Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘crucifixion’

Holy Saturday

I asked AI for a picture of Jesus in the tomb.
No, AI, Jesus was not lying in the tomb with his eyes open!
So much for artificial intelligence!

We know He was crucified.
We know Nicodemus was one of two men who prepared his body for burial.

John 19:39 – “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.”
John 19:40 – “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”

Today, known as Holy Saturday, also sometimes referred to as “Silent Saturday” is a day when His followers were stunned by His death on the cross. Puzzled by the way the Man they expected to save them was suddenly gone… and in such a cruel way.

We, too, would be puzzled if we didn’t know “The Rest of the Story.” The ladies went the next morning to the tomb. Not sure what they expected to see, but it definitely was not an empty place where Jesus had been laid! Imagine their surprise!

We can endure Good Friday and Holy (Silent) Saturday because we know.
We know He is risen indeed! Happy Easter, my friends! Tomorrow we celebrate!
Sure, we’ll see a lot of bunnies and Easter eggs and we’ll wonder if they have the whole picture.
We’ll wonder if that bunny is a distraction or a blessing. Think about a few ideas that make the idea of Easter bunnies and eggs OK:
1) Bunnies are prolific – alive and lovable. (Well that’s a stretch!)
2) Eggs are a symbol of new life… and one of those plastic Easter eggs empty can symbolize the empty tomb.
3) See the meme below:

What is your mood this “Holy Saturday”?
How are you feeling about the Easter egg hunts and the focus on the bunny?

I pray your Holy Saturday was a time of quiet meditation…
A time to focus on why Jesus had to die
And what His death means for us all.
Without tomorrow, without the resurrection,
He’d just be another forgotten martyr.
But, He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter, my friends.
God bless you!
Love,
JanBeek

img_3594

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, Faith, God, holidays, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love

Tagged with:

Which Path Do You Choose?

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I used to share my sermon notes after church every Sunday. I still take sermon notes every Sunday, but not always in poetry now, and not always shared. I just got outta the habit. But, today’s sermon begs to be shared. It’s Palm Sunday… the start of Holy Week for us Christians. It’s a time to share our faith. That’s one of Jesus’ commandments! So here’s what I heard our interim minister, Brian Conklin, say today:

Jesus rode a donkey on a path of pain,
Not a magnificent steed’s ride of triumph.
The crowd expected a powerful leader –
Not a man who would die a horrific death!

Was Jesus alone in His heartbreak?
Was He alone asking, “Take this cup?”
Was He alone saying, “Not My will…
But Your Will be done?”

Jesus died a “flop” in the eyes
Of His followers. They misunderstood.
They didn’t believe the message:
“I’ll die, but in three days I will live again.”

Obedience, care, compassion, humility –
These were the Lordship of Jesus.
Peace… and a willingness to suffer…
These were His expressions of Power.

The Way of Jesus wasn’t domination.
Not then – not now – So tell me,
Which parade are you following?
Which path do you choose?

Complacency, complicity, cruelty, pride?
Love, humility, obedience, compassion?
I choose the latter path – but the road is painful!
Really? The Via Dolorosa… the way of suffering?

What path do you choose?

Back at home, I decided to do a little research.
That path of suffering is sometimes known as Via Crucis
(Latin for “Way of the Cross”).
It is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem.
It represents the path Jesus took, forced by Roman soldiers
On His way to His crucifixion. It’s the winding route
from the former Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
It is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage.
The current route has been established since the 18th century.
It is marked today by 14 Stations of the Cross.
Nine of them are outside, in the streets, with the remaining five
being currently inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

AI generated this image of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.
My “Path of suffering” doesn’t look like that. It’s not paved.
It is much more like that first one: dark, barren, windey, foreboding.
Jesus didn’t promise us a bed of roses. During this Holy Week,
We are asked to travel with Him as He is arrested, tried, scorned,
rejected by His very followers, denied by Peter three times, and
Ultimately put to death. That’s the path. It’s not a pretty one.
But, don’t stop there! If Jesus had done so, He’d be a forgotten martyr!

Walk on with confidence! Remember where your chosen path leads!
Amen?

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Jesus, Life and Death, Poetry, sermon notes, writing

Tagged with:

Celebrate Palm Sunday

img_6723

 

Celebrate Palm Sunday with branches

Like the ones His disciples laid

Across His path in Jerusalem –

A path on which our sinful debts were paid.

.

Let each branch represent

A deed you’d like to see undone.

Give all regrets to Jesus, and

Lay those sins upon God’s Son.

.

He knew as He was riding in

Upon a humble donkey’s back

That He was headed to fulfill

His earthly purpose – that’s a fact.

.

With that triumphant entrance,

He willingly trudged Golgotha’s Hill.

Today Holy Week is beginning.

Receive its message. Heed and listen.
… Heart, be still.

I listened to the sermon in church this morning,
and as usual, I took notes in poetry.
Here is what I “took away”
from Rev. Jean Johnson’s message:

 

cross-sunset-sunrise-hill-70847.jpeg

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

“Commitment”
– reflections on Luke 22-23

Pageantry and wildly waving palm branches
Are not the acts that really matter.
Palm Sunday is about the difference
Between Christ’s commitment and our chatter.

