this is Jesus in His glory

so it's easter weekend.  yesterday i spent most of the day in and out of an amazing lent devotional "making the passion personal."  here's a few thoughts:
* come now my soul, and worship this man, this God.  come believer, and behold your Saviour.  come to the innermost circle of all sanctity , the circle that contains the cross of Christ.  and here sit down.
* what can He say?  what words can change the evil in the hearts of men who glory in His humiliation?  what can He do?  come down from the cross and command them to bow and give Him His rightful place?  how well He understands that if He did, the price for sin would remain on their heads, a price none of them can ever hope to pay.
* like a roar, the scorn at Golgotha reaches the portals of heaven.  myriads of angels mourn, each one yearning to jerk the stakes from Jesus' hands and feet.  but the love of God is a mystery into which angels can only long to look.  the Saviour of the world will not save Himself and let mankind be damned to the hopelessness of hell.
* and the Light of the Word is extinguished for a few hours on a hill called Calvary.  men, who love darkness rather than light, demand a sign.  God gives them a sky that matches the blackness of their own hearts.
* Father God, how rarely have i thought of Your pain, in watching Your Son die as He did.  But You were there.  You watched, and You wept, and You did nothing.  i rest in my unworthiness of such love, and ponder Your mercy, flowing down, for one such as me.

see His love

see His love nailed onto a cross
perfect and blameless life given as sacrifice
see Him there all in the name of love
broken yet glorious, all for the sake of us
this is Jesus in His glory, King of Heaven dying for me
it is finished, He has done it, death is beaten, heaven beckons me
greater love no one could ever show
mercy so undeserved, freedom I should not know
all my sin, all of my hidden shamed

died with Him on the cross, eternity won for us
such love, such love, such love is this for me...

so here i sit, even still, in the circle of sanctity, unbelievable love.
the cross of Jesus above me.  and i'm caught in the overflow yet again...

clothed with power

i'm part of a prayer group that meets once a month, praying for churches to embrace unity, compassion and service in our town.  the faithful few i gather with really touch me.  their dedication and commitment to pray and to receive answers to those prayers is beautiful and contagious.  there's a power in prayer that is unlike anything else.  i think it has to do with being with other pray-ers, and with surrendering ourselves together and our concerns to the Hearer.  but mostly, i think it's because i long to see His response, feel His presence, hear His word, know His heart...

on saturday morning at our prayer time, we read from acts 2.  i wonder what it must have been like to have waited for what was promised there in the upper room...  when that overflow fell with such power, those gathered surely saw His response, certainly felt His presence, definitely heard His word, and truly knew His heart.  maybe we need to gather more together and wait on Him more often.  just like He said to...

thanks for letting me share.
and wonder with me, if you will...

trade

so it's been a little bit since i've posted.  it's been busy for sure.  today i have a chance to breathe amid this full life to ponder.  and the word that's hitting me today is TRADE.  whether it's a hockey card collection, sisters sharing clothes, a swap shop or a Christmas cookie exchange, bartering is a part of our lives.

Jesus was born, lived, loved, prayed, preached, blessed, healed, died, rose, ate, ascended and reigns as King over the Kingdom i'm so amazed to be part of.  through all of that, a trade occurred, and in any given moment, it's my choice to receive that trade or not.  

i'm trading my sorrows, i'm trading my pain,
i'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord

i'm trading my sickness, i'm trading my pain,
i'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord

we say yes Lord....................yes Lord, amen!!

i'm pressed by not crushed, persecuted not abandoned,
struck down but not destroyed

i'm blessed beyond the curse for His promise will endure,
and His joy's gonna be my strength

though the sorrow may last for the night,
His joy comes in the morning...

(by darrell evans)

i'm trading my hurts for His love, my sins for His grace, my ideas for His teachings, my busyness for His rest, my self-focussed-ness for an-awareness-of-others, my time for His timing, etc.  actually experiencing joy in these areas makes the trade even more desirable...  

matthew 6:33 says

"seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you."

or in the message:

"steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions,

and you'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

i'm thankful that for every night, there is the promise of a morning... the JOY of a new dawning... His trade makes it possible for me to trade the "grrr" in my day.  God is always there, at my side, saying, "trade ya?"  may His Kingdom come and will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven... 

thanks for letting me share.