JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 40!

This is it! The commitment to the daily discipline of writing on my blog is completed for this season! My commitment challenges me on days I don't 'feel' like writing - but I completed what I set out to do - and in the process, God always teaches me.

Focusing only on the book of John has been interesting, because I know there are lots of details he doesn't mention. But - when he writes about something he experienced firsthand, I pay attention. Some of the Gospel writers wrote from personal experience, some wrote what they heard from others. Even eye witness accounts vary - - we know that from accident reports - - but it has been instructive in a minimalist way to see events limited to what I see through John's writing....

And - there have been little things I've noted, such as one that intrigued me yesterday, though I didn't write about it. It must have taken incredible restraint for the angels to not come destroy all of mankind and free Jesus from the cruel suffering He endured. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords was stripped down to his loincloth and suspended between earth and sky for all to gaze upon and ridicule. The angels were obedient to His plan, thank God.

Joseph of Arimathea got permission from Pilate to take Jesus' corpse, and with Nicodemus' help (you remember Nicodemus, the one who came to Jesus by night) the two men buried Jesus in a garden tomb where no one had ever before been laid.

I've been to the hill just outside the old city that fits the description - and to a tomb there that could have been the very one in which they laid His body. Our tour group had communion in a little cave chapel at the Garden Tomb site. It was a very tender site to visit. It resonated as "This is the place!"

From 3 p m on Friday, throughout Saturday and until sometime near dawn on Sunday morning - part of 3 days that totaled 39 or 40 hours at the most, Jesus body lay in the tomb. John tells us absolutely nothing about the disciples. We know without wondering that they were devastated and confused, as well as fearful for what would happen to them as his followers. What a shock! Just the past Sunday Jesus rode through the streets, hailed as King, and now He was dead....

I had a poignant reminder yesterday of how quickly life can change. Fortunately our story has a happy ending - but today I could have been a widow. That reality is not lost on me as I consider the Lenten journey as it endures the cross and the seeming hopelessness of the One who is Hope lying in the cold stone cave.

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus My Savior; waiting the coming day, Jesus, my Lord....

I can't wait for tomorrow! They didn't understand then what we get to see in retrospect! Jesus words, "It is finished!" make our life complete! It is finished indeed!!!!!!!

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 39

I just watched a music video that portrays Jesus on His walk to the cross.... It was posted on a blog I read every entry of...and I borrowed it and posted the song to Facebook in honor of Good Friday. I'd post it here, too, but I'm not a savvy techie, and I don't now how to do that.

I only woke up once in the night last night - because the dog was barking. In +-33 AD, approximately 1979 years ago, Jesus got no sleep at all.

The Jewish Friday began at 6 p m on what is Thursday evening to us. In 2010, the first year I wrote a blog, I took 10 days to cover all that happened that day, most of it under 'Backtracking to Good Friday' headings. This morning I went back and read some of what I wrote and it made me cry.

What a horrible awful day! Good for us - and because it was good for us, He suffered beyond belief.... He was tried illegally and unfairly, beaten mercilessly until He was beyond recognition, thrown into a dark pit during part of the night, bleeding and alone, slugged, spat on, ridiculed ....rejected.

One of the most memorable spots for me when we visited Israel in February 2011 was the pit beneath St Peter En Gallicantu Church (Church of the Crowing Rooster). Originally it had just one entrance - a small hole at the top just large enough to lower a person through. Now, there are openings carved out so it can be viewed - and there are stairs down into it, and lighting.... But standing down in the pit with eyes closed the emotions are overwhelming. Just a few days before He was acclaimed by the crowds as King; and the pit - a part of His reality during that awful night - is a representation of the rejection He experienced, while led back and forth between those who should have been instruments of justice. He became a prisoner, so He could set captives free....

Even Peter denied Him. Jesus warned Peter ahead of time that he would, and I have no doubt that Peter vowed not to let Jesus' words come true - but they did!

During His night of trials, Jesus was interviewed by Pilate, who rightfully found no fault in Him. Thinking he was being very clever, Pilate offered the crowd the opportunity to free Jesus as part of their adopted custom of Passover. Shockingly, they chose Barabbas.

Jesus' responses to Pilate's questioning (recorded for us in John 18) affirmed Jesus was King, but His kingdom was not of this world. It was the purpose for which He came into the world - to bring salvation to mankind and rule in the hearts of man.

As an old song states, "A rugged cross became His throne. His Kingdom was in hearts alone. He wrote His love in crimson red, and wore the thorns upon His head."

For this He came....

Song lyrics flood through my mind:

Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Oh precious is the flow
That makes me white as sow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

And a little chorus God gave me in +-2000: (to a calypso beat!)
I don't deserve Your love. I don't deserve the life you have reserved for me.
I don't deserve Your love. I don't deserve the grace with which You set me free.
I don't deserve that You, the Son of God, died on the cross for me.
I don't deserve Your love, but thank you, Lord, that You give it to me - so freely!
I don't deserve Your love, but than You, Lord, that You give it to me.

Thank You for the cross, Lord....and thank You that IT IS FINISHED!

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 38

About this time of evening in +-33 A D, Jesus and His friends were having their Passover seder dinner in Jerusalem. The disciples in charge of the preparations had gotten everything ready: the roasted lamb, the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs.... They said the prescribed words of tradition, did everything that made it memorable, and enjoyed the retelling of the Passover story, when the blood of the lamb was spilled and applied to the door casings so the angel of death would 'pass over' the homes of those who had the blood covering.

And during the dinner that night, Jesus taught His disciples some final lessons to get them through the coming storm. He also taught them that there was a New Covenant in His blood. It would no longer be the blood of lambs that would take the place for their sins, as had been the custom since Moses' time. He would be that sacrificial lamb. They didn't understand that until later - but when he gave them the wine and the unleavened matzoh bread, He clearly proclaimed that those elements now represented His body and His blood....

And after He had said all he could say to prepare them, they went out into the night, crossed over the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often met with His disciples. John doesn't tell us that specifically in Chapter 18. It is something we learn from other writers. And he doesn't tell us about Jesus praying - and the disciples falling asleep.... But he does tell us about Peter cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant. That must have made quite an impression.... In fact, he even tells us Malchus' name - but he doesn't tell us that Jesus picked up the ear and put it back on Malchus' head.... What drama! He loses an ear, then has the one who is being arrested put it back on.... What tenderness Jesus displayed!

