(For) RESURRECTION SUNDAY , THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

John 20

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

MAJESTY
by Lola Cain

“A King who ruled in majesty”
That’s what people wanted him to be!
No crown of thorns or whip of shame
No cross on which to bear our blame
No nails, no spear, no agony
No death upon a criminal’s tree
No burial in a borrowed grave
…No resurrection power to save!

Thank God for His eternal plan
for justifying fallen man
He came as atoning sacrifice
in sending His Son to pay the price
Coming incarnate to earth to die

He redeemed His created from Satan’s lie
Thank you, Sacrificial Lamb,
…for overriding the will of man!

The veil was rent! God’s plan complete!
We now can worship at his feet!
We enter his presence unafraid
by the blood that Jesus shed to save!
Thank the LORD, he rose again
victory over death to win
Thank Father, Son and Holy Ghost
…an anthem sung by heavenly hosts!

“He’s risen,” we shout. “HE’S RISEN INDEED!”
The cornerstone of our Christian creed
And coming once, he’ll come again
his promised victory over sin
“It’s finished,” his final words on the cross
Our redemption sealed. Our salvation bought.
Now he reigns eternally
…what both God and man wanted him to be…

“A KING WHO RULES IN MAJESTY!”
Thank You, LORD!

 

Love, Lola
(Written April 14, 1996)

 

THANK YOU, LORD, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 

 

 

 

 

(For) SATURDAY, DAY 40 OF LENT, 2025

There is no passage in John to address the emptiness Jesus' followers felt on Saturday, the 40th day of Lent - the Sabbath that was the most important day of PASSOVER.

They felt grief! They would have felt what we feel when loss shouldn't have happened, when the hurt is so deep all we can do is agonize. 

GRIEF

November 28, 2021

Lola Rice Cain

 

Grief is love poured out as the final act of care

It washes over me in unwelcome waves of sorrow

Subsides momentarily, then blindsides me again and again,

Mercilessly hammering at my consciousness

And intruding into my attempts at slumber.

 

Grief is love in its final earthly form

A painful reenactment of all that came before

It oozes through my every pore

And is the assailant at my heart’s door

It refuses to disappear, but is slowly being subdued.

 

Grief is love unleashed in ways I could never have conceived

And I must allow it its time as there is a time to grieve

Even so, as it flows in and out of my awareness

I find respite in memories that make their way

Through the fog of the pain – and I will live to love.

 

(For) FRIDAY, APRIL 18, GOOD FRIDAY, THE 39TH DAY OF LENT 2025

 John 19

Pilate had Jesus flogged.

The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus' head.

The soldier's mocked him and slapped him in the face repeatedly.

The chief priests and temple servants shouted, "Crucify him!"

At about noon when Pilate took Jesus out to the people, the Jews yelled, "Crucify him!" Then Pilate handed him over to be crucified. Pilate did try to release him, but to no avail. The crowd wanted Jesus dead. Pilate stood firm in keeping the wording he chose for the sign he had written to hang above Jesus on the cross: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF TH JEWS. 

We know from other Gospel writers that far more than this happened to Jesus. He was beaten, whipped, spat on, indecently exposed, lied about. 

Everything that happened to him is what we deserve - but he paid the price. He bore it all for humanity, that we could have life and have it to the full. 

Those who saw him die that day thought it was over. It was the blackest of Fridays, and now we can call it Good!

THURSDAY, DAY 38 OF LENT 2025

John 18:15-38

Everything that transpires in these verses happened between about 1 a m and 6 a m on Friday morning, presumably April 3, 33 A D, according to earlier research that I did for my book, LEAD ME TO THE CROSS. 

In yesterday's sharing - which was also technically all on Friday, Jesus was arrested and tied to be taken to those who would try him. This morning I am reminded that those ropes or bindings did not have any power to hold him. He was just being obedient to his Father, who sent him for this purpose - to be the final sacrifice ever needed to cover mankind's sins from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve sinned to the culmination of time when this world comes to its end.

First, that night sometime shortly after midnight, Jesus was taken to Annas, who was the Father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas.  Peter stood just outside the gate, as close to where Jesus was as he could get.  During this time of questioning, John tells us about "another disciple" who was known to the high priest, who arranged for Peter to be let in. I assume that disciple was John himself. And it was just as Peter came  through the gate that he denied Jesus the first time (John 18:17). 

At that point Jesus was still with Annas, but by verse 24, Jesus was sent bound  to Caiaphas. 

