Encouraging Deep Roots

Luke 23:46 (HCSB) ~ And Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit. ” Can you imagine living your life in such a way that at the end of it you can say, "Father, do with me what you will?" We come to the end of Jesus life. He has completed the task he willingly chose to do. He has paid the ultimate price for our sins. And now he speaks these words that show his complete and utter trust in his Heavenly Father. What a beautiful picture of his relationship with God. After he spoke these words, he died. And even in his passing, he changed lives. Verse 47 tells us that a centurion who was standing nearby, saw this and began to praise God. His sacrifice is meant to do just that. Jesus came so that I can be a changed person. I cannot see and understand what He did without realizing my desperate need to put my life into the hands of my Heavenly Father. His death and later, resurrection calls me to know that I cannot do any...

John 19:28 - 30 (HCSB) ~ After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!”   A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and held it up to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” These two sayings of Christ really go together because they reflect the same thing.  Previously, Jesus cut his last earthly tie by making sure his mother was cared for and now, knowing that all he came to do was completed, he did one final act that is remarkable. Earlier, he had been offered wine which he denied. It would have dulled his senses and made the crucifixion a bit more bearable. Instead, now knowing that all was completed, he expresses his thirst and was offered sour wine or vinegar which would have immediately heightened the pain and awareness of what was going on.  It was a...

Matthew 27:46 (HCSB) ~ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni? ” that is, “ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? ” Jesus lets out a terrible cry of despair as his flesh, raw and ripped open from his flogging, rubbed against the rough wood of the cross. He body's weight rests on hands and feet that are driven through with nails. Large thorns embedded on a crown have been shoved into his head. His body is beginning to shut down. He would have been slowly suffocating due to being unable to draw enough oxygen into his lungs. The cells unable to receive enough oxygen begin to break down and carbon dioxide makes its way into the lungs. It is a terrible way to die. The words He speaks are actually from the beginning of Psalm 22, which shows a prophetic testimony of Christ's suffering. I encourage you to read the entire Psalm for yourself.  More importantly, these words of...

John 19:26-27 (HCSB) ~ When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”   Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” My heart aches when my children are hurting. I am so emotionally connected to them that it's hard to see them struggle or hurt by the unkindness of others. So I cannot even imagine the emotional horror and pain Mary was going through as she sees her son hanging on that cross. She watches him labor for each breath. She knows that he is going to die. She is heartbroken. I'm sure she would have taken his place if she could. These words of Jesus show his humanity and love for his mother. Some scholars believe at this point Joseph is deceased, so as a widow in that society, she was vulnerable. It was up to the oldest son to fill the shoes of his father as the next in line. So here we see Jesus doing just that.  He asks his friend and disciple to care for his moth...

Luke 23:43 (HCSB) ~ And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.” Hour after agonizing hour, Jesus hung on the cross. As the splintered wood cut into the raw and open wounds on His back, Jesus is asked a question by the criminal hanging next to him, "Will you please remember me when you come into your kingdom?"  And even in his pain, Jesus assures the man of his eternal destiny. As I reflected on this, I realized that there would have been no time for this man to ask for forgiveness from those he wronged. No time for him to make restitution. No time for him to act differently. No time for baptism nor any of the outward symbols of a changed life. There was just a desperate plea to be remembered. And just as quickly Jesus, recognizing his heart condition and his desire for repentance, speaks these simple words, "You will be with me today." It's just that simple.  How many times do we think people have to prove ...

Luke 23:34 ~ “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” The tears streamed down my cheeks, as I thought of the multitude of ways I had been hurt by another.  I relived each intentional word and action that had cut me to my core. "Father, how can I forgive them, when they so deliberately hurt me?" The image of Jesus, hanging on a tree in agony, popped into my head.  How could he forgive those who put him there?  How could he forgive those who cursed at him, spat at him, mocked him, beat him, and nailed his hands and feet to the rough wood?  I think the answer comes in the second part of his sentence, "They don't know what they are doing."   Jesus understood that without his sacrifice, there would be no ability for people to even comprehend what forgiveness meant, let alone being able to do so..  His sacrifice gives me the ability to forgive others when they hurt me.  Without Christ's death and resurrection, ...

The Unexpected King  by Terri Groh Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Here comes the expectant King, riding towards Jerusalem, not with sword As what thought. Not on horse, tall and proud. But on a young beast of burden, before the expectant crowd.   They shouted and through the streets the men, women and children ran, Waved their branches of palm and threw up their welcoming hands. Little did they realize that in just a few short sleeps. This king would be led to a slaughter, much like sheep.   The crowd that waved those praising hands in the sky Would soon lift fists up high and shout, “Crucify!” “Crucify!” Fickle people that would so easily be turned astray, by religious leaders old and gray,  with hearts as hard and brittle as clay.   Jesus rode through that crowd and the children laughed and cried out. “Master, Teacher, Lord!” the people did shout! Joy and praise, love and laughter, ador...