Caiaphas was the high priest that year, and his father-in-law was Annas. You remember Caiaphas? He was the one who said it was better for one man to die for the people....not knowing that Jesus would truly die for the people, not to save their faulty political system - but to save them for all of eternity, if they'd accept Him.

It was likely not long after midnight when Judas came to Jesus and betrayed Him with a kiss on the cheek. The early morning hour marked the beginning of a long, awful night....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 37

When I first read through John 17 two days ago, I thought I'd just copy the entire prayer and use it for my blog for the day.... Then the realities of the date of April 3 engulfed me, and I didn't do that. This morning I find that I cannot move past John 17 without at least hitting some of the significant highlights in the prayer Jesus prayed for His faithful followers: the disciples then, and us now.

17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

17:6, 8-9 "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.... For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours."

17:17-18 "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world."

17:20-21 (His prayer for future followers, including us!) "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me...."

What a glorious mystery, and Jesus paid the price to make it possible!

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.

In +-33 A D, on that Wednesday the disciples were undoubtedly preparing for the feast of the Passover that they would celebrate on Thursday evening.... They had to get the room prepared and purchase a lamb that would be slaughtered the next morning precisely as prescribed. I doubt all of that was left to Thursday.... There was a lot to be done for a feast of this magnitude, even just for the 13 of them.... Shopping, organizing. Perhaps the cooking was all done on Thursday - but there would be time for little else that day.

Even the day of preparation was "doing God's will." Even the mundane was holy. Lord, today, as I do the things that are mundane, help them be for Your holy purpose.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 36

April 3, 1953 my mother put a gun to her head and killed herself. I was 7 1/2 years old. That event brought suicide into my life in a personal, devastating way. She was the youngest of 6 siblings, and her sister just older than she committed suicide next. Then a few years later, another sister committed suicide, and in her older years, because of illness and not wanting to be a burden to her family, the only remaining sister also took her own life. It all began with my mother. Having someone in their family take that way out placed that option in their thoughts as an alternative in a way that doesn't happen for most others who may peripherally think about it. It was a very real option instead of a passing thought. The only siblings who didn't commit suicide were the aunt I was named after: Lola, who died from injuries sustained in a car wreck while my mother was pregnant with me; and the only boy in the family, who died naturally in old age.

My mother, Nellie, was on my mind from the moment I awoke this morning. I read John 17, then wrote the first few sentences of my blog, saved it and went to do other things. It is Spring Break, so we took 5 of our grandkids to lunch at Arby's, then to play at Charlie's Safari, then to Journey 2:. Afterward we went back to Charlie's for another hour of fun; then our daughter from Puyallup, and her 3 girls, headed north while we headed home with the 2 grandsons who live near us. It was a day to make memories...and to remember.

I remember that day - April 3, 1953 - very well.... It is indelibly imprinted in my mind.... And every April 3, I remember, but not as poignantly as this year. For some reason, this year I am far more aware of the event and its effects on everyone whose lives were touched....

In correlation with reading John 17, it reminds me that John remembered the events of that time very well, as well.... And this chapter is extremely special, for it is Jesus' prayer for His followers. He is not praying for the world, even though He came to save everyone in the world who would accept Him. This prayer is for those who were already His....those He promised not to leave as orphans. And, then, at the end of the prayer, He prays for all who would come to belief - as a response initiated by the message His disciples would carry to the world! It has never before occurred to me that my salvation is a result traceable to one of the disciples of Jesus who sat in the Upper Room with Him that night - but it is so.... They were the ones with the message. They shared the Truth of the Gospel with others, who shared with others, and the ripples came down from +-33 A D to 1954 A D to a little 8-year-old girl in a simple small town white church in Wilder, Idaho.... A child who believed when the preacher said, "Jesus loves you." That little girl needed desperately to hear the words of love echoed through the ages....

On this April 3, 2012, thank you, disciples, for being faithful witnesses. Than you for writing down what you so poignantly remembered, John. And most of all, thank you, Lord, for Your amazing grace and infinite mercy.

In the reliving of that time, You are counting down the final moments.... In our reading from John, it is late Thursday evening - and right after this prayer, the report that ended John 14, when You led Your disciples out into the night, comes true....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 35

We're down to the final 6 days of preparation!

Growing up, I didn't observe Lent. My Catholic friends did. One friend, Laurel, gave up cookies and lost 20 pounds.... It was traditionally (for my Catholic friends) a time of 'giving up' something special sacrificially. I don't know how connected they were or weren't to the spiritual significance of relating their sacrifice to Jesus' sacrifice.... But I do know it was tradition!

This is the third consecutive year that I have written a Lenten blog. In fact, that was what precipitated my beginning a blog in 2010. I had started reading a blog by a very good writer named Rosemarie, and she was my inspiration for beginning. It is a discipline to commit to write every day of a specified period of time. Lent is, of course, Monday through Saturday for the time extending from Ash Wednesday through the Saturday prior to Easter, so it isn't truly every day....Sundays are 'days off' from the Lenten discipline.

The point is: following through with the commitment requires perseverance. It is a fairly brief time commitment that represents our walk of faith. Being an intentional Christian requires perseverance. It is a world view that defines everything else in our lives. Jesus is the fulcrum point of Biblical worldview. And in His Upper Room discourse He conveys some of what that will mean in His followers lives. In my last writing I left off at John 15:17.

In the latter half of John 15 and the beginning of John 16, Jesus warns his disciples - and by extension, us - that those who follow Him will be hated by the world. Chapter 16 could be a sermon series! They will be persecuted, but their sorrow will turn to joy! And, the Holy Spirit will be sent to help them! And whatever they ask in Jesus' name they will receive that their joy may be full!

And, the final words of chapter 16: "I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But, take heart; I have overcome the world."

In the middle of the raging tempest, He is our peace. We walk by faith, not by sight - - and certainly not by feelings. In the times we feel like we are being tried like Job was, God, through the Holy Spirit is with us. Christ in us, the hope of glory!

These seem like 'final' final words in this dissertation. They are final words before His death on the cross, but they are not truly final! He will lead them into further Truth in the 40 days that He walks on earth following His resurrection; and He presently leads us through His written Word, and through the nudging of the Holy Spirit, that still, small voice, who says,"This is the way." We hear that voice through prayer....

I need my prayer time....

