As I write this post, I am sitting in the dimly lit sanctuary of the dress rehearsal at Seashore Nazarene’s Living Last Supper.
(You can’t make this stuff up. As I was writing the first paragraph above, the pastor called me forward to pray a blessing over the cast and those who will experience the Gospel come alive this week in this local church. Wow! That was powerful for me. I closed with these words: "Lord more than practicing lines tonight, let us practice Your Presence! Amen!")
Now, back to my previous thoughts...
I am leaning into Holy Week for all I am worth. This will be the first Holy Week in 25 years that I will not be leading a Good Friday Service and multiple Resurrection Sunday Worship Celebrations. So yes, it’s tender for me personally but still meaningful. Perhaps even more meaningful than ever before, because there are no "religious" distractions and I am facing the passion of this week more vulnerable than ever.
In my fifteen discipleship journeys to the Holy Land, my heart has surely deepened in the devotion of this sacred season. Visiting the places where my salvation was purchased has only caused me to be a greater debtor to the deep price Jesus paid to pardon and sanctify me.
Do we really realize that the Son of God sacrificed His own life to save ours? Are we aware of the awesome, even awful price Father God was willing to pay to offer us a right relationship with Him, again? How can we truly show our personal appreciation for the indescribable Gift of Love that our Lord extends to us? What can we give back to Him? We can only give one thing, one life, our life. Let’s do. Let’s devote our very breath back to the One Called Wonderful -- the One called The Resurrection and The Life -- Jesus the Nazarene! It’s Holy Week. Let’s lean into the Holy One!
Presence Matters Most!
That is... Presence. Unity. Souls. Love.
Pastor Kerry Willis
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