Thoughts During Holy Week-4

“Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of light and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53: 10-12 (NIV)

“Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,” God planned this to happen because the people on earth hadn’t listened to the prophets and others who spoke of His love for those on earth.

“. . . though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,” The Lord Jesus will see those who follow Him again. When we get to heaven we will SEE Jesus. One aspect of heaven I look forward to is the fact that time is irrelevant- we won’t be controlled by having to do certain tasks according to what the clock or the calendar says.

“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great. . .” God made Jesus’ name the greatest name next to His because of their relationship and the fact that Jesus willingly ceded His will over to the Father.

“. . . because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors.” Jesus devoted His ministry years to telling God’s story and sharing that life with those the world considered unworthy-the sinners, the derelicts, the poor and downtrodden.

“For he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” Jesus, as he hung on the cross took our sins-yours and mine- and made them His own. Our Lord interceded for US. He still stands in for us today and seeks God’s forgiveness for us-His children saved by His grace.

Thoughts During Holy Week-3

“By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53: 7-8 (NIV)

“For he was cut off from the land of the living;” God took His Son away from life here on earth. He removed Jesus from the lives of those who followed Him. In light of what they saw happen, those disciples felt intense sadness. No, not all of them were true to Jesus. They loved Him and felt great loss.


“ . . . though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth.” What made this event hard for the disciples was the fact that Jesus was perfect- no one has been able to make that claim before or since. Even one of the thieves on a nearby cross recognized Christ’s perfection.


We now understand the reason behind God’s decision to allow His Son to die such a horrible death. He let this transpire because of His love for us-His children, for those who would come to worship Him in the future, and for those yet to know Him.

Dear God:

We know we won’t fully understand the reason Your Son chose to shed His blood for our sins; but we thank You for the fact He did. Thank You for that great love You have given us. We praise You for Who You are. In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN

Thoughts During Holy Week- 2

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth, he was lead like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Isaiah 53: 6-7 (NIV)

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;” Throughout history, man has had a sort of ‘love-hate’ relationship with God and His laws. When the people were in exile, they seemed to become enthralled with the idol worship and pagan gods of those nations who held them captive.

Even in the 21st Century, we see people who have chosen to ‘go their own way.’ Honestly speaking, we probably don’t have to look very far to see someone who has done this- even, maybe ourselves.

"the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all.” God put on Jesus all the gross injustices that we have done to one another-disrespect of property, willful harm to others, defamation of another’s character. Our heavenly Father knew we’d need a Savior. He watched us as we missed the mark He had set for us. But He loves us so much that he allowed His Son to come down here and live among us peasants in order to permit us to become pure and chaste, unblemished by sin, in His eyes.

Thoughts During Holy Week

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hid their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.” Isaiah 53: 3-5 (NIV)

As we reflect upon the last week of our Lord’s earthly life, we read of His last week on earth. We hear again the story of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people regaled Him as a conquering hero, a reigning king. But the fickleness of the crowd turned them into an ugly mob.

The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as one who was “despised and rejected by men” The chief priests and those who taught the Mosaic Law plotted His demise because He revealed the shortcomings of their practices to the masses.

God’s Son was “familiar with suffering,” He endured a death reserved for the most heinous of criminals. The practice was after the criminal had died, the soldiers broke the person’s legs in order to insure that the process was complete.

Before they placed Jesus on the cross, he endured scourging and beatings to the place He most likely looked grotesque. The rebel rousers-aka, the religious leaders, brought the onlookers to such frenzy that, except for His closest followers, they didn’t care about Him.

We often ask, “Why?” Jesus, God’s Son “took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,” we don’t fully understand unless we study God’s word. Early on in our relationship with Jesus, we wonder why God allowed this horrific event. Friends, the prophet Isaiah spells it out for us;

“. . . he was pierced for our transgressions.” The message of the movie, The Passion of The Christ that our sins put Jesus on the cross, makes it personal for me. I believe that Christ died for each misguided thought I had, every unkind word I ever said, each careless action I ever took.

