My Savior my King!!

Do any of us truly understand the suffering that Jesus Christ endured on that cross?  We’ve all suffered physical pain that at times seemed unbearable but we survived it.  Although our pain is real it cannot compare to the pain that our King not only suffered but willingly suffered to save us from eternity in hell.  He went through hell on earth for a fallen, ungrateful world that rejected Him and His gift of salvation.

I have suffered with extreme pain this past week and at times it was just excruciating beyond belief.  As real as my pain is I know that it will end and I will recover.  I will go on about living life as usual.  But, can you imagine prolonged pain and agony so severe that death would be a welcome relief?  Can you imagine willingly subjecting yourself to such torture?  Neither can I!

God in His love and mercy gave His life so that you and I might live.  He died an agonizing death so severe that it is hard to even imagine.  He alone is worthy of our praise and worship because He overcame the grave for us and HE LIVES! 

  

SCRIPTURE

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle.  John 19:16-18

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  Luke 24:2-3

Salvation

Today is Palm Sunday which marks the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem before He was rejected, beaten, humiliated and crucified for the sins of the world.  He was triumphant because on the third day He rose from the dead and is alive for eternity with the Father.  Jesus took our punishment upon Himself because of His great love and compassion for a fallen world.  He willingly gave His life so that you and I could live with Him in paradise. 

It’s hard to comprehend that the Son of God would willingly trade places with us.  We deserve the punishment of death yet our lives have been spared.  Who are we that God would even know our name much less die for our sins?  We are so unworthy of such great love and sacrifice!  No matter how “good” we think we are we are not good enough.  We are not faithful, generous, humble or even sacrificial enough to earn salvation.  Thank God salvation isn’t based on our worthiness but upon His grace. 

I pray that as we celebrate the gift of salvation by remembering our Lord’s suffering, death and resurrection that you will share this gift of eternal life with others. 

SCRIPTURE

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"  Matthew 20:18-19

and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"  Matthew 20:19

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  Mark 16:6

Joy

Joy.  How many of us possess this?  Do we really even know what joy is?  According to the Webster dictionary joy is an emotion that is evoked by the prospect of acquiring the desire of your heart (noun) or to experience great pleasure (verb).  When we were kids our joy mostly depended on whether or not we got that special toy, was the first one chosen for a team, received a good grade on a paper at school, etc.  Our joy was obtained much easier as children.  As adults our joy tends to depend a lot on our circumstances; employment, finances, relationships (good and bad) with our spouse, children and friends.  But as Christians our joy should depend on our relationship with God not our circumstances.  Circumstances change but God is the same always. 

When we believe in Jesus Christ and search for God with all our heart we will find Him.  In Him is where our joy lies.  With God in our hearts we will always have joy; even in the darkest of circumstances.   When I look at the smiling face of my grandson, Jason, it reminds me of this.  He is paralyzed from the neck down and has limited mobility with his head and he is full of joy!  I see God’s love in his eyes and huge smile and I am blessed beyond words.  It is hard to hold back the tears when he tells me that I am his very best friend.  I know I am not the only one but he sure makes me feel like I am.

There were moments during the first few months when he was in the hospital struggling so hard to get better that depression would sneak up on him.  It was heart breaking to see the defeat in his eyes.  I have always prayed that God would heal him and I believe that He still will but the one thing that I knew Jason needed more than anything was joy.  I prayed with my broken heart for God to restore Jason’s joy.  My precious, sweet little guy’s joy was being overshadowed by his circumstances.  At his very young age he could not understand what had happened to him and why he wasn’t getting better.  I promise you, the very next day Jason was back!  He still has good days and bad but God in His great mercy and goodness restored his joy.  It was almost as good as seeing him walk. Almost. 

God has great plans for Jason and I am humbled to be a part of those plans.  I don’t know what role I am playing or will play in the future but I know I will see great things throughout the life of this child.  God didn’t leave him or forsake him.  He has been by his side through this entire event and will continue to see him through whatever lies ahead. Deuteronomy 31:8  The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

When things start to get you down and you feel depressed or discouraged, think about Jason.  His tremendous spirit and obvious joy will remind you of God’s love and grace through all of life’s troubles. 

01-18-09

Bitterness

Bitter: angry and unhappy because of unfair treatment; something that is difficult or painful to accept; feeling or showing a lot of hatred or anger

I am often asked the same question time and time again about my grandson Jason.  “Is he bitter about what happened to him?”  The answer is NO, not in any form or fashion.  He is a bright, bubbly, kind, funny and loving young boy.  He loves to play video games just like other boys and girls his age and with the help of his wheelchair attachment which connects to his laptop he can now play them all by himself!! 

Life is different for him now but it’s still good.  He has a loving family who makes sure all his needs and most of his wants are met on a daily basis.  He has loving nurses who care for him as if he were their own child.  He rides the school bus to school every day.  He has likes and dislikes which change upon his moodJJ He is a normal 8 year old boy with one (big) exception.  He can’t move or feel anything below the neck. 

You would think after all he has been through, (losing his baby brother to SIDS, an almost severed spinal cord, a broken back, several surgeries, 8 months in the hospital and being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life) that he might be just a little bitter, but amazingly he’s not.  It’s a miracle what God has done with and through this wonderful child. 

Even though I have been saved since the age of 9 you could say that Jason is responsible for leading his grandma to the Lord.  Although Caleb’s death knocked me to my knees the accident and subsequent events lifted me up into the arms of my heavenly Father.  It wasn’t until the accident that I realized what a mess my spiritual life was in.  I was a lukewarm Christian at best.  Now, I seek HIM and try to live my life so that it is pleasing to HIM.  I’m a different person than I was four years ago, four months ago or even four days ago.  All because God met me where I was when I needed Him most.  And He will do the same for you.  All you have to do is call upon His beautiful name.

Scripture

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  Romans 8:35

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  James 1:2

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.   1 Peter 1:6