COMMUNION, ETC.

Tomorrow we are "celebrating Christ's death until He comes again" as we take the elements of grape juice and a small leaven-free morsel of "bread" to honor what He did at Passover, when He said to his disciples "This is my body broken for you. Eat all of it. And this is the cup of my blood shed for you. Drink all of it." Of course, He used wine, not juice, but our elements in that sacrament are just a symbol - a reminder of what Jesus did for us.

God came to earth in the form of a baby and lived on earth for approximately 33 years, with the last 3 years being His time of ministry. He came to be the perfect Lamb, the only one who could totally free us from Sin and bring us back into relationship with God through sacrificing Himself on the cross so we could have forgiveness of our sins if we ask for His forgiveness and accept His grace.  

God so loved the world that He GAVE his one and only Son - fully God and fully human - God incarnate. Jesus chose to be obedient to the humiliation that he bore: the stripes of the whip that had barbs attached to the ends of the whip which ripped chunks of skin from his back as he bore the lashes; being spat on; and hit; and a crown of thorns crushed into his head. And painfully, having His followers run away in fear, and for the moment, deny knowing Him. And last, the indignity of the cross - hanging bare and exposed between earth and heaven, the bridge that would offer mankind the opportunity to be back in a personal relationship with God, as Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.... 

At the end of the Passover Meal the evening before He was so wrongly arrested and illegally tried for wrongs He did not commit, He told His disciples that each time they did this, i.e. PASSOVER (which is an annual celebration), to remember Him and His death until He comes again...and He will! 

Most of the Jewish faithful missed Him the first time because He didn't come as the conquering hero they were expecting - one who would right all the wrongs and save them from the oppression of the Roman rule they were oppressed under. But this time He will come as the Warrior, riding in on His white horse, accompanied by an army that will vanquish the foe! 

It sounds magnificent and charming - but what has to come before that happens is awful - and we are experiencing the beginning of those birth pangs. Matthew 24:6-13 shares what Jesus said would come at the end of time: (NIV)

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

I view Matthew 24 as the "Cliff's Notes" version of the Book of the Revelation of John, which goes into far more detail than I can comprehend. It is already upon us - and will be horrific. We cannot even imagine the bloodshed and devastation that will occur before Jesus returns to "make everything right" - but He will, and God is the only one who knows exactly when that will be. 

He tells us we will not now the exact day or hour - but we will know the season. From what I see, the "season" is getting close! And as I share in my book, LEAD ME TO THE CROSS, I believe God gave us an outline in the Feasts He commanded to be celebrated. He fulfilled all of the Spring Feasts of Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Firstfruits, and the Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost in the year in which He died. Therefore, similarly I believe He will fulfill the final 3 feasts in the year that He returns. My goal is to be ready - and to be anticipating His return no matter how bad things get here! 

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus. 

FAT TUESDAY 2024

TODAY IS FAT TUESDAY! Such a funny name when you think about it. 

Rather than think about something I will sacrifice in the realm of food, I need to decide what I will purpose to do that is a positive contribution over the 40 days of Lent. I have committed to reading the daily entries in my book. It is amazing how God speaks to me again and again through His Word, but often with different thoughts than I experienced when I first wrote the Lenten Blog in 2010 that eventually became a book. 

I love that God's Word is fresh and new to us every day. And I love the aspect of "wonder" that accompanies thinking about what was written for us to read and ruminate on. In fact, that idea of Wonder has been with me ever since I wrote in my blog during Advent through Epiphany. There is soooo much to wonder about. I look forward to whatever insights God will share this season! 

LENT BEGINS ON WEDNESDAY!

A dear friend texted today that she is going to read through my book, LEAD ME TO THE CROSS, again this year for the Lenten season. That alerted me to check for when Lent begins - and shock! It is this Wednesday - just 2 days away (on Valentine's Day, which is poignantly appropriate). Easter/ Resurrection is coming on the early side this year, and so it is time to prepare for those who are interested. 

Tomorrow is the prelude to the Lenten journey - FAT TUESDAY, when people eat all the goodies that they will give up for Lent beginning the following day to "sacrifice" something they love to honor the 40 days (excluding Sundays) that are the precursor to celebrating Jesus' resurrection. Easter - or as I prefer to reference it - Resurrection Sunday is the MOST IMPORTANT date of remembrance in the Christian faith. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whomever believes in him shall have everlasting life. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through him, might be saved. (Loose translation of John 3:16-17). 

We celebrate his coming as a baby at Christmas - God incarnate! Only God would do that - love those he created so much that he would choose to come to earth - fully God and fully human to become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins as the Lamb of God. 