“he was crushed for our iniquities;” The wickedness of our collective sin caused our Savior to cry out to His Father, “Why have you forsaken me?"

“the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.” Don’t you find it strange that Jesus’ punishment is what brought peace to us? This was God’s plan from the beginning. I am thankful God had this in mind. Where would we be had he not?

“The Holy One of God”

Read John 6: 60-69



Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eterne life.

We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

John 6: 68-69 (NIV)



In assembling a list of scripture readings for those in our Easter Drama, I included this passage for the actor who portrays Peter.

It wouldn’t leave my mind. It brought up several questions about my stance with Jesus, which led to my thinking about the relationship with 21st Century citizens in general.

Can I, can all those I see in church say what Peter said? Could I say that He has the words of eternal life? Can I say that I, along with Peter and the other disciples, believe and know that He is the Holy One of God?

Each day, if we are serious about our faith, we have a time to read God’s Word. We also make time to pray for those in need, and for our own needs and desires.

Each time we speak, we try to speak words softly. We try to keep our negative emotions in check. When we are in the marketplace conducting business, this is very important. I recently failed at this. I realized how I came across and, before I left, I apologized to the lady.

When we are wrong in our actions, we hurt Jesus and we should also tell Him we are sorry for letting him down. When others hurt us, we should forgive them, as He forgives us.

As Lent draws to an end, those of us who practice the giving up of a food or an activity, may return to that practice. I am not sure if I will go back to my pre-Lenten habit or not. I have to pray about it.

Peter recognized Jesus’ deity. In the 21st Century He calls us to His feet and awaits our recognition of Who He Is.

Our Lenten Witness

“A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.” Proverbs12:17 (NIV)
“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours our lies will not go free.” Proverbs 19:5(NIV)

As children of God we have opportunities to witness for Him. We are not aware of the number of times we have made a statement for Christ.
My husband and I stood in line at a local cafeteria. I had to decide on the type of roll I wanted with my meal. I looked longingly at the cinnamon roll. The worker behind the counter noticed what I saw. She asked, “Do you want that cinnamon roll?”
I rallied from my wistful state and said, “I gave up sweets. I better have the wheat roll.”
As we were eating our meal, the young lady made her way around the nearby tables, asking if the diners needed anything. She came to our table.
“What made you give up sweets?” She looked at me as she waited for my answer.
I paused and whispered, “For Lent.”
“You’re my hero.”
Here this young woman responded to my short answer. I didn’t know this person. I hadn’t seen her working there before. I only had these short snippets of conversation with her and, yet, she may have been searching for God. Only He knows if I will find out.
This incident reminds me of something I read years ago. Be careful what you say or do because you might be the only Bible some people read. I still think of this from time to time, especially when I may have messed up.

The Pure Sacrifice:

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19



We don’t always think of silver, gold, or any of the earth’s elements as perishable. Each substance in our world has a point that causes its properties to break down.

We learned in science class in school that ice becomes water when temperature applied to it reaches 32 degrees. Then we learn that water turns into steam when water is heated with the temperature reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. These statements apply to all substances know to mankind. The only difference is the temperatures are various depending upon the properties of the substance. In essence, these substances become volatile; they actually are no longer referred to by their original state- they perish.

As parents we sacrifice for our children. We give up our time to provide transportation to meetings and events. Having had a child who needed extra medical care, including hospital stays, we know the time and resources we used to care for our son. We did it gladly, because he was our son. Once, when he was in the sixth grade, we gladly gave up a Saturday to travel to the regional science fair at the state university in a nearby town. His science project had been selected for the event.

Jesus Christ is the lamb without blemish- no point of volatility. He is the only one who is able to open the book in Revelation. 5: 1-5. His Father sacrificed Him so that we might one day enter heaven and live there forever.