As Jesus' own brother wrote after he became a believer, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

And - one of my favorite verses that gives insight into God's heart for yearning for a relationship with us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20) That verse was written to the Church of Laodicea. They were neither hot nor cold. They were lukewarm. They saw themselves as rich and self-sufficient, but God saw them as pitiable and poor in the things that truly mattered. He clearly tells them to be zealous and repent, and then tells them in this oft-quoted verse, which is generally taken out of context, that He is knocking, wanting a relationship with them....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 34

Wow! Time is flying. Tomorrow will be the commemoration of the day Jesus' came into Jerusalem on the back of a previously unridden colt of a donkey. The people, who had just the night before seen the risen-from-the -dead Lazarus, will come out and line the route of his descent down the Mount of Olives and into the City of Jerusalem. They will wave palm branches, and lay their cloaks before Him in His path - the honor due a King. Palm Sunday!

But in John's account, we have passed that point.... I didn't read ahead to remind myself what John would relate until this morning. I thought John 14 represented his final 'final words' of instruction and admonition before they left the Upper Room. Not so.... It appears John 15, 16 and 17 should come before the last statement in John 14! They represent the bulk of the Upper Room Discourse. These chapters hold incredible words of guidance and instruction, directly from the Lord Himself. Everything important that He has taught them over the past 3 years is encapsulated here, reiterated, rephrased. His focus is very clear. He only has moments left, and these are words to live by - and die for.

I'm grateful that the Holy Spirit brought all of this discourse back clearly to John so he could write it down. Jesus' Upper Room teaching provides clear direction for living in Him, and the consequences if we don't. He offers us the opportunity and it is our choice whether or not we obey. These chapters do not give us a recipe for 'fast food' Christianity, but for a depth of being immersed in Him that acknowledges the pruning and correcting in our lives as coming from His love. His deepest concern is for our eternity, not our current creature comforts. He offers Jesus as our model.

"I am the true vine," Jesus tells us.... I am.... They did not miss His claim to deity. God was known as the Great I Am.

"My Father is the vinedresser." Actually the owner of the vineyard and the one who prunes the vines, but it was the vinedressing that was the point. This was a visual they saw in their walking through the countryside of Israel: grapes being grown, and pruned for making the best possible crop. Vineyards who employed the best vinedressers were productive vineyards.

If a vine just looked beautiful, but wasn't producing any fruit, it was lopped off and thrown into a pile that then was taken to be burned. Using a vineyard as an object lesson was a perfect segue to the lessons He was teaching. He is the vine. We are the branches. If we abide in Him, and His life flows into us, we will bear much fruit. That is the proof of being His disciples. Love is an action word! The action is obedience.....

Verse 12ff: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

No longer called servant - but friends. Chosen. Appointed. Commanded to love.

That is one of the huge differences that separates true Christianity from most other religions. First and foremost, Jesus is the only way to God, but immediately following that fact is: we are instructed to love. Not just our own, but all of mankind.... To love when people are right, and when they are wrong. To love when they are kind and when they are mean. To love when they agree with us and when they disagree. To love even when we are hated.... It's a tall order! One I cannot do without being connected to the vine.... It requires regular pruning!

I can't say I enjoy the requisite pruning, but I'd rather be pruned than lopped off....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 33

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." "Because I live you will also live." "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words." "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you."

And then the segue: But.... "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."

It is not a peace the world can give; there is no replication. It is peace that is true shalom, absolute peace with God, no matter how turbulent the tempest tossed seas that rock our boat. Inner peace. There is only One who can give that peace. Jesus.

"Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." The timing of those words on that specific night is significant. He knows they are going to be overwhelmed with grief because they do not see the whole picture. He infers they should be rejoicing because He is about to fulfill the mission He came for...but He knows their innate human response will be fear. And then He reminds them once more that He is telling them in advance so they will later remember and believe. He reiterates that He does as the Father has commanded Him.... And with that He bids them leave the Upper Room. And so ends John 14.

There are so many treasures in this chapter. So many affirmations for who Jesus is: fully God and fully human. Very clear teaching about the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: and their relationship to us when we accept the sacrifice of the Son. And love.... The focus of what John conveys oozes with the love of God for us! It also clearly lets us know what love looks like for those who claim to love God: It is lived out in obedience.

The chapter began with "Let not your hearts be troubled." Toward the end of this discourse, Jesus repeated the same message again. (27) "Let not your hearts be troubled...." Choice is involved. There will be things that could completely unnerve us, but when we keep our eyes on Him, we choose to refocus - to stop focusing on trouble, and focus on Him. We begin to see trouble as a door for opportunity. We begin to live with HOPE instead of fear and dread. It isn't easy, or He wouldn't have had to urge that they not let their hearts be troubled....

In fact, it is easy to get our eyes off of Jesus and onto the realities around us. Last night I heard of the death of a woman I care for, and this morning, learned one of my dear friend's husband has suffered a stroke. It seems that every day we are reminded of the frailty of life. Last night my husband told me we need to be taking trips while we can, while we are able to. We are reminded over and over personally and through the media how quickly life changes.... It would all feel hopeless if we didn't know the One who is Hope!

In our storm, He is the anchor - and He is in the boat with us. When we are obediently following His leading, we can be assured that nothing that comes into our path is a surprise to Him. When His written Word is our plumbline, we are nudged and led by the Holy Spirit into all Truth. Into Him! He is Truth - Absolute Truth. He is the light shining in the darkness. Where the light is, darkness ceases to be. When I bring light into a room I don't have to speak against the darkness.... Darkness just disappears.

My hope is in You, Lord.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 32

John 14:15 continues Jesus' dissertation to His most faithful followers. They are in the Upper Room where they have just celebrated the Passover, the annual commemoration of when the angel of death passed over the homes of the Hebrew children in the land of Egypt during that final fateful plague that finally elicited the "Go" directive from Pharaoh.

The room is dark, except for a few flickering candles, and even that light is waning.... And in those final moments alone together, before all hell breaks loose, Jesus gives them comfort that doesn't make sense to them then - but will later on.

However, His first words define love as an action verb, and specifically identify where the rubber meets the road. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." That one sentence defines and encapsulates Christian commitment. His commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.... We cannot say we love God and not love our neighbor. And who does the Bible teach us our neighbor is? Even our enemy! Following Jesus demands demonstrating caring for others at the level of their needs, but always with the message included that the reason for the loving care comes from God's heart. Christian service has to first and foremost have the Christian part attached.... There are a lot of humane and philanthropic ventures that meet human needs - but fail to meet the greatest need, the soul's need for the Savior.... A bit of a bunny trail - - but true.

