Maundy Thursday

We all have those ‘days’, those ‘days’ we mark as significant. As we think back on this Thursday of Holy Week, we can see that this was a day of significance in the life of the disciples. Thursday of Holy Week or Maundy Thursday is one of those days.

 The previous Sunday, we saw Jesus enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey as the people waved palm branches and shouted ‘Hosanna’ – ‘Hosanna in the Highest!’ This was fulfilling an ancient prophecy from Zec 9:9. and Psalm 118:25-26. On Monday Jesus cleared the temple of the money changers and overturned tables and drove them from the temple, Tuesday Jesus taught parables and warned the people against the Pharisees.  Wednesday was a day of rest.

On Thursday in the upper room Jesus prepares himself and his disciples for his death.  As they were reclining at the table the Lord rose and took off his outer clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet. Then returning to his place, he asked, “Do you understand what I have done for you? Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. What an example of humility and service to one another?” 

During the Passover meal Jesus gives further instructions to his disciples, he breaks the bread and tells them that “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me”.  And in the same way he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant, in my blood, which is poured out for you, drink.  This began what we as Christians call – Communion.

Finally during that ‘Last Supper’ he also gave the disciples an new commandment – “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34

Nothing Jesus ever did was without meaning or significance for those whom lived during that time or for us as Jesus’ followers today.  Remember the price Jesus paid for our sins.  Remember His instructions to us as believers on how we should live.  Highly blessed and favored are we.

Scriptures from: Matthew 26:17-30     Mark 14:12-26

                         Luke 22:7-23            John 13:1-30

Our God Sings Over Us!!!!!

“The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing”. Zephaniah 3:17

Being blessed recently to spend time with my grand-daughters, I took great delight in them, when they were sad I wanted to quiet them with my love and all the while rejoicing over them.  This time spent with them reminded me of our relationship with God.

Do you know that you are that special to God??

Do you know that He is mighty to save?

That He takes great delight in you?

That He will quiet you with His love?

That He rejoices over you with singing?

The God of the universe, the maker of everything loves you and loves you passionately.  He truly is mighty to save and you are His delight and He will quiet you with His love.

He rejoices over YOU! with singing.

No one loves you like God loves you. Can you catch a glimpse of Him?

Do you know Him better today than you did yesterday?

Get to know the God who delights in you.

It will change you forever.

Our God Sings Over Us!!!!!

“The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing”. Zephaniah 3:17

Being blessed recently to spend time with my grand-daughters, I took great delight in them, when they were sad I wanted to quiet them with my love and all the while rejoicing over them.  This time spent with them reminded me of our relationship with God.

Do you know that you are that special to God??

Do you know that He is mighty to save?

That He takes great delight in you?

That He will quiet you with His love?

That He rejoices over you with singing?

The God of the universe, the maker of everything loves you and loves you passionately.  He truly is mighty to save and you are His delight and He will quiet you with His love.

He rejoices over YOU! with singing.

No one loves you like God loves you. Can you catch a glimpse of Him?

Do you know Him better today than you did yesterday?

Get to know the God who delights in you.

It will change you forever

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

        When I survey the wondrous cross

        on which the Prince of Glory died;

        my richest gain I count but loss,

        and pour contempt on all my pride.

        Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

        save in the death of Christ, my God;

        all the vain things that charm me most,

        I sacrifice them to his blood.

       

        See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

        sorrow and love flow mingled down.

        Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

        or thorns compose so rich a crown.

        Were the whole realm of nature mine,

        that were an offering far too small;

        love so amazing, so divine,

        demands my soul, my life, my all.

As I ponder on the events of Holy Week in my mind's eye

I keep seeing the cross.

The cross, rugged, ugly, rough, heavy, torturous, mean –

And yet as Christians it is beautiful to us.

For it was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died –

                   for you 

                   for me 

                   for the whole world. 

Thank you Jesus for loving me that much.

Have you thanked Him? If not thank Him today

and remember what He gave for us.

Holy Week - Focusing on the Cross

1. I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
   There’s no other way but this;
   I shall ne’er get sight of the Gates of Light,
   If the way of the cross I miss.
   • Refrain:
     The way of the cross leads home,
     The way of the cross leads home;
     It is sweet to know, as I onward go,
     The way of the cross leads home.
2. I must needs go on in the blood-sprinkled way,
   The path that the Savior trod,
   If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
   Where the soul is at home with God.
3. Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,
   To walk in it nevermore;
   For my Lord says, “Come,” and I seek my home,
   Where He waits at the open door.

The way of the cross for me leads home.  Leads home to where my heart is. Leads home to Jesus. Leads home to Heaven. Leads home to loved ones I long to see again. Leads home to joy - love - peace - contentment - ............ Does the cross lead you home?  I pray so.

Palm Sunday

My April resolution is to add something to “My Heart to Yours” daily.  It is an attempt in obedience that I feel God is speaking to me about.  

So with that said: Sunday April 1^st. Today is “Palm Sunday” a day we as Christians celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the beginning of “Holy Week”.   In the sermon this morning we had visual slides to help us picture what that day might have been like. We viewed Jerusalem, from the Mount of Olives, viewed the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, and were able to see the steepness of the terrain.  We read the scriptures from Luke 19:28-40.  Two questions were asked of us – How much of God’s plan do we misunderstand?  - What kind of praise to we bring to Jesus? 

