We call this Holy Week. And what a week it was. From a triumphant entrance into the city, to a farewell dinner with dear friends, to the gruesome walk down the Via Della Rosa, to death and finally, to an empty tomb and a promise kept. I have always been simply amazed by the turn of events in such a short week. One week. A lot can happen in one week. For me, I think about the emotions of those around Jesus. On Sunday, they enter the city and are treated like royalty. They must have felt proud. Almost a rags to riches kind of story. A ragtag group of fisherman and tax-collectors, guys who were not exactly at the peak of the social scene, have finally “made it”. The man they have been following and learning from is now being treated like the king he said he was. And …
Tag: Freedom
I have always appreciated the “Skit Guys” and their amazing ability to deliver a message. I recently saw this clip and thought it would be a great way to start this post. Take a few minutes to watch this before you read on. In all seriousness, fear is debilitating. It is the thief that not only steals your joy, but your ability to live in the present. Fear encapsulates your mind and forces you to live in a constant state of “What if?” thereby robbing you of living in the now. I have seen it lived out in others and I have most definitely spent my fair share of days living in this state of existence. There have been those times when I have refused to take a step out of fear – fear of failure, fear of others or fear of the unknown. We cling to what we know, …
Spoiler alert, this is one of those posts where I am going to be both transparent and vulnerable. As I am always seeking to grow into the Man of God that I am called to be, I know that being open and honest with my thoughts and emotions are the key to victory. Father’s Day is one of those days that can open a Pandora’s box of emotions. Some good, some bad. It’s not even the day itself that does this, but rather the very mention of the word “father”. Whether you like to admit it or not, we all have a father. For some, we were blessed to have a father of integrity and character who loved us unconditionally. For others, the word father represents a gap in our lives. It represents a time of hurt. For some of us our dad’s are simply, in the words of James …
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30 NKJV) Those are three of the most powerful words ever spoken in the history of the World. “It is finished”. At the time, the disciples watched in horror as their teacher took His final breath on that fateful Friday. Everything they had been taught over the previous years was now being put to the test. Little did they know that this was just the beginning. Some followers fled, and some even denied ever knowing Jesus. To many of them, those final words meant exactly that – “it is finished”. What we had hoped for, dreamed of and desired are gone. Everything was shattered. But Jesus meant something completely different. Those three words were not a statement, but a proclamation. A deceleration of Freedom, Forgiveness, Grace and …
We are coming off of Independence Day and with that, you are drawn to take a pause and reflect on what it all means. What is freedom? What does it mean for our country, our society, our way of life, or better yet, what does it mean for me individually? The sacrifices made by multitudes of men and women throughout the history of our nation cannot be taken in vain. They all had a core belief for the freedom of man. The founding fathers also believed firmly in religious freedom and established the laws of the land based on the doctrines of the Christian Word. I was reading a quote this weekend by Patrick Henry that really struck me: “It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.” Patrick Henry could not have been more right. When you step away from the power you have in God, you …