I am intrigued by these encounters with Annas and Caiaphas in the middle of the night. It is logical to place the timing between about 1 a m and 6 a m, as I stated, so they had to have been awakened by those who brought Jesus into Jerusalem, and why was it with such urgency that it had to be handled in the wee morning hours of the morning under the cover of darkness?

I have been to the holding cell under the high priest's house, alleged to be where Jesus was held between his 'visits' with these two men of religious renown. It was an incredibly memorable experience. It was a holding hole under the house - a space that he would likely have been lowered into. Dark. Cold. Bound. Alone. Waiting.

His next 'visit' was with Caiaphas, and while he was there, Peter denied Jesus 2 more times (verses 25 and 27) Immediately a rooster crowed. It was just as Jesus told him.  

After seeing Caiaphas, in the early morning after the rooster crowed, Jesus was led to Pilate, and Pilate gave in to the mob will of the people, even though he could find no fault in Jesus. He released a criminal instead of the one who can save criminals from their sins. Talk about lawfare! Jesus lived it. It's tempting to say he also died from it - but we know better. This abuse was part of the plan. He was verbally abused, not believed, falsely accused, slapped.

Lord, I don't deserve the love you poured out, the price you paid. I am humbled once again just by reviewing this account. Lord Jesus, thank you! I am overwhelmed!

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, DAY 37 OF LENT 2025

The tune to the words "The Final Countdown" ring in my ears. While we are going to begin John 18, what happens here did not occur until near midnight on what would have been Friday for them. Remembering that the Jewish days are from sundown to sundown...as soon as their time at the Last Supper reached sundown, Friday began. So - even the prayers Jesus prayed for them are part of his Friday. There is just too much to cover to keep it all in parallel time!

Soon after he prayed for himself, for his disciples, and for all believers, as we looked at in John 17, Jesus left the upper room and went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley to a garden that was familiar to this group of men because they met there often. 

 John doesn't share everything with us that other gospel writers do, including the part of the story when Jesus left 8 of his disciples in one spot, took Peter, James, and John with him, and went a little farther to pray alone after telling them he was in deep emotional pain, and admonished them to remain where they were, stay awake, and pray. After he poured out his heart and soul to God, he came back and found them asleep, and directed his statement of disappointment to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn't you stay awake one hour? Stay awake and pray so that you won't enter into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Jesus said this to him because Peter had just declared he would never forsake Jesus, and Jesus had forewarned him that before the cock crowed at dawn Peter would deny him 3 times. (John doesn't tell us that either.)

And again Jesus went away to pray alone, and when he returned he found them sleeping again. And he said the same thing to them once more, went to pray a third time alone, and after that time, when he found them sleeping (again) he told them that his time has come to be betrayed and he went with them back to the site where that was to occur. (Story found in Mark 14)

I visualize Judas first leading the entourage of soldiers and representatives from the chief priests and Pharisees to the upper room, and not finding Jesus there, he led them to this garden, where he had often been with Jesus. And just as Jesus walked back with his disciples to the spot destined to be the site of the encounter, Judas and those he brought with him arrived. 

Jesus asked them, "Who is it that you are seeking?" 

They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." 

"I am he," Jesus told them, and they stepped back and fell to the ground. 

Again Jesus asked them, "Who is it that you're seeking?"

"Jesus of Nazareth," they said.

"I told you I am he," Jesus replied. 

Then our dear Simon Peter , under the cover of the darkness of night, drew his sword and valiantly cut off the High Priest Servant, Malchus', right ear. Another tidbit John does not tell us is that Jesus picked up the ear and put it back on Malchus' head and healed it. It appears that happened so quickly that none of his accusers were even aware of what happened. But Malchus' knew. 

Judas betrayed Jesus. Other writers tell us far more about that encounter. John just tells us the company of soldiers and Jewish officials who arrested Jesus tied him up and took him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High Priest. It was around midnight, and the indignity of what Jesus had to suffer had just begun. 

TUESDAY, DAY 36 OF LENT 2025

Counting down! Even though the 'days' of Lent are consecutively showing a larger number, we are in the final countdown to the end of Lent. Writing daily for me is a spiritual discipline, even if doing so is a challenge. My heart is heavy with many things, and still I plod on. That's what discipline and faithfulness does. I prefer to portray the bright, sunny side of my personality, but, to be totally transparent, life gets overwhelmingly hard sometimes - and in times of trouble and challenge we have two choices: to run to Jesus and allow him to share our burden or to run away from Jesus because we get mad at him for allowing the challenge we are dealing with. Our choice. 