Then Jesus tells them about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Jesus makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is Him! He tells them, "You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." Who dwelled with them? Jesus! Now He was clearly telling them He would dwell in them! He reiterates that reality in verse 20: "In that day (when He gives the Helper to be with them) you will know that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I in you."

When we ask Jesus to come into our heart and life, we are really inviting Him into our soul and life - but He truly comes to dwell in us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that clearly. He is in the Father, we are in Him, and He is in us! Christ in me, the hope of glory!

And then He gets right back to the practical pedal-to-the-metal living: "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

And further, "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

That's enough for me to munch on for today.... I just had a text request for prayer a few moments ago - - and need to go, so I'll finish this chapter tomorrow! ("If the good Lord's willing and the creek's don't rise," as my earthly dad always used to say....)

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 31

As I started reading John 14, tears sprung to my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. My soul swelled with grieving gratitude. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it is the only way I can describe what I am feeling in this moment. Jesus was giving them His final pep talk, and they were clueless. I am incredibly grateful for the insight into that last conversation in His journey to the cross, but grieving for Him, and for the disciples, for what was soon to come.

He just told them He is going away - and they cannot come yet. And He cautioned that Peter would deny Him - and then He tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. Well, that... followed immediately by the reason why they didn't need to have troubled hearts!

"(You) believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going."

Thomas - transparent & confused, queries, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

And Jesus responds with the oft-memorized response that we quote as John 14:6! "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." Verse 7 adds to His claim, "If you had known me you would have known the Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

Jesus' absolute claim of being God couldn't be clearer. He and the Father were - and are - One.

He didn't come to earth to demonstrate a simple way of living as one dear pastor tried to tell me a few years ago. He came, God incarnate. God-in-the-flesh. He came to fulfill His own requirement that sin be punished. He, God, took on human flesh to be that sacrificial Lamb. And now, in the last hours He had with His disciples, there in the upper room, in the darkness of night and the simple light of a few faintly flickering candles, He poured out His heart to those who would carry His light to the world.

Even after Jesus' clear statement of identification, Philip still can't make the connection. "Lord, show us the Father...."

And Jesus clearly repeats what He has already stated, "...Whoever has seen me has seen the Father...." Could it be any more clear? Jesus goes on to explain further, coming in that explanation to the issue of the works that He performed while on earth. So many works that if they had all been written down it would have taken volumes and volumes of books to record them all. We are provided the record of just enough of them to validate the miraculous power Jesus demonstrated in His walk among mankind....and the miracles were not to end! In verse 12-13, Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."

So - at 7:33 a m this morning, as I was reading these words I prayed for 2 specific miracles. I prayed for a young woman named Kirsten, who suffers with debilitating arthritis; and I prayed for a friend from my youth named Duane Jordan, who just had surgery for stomach cancer, for whom a good outcome on this earth doesn't sound promising at the moment outside an absolute miracle.

And just now, at 8:11, I stopped to pray again. I don't know God's immediate will - but I do know His heart. Ultimately He will heal, even if it is not on this side of heaven, but I want healing for them now, and I want Him to receive the glory. There are others whom I pray for on a regular basis, but these two were the first ones who came to mind this morning.... I would love to hear that at 7:33 a m Pacific Standard Time each of them felt the healing touch of the Lord. But I will not be discouraged. I will pray without ceasing. I will pray without giving up.

Jesus did what He saw His Father doing. I want to be so in sync with Jesus that I am 'doing what the Father is doing' too.

Lord, I boldly ask for miracles. The 'greater works than these' could just mean greater in number, because You have so many followers reaching out to a hurting world...but help us to hear you clearly, and respond with Your hands extended.... You alone are the miracle worker. You are the Great Physician. You work through outright miracles that astound and defy medical probability, and You work through medical skills that You have gifted. But, specifically, right now, I am praying for the former.... As a witness to Your power, and for Your glory, in Jesus' Name! Lord, I lift Kirsten and Duane to You.

And in everything I beg of You, I submit to Your will.... Just as Jesus prayed, Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 30

Day 30. Three/fourths of the way to Resurrection! Today is a peek into the final verses of John 13. When I read it this morning it occurred to me that Jesus was still protecting His disciples, even though it was only hours before He would be crucified.

Once Judas left the room, the irreversible path to the cross was set in motion. Jesus' response was to inform His disciples gently, with words that they would later recall and find comfort in, able to realize after the fact that the kingdom the Messiah came to rule was not of this world.

But in that moment, even though He spoke the words He did, they still couldn't grasp what He was saying. They had just experienced the adulation of Palm Sunday a few days before. They still believed He was going to make His move and become the King their perception of Messiah entailed. And - they had had a few glasses of wine during their celebration.... Their ears might have heard the tones of His voice, and their brains might have tried to wrap around what He was saying, but they didn't get it.

"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (ESV)

God will glorify him at once.... God was glorified in Jesus' death on the cross.... For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.... And it was going to happen very shortly...at once. For this He came....

I love the tenderness of His heart as He draws them under His wings for the last moment of peace they would experience.... Little children.... What comes quickly to mind is the image Jesus provided when He stood looking out over Jerusalem, longing to draw them under the protection of His Almighty wings, as a hen draws her chicks under her wings for protection.

'Where I am going you cannot come.' Cannot - and wouldn't want to.... Other people were crucified, but no one else had to bear the weight of the sin of the entire world in the process. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be, must be or will be saved.... Jesus paid the price for everyone who would accept His sacrifice. The other part of cannot, of course, was the timing. It was not yet their time. It was His.

And then He gave them a new commandment. It was a commandment to love to the same degree He was going to model. To love so deeply we would be willing to die for others. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. That is a love we cannot do on our own. It is agape love that comes straight from God's heart through ours...through the power of the Holy Spirit.... But they didn't know all of that yet....

By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. There is a demonstration of Christian love that sets itself apart. It is love for one's enemies. The law of Christian love is to love freely. "Freely you have received. Freely give." It is a law of love that demands we hate sin but love the sinner. It is a law of love that constrains us to hold others in higher esteem than we hold ourselves. It is a law of love that places us perpetually in the role of servant, serving others' interests above our own. It is impossible without the infusion of the Holy Spirit and a daily dose of God's grace....

John was all about focusing on the incredible love of God.... Within hours, in John's account, love will be painfully powerfully perfectly poured out.

