Jesus

It’s all about Jesus

image from: peterfultonministries.com

Is it just me or does it seems like every year around Holy week Satan tries to stir the pot all over again. He thought he succeeded the first time around but then came Sunday and the empty tomb. But make no mistake, he lost the epic battle but he is still waging war. Consider today’s headlines:

“Losing their religion? Catholicism in turmoil
Sex abuse scandal prompts soul-searching across the globe.”

“Christian militia plotted cops’ deaths, FBI says” Maybe I am being paranoid but it seems the media is taking every opportunity to use the word Christian describing these wackos. I don’t care what they call themselves, they have nothing to do with me, or my faith, or Jesus.

We don’t like to talk about Satan much anymore and he likes that. He would be very happy if we just pretended he didn’t exist. But Jesus didn’t hesitate to talk about him so neither should we. He was in a head to head struggle with him about 2000 years ago this particular week. From His 40 day duel in the desert, to the Garden of agony, to the cross…..but that my friends is where he lost for good.

Satan is still trying to do whatever he can to destroy the credibility of the church, but he won’t be able to harm it because it rests in those nail scarred hands perfectly intact. People can call themselves whatever they want, but the Lord knows those who are truly His.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter. And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:13-18.

Christ our Passover…..

Photo taken at Canaan in the Desert, Phoenix
“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Corinthians 5:7

On this Multitude Monday I am celebrating the little things of life…..sweeping the driveway on a beautiful morning#261, a new Easter wreathe on the door#262, the beautiful colors of my Easter flag#263, cleaning the windshield of my car#264, giving the plants a drink#265, listening to Pandora radio softly playing Fernando Ortega#266, fellowship with my Savior in prayer#267, mourning doves calling on the eaves nearby#268, getting ready for vacation, crossing things off my list#269, laughter yesterday#270, as I turned and found that somebody (she knows who she is!) in her haste had put the eyes on the chicks feet instead of the head! Had a good laugh over that one! I should also add here that she had surprised me yesterday by rolling out and baking my unfinished dough so I really didn’t care were she put the eyes!

More laughter, tears and joy when about 50 children in all types of dress waved bedraggled palm branches and blew very off key little horns while leading an adorable little burro who I was very glad to see nobody was riding. I know Jesus was beaming down from Heaven, how could He not? It was priceless.

Contemplative wandering through Canaan in the Desert#271 Contemplation turned to something else when we rounded a corner and saw someone dressed as resurrected Jesus, and an angel in sneakers trying to get dressed on an incline, (an older gentleman who exclaimed aloud that he was not fond of heights and that he was apprehensive about slipping down the hill.) Unbeknownst to us, North Phoenix Baptist Church was having a presentation there. I think it added something special to the day. We certainly won’t forget it.

Most of all, I am grateful today that I can celebrate the little things because of the big thing that we celebrate this week! For it is against the backdrop of the cross, we have life, we have victory, we have joy. In the cross we find Him! Because of the cross our life is colored with meaning and purpose. So that is the wondrous big thing I celebrate today! Celebrate with me today as we enter into our remembrance of Holy week. I am thankful that with Him, every week is Holy.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24

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Wishing a Blessed Passover to our Jewish friends today…

Are you prepared?


Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:17-19

The most dramatic event that would ever take place on the world’s stage is about to happen and who really knew? I don’t think the disciples had any clue about what was really going to happen. As I reflect on all those long ago events I get caught up in the drama myself, and yet life continues all around me, much as it did then. I can imagine how the disciples must have felt, their lives temporarily suspended in time as Jesus took them aside….no doubt dread and sadness filling their hearts as the gravity of the situation took hold.

Sometime later, Jesus and his disciples were at the home of Simon the leper and a woman came in with a jar of costly perfume and proceeded to pour it on Jesus head as he was reclining at the table. The disciples were indignant…..
“Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Matthew 26:10-13
A woman crashes into the world of men, and does something incredibly bold, and Jesus sees her heart, honors her act. Did she know what was going to happen?