I am choosing to to run to him, and choosing to believe that he has a plan that is bigger than what I can see. I get in my own way! I want resolution in my timing, not his. I am impatient for that to come. And in this acknowledgement of the weight I awaken with each morning in this particular challenge, I come today to John 17:20-26 where, just before Jesus would go through physical and emotional hell for us, he prays for all believers.... 

Jesus Prays for All Believers (CSB)

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation. Righteous Father, the world has not known you. However, I have known you, and they have known that you sent me. I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”

 

Oh to see through Jesus' eyes! What amazing compassion, what amazing love, what an amazing acknowledgment in honoring God, his Righteous Father, who does all things well. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. And just as he prayed for his first disciples, his prayer for us continues. He intercedes for us. He has good in mind for us - and though he may bless us here far more than we deserve, the most magnificent good he has stored up for us is going to be in heaven. He will be our delight and when we see him face to face, all of the cares of this world will vanish. Oh what a day that will be. 

Jesus' prayer also reminds me that we who accept him as Savior are his inheritance. He wants for us to be with him. I imagine he longs for that time even more than I do! What a comforting thought. To tangibly run into his arms! I haven't thought about that before. I usually just think about falling down in worship and awe, but this morning, in this moment, as I run to him in prayer, and visualize being with him, I realize we will see his tenderness on full display, just as much as we will see his majesty. That's exciting. 

Lord, open my eyes to see you in every situation. And open eyes and hearts to accept you in this Lenten season, to find you as Savior and make you their Lord. Be Lord of my life!

MONDAY, DAY 35 OF LENT 2025

We are in the final countdown! Today's reading brings us to John 17:6-19, where Jesus prayer for his disciples is recorded. It appears that they are still in the upper room at this juncture. Jesus prayed for himself in their hearing, and now he prays aloud for them:

Jesus Prays for His Disciples (CSB)

“I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, because I have given them the words you gave me.They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they are yours. Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled.  Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them.  I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

This prayer for his most intimate little band of disciples is  powerful. And it makes me realize that instead of praying for safety for those I love, all along I should have been diligently praying that they are protected from the evil one. That is the greatest danger. 

SUNDAY, THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER & 6TH SUNDAY OF LENT 2025

I am focused on the reality that God deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.

 

HOW GREAT THOU ART

 

Oh Lord my God When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

 

            Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

            How great Thou art, How great Thou art

            Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

            How great Thou art, How great Thou art

 

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze….

 

Chorus….

 

And when I think that God His Son not sparing

Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in

That on the cross my burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin

 

Chorus….

 

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

And there proclaim, My God, how great Thou art!

 

Chorus….

 

 

This treasured hymn, How Great Thou Art, is a loose translation of a Swedish Hymn titled "O Store Gud" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg, which he first published March 13, 1886. (The orginal song had nine verses!) The English version was a translation by an English missionary, Stuart K Hine, in 1949.

I recommend checking Wikipedia for more of the story if that is of interest to you.

SATURDAY, DAY 34 OF LENT 2025

John 17:1-5

In +-33 A D, it was late Thursday evening. The disciples had just had their final Passover meal with Jesus - of course, not knowing that it was the last one. He had just told them, "Be courageous! I have conquered the world." and then he moved directly into prayer:

"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent  - Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed."

What a powerful prayer. And what a great theological statement! 

First and foremost, Jesus knew that the countdown was already in motion, and in just a short time he would be arrested and the purpose of his life would soon be fulfilled.

And then the statement about eternal life being the culmination of when we will truly know God, and Jesus. Now we "see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." There is so much we don't know, and too often we don't even know that we don't know....

And then, at the end of this brief prayer for himself, he prays to be glorified back in God's presence with the same glory he had before the world existed, before the Triune God created the world and everything in it, confirming what John1:1-3 so clearly states:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has  been created." 

That is an exciting connection that gives us a glimpse into an eternity we cannot fathom. We are parametered by TIME. We vocalize the concept of eternity, but it is impossible to grasp FOREVER. It is a faith journey - and we accept the concept, and look forward with great joy to an eternity in God's presence. Oh what a day that will be!

FRIDAY, DAY 33 OF LENT 2025

John 16:16-33

This morning I realized that all Jesus' teaching recorded for us in John 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17   occurred during and after the final Passover dinner that Jesus celebrated with his disciples in the Upper Room during the evening before his betrayal. That makes these passages even more compelling. 

In our reading today, beginning at verse 16, Jesus tells them, "A little while and you will no longer see me; again a little while and you will see me." 

The disciples question that statement to each other, repeating, "What is this he's telling us: 'A little while and you will not see me; again a little while and you will see me'...."