The final verses of John 13 record Jesus' prophecy of Peter's denial. Peter latched right onto Jesus' statement that He was going somewhere.... "Where are you going?" Peter asked. Jesus tells Peter that where He is going Peter cannot follow, but will follow later. Peter's proclamation of total dedication, even his proclaimed willingness to lay his life down for Jesus, elicits Jesus' responding to Peter, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times."

That had to hurt! It was already late at night. The rooster would be crowing in less than 8 hours. What on earth could Jesus mean? Peter would soon find out....and one of the huge lessons he would learn in the process is the extent and expanse of Jesus' love and forgiveness.... I have to telegraph that. I don't want to leave Peter feeling hopeless....

Jesus knew Peter - knew his weakness, and loved Him anyway. It comforts me to know that God knows me completely. He is El Roi, the God-who-sees-me. He knows my heart. He also knows my human frailty and my weaknesses. And He loves me anyway! And He loves you!

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 29

Day 29 of my Lenten journey 2012 brings me to the story of Jesus' washing the disciples' feet as recorded in John 13. I'm actually amazed at the scarcity of detail in John's account. He doesn't provide any of the backdrop for the location or preparation of the meal. He provides very specific vignettes. Snapshots, if you will, of parts of the evening that stand out to him in retrospect.

From other writers' information, we know that it was Thursday evening, which, once sundown arrived, was the beginning of their Friday. John reminds us that it was Passover week. That's important to remember throughout this section of His story. John telegraphs so much information to us that he didn't figure out until later. I want to skip past that for a moment and try to view that night as they would have seen it then.

It was Passover. They were in the middle of eating the traditional Passover meal, a tradition that had begun with the exodus from Egypt approximately 1400 years earlier. (There are differing views of precise dates, but a general number suits my purposes for pointing out that this celebration had been faithfully happening annually for a very long time!)

The Hebrew day began at sundown, so while their celebration started on a Thursday, it was definitely Friday for them by this point in their evening - meaning it was the beginning of the last day of Jesus' life on earth - the day He would die for our sins...but there I go, telegraphing like John did....

It was unusual to do what Jesus did in the middle of dinner. Very out of context. But, then, when Mary came in to the dinner just a few nights earlier and anointed his feet with the ointment of nard, and wiped His feet with her hair, that was unusual, too.... I wouldn't be at all surprised if that came to their minds in that moment as Jesus, the Master, the Teacher, the One they had come to believe was the Messiah - - the One sent from G-d took off his outer garments, tied a towel around his waist, fetched an empty basin from its place by the door, and began filling it with water. And then - unbelievably, He knelt before each of them in turn and washed their feet! He demonstrated the role they were to mimic: to be true followers, they had to be servants to others. No egos or self-aggrandizing self-worth. They were to serve. Washing feet was a servant's job.

When Jesus got to Peter, Peter emphatically declined. He knew this act was was topsy-turvy. Jesus should not be washing their feet. He was the Lord of Glory! But when Jesus told Peter that if He didn't wash His feet, Peter had no part of Him, Peter wanted the full meal deal. He wanted everything exposed to be washed - his feet, his hands, his head. Jesus explained that one who is bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet...and then he declared "...you are clean, but not every one of you." The disciples didn't have a clue what that meant at the time.

Judas Iscariot had his feet washed by Jesus that night. That brings tears to my eyes.

And then Jesus teaches them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? (No - they didn't!) You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. (Another clear claim that He was One with God!) If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example.... Wow! Did He ever!

Then Jesus tells them that 'he who ate my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' (A quote from Psalm 41:9.) "I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he."

And then He tells them, "Truly, truly I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." He was passing the baton - commissioning them to be His salt and light to a hurting world. They just didn't realize it yet. But what powerful words to ruminate on later once the night was relived in their minds as future days unfolded.

In that moment, however, the pain of what was to come was overwhelming. John reports that Jesus' spirit was troubled. Then He clearly told them, "...one of you will betray me." Peter asked John to ask Jesus who that might be, and Jesus' response was, "It is he to whom I give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it." Jesus dipped the bread, handed it to Judas, and with His eyes piercing Judas' very soul, He told him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."

Judas...who was greedy for money, who held the purse for the disciples so he could dip into it for his own selfish use, who was angry that Mary didn't sell the expensive ointment of nard 'to give it to the poor' knowing that the money would have gone through his hands as keeper of the purse - - and was money he might have had available to him - Judas...who had made a God of mammon instead of the Lord who was present with them, went out from among the celebratory Passover gathering. John's words in verse 30 are very telling: And it was night. Not just the darkness that was the beginning of every Jewish day. It was night in the most horrific sense. There was a darkness so thick it was palpable. Jesus definitely felt that darkness...so did Judas.

To be continued....

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Last night I was privileged to be present when a man of God was honored with the gift of being proclaimed 'Minister of the Gospel'. It was an honor not sought, but gifted. He is a man with a servant heart - and he lives it. He is a man who defers acclaim and who serves the Lord well. When I think about reaching heaven's portal I will be fortunate just to hear, "You made it - not on your own merit, but on my mercy." But this is a man who will definitely hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord." He defers all praise and honor to the Lord and keeps none of it for himself. He lives and breathes what he believes. I am blessed just to know him....and in deference to him will not name him, because I know he would not want the personal attention directed to him. He would want it diverted as praise to God. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful man who models Your sacrificial servant life! I pray that his model of servanthood will inspire others to selflessly serve. Thank you for the privilege and inspiration of knowing him and for so visibly seeing the fruits of Your Spirit lived out in his life.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 28

In the final verses of John 12, the Apostle John records Jesus' declaration to those present - words that echo down through time to us.... (I am quoting from the ESV; John 12:44-50):

"Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment -- what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."

Powerful, loving words of Truth! These would be preposterous claims if they were not true. Jesus clearly states His deity. "Whoever sees me sees him who sent me."

In Jesus' first coming He came as the sacrificial Lamb - he came to save. His Hebrew name, Yeshua, the name He was given at birth, even means 'savior, deliverer, rescuer'.

He is the Living Word - and His written Word, the Bible, when faithfully translated, gives us everything we need as a solid foundation for knowing how to come to Him as the One who is the light of the world, and how to live in this world as reflections of His light. Then, so we would not be without support, God gave us the Holy Spirit as Comforter, Counselor and an ever-present witness of 'the Messiah living within us' confirming our relationship to God as joint heirs with Christ and our ever-present help, if we let Him be.

