world and so we can wear this life like a loose coat. Hold fast to the love that Jesus has shown to you and share that love with the world around you. Jesus sent His disciples around the world but first He told them to preach the Good News to those in Jerusalem, then Judea. For us that means our homes first, then our town then as far as our influence can reach.

I encourage the use of common sense here. Exercise social distancing, personal protective equipment and hand washing. Stay at home except for essential trips out as directed by those in authority have outlined. Fortunately being home these days does not hinder our ability to interact with the world outside our doors. Social media can be used to spread fear or faith. Use it to shine the light of Jesus and calm fears.

Look at the big picture. History has taught us that unthinkable things have happened in the past and yet the world survived. Currently we can watch endless news coverage of this ever growing crisis but it leads us down a rabbit hole of despair. No one knows what tomorrow will bring but we can look around us at the blessings we do have and be grateful. We can sleep at night while this darkness looms because we know Jesus and we trust Him at His Word. We can live out these days without fear and uncertainty because we know that this world is not our home and that whether we live or die we will live forever with Him. We can defeat this virus together by shining the light of Jesus love into the darkness it wishes to cast.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Be Blessed A&B

What are you feeding?

Have you ever had a garden? Whether it was a flower bed or a vegetable garden you probably learned very quickly that if you neglected to water or feed it things died. Conversely, if you diligently took the time each day to weed and feed and water it things flourished and grew.

   It’s a very basic rule of gardening –

What you feed grows and what you starve dies

   The Bible speaks often of spiritual things in terms of gardening and farming for good reason. The same rules apply. Neglect a garden and things die. Forget to water a potted plant and it will wilt. Don’t spend enough time with your spouse or family and you loose connections. Keep putting off time for Jesus and you will loose your strength.

What you feed grows and what you starve dies

    We like to have flowers in the Summer. Hanging baskets and flower beds as well as potted plants on the deck and steps but what the sprinklers can’t reach we have to water – or else. We took a two week trip this Summer to London and Paris. Family members watched our home and tried to keep up with the flowers.  When we came home we had to throw out some plants and patiently nurse others back from the brink of death because they didn’t get the attention they needed.

What you feed grows and what you starve dies

    Habits can be like gardens as well. Little white sins too. Our enemy, the devil, roams about like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. Give place to him with a secret sin or a bad habit at your own peril because what you feed grows and what you starve dies. Have you ever been able to quit a habit? Maybe smoking, over eating, drinking, gambling, gossip, anger, whatever? Do you recall the difficulty that you faced those first few moments after making the decision to turn away from the habit? How the days seemed so long? How hard it was at times? You were breaking a tie. A soul-tie and the way you were breaking it was by starving it. You refused to give in to it’s pull. You stopped feeding it and it didn’t want to die. If you were successful it did die and no longer has power over you or pulls at you. But it took time and prayer and maybe even family and friends to get you threw it.

   I quit smoking in June of 2004. Eleven years ago. Cigarettes no longer call to me or have any power over me. But it wasn’t easy. I had tried before and failed. Thank God that I got the victory but if I go back to smoking it will start the cycle of slave and master all over again. Now, before you say that I’m being melodramatic, consider that Jesus told us that we can not serve two masters. You will love the one and hate the other. Maybe cigarettes aren’t your problem. Maybe you have no problems. Maybe Jesus is the Lord of every area of your life and Praise the Lord if that’s true. But for those who struggle with secret sins or bad habits (anything you know the Word speaks out against) please keep this simple truth in mind –

What you feed grows and what you starve dies

You can do all things threw Christ Who strengthens you

and you can be victorious over any enemy

stop feeding it and it will die

and a dead thing

can not

hurt you!

Be blessed, AL

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday or the Quiet Mournful Day

  Imagine that day. As the disciples and the others sat shut up in there homes saddened by the lose of Jesus and unsure of what the future might hold. Would the authorities come and collect them? Would they be able to go back to the life they had before He selected them to follow Him? I imagine that they still felt the pain of watching Him suffer. that there minds were still filled with the images of yesterdays crucifixion. I imagine they felt powerless as they watch Him die and were overwhelmed with grief even as they took Him down from the cross and laid him in the tomb.

