Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated the 40th day after Easter Sunday, that commemorates Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven according to Christian belief. The Bible says Jesus promised the disciples that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit and asked them to remain in Jerusalem until the Spirit had come. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, friends, and others. Forty days after his body was resurrected, Jesus and His disciples went up to Mount Olivet where Jesus promised them that the Holy Spirit would come to give them strength and power in being witnesses to all nations for God’s glory. After saying these things, Jesus ascended into heaven, meaning a literal bodily return to heaven. Many onlookers saw and bore witness on that day of Jesus’s ascension. As a cloud began to hid Jesus as he ascended, two angels appeared to the disciples and promised that Christ would “come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. “Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it is also the second day of the Octave of Easter, and in Eastern Christianity, it is also the second day of Bright Week.
Easter Monday is celebrated in the Catholic church and also called the Monday of the Angel “because we recall the meeting of the angel with the women who arrived at Jesus’s tomb (Matthew 28:1-15 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” “The Guards’ Report” While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. The angel said to them: “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen. This expression “He has risen” goes beyond human capacity. Even the women who had gone to the tomb and had found it open and empty could not confirm “He has risen”, but they could only say that the tomb was empty. “He has risen” is a message. Only an angel could say that Jesus had risen, only an angel with the authority to be the bearer of a heavenly message, with the power given by God to say it, just as an angel – only an angel, had been able to say to Mary: “you will conceive a son, and he will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:31-32 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,). Because of this we call it Monday of the Angel because only an angel with the power of God could say that Jesus had risen”.
{Luke 24:50-51; When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.}
{It reads in Acts 1:8-11; But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”} Ascension Day is significant because it provides believers with the hope of Christ’s return and proclaims the hope and glory held out to all who are in Christ. {Let’s Pray} I thank You and praise You Lord Jesus, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Embrace me day by day with more of Yourself, so that Your rivers of living water and light may flow through me to others, who need to taste and see that the Lord is so good in Your Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. Proverbs 8:9
Father God, let this touch someone’s heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
“I Come to the Garden Alone Lyrics”
I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me and He talks with me, And He tells me I am his own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known
He speaks, and the sound of his voice is so sweet The birds hush their singing, And the melody that He give to me Within my heart is to ringing.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known
I stay in the garden with Him, Though the night around me is falling. But He bids me go, through the voice of woe His voice to me is calling.
And He walk with me and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
Jesus and His disciples did a lot in a week. Thank God the Lord Jesus is perfect.
Palm Sunday: Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem, the people wave palm branches at him shouting “Hosanna”. Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1–11; When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead. ‘Go into the village over there,’ he said, ‘and at once you’ll find a donkey tied up, and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, say, “The master needs them, and he’ll send them back straight away.” ’He sent them off at once. This happened so that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled: Tell this to Zion’s daughter: look now! Here comes your king; he’s humble, mounted on an ass, yes, on a foal, its young. So, the disciples went off and did as Jesus had told them. They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. The huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road. The crowds who went on ahead of him, and those who were following behind, shouted out, Hosanna now to David’s Son! God’s blessing on the coming one, the one who comes in the Lord’s own name! Hosanna in the highest! When they came into Jerusalem, the whole city was gripped with excitement. ‘Who is this?’ they were saying. ‘This is the prophet, Jesus,’ replied the crowds, ‘from Nazareth in Galilee!’ ). As Jesus entered the holy city, He neared the culmination (Peak) of a long journey toward Golgotha. (“He had come to save the lost.” Luke 19:10), and now was the time. this was the place, to secure that salvation. 2. Holy Monday: also called Great and Holy Monday is the first Monday of Holy Week. The day commemorates the important events that occurred during Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem: the cursing the fig tree, the question of Jesus’ authority, and the Cleansing of the Temple. Jesus and his disciples go into the temple, and Jesus overturns the tables since people are selling things rather than praying there. Matthew 21:12 3. Holy Tuesday: marks the important incident of the withering of the fig tree. On Holy Monday, when Jesus approached a fig tree, he found nothing on it but leaves. Seeing this, he cursed the fig tree, and the next day on Holy Tuesday, the fig tree was withered. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Jesus and the disciples return to the temple and teach the people many things with parables and give the people the new commandment. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). The command to love others was not new, but Jesus magnified it by adding the spirit of the law, that we be motivated to love each other with the self-sacrificing godly love that Jesus showed. 4. Holy Wednesday: What happened on Holy Wednesday? It is on Holy Wednesday when Jesus tells of His death and betrayal. Holy Wednesday is also the day that Jesus was anointed with an expensive jar of alabaster by the woman at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. “Judas agrees to hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-16; Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. 5. Holy Thursday: Jesus has the Last Supper, which is the institution of the Eucharist and also the first mass. He also washes the feet of his disciples. Jesus asks his disciples to pray in the garden with him all night, and they fall asleep. John 13:1-17
6. Good Friday: What actually happened on Good Friday? Good Friday is about the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. According to many reports, it was on this day that Christ was arrested and executed. Jesus dies on the cross. All the things from the stations of the cross happen this day. It reads in Mark 15:34-37; At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’* When some of the by standers heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
In the case of Jesus, they saw He had become unconscious and likely was already dead. To confirm, a spear was shoved into His side, likely under His ribs, that ruptured the pericardial sack, resulting in a flow of both blood and water. While this manner of death was a brutal end for Jesus, there was also prophetic significance to this event.