So much drama in this week, against the backdrop of a world that largely goes on just as before….I wonder who really knew besides Jesus what was about to happen? At what point did Judas go from dipping into the treasury to fleeing out into the night to betray Jesus? When did Satan first start whispering darkness into his heart and when did he start to listen? How could he have listened day after day, seen the miracles, the love and still turned away?

His closest friends, the twelve, then eleven…..I feel for them. I can’t imagine the depth of their sadness, and yet today, on Palm Sunday I feel their joy!

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Reflections on Palm Sunday


Triumphal Entry #1
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11
Triumphal Entry #2
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
“’I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelations 1:7

What can I give?


And looking upon them Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Shortly before Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem he is approached by a rich young ruler and is asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Jesus always seems to upset the apple cart wherever he goes by turning traditional customs and beliefs upside down. In ancient Jewish culture, someone who is rich is considered blessed by God. So when Jesus replied with, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21; the disciples were perplexed and astonished.

Then Peter said, and I love him for this, he probably said what all of them were probably thinking……”We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Matthew 19:27 This was an honest question, they had sacrificed livelihoods and families to follow Jesus. In other words, “What’s in it for me?” You never had to wonder where you stood with Peter, he just came right out with it! I think Jesus loved him for it.

Jesus didn’t admonish him, he actually then told them what their reward would be. He also mercifully left out the part about everything they would suffer.

Maybe he wanted to give them a picture of hope, something tangible that they could grab onto, knowing all the events that were soon to follow in Jerusalem. He knew they really didn’t have a clue of the awful events ahead….I can imagine that this made His heart very tender toward them.

It makes me wonder, what would I give up for Him? There is much talk in church about what we “get” for our faith today and what God will do for us, what He will give us if we do “A” and “B” but not much talk about what we can give, what we can do for Him.

Lord, help me to ask not what I can get, but what can I give to You today. I can only do this with Your strength. Give me a heart of humility and a desire to serve You. I ask all this in Jesus name, Amen

Sheep watching


“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

Every Spring in Arizona the shepherds bring their sheep down to graze the alfalfa fields here where it’s warm. I have missed them the past year or so, but I noticed that they have been back this year. I am a sheep watcher, always have been. To me there is something so peaceful about watching a green field full of sheep. I know many people drive by and never notice, but I always want to pull the car over and watch for awhile; especially when I see the little lambs. They seem so innocent and helpless to me, totally dependant on the shepherd. In fact, their very lives depend on him.

Jesus was a sheep watcher too. Sheep were part of his culture, his world. Besides that, he created them….and us! There is a reason He compared us to sheep. I am not offended by that, though they are notoriously stubborn and not the brightest bulbs in the animal kingdom, neither am I at times! God has to tell me something over and over before I really “get it.” But more than that, I know He loves me very much, and as He said, “I am the good Shepard, a good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Here are some interesting things about sheep you may or may not know…..

Sheep are healthy and happy when their shepherd is gentle, kind, intelligent, brave
and selfless.

Sheep require endless attention and meticulous care.

Because of the competition for status, sheep cannot lie down and rest in
contentment. However, when the shepherd is present, the sheep forget their
rivalries and stop their fighting.

When sheep go through a gate to a fresh pasture, they will often leap with delight
at the prospect of fresh feed!

Sheep are creatures of habit and will follow the same trails until they become ruts
and graze on the same pasture until grass can no longer grow there. Shepherds
must carefully choose to move their flocks from one pasture to another.

Sheep loyally follow their Shepard, and sheep are known for recognizing only the voice of their master.

I think I will pull over and watch the sheep on the way home….

Not a tame God


“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:12-18

When I read that verse I get lost in the power and majesty of God. I think, “Who can possibly stand up against this God of wonder and absolute justice? What hope do we have? The closest physical thing I can compare His power to is the lightning storms we have here in Arizona. Unless you are very foolish, you don’t want to be anywhere close to where it strikes. (I confess I have been in this category at least once playing storm-chaser, I love watching lightning.)