The first step for every person who wants eternal life is: accept Jesus for who He is! He is God! He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, but it is God Himself who came to do that for us. He clothed Himself in human form and became the sacrifice that sin demanded. He, author of the world and all of creation, promised to send a Savior - and He did. He came Himself! He is the Light of the world. He offers us life - abundant Life for all of eternity!

This chorus bursts from my heart:

He is Lord, He is Lord
He has risen from the dead and He is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.

I have been in a spiritual battle, but Jesus' declaration of who He is - God! - is a reminder of the One who chooses to have a relationship with me. In fact, He reminded me this morning that He yearns to be in that relationship with me. Incredible! God wants to be close to me! It is not a one-sided relationship of only me wanting to be close to Him!

We are living in troubled times - but they do not come as a surprise. How they specifically play out may - but as Time comes to an end, things will get dicey. Good will be called Evil and Evil will be called Good. I shouldn't be surprised.

But, I'm encouraged that He wins! I know the end of His story!

I am reminded, "Keep looking up."

Lord, help me be a faithful follower and a faithful witness to Your love, grace and forgiveness. Draw people to You before it is too late. It feels like the end of time is very near.... Help me not be diverted by the inconsequential. It is an ever-present threat. Amen.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 27

Jesus was in pain! His plea for the masses who heard Him to believe in Him went unheard. They heard the words with their ears, but not with their souls. John 12:37 is a very telling verse: Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.... Their unbelief was in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, which John reports and records.

Nevertheless - and here is the glimmer of hope - John tells us that many of those in authority did actually believe - but they wouldn't state that openly because they were afraid of the reaction of the Pharisees. They knew that the result would mean estrangement from all they held dear - they would be put out of the synagogue, and that was a connection that was far more important to them. John makes that very clear in verse 43: for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

I wonder what their response was later. Were they among those who did publicly acknowledge their faith at Pentecost and after? I suspect some were - and that they, like Peter, found forgiveness from a loving Savior!

When God asks us to forgive 70 times 7, He models that for us...but we don't want to presume on His patience. It will not last forever....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 26

Jesus' triumphal entry, which we celebrate on Palm Sunday, reminds me not to be overly impressed with accolades. How quickly the tide of passion would turn!

John 12 tells us that some Greeks were among those who came to Jerusalem to worship during Passover that year - and they specifically wanted to meet Jesus. We don't know if they did or not - but their pursuit of Him initiated specific teaching that is as valuable to us today as it was to Jesus' disciples in their era. Jesus tells them it is time . . . time for Him to be glorified. But how He meant it and how they heard it at the time were entirely different. They thought He was to be glorified on earth by becoming an earthly king - and even though He explicitly gave them an analogy of grain falling into the earth and dying to be the source for more grain, they couldn't hear what He said because their minds were already made up. How strange the words must have seemed then - but the Holy Spirit brought them back to John's mind clearly later on so He could write them down: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven -
"I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

Jesus informed them that the voice came for their benefit, not His and then told them, "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up, will draw all people to myself."

The LIGHT - the creator, was also the sacrifice. He, as light, would only be present with them a little longer! The final words He left them with that day were, "While you have light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."

Powerful words. He is the only One. The only Way. The Messiah! But He didn't meet their expectations. Their ears were muffled by their logic. But their logic was wrong!

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I am grappling with the side-journey of Referendum 74. I have work to be done on my own project. I know God wants the musical to be finished, yet I am diverted by other tasks....

Last fall He specifically told me that the process of completing A Letter from G. O. D. was part of His purpose, but I get caught in the emotions of the realities and quite frankly, get discouraged. I read Rosemarie's blog for yesterday before I started mine for today, and it was a wonderful reminder that our journey is a marathon, not a sprint. What God so clearly spoke to me after 9/11 was "Keep on keeping on. Occupy until I come." He hasn't changed His mind. I want every day to have purpose and to live intentionally. I realize that in the process storms will come - and they have. But He provides a lighthouse. He is the lighthouse. Perseverance. Faithfulness. They are values He instills.

So - even though I feel just a little diverted, He will direct the process of how attention to what I believe in will be defined and carried out. I just need to do the part He calls me to...not bite off more than I can chew. He will reveal that clearly to me if I ask and then listen.... Thank you, Lord, for Your love and guidance. Thank you for faithful followers who reflect Your light and Truth! Today, specifically, thank you for Rosemarie! Bless her in her journey as she follows Your plan for her life, and reflects Your love to others. May that be so for each of us! As You shine on - shine through us! Amen.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 25

Word-of-mouth news spread quickly in those days (+-33 A D) - but since the little village of Bethany nestled on the slope of one side of the Mount of Olives, and the other side of the mountain led down to the valley at the base of Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem, just 2 miles away, word of Jesus' present location spread very fast! Jesus was back!

The crowds surged up and over the Mount of Olives and converged on Bethany and the feast being held in Jesus' honor. They didn't go just to see Him, they also wanted to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. The result of Lazarus' popularity among the people was: the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well . . . because on account of him, many Jews were placing their faith in Jesus.

The very next day, John tells us, this same crowd of people heard Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, so they cut palm branches and went out to meet Him, showing Him the honor given to a King. As He passed by, riding on the back of a donkey's colt in fulfillment of ancient prophecy, as He wended His way down the slope of the Mount of Olives they adoringly waved their palm branches and shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"

Hosanna! The word means 'save' or 'save now' and is a cry for salvation, as well as a declaration of praise!

Hosanna! Savior! Hosanna! Save us! Hosanna! You are the promised One who comes in the name of the Lord! You are the Messiah! You are the true King of Israel! Hosanna!

And the reason they believed this: the resurrection of Lazarus just weeks before!

Their acclamation only proved the Pharisees worst fear. To them it appeared the whole world had gone after Jesus.

John doesn't write his book as a sequential record. Just as he leaked earlier that Mary was the one who anointed Jesus' feet with nard and dried them with her hair before it occurred in the sequence of telling the events he records, John now tells us in verse 16, as a bit of an aside, that the disciples didn't understand what was happening, even as Jesus was being honored by the crowds - but later they would put two and two together - what had been prophesied about Him, and what they witnessed were precisely fulfilled in what had been done to Him. That, in fact, is the proof of His claim of being the Great I Am. He fulfilled every prophecy ever written about the coming Messiah!