I am not promising to write every day this Lent - but I will read along with those who choose to join in on the journey of anticipation. Making this a spiritual journey as we explore Jesus' life on the way to Calvary where he was crucified - and the Sunday after when he was resurrected is powerful! 

LEAD ME TO THE CROSS is available on Amazon as an e-book in case you are interested. 

EPIPHANY – January 6 – ALL KINGS DAY

I have come to the end of my commitment to write in my blog through the Christmas season. 

Today is Epiphany. I have no idea why it has that name! It is best known as All King's Day - or in Spanish Dia de Los Reyes - the day set aside to celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men from the East. They were astrologers who watched the stars and one night in the night sky they discovered a new star - a special star that somehow they knew to be the star of a new king, and they followed the star. It has never occurred to me before this morning that when they set out on their journey they had no idea how long the journey would be - they were just compelled to follow, curious to know where it would lead them and determined to honor this new king. 

Ultimately it led them first to Jerusalem - where they asked Herod where the newborn King of the Jews was so they could worship him. Herod summoned the wise men to meet with him privately, and asked them when the star had appeared. That was very important information for him to know. He lied about wanting to go worship him, too. 

After the astrologers left Herod, the star led them to Bethlehem - and it stopped right over the house where the young child was living! 

There is sooooo much to wonder about! How many men were there in this entourage? How long did the trip take? Did others join them as they traveled and pointed out the phenomenon? Precisely where were they from? How did they know this was the star of a King, and particularly the King of the Jews? And what compelled them to follow it? What kind of star was this - that could lead them, and could hover over the specific location where the young child was living when they arrived?

It was an "epiphany" for me when I first paid attention that they visited Joseph, Mary, and Yeshua in a house. The astrologers were not there at Jesus’ birth. There were no camels "from the East" and their riders beside the manger - but the star that arose at his birth was what led them to the house where the little family was living. The astrologers were certainly anticipating finding this baby King, but I have to assume Mary and Joseph didn't know they were coming. We are not given any information that would lead us to that conclusion. 

The wisemen went into the house - and brought expensive gifts - and worshipped the little boy who would grow up to save ALL people who were willing to accept God's offer of salvation. Then, being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they left to go back home via a different route than they had come. 

That night, after the astrologers left the house, and Mary & Joseph had fallen asleep, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the child and Mary and flee to Egypt, for Herod was about to search for the child to destroy him.

And Herod did try. He was absolutely furious that the astrologers didn't come back and report to him precisely where he would find this child who was to be king so he could kill him, but since he had learned from them when the star first appeared, he had every little boy age 2 and under killed to "be sure" he killed this one who was to become king. That is the heartbreaking part of the story.  

Another epiphany was when I realized that the way this family managed financially to flee to Egypt and survive there until after Herod died, was those expensive gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh were all costly, and valuable as items to sell to get what they needed. God met their needs in an incredible way. 

While we celebrate the arrival of the multiple 'kings, wisemen, astrologers' (as they are alternately referenced) we celebrate most of all the One who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and get to marvel at the miracles of protection that surrounded him. 

THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – January 5: The Fruits of the Spirit

Today is the Twelfth Day of Christmas. It is not a tradition I grew up with in my evangelical protestant faith - but it does provide a time of transition and "waiting" for us as we anticipate Epiphany, which was another event we didn't pay attention to in my family. Still, I like the times of anticipation. 

Today it reminds me of the GIFTS God has given to us - and continues to give us and grow in us if we are willing to cooperate.  My thoughts are specifically on the Fruits of the Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering (most often listed as Patience or Patient Endurance), Goodness, Kindness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. Can you imagine how different the world would be if people loved the Lord and sought to operate in the gifts that he so freely gives to those who seek him and ask for his gifts to grow in them?

LOVE - an action verb, not a warm, fuzzy feeling. Treating others the way God would treat them. Feeding the hungry, binding up the wounds of those who are injured, meeting the needs of the broken-hearted, putting others needs above our own.

JOY - knowing the JOY of having the Lord in our lives - and that if we leave this world with him as our Lord and Savior we are RICH! Nothing else is more important than our relationship with him. 

PEACE - a PEACE that can come only by knowing God. Jesus didn't come to bring peace to the world - but an inner peace to those who accept him as Savior - and they become the ambassadors of his "peace on earth" poured out to others.

LONG SUFFERING - with God as our model. Exercising patience for God's plan to unfold. Waiting for the fruition of the seeds planted - spiritual seeds, not those of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Waiting for the Lord’s will to be accomplished even when we can’t see it happening. 

GOODNESS - being good as a reflection of Jesus in us - and we can't do it without him and the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

KINDNESS - being kind and thoughtful to everyone, no matter how much we disagree with them or are offended by their behaviors, beliefs, or words.