But then I read…..”For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:14 That verse fills me with undeniable comfort. He knows my every weakness. This God of the universe knows me intimately. “Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return.” Psalm 78:39 I am no match for Satan, but there is One who is, and He faced him down in the desert long ago. When Satan looks at me he sees someone he cannot have. He may desire to “sift me like wheat” as he did Peter, but his tether is only as long as God allows. My soul is kept safe in His Almighty hand forever!

“and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7

My soul has been bought and paid for, and to its rightful owner it will return someday, to the One who has redeemed me forever! The Bible says it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but we have been redeemed by God Himself and we have nothing to fear!

I think C.S. Lewis hits it right on the head with this quote from Chronicles of Narnia:

Lucy is sad that Aslan is going away but Mr. Tumnus insures her that he will be back at some point. Mr. Tumnus: “Don’t worry. We’ll see him again.” Lucy: “When?” Mr. Tumnus: “In time. One day he’ll be here and the next he won’t. But you must not press him. After all, he’s not a tame lion.” Lucy: “No… but he is good.”

Our God may not be tame, but He is good!

Not just a good teacher…..

These are some of the things I have heard people say about Jesus…..

“He was one of the great moral teachers of our time”
“I believe He was a very charismatic individual and a great leader”
“A very great religious leader and someone we can look up to”

Here is what He says about Himself:

“I and the Father are One” John 10:30

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

And here is what God the Father says about His Son!

“But of the Son He says: “Thy Throne O God, is forever and ever and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom, Hebrews 1:8 and also, Hebrews 1:10 “Thou, Lord in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands;”

This puts Him smack dab in the middle of creation! Equal with God!

And of course, there is that empty tomb…..

Jesus said, “Mary!” Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!” Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.'” Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her. John 20:16-18

I celebrate with Mary today….

He saw you….


“He saw you cast into a river of life you didn’t request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body that gets sick and a heart that grows weak. He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends. He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of your own grave. He saw you in your own garden of Gethsemane and he didn’t want you to be alone … He would rather go to hell for you than to heaven without you.”
— Max Lucado

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11

He loves us, He really loves us! Hard for me to comprehend a God having this kind of radical love. The same God who can create and destroy with a breath would actually go to these lengths to save me and bring me back to Himself…..there are no words to express it.

The Doctor will see you now…..


“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven.” Isaiah 6:1-7

The vivid imagery here is something beyond what the creators of Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Star Wars combined could come close to capturing!

The throne room of God; in our wildest imaginations we can’t conceive of what it would look like and yet the Bible describes it very clearly several times as a physical place. Angels described here aren’t the chubby little cherubs like we see in the Hallmark store either. There are several different kinds, and they all have different purposes. Anyone in the Bible that has ever encountered one has fallen on their face and trembled in fear, and then tried to worship.

When Isaiah approached the throne he was dismayed because he didn’t feel worthy. But because of our redempton through Jesus we have Open Access Plus to The Throne. Sounds to me like the best kind of insurance we could ever have. He is the burning coal placed on our lips straight from God’s Holy throne-fire.

We have all heard statements like these:

“I’m sorry, we have no record of you here.”
“We have no vacancies at this time.”
“We don’t have an opening but we may have a cancellation.”
“There are no rooms available.”
“I can’t seem to find your insurance information.”
“Your card won’t go through.”
“You will have to wait.”

But God’s Throne is always open and we can be assured there is a reservation with your name on it. No waiting. All we have to do is accept the invitation!

“Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

I lift these dear ones up today before the throne: Elaine, Rick, Will, all standing in the scary place of waiting for upcoming tests and results, my brother for his diet, my Mom for her ongoing recovery, Sebastian for recovery as well. Join me at the throne today for healing for these and many others.