Why Am I Thirsty?

It's a good question, don't you think?As humans we have a few different systems running together in our bodies that make up something we call life. Without our digestive system, we would not survive. The same is true with our nervous system and our reproductive system - well, maybe we could survive, without the latter - ah never mind.

Today's Holy Week verse is I am thirsty. John 19:28.

Our human bodies have drives and instincts that respond to all sorts of stimuli as well as an ongoing chemical analysis going on in our body. We have the drive to eat, to drink, to reproduce, and instincts, senses and emotions that drive us to what it is that we do as humans.

The good news is that we, unlike any other animal, have an other system, another dimension which we call spirit. There is the unredeemed version we call evil, and the redeemed version that most evangelicals refer to as "saved." I confess, I don't really know how God's Spirit co-mingles with our spirit, but I know when it happened.

Thirst, even the thirst which Jesus had on the cross, is often analogous for spiritual thirst. As a longtime Christian, for me, it's sort a worn out analogy. I want something more, something deeper, something meaningful.

There are many symbols for the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Psalms refers to the "deep calling deep." (Psalm 42:7) There are terms for rivers (Matthew 3:16) and rivers of living water (John 7:38) and water so deep we can measure it by another cubit. (Ezekiel 47) So?


But isn't there more? Isn't there something deeper to our thirst than just another sermon, another worship tune, and another Easter service?



I don' think we thirst for more of God, or a deeper understanding of Jesus. If that were the case, more Christians would be flocking to church and more of them would be asking less questions about his existence, moral character and his ability to do things like heal.

WHAT IS THAT WE ACTUALLY THIRST FOR?

As Christians it's easy to be like the Israelites and demand water from a rock. Demanding things from God won't work. Why? Because what we thirst for is PURPOSE. Each one of us has a God-given purpose and destiny. Our choices bring us closer to it or farther away; at the very least, they keep it at bay.

Today as you ponder the crucifixion of Jesus, and again on Sunday morning as you celebrate His resurrection, ask Him to give you a drink of His especially designed purpose in your life - to take a drink of your destiny in Christ. For you to be in the Kingdom of God here on earth, "like it is in Heaven!"

Isn't that what you are thirsty for, to know the will of God for you family, your job, and flow with that? You want to know where God is going, right? The good news is that, like a cold beer on a hot day, he is never stingy.

Now, today I wake

Yes, they were warned to stay away.

But dwelling on that won’t matter now—what’s done is done.

The snake has struck.

 And even now, the poison courses through their veins.

 Beat

After

Venomous

Beat

The heart grows numb.

A blood transfusion is what they need, and only one type will do?—mine.

No.

Not mine.

Please no.

Not mine…

Unless there’s no other way…Okay—let it be mine.

I lay out my flesh to be cut and drained.

I then dreamt of fighting a serpent.

Only it wasn’t a dream. 

Yesterday…or the day before—yes, Friday, I said; “It is done.”

Now today, I wake.

Here in this.

Not my bed, not my room, not my home, but a cold hard slab, in the dark.

My blood now dried, my flesh now healed.

The dark now rolls, and Light revealed.

A Voice I hear.

Well done, My Son—the serpent is dead.

Now they can live.

You’re welcome my friend.

My name is Jesus.

Happy Easter!

Collision at the Cross

There are people who deny the cross has any meaning. They know that Jesus was killed on a cross--that is historical fact--but some believe that the act was a miscarriage of justice against a model of servanthood and integrity, nothing more. Sad that such evil exists in the world, they sigh, but what can you do, except do better and try harder to live up to Jesus’ example and command to love God and others.

But when I read the Gospel accounts--based on eyewitness testimony--and Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, it is clear that something powerful happened on that hill at Calvary beyond human means or reckoning. In Matthew chapter 27, several physical events are described: darkness covers the land from noon to 3, the hours Jesus was on the cross; at the moment of his death, there is an earthquake, rocks split and tombs open; eyewitnesses saw "holy" people who had died raised to life and come out of the tombs; and at the temple in Jerusalem, the veil (curtain) separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The veil was sixty feet in height and four inches thick. Back at the cross, the Roman centurion and other guards present were terrified as the earthquake hit, and knew instantly that Jesus was no ordinary person: “Surely this was the Son of God!”

In Colossians, my favorite of Paul’s letters, the apostle makes clear what is still murky business for some: the collision at the cross involved more than human agency. There is a clash of Titans, if you will: spiritual forces are battling, and only one side wins.

Paul argues that we must remember who Jesus is: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities (1:15-16). For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority (Col. 2:9-10).

