It has been a while since I sat down to put together my thoughts.
Several weeks ago, I posted that I was going off Facebook at least until after Easter. And so, here it is, after Easter.
I trust that you had a blessed Easter.
For those who may be new to this BLOG site, I would like to encourage you to search out its inception to catch a glimpse of who I am and what I have been sharing.
What I am attempting to do is to get back into the flow of sharing what I believe is important for the Body of Christ to hear at this time. I know that sounds somewhat presumptuous; but I trust that you will read my words, comtemplate their significance and ask the Lord to make them relevant to your life and walk with Him.
I am not out to sound my own horn or to pontificate on the issues of the hour; but I do desire to communicate what I believe we need to hear as Lord’s Ekklesia.
Having reknewed myelf to this BLOG site, let us go forth Building Lives On Grace.
A few weeks ago, the Christian community of believers and many non-beleivers celebrated or recognized the day of Easter. I have a new acronym. It’s for EASTER: Eternal Assurance Secured Through Emmanuel’s Resurrection.
In preparation for Easter, Christine and I read Tim Chester’s book, An Ocean of Grace, a journey to Easter with Great Voices from the Past. It was a daily devotional.
Beginning with Ash Wednesday, and on each subsequent day until Easter, we read a verse of scripture, a short paragraph referencing the author and the content of his/her written words of prayer that we were about to read. Their words were deeply moving, very profound, and penetrated our souls.
Some additional personal reflection: since the beginning of 2021, I have been keeping a daily journal (as best I could). It is interesting to go back and read what I wrote, especially, during the time prior to Easter, and more significantly during Passion Week.
For example, during Passion Week, on Thursday, April 1, April Fools Day, which corresponded to the day Jesus ate the Passover meal in the upper room with his disciples the night he was betrayed: which lead to His arrest, trial, scrouging, crucifixion, death and burial, I wrote, “the Atonement is no April Fools joke”. I also found written in my journal on that day these words, “It’s time to draw the line”.
If I recall correctly, this was penned out of concern and frustration concerning what had been going on in our nation and was continuing to go on, on a daily basis. I was reacting to the social, cultural, and continued political unrest, just like many of you are feeling, because of this nation’s unsettledness. I was particularly concerned about HR 1, HR 5, and listening to people who were continuing to blame our current ills upon our former President.
Parallel to all of this, (and this is fuzzy in it’s timing), Christine and I were reading a book entitled, God’s Battle Plan for the Mind. It is written by David Saxton and is a study of The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation. The bottom line is that my mind was being turned to meditating upon God’s Word. Thinking about God’s Word is not new to me; but I (we) are learning alot from the Puritan writers, pastors, and theologians.
The following day, April 2, was Good Friday. I wrote in my journaal, “Thank you Father, it’s Good Friday, (and) the reason I can say thank you Father is because it took place”. Yes, Good Friday, is a somber rememberance of Christ’s death on the cross. Isaiah 58:14(NKJV) graphically says, “As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of man” [in essence as horrific as you can envision how mauled He looked, it was worse than that] The Tree of Life Version (Hebraic translation) says, “…Just as many were appalled at You–His appearance was disfigured more than any man.”
The day after Good Friday is the Sabbath, Saturday, the second day that Jesus has been entombed. In my journal are recored two passages of scripture. These passages were not written there to meditate upon Christ’s burial ( I see now they could); but they were written there because I was upset about what was going on in our nation.
The first passage is Psalms 27:13-14, (Tree of Life Version): “Surely, I trust that I will see the goodness of Adonai in the land of the living, wait for Adonai, Be strong, let your heart take courage, and wait for Adonai”.
The second is the entirity of Psalms 37. Psalms 37 begins (Tree of Life Version), “Do not fret because of evil doers, nor be envious of them who do wrong, For like the grass they soon wither.” As you move on in Psalms 37, the verses encourage you to trust, dwell, delight, commit, trust, do not fret, put away, do not fret, wait–wait for who/what? Adonai, because those who wait “will inherit the land.”
And so, in my journal, it’s day two of Christ’s death, the nation in which I am living is in turmoil and chaos, and as I read, reflect, and meditate on God’s Word, I find that I have written the following: “Father, you are my hope, my strength, my life, my health, my rest, my salvation. Bless You, Holy Trinity.”
Then I find these words that are part of a chorus I used to sing, “my life is in You, Lord…”.
The irony of these journal entries is that Christine and I had been spending a well deseved rest up near Mendocino, CA. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and restful; yet now as I look back and reflect, my devotional time was not totally peaceful; but God…
Bringing this to a conclusion, there is a very large stone that has been rolled across the entrance of the tomb; but in the words of Rev. E.V.Hill, “Sundays Comin”.
TBC
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Living Words of Encouragement 