Holy Saturday — Maranatha Reprise

As we await Resurrection Day Celebration and while we remember the burial of Jesus on this Holy Saturday in the shadow of Good Friday, I sense a reprise of my Christmas 2017 theme song playing loudly in my soul... 

https://youtu.be/87bx0j8EoYQ

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Good Friday Re-Post and Modern Hymn

My Good Friday post from 2011 is reported below. In all of my years of blogging it is one of the top five popular posts.

And for Good Friday 2018, this modern hymn is speaking deeply to me:



Maranatha — “Cone, Lord Jesus!” 

Grateful 

The Way is Lonely

Oswald Chambers 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Easier to Die Than To Lay Down Your Life

Words of Oswald Chambers 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

The Mind of Christ

Without doubt, one thing I pray for very often is to know the mind of Christ. I desire that the thoughts of Jesus would overtake my thoughts until His thoughts become my own.

My son, Grayson, takes after his father, in that, one of his prayers goes something like this: “Lord take over my mind so I will not have to worry about what I am thinking about.” 

Yesterday, these thoughts below came to my mind and I know they are too good to be my thoughts alone, they must be the thoughts of Jesus as well.

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20

Grateful 

Motto of the Holy Heart

“The motto of the holy heart is: My Father can do what He likes with me; He may bless me to death or He may give me a bitter cup, or a cup a blessing. I delight to do His will.”

— Oswald Chambers 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful

Holy Communion Reading

I was up past midnight on Saturday night, yes, on the eve of Palm Sunday 2018, writing this reading to introduce holy communion for the Sunday morning worship services. I hope God embraces you with these very personal words given to me. 

Holy Communion Introduction — Palm Sunday 2018 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be Loved fully — yes, to be Loved so fully — as to never need to fear the rejection of people again.

Reader 2: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be satisfied completely — yes, to be satisfied so completely — as to never experience emptiness again in our never-dying souls. 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be totally identified — yes, to be so totally identified with Him — as to never be deceived by anyone again concerning the priceless value of who we are in His eyes.

Reader 2: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be so wondrously strengthened — yes, to be so very wondrously strengthened —  as to never worry about our own weakness ever again, because His strength is made perfect in our limitations. 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be so gloriously filled to overflowing by His Presence — as to never deny another day in our lives, that “Christ in us is surely the Hope of glory”, yes, the hope of His glory flows forever to us and through us.

Pastor: Let us come to the table, accepting in these sacred moments a renewed and a right relationship with The One called Wonderful — yes, let us come to the table — to love more intricately and to know more intimately — the One called Jesus The Nazarene. 

Let us come...

with holy hearts to remember, 

with whole-hearts to recommit, 

with broken-hearts to repent, even with tender-hearts to be reclaimed. 

As we accept His invitation to receive these elements of communion that represent Jesus Himself — the bread — His broken body, and the cup — His poured-out Blood, we recall the 7-word-prayer of Benediction that Jesus, The Son, prayed to The Father in His High Priestly Prayer— the words are recorded in John, chapter 17 and verse 26 — “that I Myself May be in them.”

If you have turned from all sin  — or if you will now turn from all sin — and turn totally to Him, you are invited to come to the communion table of our Lord... beginning now. Jesus says: “Come, you will surely not be rejected!” 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Love is Patient... Never Gives Up!

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, surely among The Apostle Paul’s best writings: 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

God’s Glory/Presence

“When God's *glory/presence dwells in me, there is nothing too far away, nothing too painful, nothing too strange, or too familiar, that *It cannot renew by *Its touch." Nouwen 

Our local church building at dawn on the first day of spring. Winter still overwhelming the warmer weather.

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Sulking and Pouting

“Help me to know the difference, Father, between suffering and sullenness (sulking), between praying and pouting.” 

Prayer by Oswald Chambers 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Best Work, Worst Day

Last evening, God gave me these words. How it touched my soul leading up to the Passion Season of Jesus...

This is the way I posted the words (with some more commentary) on my Instagram account... 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Circumstances

“If our circumstances find us in God, we shall find God in our circumstances.” — Unknown 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Remember Jesus Cares

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Jesus and Barabbas

I was blessed today to preach a message about Jesus and Barabbas. Mark 15:6-15 is where the story is recorded. 

Of course Jesus, the Redeemer, was rejected by the people but Barabbas, the rebel was accepted. 