7. Holy Saturday: Jesus is dead in the tomb. The evening of Holy Saturday is considered the “vigil”, and Easter celebrating can begin then. Jesus’s cry, he breathes his last breath. It is finished and at last the unbearable suffering ends. The death of God is a blasphemy and the deed done is breathtaking in its bravery. Does silence fall over the area? In his death God has truly embraced the suffering of the world and taken responsibility for it. There is nothing remote about God, even in the darkest places. In Eastern Orthodoxy this day, known as Holy and Great Saturday, is also called The Great Sabbath since it is on this day that Christ “rested” physically in the tomb. But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hell and raised up to Paradise, having liberated those who had been held captive. Holy Saturday, also known as Great and Holy Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory and Black Saturday or Easter Eve, and called “Joyous Saturday”, “the Saturday of Light”, and “Mega Sabbatun” among Coptic Christians, is the final day of Holy Week, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when Christians prepare for the latter. The day commemorates the Harrowing of Hell while Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb. Christians of the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican and Reformed denominations begin the celebration of the Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday, which provides a transition to the season of Eastertide; in the Moravian Christian tradition, graves are decorated with flowers during the day of Holy Saturday and the celebration of the sunrise service starts before dawn on Easter Sunday. 8. Holy Sunday: What happened at Easter? God revealed his eternal plan. The events of Easter go back before the creation of this world and reveal God’s eternal plan to save us by sheer grace. That’s the first thing that happened at Easter. But there are two more things that happened at Easter. Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Two: Christ Knocked Out Death. The first way to answer would be factual. What events happened at the first Easter two thousand years ago? For that we could look at the four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John for the best readings of the truth. But lets Look at 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 3:8-15; The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved, even though only as one escaping through the flames.)
It reads in Hebrews 2:14-18; Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, hat is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
{The events: Jesus rose from the dead, and many eyewitnesses saw him. I can tell you about the meaning. God revealed his eternal plan. Jesus knocked out death, and he shone the spotlight on immortality.}
Forgiveness, grace, confidence, freedom and that’s what’s available to all who trust in what Jesus did for them at Easter. Easter Sunday marks Jesus’ resurrection. The gospels record that after Jesus was crucified, his body was taken down from the cross, and placed in a cave. According to the Gospels, Jesus was seen that day by Mary Magdalene, and was seen for 40 days afterwards by the disciples. {Let’s Pray} Father God, I am in awe and humbled to my soul and being to realise that the human Son of God came to earth as a man and took upon Himself the form of a servant and learned what it was to be a man through suffering, so that He could go to the cross and pay the price for my sins by Jesus sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. I thank You and praise You for the perfect example of Jesus’s purity and faithfulness. Thank You that He was prepared to identify Himself with my humanity and to suffer so much so, that I might identify with His perfect righteousness, and live my life in and through Him. I thank You and praise You that Jesus understands my problems, pain, past sufferings and is able to come to the aid of all who are being tempted, tried or who are suffering. I thank You that by death Jesus broke the power of death in my life. I am believing for if there is anyone out there who does not believe in you or what Easter is all about. That they will know exactly what Easter is, all about today and know that Jesus loves them and has always been for them. Pierce their hearts with Your refinement and light to see their forgiveness for grace and eternal freedom in You. Walk in Your Way and rightfully stay in Jesus Precious Name Amen! I give You all the praise and glory.