FAITHFULNESS - being faithful! That's huge! God demands our faithfulness. It is not an option! It requires being intentional and takes discipline, discipline, discipline.

GENTLENESS - this is a huge one for me! Quite a few years ago the Lord spoke to me and said, "We are going to work on your gentleness."  "Great, I thought! God's going to make me gentle as he wants me to be." Not! What he did was throw multiple experiences and opportunities my way in which to practice 'gentleness'. It was one thing after another - and I got a lot of practice! It is still an area I deal with often. God is still working, and I am still trying.

and, last of all:

SELF CONTROL - this is soooooo important, and so terribly lacking in our world. People have lost their plumb line for being metered and measured with their word, their actions, and their expectations of others. We need ALL of the Fruits of the Spirit, but we definitely need a big dose of self control.

Years ago it was a fad to wear a bracelet that had the letters WWJD on it. I didn't happen to have one - but I appreciated the reminder: What Would Jesus Do? It is a reminder for just slowing down before I speak or act, and think about being like Jesus. What would he do? 

He was not a pacifist - as was clearly demonstrated when he threw the money-changers unceremoniously out of the temple and overturned their tables because they were greedy and taking unfair advantage of those who needed that service provided. 

He also called the religious leaders a den of vipers, and told them they were white-washed tombs. He didn't pull punches or sugar coat his words for those who claimed to be pure and weren't. 

Even so, he exhibited all the Fruits of the Spirit - and doesn't ask us to do anything he didn't do himself. The difference is: he was God, and we're not, so we need his help to accomplish his will in our lives, even in the way we relate to others at the most basic level. 

Lord, keep nudging! Keep reminding! 

THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – January 4: Obedience, not sacrifice

At 40 days Jesus was brought into the temple to be dedicated to the Lord, as was customary for all first male children to be. Joseph and Mary were obedient to all that the Law required. They were devoted to following God, as we see in the account of Jesus' life when we learn that he was in the temple at the age of 12 discussing with the religious leaders. And, of that trip to celebrate Passover it was stated, "as their custom was." Jesus was in Jerusalem for the appointed feasts during his growing up - but his very first visit to the temple as a human was when he was a baby. 

Jesus obediently came to earth to become the ultimate sacrifice. When people sacrifice their lives out of obedience and sacrifice their desires out of obedience, they are truly reflecting the kind of love Jesus taught. But it is the OBEDIENCE part of that equation that matters. Sacrificing after failure to be obedient - out of guilt - doesn't cut it. If we want to walk in God's will and if we want our lives to reflect him, we have to be obedient. Not easy all the time, and not possible unless we have the Holy Spirit's help in nudging us the right direction. 

1 Samuel 15:22

22 And Samuel said,

^w“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

as in obeying the voice of the LORD?

Behold, ^xto obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams.

Hosea 6:6

6  For ^kI desire steadfast love¹ and not sacrifice,

^lthe knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6–8

What Does the Lord Require?

6  ^b“With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow myself before ^cGod on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7  ^dWill the LORD be pleased with¹ thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

^eShall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8  He has told you, O man, what is good;

and ^fwhat does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,²

and to ^gwalk humbly with your God?

Matthew 9:13

13 Go and learn ⁱwhat this means: ^j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^kI came not to call the righteous, ^lbut sinners.”

Matthew 12:7

7 And if you had known ^ewhat this means, ^f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’you would not have condemned the guiltless.

THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – January 3: Partnering with God

Having the goal of actually partnering with God instead of just asking him to bless our plans is a challenge for an organizer like me. But KNOWING that he also is an organizer - and that his plans are always going to be better than anything I can imagine helps a lot. It just requires a little patience and a lot of listening. 

I'm quite certain that I have gotten ahead of God a number of times - though just one leaps out at me at the moment. Getting ahead of God and following our own plan is characteristic of mankind. Abraham did. His wife couldn't give him the son that God had promised them, so she took matters into her own hands and gave Abraham her maid servant to essentially be a surrogate mother and bear a child for them. The result was Ishmael. (And family drama!)

God still kept his promise. Sarah had a baby boy in her old age. Really old age! She was ninety. A miracle. It seems that Isaac had to be a miracle for it to be obvious that he was God's plan. 

So - as I ponder and wonder - I wonder what God has in store for 2024 - and I truly want to partner with him, and have him be my guide - not develop my own wonderful plans and hope he approves! 

It will be exciting to see what develops. 

The entourage of wise men partnered with God - and they had the absolute joy of being led to the Christ child - and having angels direct their paths!