In trying to figure out the timeline for this period, it appears their dinner celebration was very likely on a Saturday night - after Sabbath. But - - it is possible that His triumphal entry was on a Monday, not a Sunday.... What matters is not that I am able to figure that out in satisfaction of my curiosity for the timing, but that it happened, just as it was faithfully recorded! And it did!

He rules! He reigns! He says He's coming back again! He will! And - like John, I am telling the story from this side of His resurrection!

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 24

Today was my husband's 3-month post-surgery follow-up for his total shoulder replacement (done December 21). I adore his doctor - but it means driving to Seattle for the follow-ups. I actually don't mind the drive as I always enjoy seeing the bustle and buildings, but I am always ready to get out of town and head home again. It would be a better drive in better weather! It's supposed to be spring as of late last night - but the weather definitely isn't cooperating in the Pacific Northwest!

I have grappled with what to do about where I am in John. John 12 brings us down to the wire....to the final days of Jesus' life on earth. I've decided to finish John, then revisit the timeline when we get to those days on our own countdown journey....

In Jewish history, the celebration of Passover (Pesach) began in the evening on the 14th day of Nisan (which comes in March or April, depending on the year), and lasted for 8 days. Passover was the commemoration of the last of the plagues of Egypt, when a lamb was slain, and its blood was sprinkled over the doorpost of each house where a lamb had been slain and eaten. The Hebrew children had been instructed to do this, so the angel of death would pass over their homes, and in obedience, they did. So, that final night of the plagues, every firstborn in all of the land of Egypt from the wealthiest to the lowliest, died, unless the blood was sprinkled over the doorpost for protection. In the throes of grief over his country's massive losses, as well as his personal loss, Pharoah finally told the Israelite slaves to leave - and they did.... saved by the blood of the lamb.

Each year the Jewish faithful commemorated that event, and when it came to this particular year, they were in the throes of a political struggle that was coming to its head right at the wrong time as far as they were concerned.... People from all over Israel were in town for the Passover. It was a trip that was traditionally celebrated by coming to the temple in Jerusalem, and there were throngs of people everywhere.

It was at that point that Jesus came back to the area. John 12 tells us he came back to Bethany , to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus 6 days before Passover was to begin. Their response: give Him a dinner. Martha served and Lazarus lounged with Him at the table. Meanwhile, Mary took an ointment made from a pound of pure nard, a very expensive perfume, anointed His tired feet and wiped them clean with her hair.

The sheer waste annoyed Judas Iscariot. He pretended it was for the poor that he chided her, but it was, in fact, because he was a thief. He was the treasurer for the group of disciples, but according to John, he appropriated money in the bag for his own use. Jesus came to her defense.

That is such a wonderful view of our Lord. Receiving the love we have to offer in whatever way we offer it, and then, even if it is misunderstood by others, defending our intentions....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 23

I thought I was ready to move past chapter 11 - but there is the matter of one last bit of text which follows the story of Lazarus' resurrection still to be addressed.

I've mentioned already that Lazarus was raised from the dead no more than 2 months prior to when Jesus would die (then be resurrected! So glad we know that in advance....) Because of this specific miracle, which was reported back to the Pharisees, the Pharisees, their chief priests and their council of elders, got together to discuss the dilemma that faced them.

The thing about life in their times was that they were under Roman rule, but the Romans were willing to let them practice their religion as long as no one created any issues for them to contend with. Jesus was a threat. The word on the streets was that He claimed to be a King. They didn't understand that He was not a political King - He was THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! And, never mind that what He said was true - their eyes were blinded. The spiritual leaders of Israel didn't recognize Him or accept Him as the promised Messiah. They saw Him as a radical who had the potential of creating a problem for them. The Romans wanted the Jews to keep their own people in line - and that just wasn't going to happen with Jesus - not when He violated their own weighty laws for what one could do on the Sabbath . . . not when He brought people back from the dead. That created a furor of support for Him, and they had to do something about it.... He was a political liability.

The question that they raised reflected that. (47ff) ..."What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come take away both our place and our nation." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."

John tells us immediately that Caiaphas didn't say this of his own accord . . . the words he spoke were prophetic words. They are certainly shocking words coming from the high priest's lips! He intended them to mean that it was better to get rid of Jesus than to lose their political station and their puppet-rule of their nation, but what he said had a much broader meaning, as John points out.

One would die for the nation - and not for that nation only, but for all who are scattered abroad. Caiaphas nailed it. And, as John reports, from that day they made plans to put Jesus to death. Jesus knew that, so he no longer walked openly among the Jews.... He came to His own and His own rejected Him....

Jesus and His disciples got out of Dodge. They went to the area of Ephraim, near the wilderness, situated about 12 1/2 miles NE of Jerusalem. The Passover was approaching. The timing of Jesus' death had to coincide with Passover to fulfill His purpose in becoming the Passover Lamb slain for the sins of the world. All of the symbolism of the Old Testament was to be fulfilled in Him, and the timing had to be just right.

In the final weeks leading toward Palm Sunday, Jesus was not among the crowds. He was in Ephraim with His disciples.... This time of absence gave time for the Pharisees' fervor to intensify, as they had put the order out that anyone who knew where Jesus was should tell them so they could arrest Him. And so the chapter ends....

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There were masses of people who had seen Jesus' miracles, who had been miraculously fed by Him, who had walked miles just to hear Him. Many believed He was the Messiah. Some just wanted to see the miracles. But they are alarmingly silent in this story....or perhaps that is just something I am projecting onto today...

I got copies of Referendum 74 yesterday, and read through every word.... R-74 is a referendum calling for the repeal of the Bill passed in our 2012 legislative session, which allows for same sex marriage.

The truth is: we cannot legislate morality. Oh, we've tried - but without God as part of the equation it is impossible. The only reason my beliefs are my beliefs is that the Bible is my plumb line. The Bible condemns many sins - and one of them is homosexual behavior. And - the Bible is the guidebook for marriage. If people don't want to follow God's guidelines, why do they want to use His word for their relationship?

In my 'live and let live' view of the world I agree that people need to be cared for well. While I pity those who feel trapped in bodies that lead them to be attracted to members of the same sex, I still believe all people need to be treated fairly. All of those issues were addressed in prior legislation which honors domestic partnerships. And - that's all same-sex relationships can be in God's eyes. They may want to call it marriage, but it's not.