{Power Verse} Many blessings are given those who trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:4
Father God, let this touch someone’s heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen. I was taught that the mind can heal the body, but the body can’t heal the mind. So, like if I go to someone’s house and there is something with alcohol in it, I won’t eat or drink it. I am totally allergic to alcohol. So, I will refuse it. I will also ask if something has alcohol in it, before I eat it. I know if I go somewhere, and they don’t pray for their food. I will pray with my husband for our food. I have the freedom to love my Lord. But saying grace and being thankful for all the gifts God has given us. That is a gift that cannot be bought. God gives us every gift that we breathe, touch, see, hear, love and the main gift is life. So, our constant conscience should be close to God this is beneficial to our heart and soul. I remember when I was growing up. We would go to my Uncle Franks house. He raised pigs and we got to feed them. Well back at the house one morning. Our mom made ham and eggs. My dad said to us. Do you know what you are eating? I said yes ham and eggs. My dad said you remember that pet pig you fed at your Uncle Franks house. I said yes. My dad said you are eating that pet pig. was so upset back then. I didn’t know that Pet pigs could be meat. Hmm! Unfortunately, we had to eat what was put in front of us. But see I loved that pet pig, and we were blessed with his presence at that table so we would not go hungry. This is a gift from God. God is very generous to us. It reads in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 NIV: “I have the right to do anything,” you say, but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything, “but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God, even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. {Let’s Pray} Father God, I want to be one whose life is a living testimony to Your gift of goodness, grace and whose only desire is to live a life pleasing to You. I thank You and praise You for the gift of the Lord’s Supper. I thank You and praise You that we are called to remember the high price that Jesus paid for our sin and for our communal remembrance at the communion table. I want my life to glorify You. I thank You and praise You for the freedom I have in Christ. I thank You and praise You for every gift like life and breathing. Assist me to live a life that is worthy of You. Assist me to be helpful and respectable to my brothers and sisters in Christ, all those I come in contact with in all I say and do. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
It reads in 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
I like to look at rocks. There are many shapes, colors and forms. They have real beautiful ones that look like rainbows. I know when I would pick up rocks with my children as they were growing up and then my grandchildren. We would look at the rocks form and like their would-be heart rocks or whatever design they had on them and throw them in a bucket.
Rocks hold strength in them. Some rocks were old, old tree branches. Petrified wood is tree, like plants having been replaced by stone via a mineralization process that often includes permineralization and replacement. You know it may have been a game with me and my children and grandchildren. But it gave me a way to tell them about Jesus and the God as strong as a rock. God created all and he can make designs in His rocks.
It reads in Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, thank You for the many lessons we can learn from just holding a rock and reading in Your word about rocks. Like Jesus’ statement “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” is found in John 8. Jesus was teaching in the temple when the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, and they asked Him if she should be stoned as required by the Law of Moses. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” So, they dropped their rocks “stones”. I thank You and praise You that You are our Rock of salvation, our firm Anchor, and our gracious Provider. I thank You praise You and glorify Your holy name that You are faithful and just in all Your ways. Pure, true and righteous in all You do. Teach me more about your beautiful character and help me to grow in grace, love You more, and will live by faith and not by sight. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; Isaiah 51:1
It reads in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
What does putting, on the whole armor of God mean? In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul creates a powerful metaphor for how your faith can help protect you from spiritual attack. However, if you symbolically put on the whole armor of God, you can stand firm against these attacks and remain strong in your faith.
So, I like to put on the full armor of God before I get out of bed in the morning. I have memorized the Armor of God. I also put my name where it reads brethren. You could also put Your name where it says Brethren. Brethren is loyal believer or congregation.
The Armor of God Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, spiritual exhaustion and grief can make a body tired physically and mentally. A great night’s sleep brings all things new in the morning. Especially a new day. I thank You and praise You that You have fully equipped us to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, with such wonderful works of spiritual armor. I thank You and praise You for the Shield-of-Faith fiorst thing in the morning and carries on through the day. I thank You and praise You with the shield I am enabled to extinguish all the flaming arrows and fiery darts of the evil one. Many provisions You have made for my protection against the evil enemy that seeks to defeat and destroy my trust in You. Let me stand fast on the promises You made God and to keep my eyes looking to Jesus. I thank You and praise You that I have not only been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but that in the power of the Holy Spirit I may live by grace through faith. Father God, I believe that I will live by faith and not by sight, to Your eternal honor and glory. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Father God let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen. I juggle the idea of unity, Jesus in John chapter 17 seems to be speaking about a unity visible enough to be noticed, and strong and attractive enough to bring conviction to an observing world. It would be hard to make the case that the world could be persuaded by something it could not see. It reads in John 17:20-36; My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you have known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:20-36 {Let’s Pray} Father God, I thank You and praise You for unity and how You proved Your Unity with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as one with You. I thank You and praise You for uniting Your children in the bond of love, worship, praise and fellowship with Yourself so that those that are Your children may abide in You and You in us. I thank You and praise You that You work through us so that we may be true witnesses of Your so great salvation and a testimony of Your unity throughout creation. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Philippians 2:2
Father God, let this touch someone’s heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness, the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:25-29 {Let’s Pray} Father God, I thank You and praise You for Your written word in the bible and the awesome truths that are contained within its pages. I thank You and praise You that through Paul You have made known to us that precious mystery that was kept hidden in ages past. Which is that Jesus Christ lives in me. I thank You and praise You that my old sinful nature was crucified with Christ and that His new resurrected life has been imputed to me for eternity. I thank You and praise You for the blessed assurance in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 2:9-11 I had this elderly friend named Olga. You would have loved her as I do. She is in Heaven. She went to Montgomery College. At first, I didn’t know what to think about her. I knew she was a nice person, because she would always smile and talk nice to me. I would go my own way working. I would see her on her days she had class’s. I see her at Walmart, and we would talk and walk around the store together, before I had to walk home. She would actually ask the Lord Jesus first before she did anything. I thought this is so awesome. Olga had a light that I never seen in a Christian. I talked with her about this. She told me this part of the bible: It reads in: Matthew Chapter 22:37-40; And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend on all the Law and the Prophets.” Olga told me this means that you should ask the Lord Jesus first anything before you do it or speak it. The Lord Jesus was her neighbor, friend and brother first. So, she told me go home and read Luke Chapter 14: So, I did. It reads in Luke 14: Jesus at a Pharisee’s House (The Pharisee’s hated Jesus because Jesus was for the sinner) One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So, taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when you host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Meaning if sitting with the poor, powerless and those who are broken just like me. Then the Lord Jesus will bless you and bless them)
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Ask the Lord Jesus and Keep giving in love and blessing your neighbor)
“The Parable of the Great Banquet” When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. (So these people refused the Lord Jesus as their neighbor and denied Him. They thought themselves better than the Lord Jesus) Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ( So the Lord Jesus invited all those who loved Him and didn’t deny Him) I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” (So those who denied the Lord Jesus will be envious of the goodness the Lord Jesus shows to them who do love Him.)
The Cost of Being a Disciple Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (This is powerful, because it is not saying that you should hate everybody. These verse are stating that you love the Lord Jesus first in everything. Then you proceed to love others. I have heard people say: What kind of bible are you reading? It says to hate my family! I won’t do this! This is not so! You need to love God first and then love others)
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ (So you start out loving the Lord Jesus and then you give up on Him,)
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. ( What the Lord Jesus is saying here is come to Him first then confide the needs to Him first.)
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (So salt is considered a healing source. So, the Lord Jesus is salt and light. So, confiding in the salt and listening to the answer in the light makes all right! Ignoring what is heard is gone) “So, loving the Lord Jesus first to confide in Him. Put Him first in all that you do. “ “Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart” Proverbs 3:5 My son do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life. Never let loving devotional or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will bring healing to your body refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your harvest; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights. Olga was a mentor to me in her way. Isn’t this the way we end up listing to others God sends in our path? What we listen to if it is not salt and light it is not of God. Olga said. The pastor talks of how we have to give our 10%. She said she didn’t have money to give when she first started going to church. People still treated her right. She said everyone who gives seed at church will watch it flourish. Whether it is love, time or money. It starts with loving the Lord Jesus and trusting Him. Wow! I love yours and my Lord Jesus who belongs to all of us.
