Resurrection Sunday

Thursday to Sunday

My son, Christopher, went on a Youth Retreat with several young people from our church. Oh, how I missed him and could not wait to see him. Since they were going to be up in the mountains he did not take his cell phone with him. How I missed talking to my son. But as soon as he came home and with a big smile he gave me the biggest bear hug he could give. He said, "Mom it feels so good to be home, I missed you, Mom". He began to tell me about his trip, who preached, and what the messages were about. I couldn't get enough time in the day to just listen to my son tell of the blessings of the Lord. He was only gone from Thursday through Sunday but it seemed like such a long time. Ahh, my friend, when my son came home it felt so good to see him. 

Mark 16:1

And when the Sabbath was past...

John 20

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,
...unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre...

Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom the Lord loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid Him... 

So they ran both together…and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying;...And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself...Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

They really did not know what to do; the tomb was empty, but where is He?

Luke 24:12

Then arose Peter...wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Peter and John running to the tomb (painting by Dan Burr)

Mary did not return home as did Peter and John, but remained at what is now, the empty tomb. I believe the Lord understood she wanted to know where His body lay, where can she find Him, where will she go now? All these questions in her heart, once again she had the attention of the Lord and He came to show Himself to her because He knew she wanted to know where to find Him.

John 20

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

The muffled, "Hic-hic-uhh-uhh-hic", was all you could hear for her hands covered her face as she cried, "Hic-hic-uhh-uhh-hic".

She seeth two angels in white sitting,...And they say unto her,

Woman, why weepest  thou?


She saith  unto them, Because  they have  taken  away my LORD, and I know not where  they have  laid  Him.

And  when she had  thus  said, she turned  herself back, and saw Jesus  standing, and  knew not  that  it  was  Jesus.

Jesus  saith unto her, Woman, why weepest  thou? whom seekest thou?
He knew she wanted to find Him.

She, supposing Him  to  be  the  gardener, saith unto  Him, Sir, if  thou  have borne Him  hence, tell  me where thou hast laid  Him, and I will take  Him  away.

Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She  turned  herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them...

Mary Magdalene came  and  told  the disciples that she had  seen the LORD,

"...Please listen and hear what I say,

It was His voice she first heard
Those kind gentle words
Asking what was her reason for tears
And I sobbed in despair
My Lord is not there
He said, child! it is I, I am here!

I've just seen Jesus,

I tell you He is alive,

I've just seen Jesus,

Our precious Lord is alive,

And I knew, He really saw me too,

...All that I'd done before,

Won't matter anymore,

I've just seen Jesus,

And I'll never be the same again."

The disciples were gathered together in fear of the Jews. One said, "The last time we were together with Jesus was on Thursday evening". 
Another replied, "It was when we partook of the Passover with Jesus and after that we went to the Mount of Olives to pray. Then soldiers were everywhere and they took Him".
Then some one asked, "And now, it is Sunday, the first day of the week and Mary is stating she has spoken to the Master, and Peter and John say the tomb is empty. What does it all mean? Where is He? Has He risen from the dead?"

Then  the same day at evening, being  the  first day of the week, ...the doors were shut where the disciples were because they feared the Jews,


There, came  Jesus and stood  in  the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

And when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.

Oh, They were so glad to see Him alive! He's Alive!

...Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you...And when He had said this, He breathed on them...

Old Testament, "In the beginning...God breathed into Adam the breath of life".

New Testament, Jesus, in the New beginning, "...breathed on them...".

Just as the Lord showed Himself to Mary and then to the disciples because, "He knew they wanted to know where to find Him", He will do the same for you. 

