The gospels are silent about Jesus’ activities on Wednesday.  They say he withdrew to rest.  It is understandable as Thursday Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples, prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, arrest and trials.  On Wednesday, the plot against Jesus is fully revealed and acknowledged by Jesus at the Last Supper the next evening.

“Then one of the Twelve- the one called Judas Iscariot- went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”  So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.  From then on Judas watched for  an opportunity to hand him over.”   The very next evening  Jesus gathered the disciples in the Upper Room for their Passover dinner and this next scene occurred.  “When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”  They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other,  “Surely not I, Lord?”  Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.  But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man!  It would be better for him if he had not been born”  Then  Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”  Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”   Matthew 26: 14-16 and 20-25

Have you ever wondered how Judas could have been with Jesus for 3 years and not understood His omniscience?  Jesus told of things to come, raised Lazarus from the dead, healed many and offered eternal life in His name.  How could Judas feel he could ‘get away’ with doing something, looking for an opportunity to betray Him, without Jesus knowing about it?  After all this time, Judas still did not believe Jesus was the Son of God.  He did not understand He had come to save and cleanse believers.  The disciples did not understand Jesus’ mission or purpose in coming and after Judas left them Jesus spent time trying to explain and reassure them of the future.  Judas was not included in that Upper Room discourse because he lacked the essential element needed-faith.  He did not believe Jesus was who He said He was.  Peter answered Jesus question as to who He was in Mathew 16:15-16  “But what about you,” Jesus asked.  Who do you say I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  To be present with the Lord in the Upper Room, the disciples needed to have faith and Judas did not believe so he was sent away.

What about you?  Who do you say Jesus is?  Is He your Savior and Lord or just a good teacher?  Do you think you can do things in silence and God won’t know? Judas was sent away from the inner group when Jesus revealed His true purpose and had an intimate sharing time with the disciples.  Would you be sent away or would you be invited to stay?  Know Jesus today and believe so you are  invited to be with Him now and for eternity.

Sitting at the table with Jesus,

Linda

The gospels show us that Jesus was teaching parables and talking about the future in and around the temple area Tuesday and possibly Wednesday of Holy Week.  I chose a short parable from Luke for today’s passage but it appears in Matthew and Mark as well.

 

“As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.  ‘I tell you the truth’, he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'”  Luke 21:1-4

Why do you think Jesus was teaching about giving these last days?  This passage speaks to us today as much as it did in Jesus’ day.  He was concerned about their heart attitude towards God and sacrificial giving.  Jesus knew the testing that was to come for his disciples and future believers.  He wanted them and us to look at a person’s heart and motives rather than the outward show of their actions.  It is not the amount that one gives monetarily or the amount of time spent in service but the quality of that gift.  Is it sacrificial?  Does it represent all that person can give?  We are not Jesus and can not know for certain what motivates a person’s giving.  This parable is a warning to us not to judge what we do not know.  We need to walk with grace in our hearts and leave the judging to God.   These verses from Ephesians describe the grace we have and the grace we need to give.  Ephesians 2:6-9  “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that  in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been save, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that on one can boast.”

Look for ways to express God’s grace today and be blessed by Jesus,

Linda

Below are the steps that led into Jerusalem during Jesus’ day by which they could enter or leave the city.  He walked these steps and talked with the crowds as they traveled to and from the city.

Mark indicates in 11:12 that the next day, after the triumphal entry, Jesus headed to Jerusalem. Our text for today is Mark 11:15-19.  “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those  selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.  And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a ‘den of robbers,'”  The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at this teaching.  When evening came, they went out of the city.”

 

This was a very intense Monday!  Jesus was righteously angry that people were taking advantage of others as they came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices.  They had to buy animals for their offerings and the money changers were being dishonest in their dealings.  It would also seem that the area was being used as a short cut when bringing animals to the center of the city.  Jesus’ anger is over the misuse of the temple, His house and the dwelling place of Holy God, for unscrupulous practices.  Because He took action and disrupted these exchanges, the chief priests decided He needed to be done away with or killed.  They did fear the crowd so they knew they would have to use unscrupulous practices in dealing with Jesus too.

Why did these ‘religious leaders’ allow these practices to occur when they knew the purpose of God’s house was for worshipping God?  I could also ask, why do Christians stand by and watch godly principles and laws be overturned and ridiculed?   Being human we can be made to feel powerless against opposition and perhaps we  thought the problems would go away and reason would return, or we have been apathetic towards opposition and did not realized the danger until it was to late.   What ever the reasons for our not standing against evil, scripture tells us in Ephesian 6:13 how God expects us to act in the face of evil and opposition.  “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  God desires that we be like Jesus.  We are to stand against evil and do what we can in His power to overturn, disrupt or eliminate evil when it comes into our lives.  God wants us focused on Him.  He will deal with evil, just as His Son dealt with the moneychangers, so that focus can be returned to Almighty God and His worship.

Look for opportunities to Stand Up and Stand with Jesus,

Linda

 

 

 

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem begins Holy Week.  It is recorded in all 4 gospels which speaks of its significance in the life of Jesus, his disciples and us too.  Here is the event as recorded by John in John 12:12-16. “The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the King of Israel!”   Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid , O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”  At first his disciples did not understand all this.  Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.”

The roads were crowded that day as many pilgrims were coming to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.  They wanted Jesus to be their King and throw off the Roman rule.  However, as they last verse tells us they did not know and understand all these things that went on or all the prophesies that were fulfilled until Jesus had risen from the dead and then ascended into heaven.  After those events, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believers and He taught and reminded them of all the things they had said and done with Jesus.  I’m sure they were totally amazed as they looked back on the 3 years they spent with Him and what He had said.   What about you?  Do you have things you now understand about God that were totally a mystery until you became a believer?   I know I do and things continue to become more clear the longer I walk with the Lord and study His Word.   Have a blessed Palm Sunday and proclaim Him as Lord today!

