Resurrection

Resurrection

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/04/resurrection.html

The Elements of Easter

The Elements of Easter

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/04/elements-of-easter.html

The Weight of the Cross

The Weight of the Cross

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/04/weight-of-cross.html

Good Friday: We Were His Cross

And He, bearing His cross, went out to...Golgotha, where they crucified Him. ~ John 19:17-18

John, the beloved disciple, describes Christ's crucifixion in simple, straight-forward terms.

Let's break it down and explore the details:

And He...

Jesus - (Yahweh saves)

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. ~ Matthew 1:21

Christ - (the Anointed One)

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. ~ Matthew 16:16

Son of God -

And when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God." ~ Matthew 27:54

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...bearing His cross...

was spat upon and beaten -

I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. ~ Isaiah 50:6

Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands. ~ Matthew 26:67

was scourged and disfigured -

So His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men. ~ Isaiah 52:14

So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. The the soldiers led Him away...they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head...then struck Him on the head with a reed and spat upon Him. ~ Mark 15:15-19

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...where they crucified Him...

died in our place -

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. ~ Isaiah 53:6-7

And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him...Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." ~ Luke 23:33-34

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness all over the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ~ Matthew 27:45-46

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, adn the rocks were split. ~ Matthew 27: 50-51

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WHY HIM?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ~ John 3:16

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

Therefore remember that...at that time you were without Christ...having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For through Him we...have access by one Spirit to the Father. ~ Ephesians 3:11-13, 18

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ~ Titus 3:4-7

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CELEBRATE GOOD FRIDAY!

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20

Good Friday: We Were His Cross

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-friday-we-were-his-cross.html

IOW: Healing Soul Wounds

Esthermay is hosting In Other Words at her blog The Heart of a Pastor's Wife. Visit her to read more posts for today's quote and to post your own.

For most of this century we have wrongly defined soul wounds as psychological disorders and delegated their treatment to trained specialties. Damaged psyches aren't the problem. The problem is the disconnected souls."
~Larry Crabb
Connecting: Healing Ourselves and Our Relationships

I love Larry Crabb's phrase "soul wounds." It so completely defines the hurts that influence and/or change a person ~ those wounds that penetrate so deeply as to have the power to cripple a life: an abused child who has been hurt by one who should have been protecting her and by the ones who should have stepped in to help her heal; a parent of a child who has turned away into darkness and misery; an abandoned, frightened woman on her own for the first time in her adult life; a widow struggling to live a life without her dearest earthly companion; a church member so terribly torn down by those in the Body supposedly placed there to build her up. These are wounds not caused by physical illness such as a chemical imbalance, but by heart-rending, breath-taking spiritual pain.

These wounds can never be truly healed by anyone other than a soul "Physician."

Popular psychology bases some of its philosophy on the proverb: "As he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). It is true that our thought patterns affect our emotions and our perspective of our lives, but positive thinking in and of itself is self-delusion.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned that in whatever state I am, to be content. (Philippians 4:11)

The only way the apostle Paul was able to say those words and mean them was through his intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. His ability to face horrendous circumstances was directly connected to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

All believers have the same ability to deal with the deep soul wounds and be healed by the Great Physician. Sometimes we need the assistance of a Godly counselor ~ but only if that counselor points to God as the Source of healing and not to some positive thinking mumbo-jumbo. That counselor should encourage deep meditation on the Scripture, God's love letter to His Beloved. That counselor must ask the question Jesus asked the man at the Pool of Bethesda:

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming another steps down before me."

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took his bed, and walked. (John 5:5-9)

This man answered Jesus with self-pity...but his own pity was not what healed him. It was the compassion of the Lord. The Woman's Study Bible, © 1995 Thomas Nelson, Inc., shares this insight:

Because Jesus is gracious and knows your deepest desires, He often cuts through your weeping and self-martydom and puts you to the test. "Get up," He says. "Take your problem and move on. Do not wait for other people to pity you. Get up."

If you are in need of a touch from the Lord, ask yourself if you are so eager to be changed that you are willing to do something about your situation. When you let God know you are obedient to His will and eager to do whatever it takes for you to be whole, He will send Jesus in the form of a person, a verse from His Word, or a new thought in your mind. Act upon what God tells you to do. He made you, and He knows how to fix precisely what is broken within you.

Finally, when you feel God's power bring about positive changes in your life, do not let doubters convince you these changes are only coincidence. Walk firmly away as did the man with his mat under his arm and say simply, "Jesus healed me."

Like the man suffering his infirmity for thirty-eight years, many soul wounds are not quickly healed. But the fact is they can be healed. Jesus will work to make the wounded whole again when we submit to Him. If God indicates His chooses to use an individual to help you through your particular circumstances, seek counsel from wise, mature Christians.

Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:8)

Christian counseling provides the individual with healing, balance, and wholeness through a variety of methods...but is always marked by reliance on the Lord as the Great Physician. ~ The Woman's Study Bible, © 1995 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

But ultimately, every believer's resident Counselor is the Holy Spirit. We must reconnect our souls to Him to heal our wounds and our relationships. Trust Him, Jesus sent Him for that very purpose.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell yo things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take care of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14)

IOW: Healing Soul Wounds

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/03/iow-healing-soul-wounds.html

God is So Powerful!

