Today's Verse: John 3:16 (Msg)
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;"
Holy Week! Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday is the culmination of our time together during this Lenten season. Holy Week. The cornerstone of my faith. The last days in the life, and the death, and the most amazing thing, resurrection of, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
For me, in all that I do, this is a very busy week. It is a good busy. I look forward to spending time with family and all of the special foods (especially chocolate!!). I look forward to worshiping in the phenomenal community that I am blessed to be a part of. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship is so filled with a depth of emotion, it can bring me to my knees. Then Easter, EASTER.. What can I say but Hallelujah! The idea that God So loved me that he used the life and death of Jesus to show me the significance of my life.
To quote Father Richard Rohr, “ He (Jesus) did not come to change God’s mind about us. It did not need changing. Jesus came to change our minds about God—and about ourselves—and about where goodness and evil really lie.” I highly recommend his meditation on “The Scapegoat” from where this quote came.
In our first blog, in this Lenten Insights series, I said, “For me, Lent has always been a time to look inward. A time, for me to focus on my faith, and use it as a basis for renewal. A yearly internal spring cleaning of sorts:”. I want to go back to this idea. Take this final week in this Lenten Insights journey as a time to ask ourselves, what did we do this Lent? How did we focus on our faith? Where did we see, feel and experience our faith in the world around us and in the Spirit within us? How will all of this move us forward into the renewal and rebirth?
Peace,