MARY

Today my thoughts go to Mary, Jesus' earthly mother.  

She gave birth to him in a lowly stable, probably a somewhat scared young girl, with very little material goods in her world but a honorable husband and an assurance from an angel that this was God's plan.  I always determined that Mary was a strong woman to be able to have faith and trust The Plan.  Many times I can't even trust The Plan.  

Not a lot is said of Jesus' childhood and we hear nothing of the time between his staying behind in the temple at age 12 and his baptism by John around 28 or something years later.  As a mother, I thought of surely how many times that Mary played with her son, kissed his boo boos, and kissed him good night.  

My thoughts then go to Mary as she looked up at her son, hanging on that cross, battered and torn, taking on all our sins.  

I think still Mary had hope in her heart that she would see her boy again.  I can imagine her joy as on that third day, He arose from the grave, just as He said He would!  

Consider....

A BETRAYAL

Judas Iscariot.  Any follower of Jesus and reader of the Bible immediately knows Judas Iscariot.  Judas, one of the twelve disciples--disciples who followed Jesus, who learned from Jesus, who loved Jesus.  Supposedly.  I can hear the name of Judas Iscariot and I don't remember the good things he got to experience.  I only remember his betrayal.

I guess for myself when I think of Judas, I find him a lot like some are today--interested in money and what they can do to get it.  Maybe that was the case, maybe not.  We all have our opinions.  I find the "transaction" of Judas in the gospels of Matthew (26:14-16), Mark (14:10, 11), and Luke (22:3-6).  Neither of these gospels need many verses to tell the story.

Judas simply chose to go into the chief priests and scribes and asked, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?"  Judas made a deal with them for thirty pieces of silver ($3840).  The gospel of Matthew said from that time on, Judas "sought opportunity to betray him."  I wondered if Judas felt like a really big guy with this deal.

While I know that the plan was for God to give his only begotten son, I wonder at the ways it all played out.  I know there are lessons for us to learn and thoughts to ponder.

I can remember a time years ago when I was at the mall.  There was a teenage girl and her group handing out some sort of religious paper or announcement of an event.  As I passed, there was an elderly man in front of me walking along.  He stopped at the girl and asked what she had.  She said in her reply something about Jesus.  I almost stopped dead in my tracks as the older man asked her, "Who is Jesus?  I've never heard of him."  The teenage girl got a huge smile on her face and replied, "Oh, sir, let me tell you about him!"  That day I realized two things...there ARE people in this world who have never heard of Jesus and I fall short on a daily basis telling others about him.  I need to be like that young girl and be enthusiastic about sharing Jesus.

As for Judas, you probably already know how his life ended....I will get to that later on this week....in the meantime, consider.......

TRICKERY

After Jesus triumphal arrival in Jerusalem, he was preaching in the temple when approached by the chief priests and elders who tried to stop him by tricking him with questions.  (Matthew 21:23--27).  Jesus would not be tricked.

The Pharisees also wanted to find fault with him.  The word, "Pharisee", means separated.  They wanted separation from the people who did not observe the laws of tithing and rituals.  They had a strong influence.  In contrast, Jesus cared about the hurts and needs of individuals which brought him into conflict with the Pharisees.  He believed the Pharisees placed way too much thought on the minor things, while paying no attention to the matters that were more important such as judgement, mercy, and faith.  There were some Pharisees that held different thoughts in the New Testament such as Nicodemus (remember him?), Joseph of Arimathaea (we'll hear more of him later), and Gamaliel (you find who he is--I won't tell you).  :)  The Pharisees are defined as "members of an ancient group of Jews who believed in obeying religious laws very carefully and separated themselves from the ordinary people; a person who thinks they are very religious, but who does not care about others".  In my words, a hypocrite.

As for The Sadducees, they were the top dogs in Jewish society in Jesus' time being priests, merchants, and "big dogs" as we might say.  They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead nor the coming of the Messiah.  I've heard the Sadducees described like this--they were "sad, you see?"

In thinking of these two groups of people who were "against" Jesus Christ, I ponder if maybe some days I fit with them.  It's a question I ask myself and hope the answer is no but fear some days, maybe so.  How about you?