   But what next? What shall they do now? Now that He is gone where shall they go? So many questions and so few answers.

   They were in  dark place emotionally. Hopelessness and despair surrounded them. They undoubtedly went threw the motions of the days routine in a sad and withdrawn way.

   Have you ever been in that place? Has the sin and pain of this world and your own poor choices brought you to a place of hopelessness and despair?

  This world can do that. The weight of sin in this world can do that. The devil and his demons can try to destroy us. Sometimes our own self-destructive behavior drives us into a corner. Into a dark place. Into our own tomb – so to speak.

   Just like those who mourned the lose of the Savior way back then we may have found ourselves in a similar situation. But we know that the story did not end on Saturday. We know that the sorrow of Saturday was turned to joy on that Sunday morning.

   I want to encourage anyone out there who is in a dark place of despair and hopelessness to look for the joy of the new day that awaits you if you turn to the Son Who died and lives again. The Resurrection Sunday story is a story of hope when all seems lost. A renewal of life where death seemed victorious.

Jesus is alive.

HE IS ALIVE.

HE IS ALIVE AND DEATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED.

With the defeat of death comes

Victory over the darkness and despair that comes with it

   Embrace the Cross of Calvary because it is here that Our Lord Jesus won the Victory for you and for me. Let the light of the new day shine on you and wash you clean as you walk with the Resurrected Savior into a new life. He die so you might live. He’s alive to love you and lead you into a new life. Won’t you let Him?

   Saturday seemed too dark to endure but the Light and Love of the Son will shine – tomorrow. Trust in Him Who promised –

I will never leave you or forsake you

Really? Seriously?!?

Just what are we becoming??

A man shoots another in a movie theater for texting during the previews! Another man kills his girlfriend during an argument over a TV show! Road rage incidents abound and young children are harming their parents! These aren’t television show story lines – they are news items. These are things which continual get broadcast at dinnertime each night and we say “Oh My!, pass the potatoes.” We live in a violent society. We accept it as entertainment in our television shows, music videos and movies. We are only slightly shocked when we hear about it on the evening news. And, we accept it because, well, these things happen. Really? Seriously?!

I can still remember my reaction to a gory scene in a movie even though I don’t remember the movie. I recall seeing a mangled mess of a person presented in a crime scene and how it made me feel sick in my stomach. I don’t get that feeling any more. Some would say I have grown up. Others might say I have become tougher, more manly, and thus able to see these things. I say that I have been desensitized. Brain-washed by our society to accept such unacceptable things as the norm. The truth is that the blatant disregard for human life and civility has caused us all to slide down a slippery slope of inhumanity.

In the late sixties and early seventies if I had a problem with another classmate we might get into a fist fight. If I had a problem with a teacher I would talk about it at home or maybe with the Principal. We all know too well how many of these scenarios play out today – with gun shots and bloodshed. Many times innocent bystanders are harmed as vengeance is being exacted. Driving on some roads becomes a completion with terrible outcomes. Unborn children are ripped from their mothers womb and discarded. Newborns are found in trash cans. Amber alerts are sounded when children are snatched from the safety of their own homes. Metal scanners attempt to keep our schools safe and millions of people get searched daily just to take a plane to work or vacation.  Technological and scientific advancements may give us many new and exciting things that previous generations did not enjoy but they haven’t halted the downward spiral that we as people are in. There really isn’t anything scared any longer. It’s truly all about – ME! Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

The Apostle Paul tells us that in the last days –

 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good.They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. They will go to church, yes, but they won’t really believe anything they hear. 2 Timothy 3:2-5 Living Bible

All I can say to that quote is – IF these aren’t the last days (considering what we are seeing done around us each day) then God help us as we go forward into the last days. Either way – all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus should pray daily that the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit guide us and protect us while we walk in a world that is getting darker and more dangerous day by day. Amen? Amen.

ps – Jesus said I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. John 9:4 KJV