And Jesus addresses it again: "Are you asking one another about what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, again a little while and you will see me'? Then he adds, "Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy...." 

He relates what they will experience to the pain of childbirth that is followed by the joy of a child being born, with the pain no longer remembered, and then he says, "So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you...." 

Jesus knew what was coming, and he was preparing both himself and them. Having these verses, seeing so clearly how he loved his disciples - and by extension, how he loves us - shows his tenderness and compassion. He was not focused on his pain - but on theirs. What a remarkable model of extreme agape love. 

At the end of Chapter 16, after their declaration of belief, followed by his telling them they will all desert him Jesus tells them, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."

Their courage was going to be severely tested, but by telling them all of this in advance, they had his words to comfort them when they looked back - a time in 33 A D that was coming their way very soon. Knowing what is coming adds even more heaviness to my already heavy heart. But I do take comfort in knowing Jesus knows. He knew both his and their circumstances then, and he knows mine now. Thank you, Jesus, for caring so deeply, and for meeting each of us at the level of our needs, when you were denied that in your hour of deepest sorrow.

 

THURSDAY, DAY 32 OF LENT 2025

John 15:26-27; John 16:1-15

Jesus speaking, "When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father - the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father - he will testify about me. You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning." And so ends Chapter 15.

John 16:1-3

"I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they haven't known the Father or me. But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you."

John 16 begins with Jesus warning that some truly rotten stuff is about to happen to his disciples, and he is warning them in advance so the coming events will not make them falter in their faith. And interspersed within this litany of the evil that will come upon them, in subsequent verses Jesus reinforces that they will have the Counselor - the Holy Spirit - with them, and also teaching them that the Holy Spirit will actively convict the world.

John 16:13

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come."

It is important for me to remember that in that moment in +-33 A D this teaching made no sense to Jesus' disciples. They were still looking for the vanquishing conqueror who would rid them of the rule of the Romans and become an earthly king. 

It reminds me that Jesus has all of my days in His hands. He alone knows the future, just as he knew theirs. He warned them in advance - and he has done that with me in the past as well. He wants me to trust him, not be waylaid by circumstances. How easy it is to become immersed in our "present" and forget that he holds both out present and our future in his very capable hands. 

I am also reminded that it is John who will later write down the things he is shown that are prophetic for the end of the world in THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION OF JOHN. In the midst of the journey to the cross - and beyond - the reality of Jesus' first coming and his purpose for coming segue in my mind to his second coming and the end of measured time - and the prophecies of John's last book are conspicuously coming true in our present world. It is time to pay attention! Time is short.

 

WEDNESDAY, DAY 31 OF LENT 2025

John 15:18-27 All of this is in red print, so continues to be John recording for us what Jesus said.

What an amazing privilege to have Jesus' words. He is not just alleged to have said them, he actually did, and the words were very likely written down soon after they were heard. It is obvious to me that the Holy Spirit cemented them in John's mind accurately so they could be shared for the future - for us! 

It is interesting that Jesus has just talked about LOVE and segues in this portion of his communcation to hate. 

"If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. ...  Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ... They hated me for no reason."

What a contrast to the prior section. 

There is an aspect that is merely an expression of emotional feelings of love and hate, and in that context they are twins. Someone can passionately declare their undying love for another person, and very soon after spew hate for that same person. People use the 'hate' word when they are just angry or upset  in the moment - but underneath, once the drama of that moment subsides, they can readily once again declare their love. It is an emotional word filled to the brim with emotion and the response to hearing it is definitely emotional and elicits an equally emotional response. That kind of love and hate are rooted in 'feelings' that cannot be trusted.

What Jesus is talking about is a much deeper hate - true hatred that is a contempt for the person that is so extreme it would wish them to be dead. It is not a hatred that is mollified by sufficient communication or cured with an understanding explanation and subsequent endearing hug. (That leads me to a bunny trail I must mention....)

Sadly, what we currently see far too often is hate of the latter kind - the kind of hate Jesus warned about: hate so virulent it would wish its opponents to be dead! It is hatred that is fueled by Satan himself.

If we aren't careful, that hatred will consume us.

I love our country. I love that we have the right to express our views and opinions. When views and opinions become protests those protests must remain peaceful. Not taking over buildings, not burning down buildings, not throwing rocks and other projectiles, not looting or destroying property, not burning the flag or torching vehicles, and certainly not putting others' lives in danger.

Peaceful protest is a right - but what has happened over the past few years with cruel rhetoric becoming cruel and dangerous behavior is not peaceful. 