And then Paul explains that Jesus’ death defeated the very powers and authorities that stood in the way of our freedom to love and be with God: sin and death, which the earth had been cursed with since Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden. When you were dead in your sins ... God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (2:13-16).

Something happened on a hill two thousand years ago of such power, that those present were shaken--literally. Each of us comes face to face with that same cross when we ask ourselves, “Is Jesus real? Does His death have any meaning for my life today?” Yes, because He lives! “You were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (2:12). You don’t have to do better and try harder to be like Jesus: the Author of all life, the Head over all authority and power, gives you the power to live and love freely through faith in Him, through the Holy Spirit!

*The painting is by James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Confession of the Centurion (La Confession du Centurion), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. Brooklyn Museum. In the public domain.

My heart is most heavy today because I killed Jesus...

I sincerely apologize for not thinking ahead this week...

For the past several years, I've made a habit of cutting myself off from the many distraction that come with each new day and during the period from Good Friday through Easter Sunday just focus on what it's all really about.

That means internet, television, tablets, blogs, magazines, books and all that other stuff that seems to fill my waking days. Not that all that stuff is necessarily bad or even anti-Jesus, just distracting from what the next few days really represent.

My thoughts today and tomorrow will be borderline narcissistic. Yes. I killed Jesus, and today I will be in deep, deep sorrow and repentant for that fact.

Sunday I will worship with all my heart, all my soul and all my being in celebration that He arose and lives within me today!

May your Easter be richly blessed with God all over it.

In Christ Eternal Love,
Tony C

Selah

סֶלָה

Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh)…  a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms… is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") Probably used in instructional music or reading a text, as something like "stop and listen". The Amplified Bible states Selah as "pause, and think of that".

Selah, [celah], is from the Hebrew root word [calah] meaning 'to hang,' and by implication to measure (weigh). In Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were 'weighed' by hanging on a type of balance (equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine value." A possible meaning is an instruction to measure... carefully and reflect upon the preceding statements.

We all have heard that the Good News of the Easter Week is Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, we must weigh that against Good Friday, because without the Crucifixion, there would not be an Easter Sunday. And Friday is Good News…it IS Good Friday.

This year in our church, we are doing a ceremony which was suggested by one of the Worship Team Members. We were each handed out a red slip of paper on Sunday. We have been instructed to write down areas/sins that we continue to struggle with. A Member is building a literal cross. After we each have a “selah” moment, we will approach the Cross, one by one ,nail our private concern it to the cross. For me, having an exercise like this, holds deep meaning. 

When I was young, we celebrated the Holy Week. Looking back, the day that had the biggest impact on me was Holy Saturday. The starkness of the day and the silence in the air cause me to contemplate certain things. I can still picture the life sized statue of Jesus, lying in the tomb, in church on Saturday. I didn’t honor the statue (as some might think I did) rather for me, it was a visual reminder. It helped me to “take in” what and who it represented.

Jesus died and all of heaven seemed silenced.

Imagine for a minute, being part of Jesus’ inner crowd. What were they thinking? They most likely hiding, not just as a group, but hiding what was in each of their hearts. Some probably talked a lot; as they tried to process what had happened to their leader…others may have found a corner to feel the fear and confusion. Did they think they were next?

Where would Saturday have found you?

Don’t we have Saturday experiences all throughout our walk with the Lord? We follow our Lord and try to absorb all that He is pouring into our lives.  We may try not to but don't we envision how things will unfold. We may have a hope…a picture, as to how it is all going to “come down”

Then, we are left with a deafening silence. Nothing makes sense. We are fear filled. We want to run. We may regret our allegiance to the Lord. Yet, we agree with the Apostle Peter when we say…” Lord, where else would we go?”

Our Easter Week consists of a chance to reflect 

...on a Friday that we know is truly GOOD.

…on a Sunday that holds the ultimate hope and victory.

…as well as a Saturday, where we must pause and reflect.We must stop and think and believe that the One we have been following does not lie. We may be left with an uncertainty of what just happened. Like the disciples, we are not privy to the glory that lies just ahead.

No matter what…an essential aspect of our belief, is not only receiving the message of the Cross… which is the plumb line of  our belief as Christians… to knowing what the disciples did not know, that the Cross was not the end of the story.

So too with us…a Friday may have happened…a Saturday is where we find ourselves, yet knowing by faith…a Sunday, with life and light… resurrection and victory WILL come!

Linda Maynard

___________________

  

A side note…It has given me such a thrill to hear my three year old grandson singing his heart out this past week…” Is Jesus dead…NO WAY!!!...He’s alive…He’s alive!!!...Is Jesus dead? NO WAY!!!”…He’s alive!!! He’s alive!!!” Yes Jonah…He IS alive!