Thank you for joining me in this journey of the Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday. I have been blessed.
xox 

Blessings,

Resources:

http://aviewfromtheright.com/

http://www.lds.org

Sandi Patti- I've Just Seen Jesus

Seventh Day- Holy Sabbath

It is Finished and Then the Shabbat

As you know I work at a floral shop and I would like to share with you a common early Friday evening as we approach six O'clock. Since many Jewish people have fresh flowers for the week-end, our Jewish clients stop in Friday after 5:00 P.M. for their weekend flowers as they are headed home. We have one particular client that calls every time he is headed to the shop so his flowers will be ready. On Fridays he is in a hurry to get home because he wants to be home before the clock strike's 6:00, for at six is the start of the Sabbath (Shabbat as it is called in Hebrew). If he is running late he calls and asks, "Please, have my flowers ready." And we have them ready because we understand he does not have much time to get home to begin honoring the Sabbath that is why the hurry. I appreciate everything I have learned by the Jewish people and their customs and the importance of Shabbat is something I see firsthand in their lives. I have grown in understanding seeing they still practice many things that I have read in the Word, from the instructions given to them from Moses such as Shabbat and also the blue ribbon. (The blue ribbon, you ask? Ahh my friend, the blue ribbon is still used today, but that is for another story, another time).

One of the things I love about Bible study is everything “New” that I learn about the Word and about the Lord, such as the Sabbath Day. In researching the stories for this week I came across a few scriptures on the Sabbath I would like to share with you. Then you will see what I saw in the correlation from the creation story and the Holy Week. 

First, the days of creation: Genesis

Day 1: The heavens, the earth, light and darkness.

Day 2: Heaven

Day 3: Dry land, the seas, and vegetation.

Day 4: The sun, the moon and the stars.

Day 5: Living creatures in the water, birds in the air.

Day 6: Land animals and people.

Day 7: And on the seventh day, God "rested".

This is the verse for the sixth day:

Genesis 1:31

And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

These are the verses for the seventh day:

Genesis 2:1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth “were finished”, and all the host of them.

And on the “seventh day” God ended his work which He had made; and “He rested on the seventh day” from all His work which He had made.

And God blessed the “seventh day”, and sanctified it: because that in it “He had rested” from all his work which God created and made.

In Genesis we read,”Thus the heavens and the earth “were finished…” and then we continue to read, “He rested on the seventh day…”

The bible tells where God gave Moses the tablets of stone whereon He penned with His own finger the Ten Commandments,

Exodus 20:8-11

Remember the “Sabbath day”, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the “seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God.”

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, “and rested the seventh day”: wherefore the LORD “blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

We have journeyed through the Holy Week together and can see the message of love from the Lord, as we approach Resurrection Sunday. I want to share with you one of the happenings that occurred on the sixth day at the crucifixion, the Words from of the Lord when He accomplished His work that He set out to do.

With the Lord’s last breath he cried, “ It is finished ”, and then he died.

John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said,It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

On the sixth day the Lord was crucified, the Spotless Lamb was slain, and the seventh day, the Sabbath Day, He laid in a tomb, honoring the Holy Sabbath. He rested. He did not take the keys to Death, Hell, and the Grave away from Satan until the morn of the following day which was on the first day of the next week. It is not the eighth day of the Holy Week because the last day of the week is Saturday, but Sunday is the first day of a new week, the new beginning, and the New Law began.

Side-by-side Old Testament (OT)  and New Testament (NT),

OT=God created for six days and when He accomplished His work, "He saw that He had finished" creation.
NT=The Path to Calvary was six days, just before He died He said, "It is finished"; He accomplished His work in redeeming our souls by shedding His innocent blood.

OT=The first Adam took his first breath as God breathed into him the breath of life.
NT=Jesus, the second Adam, took His last breath as He laid down His life for all.

OT=God rested on the seventh day of creation..
NT=Jesus laid in a tomb on the seventh day of the Holy week.

God always honored His Word and He honored Shabbat just as He commanded in the Old Testament.

The first day of the week is Sunday, the beginning of the new week, a new walk in the Lord, the new path to the Church Age. He arose on the New Day of the week to bring to us a newness of life.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a  new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I love Bible study time. When I see the Word come together it becomes ALIVE!

May the "Author and "FINISHER" of our faith", bless you on this Shabbat.

P.S. Just a quick note: Did you notice that what God has started He will always finish. I am glad He is working on me, I will continue allowing the Lord to work on me for when He is finished, I will enter into His Sabbath and into His rest.


Tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday, our New Day begins.
xox

Blessings,

Resources

http://sanchezenterprise.com/My%20Personal%20Story.htm

http://biblescripture.net/Commandments.html

http://www.pathlights.com/Passion/itisfinished.htm

Day Six- Good Friday

Day Six- Good Friday

Jesus's death was a violent torturous and terrifying death. There are no words that can fully describe His sufferings and the great price He paid for our redemption. The scourging, the beatings, and the mocking He endured, Oh!, I could hardly look at the pictures of what His bloodied body may have looked like. I had to turn away from some of the most gruesome pictures I have ever seen. I prayed about what to say and kept coming back to the song, "The Old Rugged Cross". I will "cherish" and "cling" to "The Old Rugged Cross", all the days of my life. It will lead me to eternity where I will be with the One who really loved me.

"The Old Rugged Cross" in Spanish there is part of the verse that says:

"O yo siempre amare esa Cruz"


Translation:
O' I will forever love that Cross.

Friend, I will always be thankful for what the Lord did for me. I wasn't worth it, my friend, but to Him, I was. Thank you, Lord, for loving me to death.

The Old Rugged Cross

By George Bennard, 1873-1958 

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain. 

Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.

Refrain

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.


 Refrain

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.

I love the Lord.

God bless you as we continue toward Resurrection Sunday.

xox 

Blessings,

Resources:

http://www.stjudeshop.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Crown-of-Thorns-/productID/c870de5b-9bcf-4307-8fd6-c7b52f164da2/

http://myyearofjubilee50.blogspot.com/2011/02/when-cat-is-away-mice-will-play.html

http://selahfaith.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/encouraging-prayer/

http://redeemed.kansasbob.com/2010/03/instructions-from-cross.html
http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/red-rose-0

Day Five- Maundy Thursday

Day Five- Maundy Thursday

or The Day of the Last Supper

Jesus and His disciples are all together in one room to take part of the Passover meal when one of the greatest living dramas was about to come to light. To show the extent of His love to the disciples, He, Jesus, wrapped Himself in a towel and set to wash the feet of His disciples. He took the role of a servant and gave the example of  how they should love one another. It was a lowly role, a humiliating role to wash another's feet, but a role Jesus performed to show one of the greatest lessons the Lord showed us; to have a servant's heart; His example has endured the ages of time.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

And supper being ended, the  devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

He (Jesus) riseth from supper, and laid aside  His garments; and  took a towel, and  girded Himself.

After that He  poureth water into a bason, and began to wash  the  disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded.

He began to wash the disciples feet; and Judas was among those whose feet He washed. What? Wait a minute. Do you mean that Jesus showed Himself to be a servant to Judas as well as the other disciples? Knowing Judas was going to betray Him?

Yes, my friend. The Lord did not show respect one over the other. He was humble, meek and lowly and He showed one of the greatest signs of love to the one who set out to betray Him. The Lord showed no offense toward Judas. Instead He bent in front of Judas and with a basin of water began to wash his feet. 

Then cometh He to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost  Thou  wash my feet?... Peter saith unto  Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus  answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me…

…He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

For He knew who should  betray Him; therefore  said  He, Ye are not all clean.

So  after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set down again, He said  unto  them, Know ye what I have done to you?

John 13:35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

If  I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also  ought  to  wash one  another's  feet.

For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have  done  to you.

1 Thessalonians 4:9

...for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

There is part of a song, "Jesus Use Me", I would like to share with you,

...Even tho it's humble,

Lord, help my will to crumble...

Another song we sing, "To Be Like Jesus",

To be like Jesus,

To be like Jesus,

On earth I long to be like Him

All through life's journey,

From Earth to Glory,

I only ask,

To be like Him.

I want to reflect that song when I sing. I hope I reflect that song when I sing. 

Thank You, Lord for the example You gave us in loving one another and becoming a servant in our heart towards each other. I want to be like You. I love You, Lord.

