He is not here, He is risen!
“On the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed. Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, but as she wept, Jesus suddenly appeared; and Mary supposing Him to be the gardener, said, ‘Sir, if you have carried away my Lord, tell me where you have laid Him, but when Jesus answered and said, ‘Mary’ immediately she recognized it was Jesus who was no longer dead but risen, as Scripture foretold-she said to Him in Hebrew ‘Rabouni! (which means Teacher.)”
HAPPY EASTER
The Lord is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
“Savior, you came to give those who are in darkness life, healing, and sight, health to the troubled mind, sight to the inward blind, and now to all humankind let there be light!” Thank you, Lord!
“God, your almighty word, chaos and darkness heard, and took their flight: hear us, we humbly pray, and where the gospel-day, sheds not its glorious ray, Let there be light!” Thank you, Lord, that in you we see light.
Now, the Chief Priests and the Elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them. Which of the two do you want me to release, to you? And they said Barabbas, Pilate said to them, “Then what should we do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” And all of them said, ‘Let him be crucified.!’
After Barabbas was released, they flogged Jesus and handed him over to be crucified, but it did not end there, they stripped him of his garments and put a scarlet robe on him, and after placing a crown of thorns upon his head, they put a reed in his right hand, knelt before him and mocked him saying “Hail the King of the Jews!” Then, they spat upon him, took the reed and struck him on his head, and continued to mock him, then they stripped him on his robe and put his own clothes on him, then they led him away to be crucified. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Today is Maundy Thursday, and we are on the home stretch to Easter Sunday, but there is still much work to be done. We still need to get through the Last Supper and the foot-washing ceremony. So, let’s do it!
The Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples must have been a sobering event. But what must have been more humbling, was to see Jesus washing their feet. One of his disciples, Peter, said to him ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet? You will never wash my feet.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ My brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus is saying the same thing to us. Too many of us bathe but are still not clean, soap is not the answer to the washing that Jesus commands. We need to come to Jesus and receive the cleansing power that only he possesses, we need to bare our souls before him and come clean, confess our sins, receive the free gift of salvation, and be made whole. Today, Maundy Thursday could be a new beginning for us. A day when we not only wash our feet clean, but our hearts also.
“Redeemed, when my burden of sin was high, redeemed, when my soul condemned to die, redeemed, for the price, I could not pay, redeemed, hallelujah, redeemed.”
Dear God, as we continue this Holy Week walk with you, may we be strengthened to help you carry your cross, and may we fully understand the pains you had to bear as you hung and suffered on the cross for our redemption. We have been redeemed! We have been redeemed! Your suffering gained us victory over sin, death, and the grave; and we are truly thankful. “Oh, what a wonderful thing, a very wonderful thing, to be freed from sin and have life within, to be made a joint heir with Jesus my Lord, oh, what a wonderful, wonderful thing!”
“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away, it was there by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day!”
“Alas, and did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head, for such a worm as I? Was it for sins that I had done why He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! But drops of grief can ne’er repay, the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself to Thee, ’Tis all that I can do.” How awesome is love Jesus? |
“The Blood of Jesus ransomed me, everywhere I go, I want the world to know, the Blood of Jesus ransomed me.” Thank you, Lord!
“Oh yes, the blood prevailed the blood of the risen Lamb, it has the power to save, just like it did in the olden days, the blood prevails, no matter what others say, thank God the blood prevails. Thank God, for the cleansing blood, thank God, for the cleansing blood, thank God, for the cleansing blood that washes white as snow.” The blood of Jesus ransomed me. Praise God!
“Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the Blood, power in the Blood. Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the Blood. There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the Blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the precious Blood of the Lamb.” Oh, Lamb of God I come!
“Would you be free from your passion or sin? There’s power in the Blood, power in the Blood. Come for your cleansing in Calvary’s tide, there’s wonderful power in the Blood. Would you do service for Jesus, your King? There’s power in the Blood, power in the Blood. Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful power in the Blood.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus died to purchase our pardon, His bloodshed was for our gain and it is free. Won’t you come to Calvary? Lord, lead me to Calvary.