Peaceful protest should remain truly peaceful - like a debate that has rules of courtesy, knowing that we are against a policy, not a person or people, and focusing on that with our words. 

We have a right to speak up for what we believe - peacefully - but we need to get our facts right before we do, and we need to get our information from reliable sources.

 

 

TUESDAY, DAY 30 OF LENT 2025

Today's reading brings me to John 15, beginning at verse 9:

Jesus words shared here are, "As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love."

I am caught there momentarily. God loved His Son so much that He sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. It immediately makes me think of Christians who suffer 'for the Gospel' and causes my mind to wonder about times of deep suffering that people often have to endure in their faith journey...and sometimes because of their faith journey! I know that when we remain in the center of God's will nothing can touch us without God's permission. I know that whatever comes into our path is in God's knowing even if we are Jesus' followers but aren't exactly in the center of God's will in that moment. I know that God appears to use suffering and challenge as a way to nudge His people back to the right path. And I know that sometimes there is no apparent reason for suffering, it just happens. 

I believe that God can use all situations for His ultimate glory, because what I have ascertained is that when people are faithful in the midst of challenge and great difficulty it speaks volumes to others, and when our human condition - whatever that brings - is brought under God's sovereignty God can turn ashes to beauty. It is during those times that most assuredly we must 'keep on keeping on', take one step at a time, combat the darkness with God's truth that He does all things well, He is the potter and I am the clay, and though I can't see an end in sight, He and He alone knows. 

I read those words again and am compelled to see that no matter what the circumstances are that assail me my marching orders are to remain in His love. What if God sends me into difficulty or allows difficulty for a greater purpose? What if it is part of His love for me that will allow me to be more compassionate and understanding so I can reflect his love to others. What if my response to suffering somehow is designed to show his love for others? Today is a grappling day!

Verse 10 says, "If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love." 

And verse 12 defines what that command is: "This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you." And verse 13 adds: "No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends."

Am I willing to lay down my life, my needs, my wants, my desires, my view, for others? Grappling again!

In the subsequent verses Jesus shares with his closest followers that he has chosen them - and that he has appointed them to go and produce fruit, and he reiterates in verse 17, 

"This is what I command you: Love one another." 

It becomes our life challenge to learn how that love is demonstrated as we attempt to follow the Holy Spirit's leading. It is clear the path will not always be smooth or easy, that there will be rough times that are inserted into our journey, but equally clear that even in the rough patches God is with us, is faithful, and will sustain us. After all, we are His vineyard!

MONDAY, DAY 29 OF LENT 2025

John 15:1-8 THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES is the title of this section in my Bible. 

I love that Jesus uses visuals, and that John carefully recorded what Jesus was saying. The people in Jesus' day understood about vines. They grew lots of grapes, and they were familiar with the husbandry required for maintaining those vines. Those responsible for the 'husbandry' of those fields of grape vines had to prune off the dead vines, prune back the healthy ones so they would be more productive, and give them the proper amount of water, nutrition, and care to make it possible for them to reach their highest potential. 

This section of John 15 is entirely in red letters, which means it is Jesus' words. I have excerpted selected verses to address:

"I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit."

"Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me."

"I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me."

God is the gardener. Jesus is the main vine. I am one of the smaller vines connected to him. When there are things in my life that are not healthy or productive God prunes those off. As humans, pruning hurts in the moment, but it is the only way for us to be productive. Pruning has a purpose, and that is one of the messages Jesus is providing here.

If we can visualize how an actual field of grape vines looks when it has not been managed - when the vines just grow unchecked, and get filled with deadwood that slows down their usefulness and effective growth, creating only disappointment when it comes to harvest time when the harvesters can see very little was produced - we can equate that to our lives. 

I don't like being pruned, but I know it is only because God loves me enough to want me to be healthy spiritually, healthy enough to grow fruit. 

In other verses in this portion of scripture it talks about those who don't stay connected to the vine. We can do NOTHING without being connected. Lord, bring on the shears! Prune me! Make me a good plant! And I know that you will feed me, water me, provide all the nutrients I need to be a vine that remains connected to you and then - and only then - will I be able to  produce good fruit!

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Only 2 more weeks until our celebration of Resurrection Day! I long for that day to come! 

Very appropriately, my song for today is: IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, a song especially poignant in troubled times.

 

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL                

Words by Horatio G. Spafford, 1873; Music by Philip P. Bliss, 1876

                       

1.         When peace like a river attendeth my way

            When sorrows like sea billows roll

            Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

            “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

 

Refrain:          It is well with my soul,

                        It is well, it is well with my soul

 

2.         Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come

            Let this blest assurance control

            That Christ has regarded my helpless estate

            And has shed His own blood for my soul.