God bless you as we continue toward Resurrection Sunday.

xox

Blessings,

Resources:

http://www.spirituality.org/is/083/page07_print.asp

http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Jesus-washing-feet-06.jpg

http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Jesus-washing-feet-12.jpg

Day Four- Betrayal Wednesday

Day Four- Betrayal Wednesday

There is no greater hurt than the hurt that comes from being betrayed. You give yourself without reservations to someone only to find that you do not matter to them. To find that all the years of developing trust and a relationship are cast aside and trampled upon as if it were considered of no worth. Crying oneself to sleep hearing the words replayed over and over in your mind, "I don't love you. I never loved you." Seeing the betrayal and the attitude of "So what!", regardless of who gets hurt. "Auughhh" Such anguish, there's so much pain, the hardship of rejection, it is a suffering of heart. Some may never recover, others find themselves responding to rejection with actions, behaviors, and a "Persona" they never intended to become, and then there are those who by the grace of God can go forward.

Rejection:

To throw out as useless or worthless; to discard.

Judas, the Betrayer

 

There was never a worse betrayer in history than Judas Iscariot.

Then assembled  together the chief priests, and  the scribes, and  the  elders  of  the people, unto the palace  of  the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

And  consulted  that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him  unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

And from that  time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

...And after the sop Satan entered into him (Judas). Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

Judas begins to conspire against the Lord. How does he know where Jesus will be at the time he surrenders the Lord to those who want to take His life. He knows much of the Lord, such as, His time of prayer and where He goes to pray. How does Judas know this? The years of walking with Jesus as a disciple provided Judas an opportunity to know the ways of the Lord. Alas, Judas saw the Lord as little worth. Jesus was no benefit to Judas except for thirty pieces of silver so he rejected the Lord. We read that his heart was opened to the enemy of our soul as he goes to the Chief Priests and made an agreement with them to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. We see the evil demise of Judas Iscariot as he begins to plot the betrayal of the Lord, Jesus. 

Then said   Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
How it must have hurt the Lord knowing Judas had already took the thirty pieces of silver. The hurt and the anguish He must have felt. Aauughh! Knowing that Judas had rejected Him. Knowing that in Judas, was the heart of one that would betray Him in a few hours. The day of His death was drawing near and He must bare it. The Bible says that, "He opened not His mouth, but as the Lamb being led to the slaughter". 


The Lord will face more rejection in days to come as those before Him will cry out, "Crucify Him and give us Barrabas". He suffered rejection and betrayal. It had built up each day, the rejection day after day that just before He died He cries out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Rejection, He faced rejection for you and me.

Jesus, I love You, Lord. I love You. How You bore it all, my Sweet Savior? Ohhh, God, I love YOU!!!

God bless you as we continue toward Resurrection Sunday.

xox

 Blessings,

Resources:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rejection

http://maninthemaze.blogspot.com/2011/07/end-of-judas-iscariot.html

http://genedaustin.com/gallery/this-1

Day Three- Holy Tuesday

Day Three- Holy Tuesday

or the Day of Authority

Growing up in our house (the Espinoza's) when some started a sentence with, "Mom said..." or "Dad wants you to...” Honey, those words got the attention of the listener because there was a lot of weight in those words. Things were done and accomplished even though the message came from a third party, we knew we would be addressed if we did otherwise. Authority is something I am so glad my parents taught me to respect. It kept me from straying during my childhood, my school years and in my adult life as well. It is a wonderful thing, "Authority"; it is truly a wonderful thing. I love submission and the person to whom I am submitted too provides me the opportunity to give respect and to be given respect in return. 

Now, as the parent of three wonderful children, I tried to instill in them a love for authority. Not demanding but honoring. Honor the person who has authority over you, for you will come to love and appreciate that person. And with that comes a trust to both you and your children. Hopefully, I was successful in that endeavor.

Mark 14

 …His disciples  said unto  Him, Where wilt  Thou  that we go and prepare that  Thou mayest eat the Passover?

 …and He saith unto them, Go ye into  the city, and  there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

 …say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is  the  guestchamber, where I shall  eat the Passover with My disciples?

...And he will  shew you a large upper room  furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

…And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.

The man of the upper chamber was there just as Jesus had said, they followed him to a room already furnished and prepared, and they made ready for the Passover. Authority spoke and the third party delivered the message and it was just as the Master said it would be, because "Authority" spoke and it was so.

Just a quick note: Notice how the Lord said, "There shall meet you a man...", in this case the word "Meet" means "a meeting" or an "appointment". A man will be there to meet with you. He is already in place and is waiting for your arrival. God has a plan for everything. The man did not just happen to be there, God sets everything in motion. The voice of authority commands, "Let there be light and there was light. And God saw that it was good" Genesis 1:3.

The Master saith, "There shall meet you a man...", and there was.

God bless you as we continue on our journey toward Resurrection Sunday.

xox

Blessings,

Resources:

http://www.joyfulheart.com/holy-week/man_bearing_a_pitcher.htm

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/307050798-Macgillivray-James-Pittendrigh-Tea-table-food-wine-art-wholesalers.html

Day Two "Holy Monday"

Day Two of the Holy Week is called Holy Monday. I did some research on Holy Monday and it is considered the day of anointing and cleansing. It tells of the story where Mary took from the alabaster box the precious oil and poured it on Jesus and wiped His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The bible tells us, 

Matthew 26:12

For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
It took a long time to gather and save enough oil that would secure her future. It was kept in a container that would keep the oil in it's longevity of being stored. The disciple stated that it was costly and could have been sold for quite a sum of money. But the time that it took to get the oil nor the monetary value mattered much when she came to Jesus. She took time in pouring the oil as she wept at his feet and with her own hair wiped his feet that had been sandled while he walked the town's dirt road to Simon's house. How do I know she took time at Jesus's feet and was not in a hurry? It was enough time for all to see and murmur against her. She did not enter the room and quickly leave in case some might see her; they all saw her. And Jesus said, "Leave her alone." She had the attention of the Lord as she poured out her praise.

artist unknown

Not just today but every day is as unto the Lord. I offer to Him the praise from my own alabaster box, my heart. Sometimes life's situations make me feel my heart is not a box of alabaster but perhaps more along the lines of plaster. Just quickly poured and pressed together to hold everything up then set to dry. Sometimes it can overwhelm me. But, I cannot be pressed in my praise just to hold everything in place and my praise cannot be quickly poured for it will become dry, my friend. I need to pour my praise unto the Lord and not be in a hurry. Some of the best times in prayer is when I lingered in the presence of the Lord. And those "Life Situations", well, I let them go and give it to the Lord and I can see what He will do and how He will answer my prayers. 

I open up my box of oil and offer the fragrant scent of praise to You, Lord. I love being in Your presence. And Lord, I am not in a hurry in my praise to You. I know You are the Maker of time and the reward-er of those who diligently seek You.

You said in Your Word..., 

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint...

(Lord, I am not in a hurry in my praise to You.)

Psalm 37:9

…but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 

(Lord, I am not in a hurry in my praise to You.)

Alabaster Box

song by Cece Winan

The room grew still
As she made her way to Jesus
She stumbles through the tears that made her blind
She felt such pain
Some spoke in anger
Heard folks whisper
There's no place here for her kind
Still on she came
Through the shame that flushed her face
Until at last, she knelt before his feet
And though she spoke no words
Everything she said was heard
As she poured her love for the Master
From her box of alabaster

[Refrain]

And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When he wrapped his love all around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box

I can't forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days 
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I'd thought I'd found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul
With the wonder of His touch
So now I'm giving back to Him
All the praise He's worthy of
I've been forgiven 
And that's why
I love Him so much

I worship You, Lord. I love You, God. Thank You for all that You have done for me. Let my praise be as the anointing that is poured on You as Your anointing falls on me. I lift You up and magnify Your Holy name, Jesus. I love You, Lord.

God bless you as we continue toward Resurrection Sunday
xox

Blessings,

Resources

http://www.jango.com/music/Cece+Winans?l=0

http://mariannedorman.homestead.com/HolyWeek.html

http://www.commercialappeal.com/photos/2009/nov/04/137997/