It reads in John 12:12-18; The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
{Let’s Pray} Dear Blessed Lord Jesus, I thank You and praise You that I can confide in You first in all I say and do. I thank You and praise You for all the brothers and sisters in Your Precious Name that are Your salt and light. Bless them all today as they dwell with You. Lord Jesus I could never do all that You do. So, I will keep learning to listen and be still till You tell me to move. I am believing for all those who have suffering, hurts and Hangups Jehovah Rapha that they will know that You are right there with them fighting their battles. Lord Jesus keep a hedge of angels around them and bring miracles to their prayers. Let them all stay close to You. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Your Precious Name Jesus Amen.
{Power Verse} Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.
Proverbs 3:29
HAVE AN AWESOME PALM SUNDAY! HOPE YOUR EASTER IS BLESSED! LOVE YOU!
Father God let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Jesus was the faultless teacher, not only because of how he taught but because of what he taught. Jesus performed many ways of healing and miracles. Jesus loved teaching. He taught about the greatest commandment and Jesus taught on forgiveness. Jesus taught the disciples how to live by faith and not by sight. He taught them of God who created everything. Jesus still teaches by the bible to this day. It doesn’t matter how much a person knows the teachings and learning never stops. It reads in John 7:16; Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. There is no end to education in the Christian living. Never give up cause God has never given up on you. Just saying. There is always something that Jesus teaches truths through His word.
Jesus did this in 1 Corinthians 11:23-28; “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. {Let’s Pray} Father God, I thank You and praise You for forgiveness of sins and Your grace. I thank You and praise You for the love that You have for all Your creation. I thank You and praise You for the air and for life everlasting. I thank You and praise You that we can learn from Your word always. I thank You and praise You for Your unique ways of teaching all Your children. I thank You and praise You for the divinity procedure of the Lord’s Supper. I thank You and praise You that we are called to remember the high price that Jesus paid for our sin and for our communal remembrance at the communion table. I never want to become careless about the immense price that was paid for my sin. Assist me to honor and glorify Your holy Name when I meet together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. May I continue to remember the Lord Jesus’ death in this way, until He comes again or takes me home to be with Him. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} “A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns.” Proverbs 12:2
Father God let this touch someones heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
I don’t know about you, but it was hard for me going through this Covid situation. I started learning of loved ones who was dying from Covid. I couldn’t go inside the nursing homes or hospitals to see my friends. I had to wave from outside their window and pray for them from my heart. Which wasn’t hard. At least I got to see them. I didn’t like being rejected by others who was afraid that they would catch something. Thank God for basketball goals, cell phones, zoom, online social media, painting, crocheting, sewing, jewelry making etc. Thank God I had the supply’s all ready. Thank God for pets and a spouse. See God gives us gifts that are still close even when the whole world walks out. You are never alone. Thank God that we can pray for others this is a gift that can never be taken from us. Thank God for our powerful mind that can heal our bodies’. It reads in Matthew 10:1-42 NIV. Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James’s son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James’s son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts, no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever Welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” {Let’s Pray} Father God, I thank You and praise You for the beautiful truth that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and their coming King. I thank You and praise You for prayer and all its benefits that are from You. I thank You for this powerful mind that You have given me to heal the body and I thank You for this temporary body that can carry Your weight of right thinking. I thank You and praise You that even though Israel rejected Jesus and crucified their King, You, have not finished with Your chosen people. I thank You and praise You that in Your grace, You chose me and others who would believe on the name of Jesus Christ and trust Him as Savior, to witness to a lost world, and have entrusted us to be a light to lost sinners, and ministers of the New and better Covenant, in the blood of Jesus. When I feel weak and overwhelmed by circumstances help me to look to You. Let me keep my heart and mind fixed on You. I am believing that if there is someone out there who wants to know You, that they will repent and turn their heart to You this day. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse} Commit your actions to the Lord, and Your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
"Only Life Changes" 