 

Refrain:          It is well with my soul,

                        It is well, it is well with my soul

 

3.         My sin – oh the bliss of this glorious thought

            My sin – not in part, but the whole

            Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more

            Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord O my soul.

 

Refrain:          It is well with my soul,

                        It is well, it is well with my soul

 

4.         And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight

            The clouds be rolled back as a scroll

            The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend

            “Even so” – it is well with my soul

 

Refrain:          It is well with my soul,

                        It is well, it is well with my soul

 

Tag:                 It is well, it is well with my soul

 

History of It is Well With My Soul

 

Horatio G. Spafford (10/20/1828 – 10/16/1888) was a devoted Christian – and a successful Chicago lawyer.  He is the man who wrote the lyrics to “It is Well With My Soul” – which becomes even more touching when you know the history behind Spafford’s life and the specific story that precipitated his writing the words of this song.

 

The scripture reference is Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

 

The first tragedy in their lives was the death of their son from pneumonia in 1870 at the age of 4.   

 

Then in 1871 the Chicago fire devastated the city. Just prior to that event Spafford had invested extensively in real estate by the shore of Lake Michigan and the disaster decimated his holdings.  

 

Two years after the fire, Horatio Spafford planned a trip to Europe with his family. He wanted a rest for his wife and four daughters, and also to assist Moody and Sankey in one of their evangelistic campaigns in Great Britain. He intended to travel with his family; However, the day in November they were due to depart, Spafford had a last minute business transaction and had to stay behind in Chicago. He sent his wife and four daughters on ahead as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre, expecting to follow in a few days. On November 22, just off the coast of France, the ship with his wife and daughters aboard was struck by the Lockhearn, an English vessel, and sank in few minutes.

 

Spafford's wife survived but all four of their daughters were lost.  When she reached land Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband with two simple words, "Saved alone."  Shortly after, Spafford left by ship and asked the Captain to tell him when they reached the spot where his daughters died, and as he stood out on the deck looking over the rail at their gravesite, the words to this song, so significantly descriptive of his own personal grief – "When sorrows like sea billows roll..." poured from his pen to his notepad.  The verses for the hymn "It is Well with My Soul" was born from his pain – and his abiding faith.  

 

Three more children were born to the Spaffords:  two girls and a boy. In spite of the ponderous personal losses he sustained, Spafford faithfully lived the message that God deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.

 

 

His original poem had more verses than the ones we are most familiar with. Some of those verses are recorded here: 

 

It Is Well With My Soul   

             

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, [it is well,]

With my soul, [with my soul,]
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.                      Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!                  Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.                         Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!                           Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.                                         Refrain

 

 

Horatio G Spafford

1873

 

SATURDAY, DAY 28 OF LENT 2025

John 14:27-31

We are at the end of Chapter 14. I had to divide my comments on this chapter into sections because there was so much in it that deserved being shared. This portion of the chapter is even more precious in light of what was about to transpire in Jesus' time on earth.

Verse 27 records this statement by Jesus to his disciples:

 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful."

 What a critical message to hear and absorb! Jesus gives us PEACE! It is not a peace the world can give. The world's peace is totally contingent on everything going smoothly, with no disagreements, challenges or ruffled feathers. That is not the peace Jesus was talking about. His peace is inner peace, knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is who he says he is, and that because we trust in him, we are guaranteed an eternity with him. It is internal security of our destination, not able to be unnerved by the realities of the world we live in personally, locally, nationally or globally. My life can have more challenges than I prefer, and I can still have his peace. My state and country and be in upheaval, and I can still have his peace. The world universally can be going totally awry, and I can have his peace. 

All of those things are true, and I have his peace. Inner peace. Knowing my soul is secure in his love because of what he did at the cross! Thank you, Lord, for your peace that passes understanding, that is with us through pain, grief, sorrow, and joy! Thank you!

FRIDAY, DAY 27 OF LENT 2025

John 14: 15-26

What a beautiful portion of information and promises. 

"If you love me you will keep my commands" (vs 15); "The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me" (vs 21); "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word...." (vs 23)

Wow! That's very straightforward! In addition to those verses Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit!

Vs 16: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth." Vs 26: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you."

Intertwined in those verses are other tidbits that are informative, including Jesus' declaration that he will not leave those who love him as orphans - he will return! Because HE lives, we will live also. What a wonderful portion of both promise and clarity! 