People were involved as Christ entered
The city of Jerusalem to die;
But their focus soon returned home.
They forgot Jesus, abandoned Him without a cry.

Commitment is a hard road to tred.
It requires we stay when we’re through.
Stay beyond the time we think we’re done.
Tenacity’s hard for me and you.

Sometimes when we feel abandoned,
The emptiness of our heart makes room
For the One who never left us.
He is there through our joy and in our gloom.

Christ gave His all on Golgotha Hill.
He died for us, for our salvation.
We need to walk that path with Him;
Live the pain, know the cost, delay elation.

Our faith voyage leads through Jerusalem.
We must walk the way of the cross.
Walk in commitment to Calgary,
Suffer the insults, and know the loss.

Amen?

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Jesus, Life and Death, Living in Christ's Family, Love

Tagged with:

E is for Easter

This is Day 5 of my A-Z series on “What Makes Me Happy?”

 

Easter

Like Christmas, Easter has been commercialized to the point that most images depicting this special day of the year are Easter eggs, bunnies, baskets, and parades with ladies in their Easter bonnets.

I told you, my blogging friends yesterday that I’d try another new (to me) poetry form today. The Punnett is a 9 line poem. It’s supposed to have a biological topic. I’ll do that with doves of peace after the Easter punnett. No rhyme scheme. First line part of or an offspring of the last line. Word count on the lines: 1/2/1/2/4/2/1/2/1

Easter

Fun Holiday

Bunnies

Decorated Eggs

What about Jesus Christ?

Who’s He?

Redeemer

Risen Indeed!

Baskets

Is that all Easter is? Has it been so commercialized that people don’t realize its connection to Christmas? Jesus Christ came for Easter! Our Savior was born on Christmas to die on that Easter morning and rise again three days later that we might be free!

What Peace I have in knowing the true meaning of Easter! Free from sin! Guaranteed eternal life! What joy I receive daily in the Promise of Peace!

Here is my punnett with a biological topic:

.

Doves

in pairs

cooing

always devoted

joined together for life

perfect examples

loving

bringing joy

Peace

img_6643

Oh, sorry about that! But you did laugh, right?
I was looking for a picture of a dove.

I found ducks and turkeys, bluebirds and eagles, swans and long-necked cranes,
but no doves! Can you imagine that?

The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit
that lives joyfully in our hearts.
God sent the Holy Spirit as our guide,
our reminder of all Jesus taught
as He lived a life of love and light
during His ministry on earth.

May the joy of Easter’s true meaning bring you peace every day.
May the Holy Spirit live in your heart!

Thank you for visiting JanBeek! Thank you to the many who have added your names as followers. I appreciate getting to know you through your comments.

 

What “E” word makes YOU happy? If you’d like to, try responding using a Punnett 🤪✌🏽

Category:

Animals, Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, holidays, Jesus, Life and Death, Love, peace, Promises, Spiritual Gifts

Tagged with:

Good News

This is the season of Lent. It’s the nine weeks leading up to Easter when we prepare for the remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection by focusing on the Good News of His life. Here are my sermon notes from yesterday’s Lenten message delivered by Pastor Jean Johnson at the Madison Valley Presbyterian Church. It’s worth pondering.

 

I have Good News to share today:
Jesus came to us with JOY to proclaim!
He was rejected for the words He spoke,
Rejected for His deeds in God’s name.

Cruelty, rejection, brutality could not
Turn God against us – no way!
The horrible, humiliating crucifixion
Did not stop God, who is with us this day.

God has drawn nearer to us;
He has taken up residency in this place.
He is busy continuing to create for us
Our future in a blessed, glorious, eternal space.

Faith comes through hearing, so we sit
And listen to preaching and reading
Of the scripture and reflections on The Word.
It’s the Good New we are hearing and heeding.

Or are we?

 

What are we doing to Live His Word and prepare our hearts for Him today? I am praying for my life to be a reflection of Christ’s teaching, a mirror of love that reflects the fruits of the spirit: love, compassion, generosity, gentleness, self-control, gratitude, joy, and kindness. Join me, my friends, as we pray together for the Good News to sink in and Christ’s life to find full meaning in our hearts. Have a happy and reflective Lenten Season!

Category:

Love

Tagged with:

The Best Place for Worship

     I worship God in church each Sunday. I take notes as I listen to the sermon, and my filter helps me record the message as I hear it poetically. Here is the sermon as I heard its message today at the Madison Valley Presbyterian Church in Ennis, Montana. Where did you worship God this beautiful Sabbath Day?

 

The best place for worship
Isn’t a temple or a place.
The best place for worship
Is with Jesus, face-to-face.

The temple faced destruction.
The curtain ripped in two.
The holy place was transported
To the heart of me and you.

On the cross Christ made a way
From the temple to us – in love.
His sacrifice was the ultimate path
From earth to our God above.

Inconceivable – to think of God
Letting Jesus die in pain.
But this “failed victim” didn’t fail.
The cross was victory and gain!

The best place for worship
Isn’t a temple or a place.
The best place for worship
Is the divine dominion of God’s grace.

Amen?
               Amen!!

Category:

Love

Tagged with: