My hands are dirty –
And my heart is soiled, too.
Time for spring cleaning!
This season of Lent is a time for cleaning –
Cleaning out our hearts in preparation
For the arrival of Easter when we can
Embrace God’s grace through Jesus’ sacrifice.
Today’s sermon on our ZOOM worship service
Was titled, “Holy Ground” as our pastor,
Steve Hundley, recounted his trip to
The Holy Land back about 20 years ago.
My feet are dirty –
And my heart is soiled, too.
Time for spring cleaning!
Holy Ground
What was it like to be able
To walk in the footsteps of Jesus?
What was it like to stand
On Holy Ground? Spiritually renewing?
I was expecting each site to be charged
With such power that holy goose bumps
Popped up all over my body.
But I was a bit disappointed.
It was hard to feel the grace of the risen Christ
In this historically preserved place.
How do you feel Jesus breaking bread
When all you’re seeing is the top of a rock?
It’s important to protect these sites,
But looking through plexiglass makes it
Hard to feel the reality of Jesus.
The garden tomb remains open, though.
It’s helpful to see without obstacles
That distort the original places.
We have our own expectations of
What we’ll feel imagining holy faces.
Jesus and the money changers
Were there on the temple floor
Where I stood on that visit.
But I couldn’t feel Jesus’ anger.
I wondered if maybe those men
Were in fact offering a service.
He told them they could tear it down
And He’d rebuild it in three days.
They didn’t know He was referring
To His body, not the building.
Buildings are not what we worship.
We worship God’s nature in spirit and in Truth.
We are often tied to the
Rites and rituals to define us.
But our traditions must not
Rise above the Christ we adore.
It is not the place that matters.
It is the love in our hearts
That counts when we join together
In worship… thanking God for His grace.
Thank You, God, for Jesus, for Easter,
For the meaning of the cross,
And for the sacrifice of Your Son’s life
So we might EMBRACE GRACE.
The HOPE of EASTER
Is in the grace of the cross.
Let’s engage in some spring cleaning
In preparation to stand on that Holy Ground…
At the threshold of our eternal cleansing.
Embrace Grace.
AMEN
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow.
I’m headed to do some spring cleaning!
Comments on: "Embrace Grace" (8)
Love this song, and I have sung it often will be sharing your post on quietmomentswithgod
How kind of you. Thank you so much for sharing! <3 Have a wonderful week. <3 God bless you! <3
Blessings to you as well ❤️
I’ve often thought, Jan, of how special it would be to visit the Holy Land but perhaps my expectations might be too high considering the commercialism that must surround even that holy place. But, as you say, it’s what’s in our hearts that is special, and we can feel the presence of Jesus just as authentically in the woods, by the river, on top of a hill, and even in the privacy of our own homes. Praise God! xx
Yes, Lesley, what’s in your heart is what counts… not the place. God bless your sweet heart! <3
Another good sermon well transcribed
Your affirmation always is appreciated, {{{Derrick}}}. Thank you! <3
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