If you haven't seen this video, you will be moved and inspired. Share it with your young people.

God is So Powerful!

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/01/god-is-so-powerful.html

Saturday Selah: Jesus Wept

Inspired by a brief (under 2 minutes) radio spot, I'm changing the format of Saturday Selah. I would like to offer a place where we can share encouraging messages we have heard throughout the week. In as few as 50 words or less, we can share a Bible verse or two and what they meant to us. Perhaps we heard song lyrics that touched our hearts. Anything that made a difference in your week can be posted here.

Our job as women of faith is to encourage others to seek God. If something stood out as special encouragement, then God meant it to help others as well. Don't worry about the word count - it's not a strict policy, just a guideline. Sometimes God gives us a little to say, sometimes He gives more.

---

Now to my inspiration from this week. I hope you are as blessed by it as I have been.

In John 11 we see Jesus arriving in Bethany four days after Lazarus died. Mary, brokenhearted, collapsed in grief at His feet. She tells Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." [John 11:32 (NKJV)]

Jesus' response contains the shortest verse in the Bible: He wept.

He did not weep for His own grief at the loss of His friend. His heart broke for the pain Mary was suffering.

Then He asked, "Where have you laid him?" In other words, Jesus told Mary to take Him to the source of her pain.

That is what Jesus does with us. He has compassion for our breaking hearts. Our pastor defines compassion as sympathy with the intent to take action.

Jesus weeps for our pain, and asks us to take Him to its source...to open that wound and let Him do all in His power to comfort and heal that pain.

Dear friends, reach out to Him right now with your heart break. Let Him in to comfort you and guide you into His blessed rest and peace.

Saturday Selah: Jesus Wept

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2009/01/saturday-selah-jesus-wept.html

IOW: Comfort from Jesus

“And I don’t regret the rain,
And the nights I felt the pain,
And the tears I had to cry some
of those times along the way.
Every road I had to take,
Every time my heart would break -
It was just something that I had to get through
To get me to you…”

As sung by Lila McCann, “To Get Me To You”
[Hope Floats Soundtrack]

Who is this God?

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy." --Psalm 103:8

How can I know Him personally?

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." --John 14:7

I don't know how people survive this life without knowing God intimately. It would never be enough for me to be like the children of Israel -- always waiting for a prophet or judge or other leader to give them a word from God.

I'm greedy... I want to lay claim to all the promises of the Bible. And Jesus promised an abundant life -- He came to earth to give it to me (and to "whosoever believeth" --John 3:16).

And He promised to hear my prayers -- from my own lips -- because I trust Him.

"He answered their prayer, because they trusted in Him." --1 Chronicles 5:20b

I know that struggles and sorrows come with living on this decaying earth and in this aging body, but I can't help grabbing onto Jesus' very words of comfort.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." --John 16:33

So that you won't think me a 'glass half-full' woman because of an easy life (although I've been very blessed), let me share:

I suffered the death of my innocence at age 10 when my own grandfather misused me -- all the while assuring me that I was his favorite and he would never do anything to hurt me.

But God pulled me away from the typical self-blame of that circumstance by preparing me ahead of time to endure --

For even when my father (a non-believer at the time) requested my mother not attend church, she sent me on a bus from ages 6-8, to a church where I learned:

"Jesus loves me...

The Bible tells me so!!!"

Then, two years after the devastation of my misuse, at age 12, Jesus met me at the altar of Bethlehem Baptist Church when I prayed to accept Him as my Savior.

Every time Satan tried to use the horror and shame against me, when I took my eyes off my circumstances, and put them back on God:

"...the God of hope fill[ed me] with all joy and peace in believing, that [I] may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." --Romans 15:13

Did I struggle with self-esteem, at times hating myself? Of course. But I found God to be faithful to me even then. He showed me a true Grandfather's love--one not tarnished by the stain of sin.

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." --Nahum 1:7

And then He turned my pain into joy when a mother, after hearing my testimony, came to me with fears her daughter was being misused by her stepfather. I had already developed a relationship with the girl through my ministry with young teen girls [Acteens]. I helped that mother and daughter open a dialogue together. I didn't get to know the end of the story, but I rejoice that I will get to hear the whole thing one day.

Although the summer I was 10 years old has colored my entire life, 20 years after it happened God showed me His purpose in allowing it to happen.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." --2 Corinthians 1:3-4

If helping that one teen girl is the only reason I had to suffer, it is completely worth it, because I was able to show that our God is faithful and true.

*******Are you walking a difficult path? God is longing to comfort you. He has a plan for you that includes building you up so that you may help others in their times of need.*******

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." --2 Corinthians 1:5-7

Michelle is hosting In Other Words at her blog Because I Love You.

IOW: Comfort from Jesus

http://typingone-handed.blogspot.com/2008/11/iow-comfort-from-jesus.html