Holy week Saturday; encouragement while we wait

Saturday- the day or waiting and wondering if all that Jesus had said was true- we can understand the agony that His followers felt as we wait for that blessed day when He will return forever! Take comfort and hope...

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

~Titus 2:11-14, ESV

More Holy week thoughts

"Some people can’t believe God would create a world in which people would suffer so much. Isn’t it more remarkable that God would create a world in which no one would suffer more than he?

God’s Son bore no guilt of his own; he bore ours. In his love for us, God self-imposed the sentence of death on our behalf. One thing we must never say about God—that he doesn’t understand what it means to be abandoned utterly, suffer terribly, and die miserably.

That God did this willingly, with ancient premeditation, is all the more remarkable.

 Jesus said, “I lay down my life for the sheep.... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:15, 18)

 ~ Randy Alcorn

Holy Week Thoughts 2013

This is such a great week to focus on Jesus and what He has done for each one of us. Someone pointed out to me the passage in Luke 9 about Jesus setting His face to Jerusalem to go lay down His life for all of us.

Luke 9:51-13

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 

What struck me was that Jesus set His face (determination and purpose) to go to His death to pay the penalty for mankind's rebellion with willing heart and steadfast purpose. No one forced Him to do it but He chose of His free will knowing full well what it would cost. 
And that while He set His face, others were against Him because they didn't like the way He was going about it. His way (God's way) wasn't how they pictured it or thought it should be. The Samaritans rejected Him because He was going to Jerusalem, the religious leaders rejected His claims and truth, the Jewish people didn't understand the true purpose of Messiah so they went a long with the crowd and the Gentiles were mainly clueless about there being a God and Messiah come for us all.

This made me wonder if I would have opened my heart and mind to Jesus if I had encountered Him during His time on earth? It is easy to sit back and see the full intent of Jesus from reading the scripture but I am no smarter than the people of that time and they mainly missed the point. Would I have gotten on board with Jesus and followed Him? Would you?  

I will keep pondering as I prepare my heart to celebrate Easter and Jesus!

THE BIBLE - Official Trailer

If you have the history Channel, you might like to check out this cool mini-series on the bible!