Consider......

PALM SUNDAY

Yes, today is traditionally what is called Palm Sunday which is the Sunday before Easter.  I've been doing my Easter reading and thought that today was the perfect time to begin my Easter week commentary.  Please understand that I am writing this as I see it and interpret and your opinions and interpretations might differ.  I would like to think that my writings would prompt your heart and mind to search the scriptures (or even just read the scriptures).  I'm sure I have said before that I have only watched The Passion Of The Christ one time and it took me a long time before I even watched that time.  My heart hurts when I think of the horrors that Jesus took on himself in my stead and seeing that acted out (even though it was acting) was just too much.

I think that the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is recorded in all four of the gospels about the same way.    This event had already been prophesied years and years and years before in Zechariah 9:9.  That scripture passage says:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."  (Zechariah 9:9, KJV)

Jesus told his disciples that day to go to the village near and find a donkey and colt tied.  He told them if anyone questioned them, to reply, "The Lord hath need of them."  The animals were brought and Jesus sat upon the donkey and rode into Jerusalem.

Folks followed and cried, "Hosanna; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."  Now I will admit here that I never had looked up what "hosanna" really meant.  The Bible dictionary says it means "save, now, we beseech thee".  

As Jesus rode, others spread their garments before him and still others cut down branches of trees and placed before him, all the time with their "hosannas" and "hosanna in the highest".

I'm sure some believed Jesus was the Messiah, others might have thought he was there to save them politically.  And still others just might have been like us today--just wanted to see a parade.  There were possibly those there who had been healed of afflictions, some that might have been or had a family member raised from the dead, some who had seen Jesus do these miracles, and then some might have just wondered "who IS this guy?"

What they all saw was a King.  Not a King on a high stepping royal horse as he was dressed in royal attire but a gentle, kind man riding slowly on the lowliest of animals...born in the lowliest of places and riding on the lowly donkey.

After Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he found moneychangers in the temple and angrily got them out.  He had serious questions from his disciples and answered them back.  He carried on with his life as he prepared for the sacrifice that He would be for us.

I wonder how I would have felt if I had been in that crowd.

Consider....  

IT'S ALMOST HERE!

What is almost here, you ask?  Easter week!  Easter is my favorite celebration season EVER!  You regular blog readers might recall that in the past I have either written each day prior to Easter Sunday OR given scriptures to read that week before Easter Sunday.

If you want to look back at those or some of those, you may see posts as follows:

March 22, 2013 each day through April 1, 2013

April 12, 2014 "Rejoice"

March 25, 2016 "Good Friday"

This year I might take a somewhat different approach.  I'm still SO excited about celebrating my risen Lord!  I am still considering how my thoughts are coming together and I hope to write much next week--if not every day, at least many days.

Also this Palm Sunday is the beginning of our church's Spring Revival.  This causes my mind and heart to return to my own testimony of salvation.  You may read it and see pictures on my post from July 5, 2012 titled "Revival".  My testimony has not changed for my salvation experience but my testimony daily has gotten better and better.  Why, you ask?  The Lord has proved himself over and over and over again in my life, tears come to my eyes much more often than before, and my heart rejoices in my Lord so much more than before.  Occasionally, very occasionally, very very occasionally, at my church, I sing a solo.  Believe me, it's the Lord's idea, not mine.  Standing in front of a congregation and singing alone is not my choice.  The song I always sing a Gaither tune and is titled, "The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows."  Man, that's my testimony for sure.  The words go like this:

Since I started for the kingdom,
Since my life He controls.
Since I gave my heart to Jesus, 
the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.  
The more that I love Him, more joy He bestows.
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows.
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

(I love this verse.)
Every need He is supplying.  
Plenteous grace He bestows.
Every day my way gets brighter.
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

I get so wrapped up in how this song speaks to me and for me that I get a blessing just humming it!

So as you go through next week....consider the sacrifice of our Lord and consider the blessings....just consider....

A CHILD'S EASTER BOOK

Tomorrow morning at 2 a.m. is the time we officially spring forward and lose that precious hour of sleep that we so need.  I don't mind the falling back, of course, as that means I gain an hour but this springing forward really gets me.  On a brighter note, the springing forward means that it's only a few short weeks until Easter, one of my most favorite of days!  Yes, I do love Easter because my Savior is risen!