The Resurrection brings me Hope

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the word Hope. Hope that my life will be of value while here on this earth, and Hope that I have more to look forward to when my life on this earth is finished.

Because Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sin, and because he rose from death 3 days later, I have hope for life after this one. When my life on this earth is done, and I stand before the All Mighty, Holy, God, I can be in His presence because the blood of Christ has made me clean (Hebrews 9:11-27). Knowing that this life on earth is not all that there is gives me a sense of stability, calm in calamity, and purpose that I don't know how to put into words. This knowledge always being in the background of my mind puts things into perspective.

The resurrection changes me. Romans 8:8-20 talks about these changes in a manner that takes my breath away! Verse 10 proclaimes that:

for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms.

and verse 15 says:

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant

While Jesus was here on this earth He said that His followers would do greater works than He did (John 14:11-13). I can't tell you what those "greater things" include; I tend to believe that it will look different for each person because God has a unique design and plan for each of us. But I do know that I don't have to live life just getting by, or seeking after material things, or living for sensual pleasures - I have a purpose that's bigger than myself. Each day as I look to Him for what He wants from me in that day, each day as I seek to remain open to His leading and guiding, to be on the look out for what God is doing around me and how I can join Him in His work, it truly is an adventure.

Go To Your Upper Room!

It is the day after the celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead! We sang Hosanna in the Highest and maybe shouted hallelujah, now what? Many liturgical Christians use the church calendar to engage the many faceted life of Jesus, and worship the Most High. Even non-denominational Christians celebrate the biggest feasts, Christmas and Easter.

He has risen!


This week we'll be writing about the resurrection season here on Kingdom Bloggers. You'll have to forgive me, but the side effects of two of my new heart medications is confusion - so it can tough getting through a blog in a cohesive manner. But I'll try.

The days of the Lenten season leading up to Resurrection Day are often introspective and reflective; a time to look inward and do some soul searching. Then on Easter, there is the release of joy in the empty tomb!

If we follow the life of Christ, we need to ask what is next? I mean we are Christ followers, right?

The next major feast is that of Pentecost. It is both a Jewish and Christian holiday. In fact all the major events of Jesus' life fell on the Jewish feasts, that is one way we know that he is the Lamb of God! This is essential revelation, and you can read a short blog about it HERE.

For the 50 days following Easter, the disciples, about 120 of them grieved the loss of Jesus their friend, they were confused about the now but not yet Kingdom, and a few Jesus appeared to them after his death - oh yes, and they prayed. They believed the word of God and the words of Jesus. In fact the life of Jesus was also properly witnessed according to Hebraic Law (more on that HERE). And of course there were the prophecies about the Messiah. (more on that HERE). Their perseverance in the word, in prayer and in fellowship; however was not going to be enough to keep them going for a lifetime!

As the first believers in the resurrection made their way forward with a dead but living Jesus, I am sure it was an interesting time. They did not yet have the Holy Spirit to comfort or teach them. There had been a terrible crucifixion followed by an earthquake, after which those that were dead came out of their tombs and walked about he city! (Matthew 27:51-53) There were so many new questions, new doubts, and a glimmer of hope. After all Satan doesn't even have the keys to his own kingdom! (Revelations 1:18)

I want to be like them!

In this season, I want to prepare myself for an encounter with the Holy Spirit. I want to put aside all my theories, all my head knowledge, and all my preconceived notions about the greatest Power in all of creation, and experience Him. This is the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, it created the heavens and the earth, and it knew you before the foundations of the earth! It is the power that moves mountains, heals the sick, drives out demons, causes mere man to prophesy that which is not as though it is, it performs miracles, and came to give you peace that surpasses all understanding! It's good stuff!

This power is the King of King, the Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah, the Bright Morning Star, the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the Cornerstone, the Counselor and the Creator - he is the Father and the Son, the Good Shepherd and he is our Hope and our joy: He is love. (more about who He is HERE)

As we head towards the celebration of Pentecost, I want to prepare myself to encounter the mighty, but gently blowing Holy Spirit which empowers me to do everything that Jesus did, and more! (John 5:20)

I don't know about you, but I am growing weary of living with a dead but living Jesus, yet doubting His power. For the next 50 days I am praying this prayer:

Lord, I said I would follow you, but I guess I meant when it was easy. I'm repenting now. I say I have faith, but some days it doesn't produce much fruit. Increase my faith. I want to preach the Gospel and heal the sick like you did. Empower me. I want to hear your voice and know your heart. Speak to me. Today, I give you permission to invade my life with your Spirit and prepare me to encounter You, giving meaning to Pentecost like never before. Baptize me afresh with your fire. Amen!

Care to join me?