Lord of the heaven and earth How quickly I get distracted Jobs to do People to see And the games on the tablet The hours spent wasted
Keep me focused on you alone With my eyes on heavenly realms Constantly praying Having you on my mind Singing and dancing Praise all around
Let me feast on your blessings Each treasure from heaven Sharing with others Your goodness abound Leaving the earthly Firmly on the ground
Let my being be more than natural Carrying your presence supernaturally Not limiting you Let your Spirit abound Showing others around The possiblities abound
Be my heart beat Lord I pray Not easily distracted Just running the race Joyful and accepting No matter the finishing place Eternity in heaven the ultimate place
It doesn’t matter how old you are! 30 secs old or 120 years old. YOU ARE LOVED.
The very conservative middle class town I Iive in has recently suffered 3 teenage suicides. I find this heartbreaking.
I have no idea the reasons why they did this or what life looked like for them but this should not be happening in a so called first world country with access to so much mental and physical health support. A country where we preach about being kind to one another, where in reality we all struggle with that, mostly unintentionally.
Life is precious. You are precious. BELIEVE IT.
As a Christian you can’t believe in God without believing in the devil. The biggest thing the devil does is lie to you. He will tell you your worthless take away your confidence and bring you down because he wants you in his camp. We all fall for those lies at times.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
Jesus came because he loves YOU! He loves YOU with a love that can never be quashed, taken away, removed or dampened.
Jesus loves YOU for being YOU no other reason.
It is an unexplainable love. You may not understand it, get it or even believe in it but is is there and nothing YOU can do can stop it.
JESUS LOVES YOU.
However hard, whatever your struggle. Stop listening to the lie. If things feel out of control get professional help. PRAY you may be surprised at the answer.
But whatever you are going through right now remember …..
The earth quakes The stone rolled away Guards on the floor He is not here says the voice Just go and see Grave clothes folded Joy in their hearts
Oh what a day The ultimate u-turn Grieving to jubilation For Jesus is alive He said he is going ahead to Galilee You will see him there How fast did your disciples run to get to you there
Prophesies fulfilled Evil did not win the day For death had to happen To set us free For we were dead to sin But Jesus cancelled our every debt So we can live with him
What a glorious day The ultimate price paid for us Because he loves us so No more tears No more death We live alive & free In Jesus victory
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Matthew 28:1-15 ESV
Did the disciples stay together The first Easter Saturday Hands in heads Stunned by all There master gone Dead Betrayed by one of their own Things spiraled out of control so quickly Dark forces messing with their heads
Why were the chief priests so scared A dead imposter needed a guard A stone barely moveable A man never to escape Seconds thoughts Guilt The magnitude of their mistake Burning on their hearts Was this jealousy or hate or prophecy coming true
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27:62-66
Good Friday. The day every one that doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus asks what is so good about it? Stick around there are a few days left of the story.
The crowd that was cheering Only days ago Singing Hosanna Now are jeering Scoffing, mocking Calling for your death
Crucify they say Stirred up by the priests Oh what a threat You were to their lives They didn't care about God Just putting on a show
My voice of sin Is in the mocking crowd Do you look me in the eye As you pause with your heavy load I cannot watch this horrid scene And run to hide at home
As the day went black The sun disappeared It is finished your final breath As the tears from loved ones flow The curtain torn in two No more barriers between us
The toughest soldiers of them all Stirred, touched, amazed Surely this was the son of God Uttered from his lips Buried in a cave The stone to seal your grave
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. Mark 15:33-41 ESV
The tree once so green Leafy and showy But producing no fruit Now stands withered Dried up,dead
Our lives can be a show Saying the right thing With our stage make up on Smiling and laughing Looking wonderful
Shakespeare can be jealous Of your show so bold But if underneath There is no fruit Your dry & brittle bones
So do not let your roots dry up Or let your soul become withered Drink & feed from the source Producing fruit all year round Tasty, good & honest
Feed your roots Have no doubt or fear Because God listens to every prayer Blessing the roots of all his people Giving them fruit to share
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. Mark 11:12-14 NIV
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:20-25
Where did the crowd come from The day Jesus entered Jerusalem Back in the day There were no flashmobs Putting on a display No insta,Twitter or Facebook To check yourself into No tabloids or TV commercials To advertise the event Or any agent to take their cut From promoting you as their star
Did the crowd follow you from Bethany Where you did the impossible Raising your friend from the dead No tricks or magic involved No mistaking after 4 days Lazarus was dead Jesus spoke his words Lazarus was alive again Mouths wide open in surprise Tears of joy Astonishment to all those watching on
The crowd spreading the news All the good that Jesus did All the way to Jerusalem Stirring up all they met Breaking off branches Laying down coats For the king of kings Shouting Hosanna As he passes on his colt The party erupting along the way As the east gate he enters in
The crowd on this day With celebrations erupting Upsetting the priest's Looking on from the back Sneering plotting planning Quietly letting the party swing Getting ready to crash the mood As the week goes on Giving Jesus his moment Not wanting to be the party pooper That comes later on
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ” They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. Mark 11:1-11 NIV
If COVID wasn’t enough to deal with. The world seems little of kilter once more. There appears to be diversion and judgement. Relationships tested and Racisim yet again rearing its ugly head. This doesn’t even touch on poverty and sickness.
I was wondering how to respond to this and this is what I came up with.
A heart like Jesus
Where do we get a heart like Jesus One truly of love & peace Forgiveness & patience A heart that never judges Leaves opinions Thoughts and views One that truly accepts We are who we are Whatever the difference Whatever the hurt A heart that restores relationships Building and not dividing Never blames Only loves What ever the cost To have a heart like Jesus
Less Nuts More Fruit 