Late yesterday I learned of the passing of a longtime friend. Our kids were primary playmates in their younger years and the memories are numerous! In her case, I cannot cry over her passing - at least not right now. She had Alzheimers and the last time I saw her in August 2023, she did not appear to know me, though she remembered my husband, so perhaps it was just that my name didn't ring a bell. Anyway - that is when I cried my tears. I had lost my friend, but it took until now for her body to give up on living. There is never a good time to say goodbye, but no one would ask her to live in the fog Alzheimer's brings.  Memories of earlier years will keep her alive for all who loved her - and the good thing we all hold onto is knowing where she is. It is a race we all run, and everyone who hears "Well done" as they cross the Finish Line is a winner!

ACKNOWLEDGING APRIL 3, 1953

 

A Good Day to Die

by Lola Rice Cain

 

It was a good day to die

Spring had just brought new life:

Trees were leafing out

Birds were singing

The grass was green

And hope for new beginnings was alive

But not for her

 

It was a good day to die

Life for her had lost meaning

She was unable to see her purpose

She gave up on life prematurely

And in choosing death she gave up on herself

And on my siblings and me

She chose that day as her goodbye

 

It was a good day to die

A day that poured pain into many lives

A day that left sorrow in its wake

A day that would never be forgotten

A day that ended her personal losses

And became the start of ours

A self-absorbed day that is cemented in memory

 

But for her it was apparently a good day to die

And the fallout of her choice?

We’ve become more resilient

We are more tolerant and stronger

Than we would have been

Had we never endured that pain

Still, for us, it was not a good day for her to die

 

 

Written October 31, 2021 in memory of Nellie Nina Scott Rice, mother to Duane, Ken, Lola, and Gary, who committed suicide April 3, 1953, at the age of 37.  Forever missed.  Forever in our hearts.  Forever loved.

 

 

GRIEF

Lola Rice Cain

 

Grief is love poured out as the final act of care

It washes over me in unwelcome waves of sorrow

Subsides momentarily, then blindsides me again and again,

Mercilessly hammering at my consciousness

And intruding into my attempts at slumber.

 

Grief is love in its final earthly form

A painful reenactment of all that came before

It oozes through my every pore

And is the assailant at my heart’s door

It refuses to disappear, but is slowly being subdued.

 

Grief is love unleashed in ways I could never have conceived

And I must allow it its time as there is a time to grieve

Even so, as it flows in and out of my awareness

I find respite in memories that make their way

Through the fog of the pain – and I will live to love. 

 

(Written November 28, 2021) 

Usually my remembrance day of my bio mother's death is limited to April 3. I do not recall what was happening in 2021 that made it pour over, but the October 31 poem makes me think that the November 28 poem was likely connected, but most likely connected to another death that triggered the memory.

THURSDAY, DAY 26 OF LENT 2025

 John 14:12-14 (CSB) states, 

¹² “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

This is, quite honestly, a passage I trip over. I absolutely do believe that Christ's followers can and do make a huge difference in the world, and that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gives many amazing gifts to believers, which are being used for God's glory. 

I also believe that the word translated 'greater' might mislead us - that 'more' might be a better word, with my rationale being that since Jesus returned to the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit, who can be everywhere at once, using many people simultaneously to do God's work on earth. It could also apply to the reality that we have many more years collectively and that God's miraculous works performed in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit - using humans as vessels through whom many of those miracles are made evident - would be 'more.' That would make sense to me.   

In past consideration of this passage, I have wondered if the ''whatever you ask in my name" was conditional on it being something God wanted to do, and allowed a human vessel to participate in so that person could feel used by God. 

I know God performs amazing miracles - but certainly not every time it is believed for and prayed for, so the 'whatever' throws me. Just being transparent! 

It is also worth noting since I am grappling with this again today, that verse 14 is not included in many of the manuscripts, which means it was likely added by a Scribe somewhere along the way who just wanted to reinforce the prior sentence. It doesn't change what was stated - but it is interesting to pay attention to those tidbits in our studying.

I will end with a story:

Years ago, in Montesano, when I attended the Montesano Presbyterian Church, the Lord gave me a very deep burden for a man in our church. He had just had a heart attack and I prayed diligently for him that he would be healed. A few days later the burden lifted, and I thanked God, believing that the burden lifting meant that the man was healed and would be okay. 

I was shocked to learn that at the time the burden lifted the man died. I was furious with God! I asked him, "Why did you take away the burden if he was not healed?" And God replied, "Death in this life is perfect healing."