Yet, we are Barabbas in the story. Jesus took our place in Crucifixion. He became like us in our sin, so we could become like Him in His Holiness. O How He Loves Us! 

The story of Jesus and Barabbas is an illustration of Romans 5:8...

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Words of Jesus from John 14

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Lost Jesus?

“I sought Him, but I found Him not.” Song of Solomon 3:1

“It is a true proverb, ‘Look for a thing where you dropped it; it is there.’ So look for Jesus where you lost Him, for He has not gone away.” 

— Charles Spurgeon 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

The Gentleness of God

“When you are wounded and stricken, seek refuge in God’s abiding presence. Carry your burdens to Him. Pour your heaped-up troubles on Him. He understands, my precious friend, when the heart is apparently gone out of you. God pities you, as a Father does his little child. The gentleness of a mother is harsh compared with the gentleness of God.”

— Oswald Chambers 

“Let not your heart be troubled...” Jesus, John 14:1

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Hand Full... Heart Empty

“Too much taken up with our work, we may forget our Master; it is possible to have the hand full and the heart empty.” — Adolphe Monod 

“He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” — Jesus, John 15:5

This song invites us not to just hang on, but to also be held...

https://youtu.be/yutmTFtalKs

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Entire Sanctification

“We cannot grow into entire sanctification; but after we attain this experience, we must grow into all the fullness of Christ. We are not saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to do any special work, but simply to let God work through us.” 

— Oswald Chambers 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Island Roots — Sacred Reflections

Earlier in the week, I was blessed to journey to my island home with a brother/pastor/friend of mine, Tim. The Lord showed His holy presence to us so undeniably along the way. Here are some images from our sacred time together. 

Coffee and cake with Lady Melba

On the beach where God gave me a vision in 1992.

While on the beach a hound dog exploring the high tide line came straight to me. 

Solitude by the sea

Dogs speak to me.

Capt. Billy’s shell on Lady Melba’s table. 

Graves of my great grandparents on John’s Creek

My great grandparents home place on Red Hill

Boat yard at Jarrett Bay Corp. 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

The 23rd Psalm

* “...for Thou art with me...” Presence Matters Most

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20 

Grateful 

Til The Cows Come Home

Turn up your volume and... Enjoy... 🐄  🎶

https://instagram.com/p/BgHfMWdg8TW/

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

More Than a Simple Child’s Prayer

I recently spent some quality time in our Gethsemane Prayer Room at our local church. On the children’s prayer table, this prayer was written in crayon and it’s more than a simple child’s prayer to me — it’s the profound prayer of a child of God. 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Prayer to Abandon Comfort

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Prayer of St. Francis

Maranatha — Come, Lord Jesus. Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Song of Deliverance

This was our closing song Sunday morning. I do not believe I have ever worshipped and felt more power from heaven in my heart. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/YPaaeKp2OWU

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

My Specific Prayer on Saturday

On this Saturday morning, I prayed this specific prayer and shared it first with my Pastoral Staff and second, with you on my blog: 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

A Friend of Jesus — Billy Graham

On this, the day the 99-year-old body of Billy Graham will be laid to rest in Charlotte North Carolina, if I had to pick one title for Billy Graham, it would be “friend of Jesus.”

“Jesus is ready to be your Friend, if you will but come to Him. He understands the heart so thoroughly that He satisfies the last aching abyss of the heart.” 

— Oswald Chambers, Another “friend of Jesus”

“Jesus, call me friend.” Amen.

https://youtu.be/PQAnJGjycY4

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful 

Unexpected Timely Messages

This morning, I received an unexpected timely message from a gentleman friend who once attended our local church but now lives a few states south. Here are the encouraging and humbling words he wrote:

“Good morning PK:

Just thinking of you and our friends north. I was reminded of you this morning while reading the Bible that I received from you on the Men’s Retreat one year. Thanks.

We miss you guys. Loved the church body and friends. I'm so grateful for the amazing, direct way that you are willing to always lead the church body on life's journey — steady, deliberate, and obedient. You impacted my life so much more than you will ever know, namely your unconditional care for all people in general. I am clearly seeing that nothing is more effective in moving people toward Jesus than generously loving them. 

I hope all is well. For us, everyone is doing really good. Very Blessed. I don't know if I have ever been in a better season spiritually. Hope to get by there some time this summer. Til then, stay steady and finish well. I love you my brother. Gene”

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful