Party, Prizes, and Trivia!

Join us this Saturday!
(all times Central)

Advertisement

The Day Satan’s Plan Fell Apart

As the most beautiful angel in the heavens, I have it made.  I am beautiful, powerful, and I even managed to rebel against the Almighty Himself, taking a third of His forces with me.  It was a simple matter to further mess up God’s plan by causing the two humans made in His image to doubt God’s words to them and do what He told them not to do.

Then there was the time I caused all those people to be so wicked that God had to destroy the entire earth except for eight people.  When you have legions of demons and only eight supposedly righteous people, it is much easier to get them to disobey His Majesty, the God of the universe because there are thousands of you and only eight of them.  After the flood and after another rebellion, He confused their language, but that was no big deal.  I just corrupted the stories they told about God’s so-called deliverance of them.

When the Israelites finally got what they wanted and were allowed to have Kings, it was so easy to corrupt the rulers.  Humans are such despicable creatures.  A beautiful woman is all it takes to turn a king into mush and make him want another wife.  “Forget the law against marrying a foreign woman!  I want her and she would help with a peace treaty with the country she comes from.”  Ha!  So much for that plan, You pathetic excuse for a God!

When God said that there would be some sort of a Savior or Messiah coming from the line of David, that began my plan to so corrupt the line of David, that God’s plan would fail yet again.  Foreign women, rebellious people, exiles, all of this was in my plan to so corrupt Abraham and David’s lineage that God would be forced to change His plan.

The Day the Earth Fell Apart

For those who knew and loved the man, that night had been the most horrific act of injustice and cruelty they had ever witnessed. Criminals were often treated in much the same way, sometimes even worse. But what made this man’s trial and punishment so much worse was the fact that He was innocent. Even those who ran the mock trial knew that He was innocent.

 They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed

 The chief priests secretly arrested Him, held an illegal nighttime trial using the false witness of two people whose accounts contradicted each other. After the innocent man admitted that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, He was spat upon, mocked, and struck.

 They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin

 The next morning, He was brought before the governor of the area. This man also was unable to find any fault with the so-called criminal, but the chief priests were insistent that the innocent man be put to death. As the threat of riot became evident, the governor gave in and had Him scourged.

 Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns

 Scourging would often kill a man even before the criminal was put on their cross to be crucified. This innocent man lived through the scourging only to have a crown of thorns put on His head and driven into His scalp as a fake scepter was used to beat Him in the head.

 They laughed and said behold the King they struck Him and they cursed Him

 He was then stripped and made to carry his cross to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. There, He was nailed to the cross between two thieves.

 When they nailed Him to the cross His mother stood nearby He said woman behold thy Son

 Suffering terribly, bleeding, and probably worse, He had no thought for himself, only His people. He made provision for His mother, Mary. He had no thought for Himself as God placed on Him the sins of the entire world, past, present, and future. Can you imagine the weight that was?

 Then the sinful work of man was done

 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived at the right hand of Him who reigns on high, one of the three persons of the Trinity who was involved in every aspect of creation, life, birth, rebirth, every aspect of every minute detail in the entire universe. This God-man, Jesus came to this earth, gave up his rights to know everything about the future and who knows what else, to come to save us measly human beings from our sins.

 To the howling mob He yielded He did not for mercy cry

 As the hours slowly passed and Jesus continued to weaken further, an awesome and fear-inspiring thing happened: the sun went dark. For three hours, the land was dark. As 3:00 in the afternoon came, the silence was broken by Jesus’ weak, though powerful voice:

“‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

 The cross of shame He took alone and when He cried it’s finished He gave Himself to die Salvation’s wondrous plan was done

 The Savior of the world then gave his life for the sins of us all. He “yielded up His Spirit”. It was not taken from Him, he gave it up willingly. When He had done so, the earth started falling apart.

In Colossians 1:17, it says: “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (emphasis mine)

When Jesus Christ died, the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom, the rocks split and the earth shook. “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”

Can you imagine what this time would have been like? Was there chaos for three days while Jesus lay dead and in the grave? The Savior of the World, the One who holds all things together was dead. Did God let chaos rule for those three days until He raised His Son to life? We may never know, but it is worth thinking about.

But, even though it is worth thinking about, we should never lose sight of what this day is truly about. Good Friday is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross for YOU. He was perfect and sinless, He did not need to die, but He did and He did so willingly so that no one would perish.

He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But He died alone for you and me

This video is a beautiful representation of the song I quote throughout my post, “Ten Thousand Angels” by Ray Overholt.  Some of the pictures in the video are a little gruesome, so do not let little children watch it, but remember that this is what our Savior went through when He died on the cross for our sins.

Which one are you?

As we all prepare to worship this Palm Sunday, we should ask the question “Which one am I?”  The day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, which person in the crowd would you have been?  Would you have been one of the crowd who wanted Jesus to overthrow Rome and set you free?  Or would you have been one of those who had at least a small understanding that Jesus wasn’t entering Jerusalem as conquering King, but rather as the Sacrificial Lamb?

If you were one of Jesus’ disciples, what would you have been thinking when Jesus asked you to fetch him a donkey:

 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.  If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold your King is coming to you,

Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”  (Matthew 21:1-5)

Matthew goes on to say that the disciples “went and did just as Jesus had instructed them”, but what were they thinking as they did so?  Did they recall hearing the prophecy from Zechariah?  What would you have been thinking?

Jesus had been giving hints and outright saying what would happen when the entered Jerusalem.  Would you have believed that Jesus was truly going to die?  Or would you have been caught up in the fervor of the moment and simply spent that time worshiping the God-man you expected to be the Conquering King, come to save you from Roman domination?

The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.  Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.  The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;

Hosanna in the highest!”

When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”  And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”  (Matthew 21:6-11)

If you were one of Jesus’ disciples, would you have fled the next week when Jesus was betrayed by your friend Judas and arrested by the Chief Priests?  When Jesus was buried in the grave, would you have remembered what he had told you?

“For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial…Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’  But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”  (Matthew 26:12, 31-32)

Which one are you today?  Do you worship Christ as Conquering King, the one will save you from whatever situation, dilemma, or oppression you are facing?  Or do you know Him as your Sacrificial Lamb who has taken away your sins? 

Cover Reveal: Resistance by Jaye L. Knight

It is with great pleasure that I get to announce, and be part of Jaye L. Knight’s cover reveal.  I have had the great pleasure over the last few months to get to know Jaye and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to be a part of her cover reveal.  So, without further ado, here is a little bit of information on the book, “Resistance” by Jaye L. Knight.  Oh, and did I mention that there is a giveaway as well?  Read on to the end for all the details.

About the Book

“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”

Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

Character Interview: Caleb Stuart

Today we start with three characters who are either in or at least mentioned in Be Thou My Vision but are also main characters in Amazing Grace.  Today’s character, Caleb Stuart, is Anna’s sister and will be one of the main characters in Amazing Grace along with his father, Iain, and Maggie and Rachel MacDougall (who you will meet next week).  And now, onto the interview.  As always, if you have more questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.  And be sure to read to the end as there is an excerpt from Be Thou My Vision as a small introduction to Caleb.

Caleb Stuart
Main Character in Amazing Grace
Hair: Brown hair with hints of red, short, straight
Eyes: brown
Height: 6’ 3”
Complexion: tanned, weather beaten, smattering of freckles
Features: average
Age: 32
Single

Caleb has been a farmer all his life. He was 11 when his mother died. He has always been introspective and quiet. It is rare for him to voice an opinion, good or bad, about anything. Though he has never voiced it, he has always dreamed of saving a “damsel in distress”. Even thought he has dreamed of that, he has never really had a desire to marry. He is indifferent to God and isn’t very open to pursuing a relationship with Him in the near future.

 

Why does he want to rescue a “damsel in distress”?

Good question.

Caleb has always been caring and compassionate. He wants to help in any way he can. As a boy, his mother read him fairy tales and when he played by himself, he pretended to be a prince saving the damsel in distress and riding off into the sunset. As he grew older, his dream has never gone away. It is a way to keep his mother’s memory alive.