He was right. The man was healed - just not the way I expected. Not the way I was praying for. When I feel a burden for someone I remember that lesson. I even told a friend not long ago, "I may not be the one you want praying for you, given my track record!" 

This passage leads me to a bit of a bunny trail and brings me to the bottom line of my faith. Do I trust God even when I don't understand? Yes! Do I believe he is with me through everything? Yes! Do I trust his timing? Even though I don't always appreciate it or understand it, yes! My times are in his hands. So are yours if you've placed your trust in him. We live under his care, and though we don't know the expiration date that is 'invisibly stamped on the bottom of our foot' (as I say), we can trust that God knows, and that we will not leave this earth one day sooner - and when we do have the joy of leaving we will wonder why we wanted so badly to stay!

Back on topic: I believe in God. I believe in miracles. I believe he guides, directs, and nudges us to do his will. I believe if he wants to do a miracle and chooses a human vessel to pray for it, he is the one doing the work, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and God is the one who receives the honor and glory. 

Thank you, Lord, for being a very present God in the lives of those who trust in you!

WEDNESDAY, DAY 25 OF LENT 2025

John 14:1-11 Christian Standard Bible. (My go to is usually the ESV.)

The words leap off the page as I read them, "Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." And then Jesus tells them he is going away to prepare a place for them, and that he will return to get them so they can be where he is - and he says, "You know the way to where I am going."

Thomas challenges that, saying, "We don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

Jesus reply to Thomas was, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And then he proclaims, "If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

Next Philip speaks up, "Lord, show us the Father, and that's enough for us."

And Jesus replies, "Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father...." 

 

Jesus was fully God and fully human. He was the only person of the Trinity who had a physical body, and as such was the only visible appearance of God. Jesus was there at creation in his pre-incarnate state as part of the Triune Godhead, and he became God incarnate when he was born to the virgin, Mary. He lived a perfect life for 33 years, and now he is trying to prepare his disciples for his exit. He is sharing final urgent messages as part of that exit strategy. Exit words of significant importance.  

He clearly tells them that in seeing him they have seen God, which means he is God, but also that he is the only way to God. He talks about his Father, and that they are inseparably joined when he declares, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me." (verses 10 & 11)

Lord, open people's eyes to see you! We need you now, in this crazy world that is plummeting into the abyss. Lord, give us ears to hear, wisdom to understand, and the determination to follow you closely through these troubled times. You alone are TRUTH. You alone are THE WAY. You alone offer us ETERNAL LIFE. Lord, incline hearts to YOU! Amen.

 

 

TUESDAY, DAY 24 OF LENT 2025 (Also April Fools' Day this year)

We begin with John 13:21 today, but in my reading I cannot help that notice a sub-theme: Jesus knew! Jesus knew (13:1) his hour had come. Jesus knew (13:18-27) that Judas was going to betray him. Jesus knew (13:38) that Peter would deny him.

He also knew that Judas, who was obsessed with money, would be paid 30 pieces of silver and then take his own life. And, in stark contrast, that Peter would come back to absolute faith and belief in his Savior, and dedicate his life to serving the Lord, and ultimately die a cruel death. 

Jesus knows. He knows the challenges we will face - and that in facing challenges we can actually become stronger than we ever thought possible. We have a choice. When we falter or fail, we can either give up permanently, or we can run back to Jesus' loving arms, ask and receive his forgiveness, and become encouragers to others who are struggling. 

In John 13:34 Jesus gives his disciples - and by extension, us - a new command:

"...Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I am aware that there are multiple words that were translated "love" and I was curious to know which one this is. In the process I found yet another word! And I learned that even my basic understanding of various words that are translated as "love" are based on Greek, not Hebrew. 

I love to learn new things! Because the word in Hebrew is written in figures instead of using a familiar-looking alphabet, the word will be written in English differently depending on who the interpreter is, but on Bible Hub, the spelling used is 'agapate', translated "you should love." This type of love is a moral mandate to care for each other. It is action, not emotion. It is putting others needs on the same level as our own, looking out for others' interests, not just our own. Seeing a need, filling that need. 

Needs are not merely financial, though too  often we equate need with financial struggle, but someone can be wealthy and have emotional, physical, or spiritual needs, and 'need' to have others come alongside. Being sensitive to when that is the case is an alert provided by the Holy Spirit. Love one another! It doesn't sound optional, does it? 

Jesus needed that love from Peter, but in Jesus' deepest pain, Peter denied and deserted him. Thank God that is not the end of Peter's story - and thank God, that when I have failed miserably, it was not the end of my story either. Thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace!