EASTER SEASON

EASTER is one of my favorite holidays if not THE favorite!  I love celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord.  Palm Sunday will be here soon, where has the time gone?

MAT 21:1-11 

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

Even though Jesus wished to come into the city humbly, his followers laid palms in his pathway. 

It was a practice of people's of the east to cover the ground that someone of high honor was walking on. You can see this happening in the Bible with king Jehu when the people lay their garments before him in 2 Kings 9:13. In Matthew and Mark's gospels only tree branches and clothes are described as being laid before Jesus. John is the only author who specifies "Palm" branches. 

The idea is the same though: The people were honoring

 Jesus the way they would honor a king.  So to answer the question of why the people lay palm branches before Jesus we have to ask what the people thought of Jesus to make them honor him in this way.

So the simplest answer to the question of why is that the Jewish people who lay palms and clothes before Jesus wanted to honor him because they thought he was their Messiah.

So the best way to understand the Bible is to read it more and more.  If the formal translations confuse you, buy a copy of "THE BOOK" published by Tyndale House (any bookstore) as it is a comprehensive Bible written in plain language that you will understand.  I use it as a wonderful cross reference to bible reading as it does not take the place of the Bible but rather makes you want to read the original after reading the plain text.  The Book also has many helps such as how to prayer for specific needs which is very helpful when you are in a situation and do not know how to pray for that specifically.

God bless you friends and do come again.  Celebrate the coming of Christ on Palm Sunday.

My Christian heart to yours.

The Great Commission

Today I am thinking about the Lord's Great Commission.  Do you know what that is?  I hope so but many do not know.  Before our Lord came to earth as a man and flesh, the Jews were taught that they were God's chosen people and that God and the Messiah, if and when he came, was only to be shared with their own people. And they were God's chosen people but they did not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Matthew 28:16-20

New International Version (NIV)

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

But After the Son came, we were taught that the gospel should be preached to ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD, even the Gentiles (persons of non-Jewish heritage and beliefs).

Luke 24:46-48  "And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that this message of salvation should be taken from Jerusalem to all the nations: There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.  You have seen these prophesies come true."

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
  There is no eternal doom awaiting those who trust Him to save them.  But those who do not trust him have already been tried and condemned for not believing in the only Son of God."

When I did my 2 year Bible Teacher's course back in the early 1980's, I had trouble memorizing the important points, (there are so many!) in John as there was so much material to cover.  So I made up a song of the concepts:

I cannot write music so you will have to wonder at the tune to this-ha!

♫The Word was made flesh
    I am the bread of life
    I am the Light of the World
    I came so that they might have life.
    I am the good shep-herd.
    Washing the disciples feet
    Love one another as I have loved you

   The Spirit will guide you into all truth,
   The high priestly prayer. ♫

The chapter of John is often called the "I Am" Chapter because it tells exactly what Jesus is.  What a blessing!  Read John and see how many of the concepts in my little song you can find.

So much in this gospel touches my heart!  Bread of Life-Jesus sustains us and nourishes us.  Light of the world-we do not have to dwell in the darkness of sin, we can walk in His light that shines everywhere!  I came so that they might have life- Jesus came not to punish but to guide us to eternal life with the Father in Heaven.  I am the good Shepherd- Jesus watches over us just as the shepherd watches over his flock, night and day, and searches for a lost lamb until he finds him and returns him to the fold.

Washing the disciples feet--I love this one.  Jesus in the role of the Servant.  He is showing the great love he has for the disciples, that he serves them because he loves them by the act of washing their feet even though He is the Son of God!  It was a custom in bible times to wash a visitor's feet when they came into the house after walking a long distance on dusty roads.  It was a humbling experience.  I used to wash my husband's feet sometimes at Easter time and he was both surprised and humbled by the experience as I felt filled with the Spirit performing such a simple act and taking the role of a servant for a few moments.....

As we approach the Lenten season, I hope you take something away from my blog today, food for thought, an inspiration, a yearning for the Word, the desire to be closer to Jesus and the Father.

Praying for you all and please write if you have special needs for prayer. God Bless and love, 

My Christian heart to yours...

JOHN, THE "I AM" BOOK....

See note at bottom of my post.*

THE WORD, "I" appears 134 times in the gospel of John.  John often uses the pronoun when quoting Jesus, thus focusing the reader's attention on Jesus.
  I am...
   The bread of life-sustains us-John 6:35
   The light of the world-illuminates our way- 8:12
   The gate for the sheep-admits us to life-10:7
   The Good Shepherd-cares for us and guides us-10:11
   The Resurrection and the life-provides us life-11:25
   The Way, The Truth and the Life-guides us-lamp-14:6
   The True Vine-makes us productive- John 15:1
When I was studying John in my second year of study, I had difficulty memorizing the "I Am" chapter.  So I made up a little song about it:
   The Word was made Flesh,
   I am the Bread of Life,
   I am the Light of the World,
   I came so that they might have life.
   I am the good shep-herd,
   Washing the disciples feet,
   Love one another as I have loved you,
   The Spirit will guide us into all truth,
   The high Priestly Prayer.

John 6:35  Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger and who believes in me shall never thurst." Is this not comforting to you?
  When Jesus said this, the Jews then said of him, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?"  Much written in the bible is symbolic and the Jews did not understand this.  They asked, "how does he now say he has come down from heaven?"
  Jesus answered, (vs 34) "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
  Jesus is the nourishment that we partake of to attain eternal life.  We follow his teachings and are brought closer to his father.  The more we partake, the more we are filled with his love, understanding and light.  When we celebrate the body and blood of the savior, we are not being cannibalistic as some would translate, we are doing this "in Memory" of Him.  Just as you would keep a tradition within your own family to remember your Father.  Some of the symbolism was for protection, much as the sign of the Fish so that Christians could identify one another without being persecuted.  Though much of the Bible is a mystery to most, it need not be.  When you study, ask God to guide you, ask Jesus to guide you and he will.
   One of my daughters likes the mystery of the Bible and does not want any of it's miracles explained by practicality.  But I am happy to solve a mystery-ha!  Not in its entirety but for example, I loved it when I learned that certain plants in the desert have such a high oil content in their leaves that they can spontaneousy combust from the heat of the sun!  I liked learning this because it brought to me the reality of God speaking from the burning bush!  The burning of the bush got the attention and God spoke.  I like thinking that a burning bush was not a common thing but it was a reality!
  If you like Christian Historical Fiction, I have a book for you!  I just finished reading a new author's book, "The Preacher's Bride" by Jody Hedlund.  This is an account of the Puritan's struggle in the 17th century in England.  It is based on the life of John and Elizabeth Bunyan and their family during a brutal time of persecution.  My heart was pounding as I was transported back in time and felt the suffering they endured because of their belief in Christ.  You can see my review on my Kerrie's Korner, SC Blog  http://kerrieskorner.blogspot.com/
       Thank you for visiting and come back soon.  Please leave a comment as I love reading them.  Blessings to you,

    *Wood carving by Kerrie of the head of Christ.  This is my interpretation of what Christ looked like in his Crown of Thorns.  It is at least 30 years old and I only did 2 of these.  I had the other on Display at a Craft Show.  A little girl kept passing by it and finally, I said to her, you like that, don't you?  She said yes, she did, very much.  So I gave it to her.  I kept this one original and it has warped through the years carved from a pine board and the color has become much richer than its original light varnished pine.  I like it better now than when I first carved it...
                        ♥Kerrie♥
                     My heart to yours...