Good Friday Morning. Amazing Love, Indeed!

It's Good Friday. No other day on the calendar evokes such pain in my heart. Last evening as I looked up at the full moon, I remembered the betrayal and arrest of my Lord in the olive grove called Gethsemane. Imagine the unfolding scenes if you will. In my mind and based on the Bible narrative and my nine trips to The Holy Land, this is what I see happening:

All alone, like a lamb headed to the slaughter, Jesus was marched down the foothills of the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and up the steps just south of the Jerusalem Temple to the house of Caiaphas, the religious high priest. A mock trial began. False witnesses spoke. Jesus confessed that, "Yes, He was indeed the Son of God." He was charged with dishonoring Almighty God -- Blasphemy! He was mocked, beaten, slapped, and spit on. Finally, in the dark, early morning hours of Good Friday, Jesus was bound and thrown into a dark, damp, holding pit -- an old cistern. It would be His prison until daylight. (Read Note and Psalm 88 at bottom.)

As morning began, Jesus was pulled from the pit and led to the Governor's quarters. Once there Pilate was summoned. Though he found Jesus "not guilty", Pilate ordered that Jesus be severely beaten by the soldiers in hopes of satisfying the mob. But their thirst for blood would not be quenched. The customary freeing of one prisoner was carried out. They cheered for Barabbas, a real, violent criminal, to be released. They wanted Jesus of Nazareth nailed to a cross. Pilate sent Jesus to King Herod in hopes of getting God's Son off of his own hands. Herod took a little time to poke fun at The Miracle-working Messiah but quickly sent Him back where He came from.

The mob began to threaten the Governor with treason. His reputation was at stake. Still his wife warned, "Have nothing to do with this man, Jesus." He asked Jesus, "Don't you know who I am. That I have power to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus replied, "You would have no power over me, unless it had been given to you from above." Feeling forced to make a decision, with the vicious shouts of "Crucify Him!" ringing in his ears and the very Darling of Heaven staring Him in the face-and-eyes, Pilate turned his attention away from his prisoner and back to the people. Down with the gavel, he finally sentenced The King of Kings to be executed by crucifixion.

And so, it was very early on Good Friday morning, when Jesus, The Lamb of God's own choosing, turned His Holy face towards Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, to be forsaken so we could be forgiven. Amazing Love, Indeed!

“Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
-- John the Baptist words about his cousin, Jesus John 1:29 (GWT)

Click here: You Are my King/Amazing Love Chris Tomlin - YouTube

No wonder we call Him our Wonderful Savior!
Grateful (Psalm 88 posted below)

Note: Psalm 88 is thought to be the prophecy of Jesus' prayers to The Father as He spent the night alone in the dark pit beneath the house of the high priest just hours before He was crucified:

(1) O Lord God, my savior, I cry out to you during the day and at night. (2) Let my prayer come into your presence. Turn your ear to hear my cries. (3) My soul is filled with troubles, and my life comes closer to the grave. (4) I am numbered with those who go into the pit. I am like a man without any strength — (5) abandoned with the dead, like those who have been killed and lie in graves, like those whom you no longer remember, who are cut off from your power. (6) You have put me in the bottom of the pit—in deep, dark places. (7) Your rage lies heavily on me.You make all your waves pound on me. Selah
(8) You have taken my friends far away from me.You made me disgusting to them. I’m shut in, and I can’t get out. (9) My eyes grow weak because of my suffering. All day long I call out to you, O Lord. I stretch out my hands to you in prayer. (10) Will you perform miracles for those who are dead? Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah
(11) Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon? (12) Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live? (13) I cry out to you for help, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer will come into your presence. (14) Why do you reject my soul, O Lord? Why do you hide your face from me? (15) Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death.
I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair. (16) Your burning anger has swept over me. Your terrors have destroyed me. (17) They swirl around me all day long like water. They surround me on all sides. (18) You have taken my loved ones and friends far away from me. Darkness is my only friend!
-- Psalm 88 (GWT)

"I Am Your King!" Yes, You Are My King!

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.
-- Matthew 2:2 (HCS)

I am the LORD, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
-- Isaiah 43:15 (HCS)

Lord, it seems in this verse You are crying out to me personally:
"I am your Lord, your Holy One, your King.
Worship Me. Know Me. Serve Me."

Click here: You Are My King (worship video w/ lyrics) - YouTube

Yes, You Are My King!
Grateful

Calvary For Him, Community For Us

In Gethsemane, Christ said "Yes" to dying alone on Calvary. Now we can choose life together in community.

Click: You Are My King (Amazing Love) - Newsboys - YouTube

Deo Volente (whatever God wants),
Grateful

"Lord, Lord!"

(46) “So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? (47) I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to Me, listens to My teaching, and then follows it. (48) It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. (49) But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
-- Jesus' Words in Luke 6:46-50 (NLT)

(21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants will enter. (22) "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord! Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons in your name? Didn't we do many miracles in your name?' (23) Then I will tell them clearly, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who do evil!' -- Jesus' Words in Matthew 7:21-23 (NIRV)

Click here: - You Are My King/Amazing Love/-Newsboys

Lord, in all I do. I want to honor You, my Lord, my King! Amen.

Holiness Unto the LORD!
Grateful

Unforgiveness Leads to Spiritual Death

A friend of mine with the same initials as mine, "K.W.", sent me an e-mail yesterday about the dangers of holding grudges. It inspired me to write these words:

Unforgiveness is like a plague leading to certain spiritual death. Holding onto hurtful yesterdays paralyzes our lives today and keeps us from entering hope-filled tomorrows.

Remember The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor?
It's Recorded in Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT)

(21) Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” (22) “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
(23) “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. (24) In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. (25) He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. (26) “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ (27) Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. (28) “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. (29) “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. (30) But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. (31) “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. (32) Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. (33) Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ (34) Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. (35) “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” -- Luke 23:34 (NLT)

Lord, forgiving us caused Your physical death. We don't want unforgiveness towards others to cause our spiritual death.

Click here: YouTube - Amazing Love - You Are My King (with lyrics)

Count it all joy. (James 1:2-4)
Grateful