The truth is, marriage is broken - not just by same-sex partners wanting to justify their sinful relationship by calling it marriage, but by all who view marriage solely as a legal contract. Marriage was meant to be a covenant between a man, a woman and God, and was to be entered into as a spiritual commitment. There cannot ever be 'holy' matrimony unless the union includes and honors God; and the final challenge of the marriage ceremony, which states, "What God has joined together let no man put asunder" cannot be part of a same-sex ceremony, whether it is called marriage or not, because God does not put His stamp of approval on any union that is not between a man and a woman....

Because I believed right from the start, that this issue should have gone to the people for a vote, I will help accumulate signatures so that can happen. Then the voice of the people will be heard. Anyone who goes by His name - Christian - and who is a registered voter - should have the opportunity to sign this petition! R-74 needs to be voted on by the people! And signatures have to be gathered quickly!

My main concern is an issue not even stated in the Bill. This was treated as a civil rights issue, and if that concept is cemented in peoples' minds, speaking the truth - which rightfully calls homosexuality sin - will be an infraction of their civil rights.

The rights of religious institutions have been protected, insofar as they are not required to perform these ceremonies, but the rights of people who speak out against homosexuality as sin have not been protected..... The bottom line is that this is a case of men calling evil good, and calling good evil.

I already addressed this issue in my blog recently....so won't repeat all I have already said....

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 22

I took this picture on my trip to Israel in 2006. Our guide pointed out the gravesite - and I pleaded for the driver to stop so I could get a picture.... It is not the grave Lazarus or Jesus arose from - it just shows the type of graves common at that time. Some were taller - the type a man could walk out of - but this shows the stone that would have been rolled in front of the doorway to the 'cave' and that helps provide a visual of 'the stone being rolled away'. For years I thought of the stone as a boulder rather than a disk. I am visual, so seeing the reality of what was being referenced helps me visualize as I read. It helps the Bible come alive!

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Just a few random thoughts before I am ready to leave John 11:

We are often directed to Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah, recorded in Matthew 16, when he declared, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Martha's statement is another witness to that Truth, and to her personal faith in Jesus as Truth. "Yes, Lord, I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is come into the world." I paraphrased it just slightly. Different versions state it differently - was to come or is to come. She knew He was the Messiah and that he was present . . . but even with that knowledge she didn't know how that reality would play out. We don't fully realize either. We have some insight - but we see through a glass darkly. All I know is that everything is in God's hands, and hindsight is 20/20.

Another thing that occurred to me early this morning as I lay in bed thinking was the target that Jesus placed on Lazarus' back when Jesus resurrected Lazarus. And then I started thinking about what it might have been like to be Lazarus. He was a faithful follower of the Lord. In spite of his sisters' deep grief at losing him, he was safe in Abraham's bosom. His illness was resolved. His pain had ended. And after being resurrected he had to die again! There was no 'It is appointed to man once to die and after that the judgment' for him. The others were celebrating that day, but Lazarus was exemplifying the epitome of obedience. He was willing to live for Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) when he'd rather be dead.

That is a thought that had never occurred to me before. It is a reminder that we must determine to live the life the Lord designs for us even when it is not the life we think we'd choose. Being faithful in spite of circumstances matters. Not withholding praise to the Lord because of our circumstances matters. He deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances - and our most transparent and authentic worship is when we live out our lives to honor Him . . . no matter what comes our way. Mountains. Valleys. All of it is in His hands.

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Today is St Patty's Day! Erin go bragh! It's a family tradition of sorts to state that annually. Our middle daughter is Erin, and she loves that her name is synonymous with the old sod, even though she is only about 1/4 Irish! She's about a 1/4 each English, Irish, Scotch and German, in fact....(with a sprinkling of Dutch and Choctaw thrown in for added flavor)....but 100% Christian!

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, and may the Lord bless and keep you and make His face shine upon you, now and forever. Amen.

JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 21

In the midst of the emotional distress of Lazarus' death, Jesus speaks words to Martha that encapsulate the best good news ever spoken - the gospel of Jesus being the promised Messiah!

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out to meet Him outside the village. Lazarus had already been buried for four days, but her faith in Jesus was unflappable. She said to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

Jesus responded, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha said, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

And Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Mary responded, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Wow! These are power-packed verses. Martha was in the throes of deepest grief. She was absolutely confident that if Jesus was there with them Lazarus would not have died. And she believed Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead even now, after Lazarus had been in the tomb for 4 days!

Jesus used this opportunity as a teaching moment, and John recorded it for historical integrity and the benefit of future generations. This "I am" statement leaves no room for any other. Our hope is in Christ alone. He is the One who will raise us up at the resurrection in the last day. He is the One who is life. Even though our physical body will die (unless we are among those who will be gathered together with Him in the clouds in the Second Coming), if we believe in Him our Spirit - the real us - lives on with Him for eternity.

Following Martha's affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised One whom they'd been waiting for, she went to call Mary. And Mary, who had sat lovingly at His feet time after time, soaking up everything He shared, came to Jesus weeping. Her first words to Him echoed what Martha had said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Jesus wept.

Mary and Martha were right. Jesus could have prevented this tragedy. The Jews who came to console them, who followed along when Mary got up and quickly left the cottage, had varied reactions. Some noted his tears, felt His compassion for the sisters and sensed His own deep love for Lazarus. Some criticized: "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying?"

Their response wasn't so very different from what both Mary and Martha stated, but the sisters' statements came from hearts of love, and this question came from hearts of doubt.

Which people do you suppose had hearts that were open to what was going to happen next? I think their present words reveal the delineation of their coming responses.

Still I know we grapple with the same dilemma. If Jesus were here. If He wanted to. He could heal. Sometimes He does. That day He did!

Jesus went to the tomb, had them roll the stone away, and called Lazarus forth. And why? So people would believe He was sent from God. Some believed, but others who saw the miracle went back to Jerusalem to tell the Pharisees what He had done.

You'd think there'd be dancing in the streets - but, no! You'd think this would have brought the Pharisees to their knees - not so!

But back in Bethany, there was a celebration! We aren't given insight into the jubilant expression of the joy they were experiencing in that moment - but there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus was rightfully honored! Those who believed in Him were thinking, "Soon He will become King." They were overwhelmed by joy! But they hadn't heard what He'd been telling them....they couldn't. Their ears were deaf to hear the future for Himself that He had so clearly expressed. They were looking for earthly solutions to their earthly problems.

To be continued....