On this day I am doing some much needed house cleaning and preparing for The Grandbaby to come and visit and spend the night.  Her parents are entertaining their church youth group and she wouldn't enjoy that at all.  Of course I thought she should be invited to spend the night with us fun folks, if you know what I mean.  :)

I have bought The Grandbaby an Easter book at my county's very economical store that has books at really cheap prices.  This one cost $1.99.  It's a hardback touch-and-feel book that I have just now read as I want to give to her today.  In a child's touch-and-feel book, there are all kinds of surfaces to touch and feel.  After reading this book, I can tell you it has "touched" my heart and allowed me to "feel" the Spirit of the Lord.  What a blessing!  So I decided I would share.  There's a sermon on every page.....book words in black and my words are in blue.

THE FIRST EASTER DAY (by Jill Roman Lord)

"We celebrate at Eastertime when Jesus rose again.  I wonder what I would have done if I had lived back then.

If I had been a bee, I would have zipped out of my hive and buzzed and buzzed to spread the news that Jesus is alive.  (Do I spread that news on a daily basis?  I think not.)

I would have bellowed, as a frog, and joined in nature's chord to shout my hallelujahs to the precious risen Lord.  (Do I should hallelujahs enough?  I think not.)

And if I'd been a bunny, I'd have hopped with all my might, rejoicing in the risen Lord and showing my delight.  (Again, do I?  I think not.)

If I had been a butterfly, I would have spread my wings and flitted through the sky to see the living King of kings.  (Uh, huh, bet you can answer...)

Then, as the rising sun, I would have pointed all my rays to glisten on the risen Lord and show my love and praise.  (I have opportunity for this on a daily basis...do I do it?  Not nearly enough.)

If I had been a kitten, I'd have snuggled in His lap and savored being with Him as I closed my eyes to nap.  (Oh the times I have been comforted by Him as I felt like one resting on the lap of one I love...how He would rub my heart and comfort and assure me all is well...oh the joy!)

But I am not a bunny or a bee of any size.  I'm not a frog or butterfly who saw the Lord arise.  I'm part of God's creation who can jump and shout with glee and celebrate that Christ arose to give new life to me!   Thank you Jesus!"

As I say, consider.....

COUNT IT ALL JOY

For the past few months, my life has been filled with just "trying to keep up".  Have you ever been there?

I am one of those women who take their "green" bags into the store to use instead of the plastic ones provided.  A few days ago I pulled in to my local grocery store, opened the trunk to get a couple of bags, and amazingly enough it itself, I did not pull out one of the four hospital bags I had accumulated this past year.  Yes, count 'em....four.  Instead I pulled out one that spoke to me.  Here it is:

For a while, The Son-in-Law has been planning a trip for us to see Disney on Ice.  Our tickets for the event were for this past Saturday.  Plans were that we would cook out at their house afterwards and The Grandbaby would spend the night alone with us for the first time ever.   It has been a long time since The Husband and I have attended such an event so I was somewhat looking forward to it and strangely enough, The Husband was not kicking and screaming about going as he might have done when he was young and foolish.  😄  Reckon why that change of attitude came about?  Uh huh.  May be had something to do with a little mini munchkin?   

The whole day was wonderful and filled with joy.  The meal was delicious.  The spend the night party went without a hitch.  

Yesterday morning, the Sunday School lesson in my class was from Romans 5:1-8 and it thrilled me that I could hear God's voice in that.  The verses that spoke to me were these from Romans 5:1-4:

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worth patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope..."

In the course of the lesson, The Teacher then read James 1:2..."count it all joy".  Coincidence?  Nah.

I was reminded of a time of much tribulation and during that time, I found no joy.  I can look back now and be joyful that during it all, I and those I love were given strength to endure, faith to believe, and strength to overcome.  All alone in those?  No, but by the grace and care of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  The joy has bubbled over in my heart and I am filled with gratitude.  In addition to spiritual joy I experienced the last few days, here's some of the physical joy I have experienced.  I thought you might enjoy seeing the pictures.

GREAT joy in this little one and her smiles.  Isn't she getting to be a big girl?  (Insert tear here for the swift passage of time.)  Here mama decorated her "Mimmie" shirt for the occasion.

There was joy in the delight of being The Poppa and The "Namma" (she can't do the Gr sound so I have at least become something to call by name.  I'll take it!

Joy was in the smiles of these three whom I love dearly.  Smiles are so often taken for granted and I pray I never do that.  Ever.  A true smile is a joy and delight.  These two bigger people are WONDERFUL parents!

Joy just because.    Missed The Son-In-Law in the picture but he had to take the camera which was not allowed inside the arena to the car.

This picture speaks for itself...

There's always joy in a sleeping little one even when she's missing Ariel and Aladdin.  At least she woke up for her favorites--Woody, Buzz, Elsa, Anna, and Olaf.

And then there's simple joys like climbing, walking, and hand holding....

...and flower picking and flower gifts.

With genuine smiles and happiness of heart, count it ALL joy!

With an attitude of gratitude for all blessings, count it all joy and consider.......

MY GIRL

I can tell you what I was doing exactly 37 years ago from this minute.  Because I had a massive backache, I had moved from my bed to the comfortable couch in our den.  In this very house.  It wasn't long after that I realized the backache was going to stay as I was going into labor.  At 11:59 a.m. on February 15, thirty-seven years ago, the lives of The Husband and me changed forever.  For the good forever as The Girl joined our family and lives.

The Girl was blessed to experience the era of polo shirts in school pictures.

The Girl endured the time of the curly hair particularly curly bangs....artificially permed hair, that is!

The Girl is now a good wife with an equally good husband...

..a good mommy of a sweet toddler girl....

..and enjoying a life of joy with the both of them.

I have realized the importance of pictures together even though I don't smile in pictures well.

I'm practicing the smiling technique more.

Blessings from my world...

Yes, I'm so grateful for The Girl who made me a mama those years ago.  Even though we are all aging, she will always be THAT girl....my girl.  The Husband and I are proud of the woman she has become--one who is an overcomer, has a compassionate heart, and is one of God's children and loves HIM as she serves HIM well.  We are proud of her love of her husband and child and proud of the wife and mother that she has been blessed to be!  

Many thanks is given this day as I celebrate The Girl with love and joy in MY heart.  Wishes for not only a day of special "normal" but a life filled with it!  

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

And yes, only fitting to end with one of her favorite scriptures:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

REMEMBER....

We can all have joy and smile like this...

if we ALWAYS remember that...

"God is faithful....".  1 Corinthians 1:9

Consider........

CHINK IN THE ARMOR

Wikipedia defines "chink" refers to an area of vulnerability and as a "weak spot in a figurative suit of armor".

As I am aging, I find that I am weak physically, more so at least than in the past.  Bottle caps are harder to open, heavier items harder to pick up....you get the picture, right?   With the way that life evolves some days, I find that it's just as  easy to be a bit weak figuratively.   THAT is my biggest strength challenge.  

One of the scriptures in the Bible that we learn kind of early on as children but that means more to us as older adults is from Ephesians 6:11-18--yes, another wise writing of the Apostle Paul who we are learning knew the stuff of his heavenly Father.  It goes like this:

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Well this scripture sure tells us how strong our armor can be.  Truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, the Spirit--the WHOLE armor of God.  This scripture doesn't say to only have one or two, it takes all.  

I can't tell you how many times the evil one has tried to get through this armor in my own life.  If I have just a little chink in my armor, he can squeeze right in.  I remember a time in life when the evil one was giving my family a huge troublesome time.  I can remember being in the living room of friends and those friends praying specifically that all of us as Christians would gather around the hurting one and use our shields of faith to keep the enemy away.  I got and still get CHILLS when I considered the strength of that effort.  I pray for that often--that I can use my shield of faith and other armor that is freely provided to me to keep the enemy away from me and those I love.  

So with this post comes a warning to be careful of the chinks in your armor so that the evil one does not squeeze in.  Trust in the Lord, read the Word, hold on to the Sword of the Spirit and fight the battle with courage and confidence.

Consider.........