Shouting out with prasises today,

Linda

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her.  Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:  ‘Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'”   Matthew 21:1-5

I love these little details about the preparation for Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  God is indeed a God of details.  He had planned and prepared for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem down to the place he would enter the city and the animal He would ride.  He had the people and animals ready and willing to serve.  These details fulfilled a prophecy given in two places Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9.  Both of these were given hundreds of years before the actual entry by Jesus into Jerusalem.    God also used of a donkey for Jesus’ entry which was important as it was symbolic of his humility, peace and Davidic royalty.    What a God we worship and serve!  He planned these things for His Son’s entry hundreds of years beforehand.  Why do we not trust Him with the details of our lives?   Do you doubt He is capable?  Do you doubt that He cares?  I pray your answer to those questions is No!  I think perhaps these questions come from our own inability to relinquish control of our lives to Him.

Prayer:   Lord, I know you have wonderful plans for me to prosper and give me a hope and a future. Help me to trust you with the details of my life.  Build up my confidence and cause me to know with assurance that I am surrounded by your love and protection.  Amen.

Blessings as you grow in trust,

Linda

 

 

 

Today as I sit to blog my internet is down and I have a field trip with my grandson in just a few minutes so no time to call! Here is my scripture choice for today as we anticipate the entry into Jerusalem on Sunday.

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs I hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”  Psalm 118:24-29

May the closing verses of this Psalm bring you joy today as you think about the greatness of God and what He has done for you!

Blessings,

Linda

 

“Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn-for he has done it.”  Psalm 22:30-31

As we near Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week, the time between Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the crucifixion which ends with Easter or Resurrection Sunday, a good question to ask ourselves is: Who have I told of the Christ?  David tells us that all future generations will know and proclaim His righteousness.  Are you filled with joy and gratitude over the sacrifice’s Christ made on your behalf?  Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Who can you tell of this great love?  Is there someone you can invite to church on Sunday?  As Palm Sunday approaches be ready to greet the Savior, open your arms to Him and share His great love and redemption with someone. Be a proclaimer of Christ’s righteousness because He had done it.  He has saved and restored us to a right relationship with God the Father through His work on the cross.  Share the joy today.

Joyful in Him,

Linda

“Praise be to you , O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.  Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things, in your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”   1 Chronicles 29:10-13

David uttered this prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God as he passed the torch for building the temple to his son Solomon.  David had gathered much of the materials and wealth needed for this project.  David’s understanding of God’s power comes in verse 14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?  Every thing comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”   How do you view the things that you ‘own’?   Do you consider them to be yours or do you attribute them to God’s providential hand of favor upon you?  The ‘it’s mine’ attitude leads us towards selfishness, self-centeredness and the delusional thinking that on our own we can make and produce things.  The ‘it’s His’ attitude and that all I have comes from God leads us toward thankfulness, a grateful spirit, and humility before Almighty God.  I am reminded of the words in Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Will you endeavor to walk humbly before God today acknowledging that all you have comes from Him? Will you praise Him, like David, as Sovereign Lord and Creator, full of majesty, power, strength and splendor in His glorious name?

Thanks be to my Lord and Savior,

Linda

 

 

Building on yesterday’s blog about repentance, let’s look at  Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”   Your thought may be- I’m a good person and I don’t deliberately sin.  What have I ever done that needs to be wiped out?  I don’t murder or steal.    Isaiah reminds us in 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”   Sin, no matter how small, separates us from Holy God.  God can not tolerate sin so without Jesus to make us clean in His sight we are lost and truly in need of repentance.  Through Jesus we are made clean and whole, forgiven.  Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus’ path to the cross through His pain and suffering provides a way for you and I to be forgiven.  Without His sacrifice on the cross, we would left in our sin without hope of salvation.   Romans 5:8 -11 tell us about God’s solution to the problem of our sin separating us from Him.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him though the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, though whom we have now received reconciliation.”   Paul uses complex words like justified, reconciled and reconciliation in these verses but the meaning is clear- through Christ’s death on the cross and the shedding of His innocent blood we can receive forgiveness and be brought back into full relationship with Holy God our Father.  Praise and Thank Jesus today for this wonderful gift of sacrifice that has provided you a way to salvation and hope for eternity.  That hope is the refreshing that comes from the Lord though repentance.

Be refreshed today,

Linda

Paul wrote the second letter to the Corinthians to help direct them as false teachers were trying to lead them away from the gospel teachings and to turn them against the apostle.  In this passage we learn about the effects of repentance that we can apply to our lives today.

“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it.  Though I did regret it-I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while- yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.  For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.  Godly sorry brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”  2 Corinthians 7:8-12a 

The truth of this passage is that godly sorrow brings repentance. God wants us to have a repentant heart so that our character may be developed and used for His purposes.  The result of repenting, for the Corinthians, was a turn around in their thinking.  They had no regrets in moving forward to achieve God’s purpose and justice.   Serving God became their goal.  Turning to God changes the heart, the direction and the motivation of the believer and leaves one with no regrets.   Staying with worldly pursuits and goals brings worldly sorrow and troubles that have no future and lead to death and separation from God.   Where are you headed today?  Do you have a repentant heart?  Are you eager and willing to pursue godly goals in your life?  This last week of Lent,  before we head into Jerusalem next Sunday and move towards the cross, hold yourself accountable and face your heart attitude and motives.  Are they aligned with  the Lord?  If not, repent and offer them to God.  Ask Him to replace your worldly heart attitude and goals with His.  May the truth of today’s passage remain in your mind that godly sorrow brings repentance and repentance brings salvation and newness of life. 

Seeking a renewed heart through Jesus,

Linda