Both questions spoke to my heart.   I am very good at misunderstanding God’s work in my life, mainly because I want “His” work to be tailored made “by me”.  Not allowing the Holy Spirit to have full access to all the dark closets of my heart, not wanting to be exposed for the sinner that I am.  Misunderstanding events and circumstances that God allows in my life, knowing that everything He allows to have access to me is for my good, for my growth.  Instead I am guilty of sulking, whining, pouting and outright disrespect for my Saviors work in my life.  Forgive me Father.

The second question – What kind of praise do we bring to Jesus?  As we were challenged by the sermon is our praise – visual – is it joyful – is it Biblical?  I always want my praise to be this way.  Perhaps not all at the same time, but yet yes, at the same time. A few years ago while I was attending a women’s conference I promised the Lord that if His spirit led me to be openly demonstrative with my praise, then I would be obedient.  What a freedom has overwhelmed my praise since that time, I no longer worry what “others” think because it really doesn’t matter, it only matters to the one that the praise belongs to – JESUS.  So today I say:

 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! 
      Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! 
  See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, 
        lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

“ Zechariah 9:9

JESUS IN THE FRUITY PEBBLES

JESUS IN THE FRUITY PEBBLES

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…” Philippians 2:5

 Not too long ago our two granddaughters were staying with us while they relocated from Kentucky to Georgia.  Our house changed in many ways. There was an increase in noise, chatter, toilet paper consumption, laughter, eating, water drinking, paper towels, bologna, hot dogs, healthy & non healthy snacks, and the ever popular staple, CEREAL, Fruity Pebbles being their favorite.  Have you seen Fruity Pebbles?  They are small disc shaped multi colored pieces of puffed rice.  One box holds many, many thousands of pieces.  Anyway, back to the overstuffed pantry shelves. In an attempt to give me more room in the pantry my daughter had purchased a small shelving unit and placed it next to my standard wooden book shelf, which was purchase at a yard sale in the 1970’s for $7.00 dollars.  This book shelf has served us well for many years in all the different places we have lived.  The shelf itself is about 5 foot tall and on the top shelf is where all our cereal boxes live. 

On one particular morning I was not in the best frame of mind – tired I guess from lack of sleep.  Since we have been empty nesters, I stay up later and sleep later.  Well my grandchildren and their family were relocating as I said from Kentucky, Eastern Standard time to Georgia also EST by way of our home in Alabama Central Standard Time.  So my beautiful and cheery wake ups from my grand girls seemed to come earlier and earlier.  And when these girls get up they want to eat breakfast on their way to the kitchen.  As I get older my wake ups seem to become much slower than when my children were young.  But out of bed I sprung (or sprang) as the girls came to get me up.  I am sure I was muttering to myself on my way to the kitchen, “I need my coffee”.  The girls were filled with early morning chatter and wants for their breakfast cereal.  I don’t remember all that transpired that morning but I remember me putting the Fruity Peebles back on the top shelf on top of another box of cereal, with some attitude.  I placed the box on top and wheeled an about face to leave the pantry when I heard a noise.  Evidently I had placed the box part way on top of the other box and anyway I could see it teetering as I turned to see what the noise was about.  It all happened in slow motion – the box teetering from side to side – once –twice – and over it went.  Thinking to myself “did I put a clothes pin on that bag inside that box?” Well you already know the answer to that – a resounding NO.  As the box tipped and headed for the new shelf my daughter had bought I did a visual scan of what was between the top and the floor.  I observed many objects. Do you know what a rain stick is?  You know you turn it upside down and the millions of things inside flow to the opposite end and it sounds like rain?  Anyway that is what a box of spilling Fruity Peebles sounds like as it tips and drenches your panty with those tiny pieces of puffed rice.  It seemed like a never ending parade as each of those pieces slipped from their bag to the floor of my pantry.

 Damage done!  As I surveyed the pantry I thought it really isn’t so bad.  As I attempted to retrieve the cereal box I found another scenario however.  The slightest movement sent shifting rice pebbles, strange you could hear them but could not see them.  At this point I am really mad at myself for displaying a bad attitude.  You see if I had been careful with the box to begin with and not attitudinal none of this would have happened.  So standing in the middle of my pantry surrounded by armies of pebbles I heard a still small voice deep within. I knew it was the Holy Spirit.  All the scriptures in my mind about attitude began to surface.  I was still not listening as you know I had a great mess to clean up.

Continuing on my way to clean up this “hiding” mess, I grabbed the broom and the trash can. The vacuum for some reason never entered my mind.  I started at the top, moving ever so carefully each box & item between the top shelve and the floor.  As I collected and dumped piles of pebbles over and over again I finally began to calm down and be thankful that it was a dry substance I was cleaning up and not something sticky or runny.  As I emptied the shelf that my daughter had loving bought me to help straighten out the pantry, I at last came to the bottom shelf. I was finally able to move it so cleaning of the floor beneath could begin.

My attitude more in check now and the girls happily playing elsewhere as I could hear their sweet laughter, I moved the shelf.  What I saw made me cry. There in the piles of pebbles was Jesus.  Yes Jesus was in the Fruity Pebbles.  It was one of those small rocks with words on them and the word on this rock was Jesus.  A flood of emotions came over me as I thought about the fact that Jesus is with me even when I spill the Fruity Pebbles and when I clean up the Fruity Peebles – Jesus – is with me always in every situation. 

I had to stop right then and there and thank Jesus - for being my everything – everywhere - even in the Fruity Pebbles.