A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday so his mother stayed home from church with him. When his father returned after church he was carrying a Palm branch. The little boy's eyes got huge and he asked his father why he had the Palm branch.
"It's Palm Sunday," the father told him, "The day that everyone laid Palm branches and their cloaks down for Jesus to come on the donkey."
The little boy thought about this and finally said. "Wouldn't you know! The one day I'm home sick and Jesus shows up!"
I just love that little story. Leave it to a child.
This is Holy Week, a time to really search our hearts and figure out what kind of a relationship we have with God. Many years ago my first born son died after 45 minutes of life. I never got to see him, touch him, hold him. They didn't do that back then and I was only 18 years old! But the pain was still there. My husband at the time took pictures of Billy in his casket at the funeral. Oh what glorious red hair he had! But those pictures were all I had and after a while my mother decided I should not be looking at them all the time and she took them away. I've never seen them since. Just another thing it was so difficult to forgive my mother for.
But losing my son gave me good insight to the pain and anguish that God must have felt when he watched His son, Jesus the Christ, suffer greatly and then die on the cross. God's free gift to us cost Him dearly! Even though He knew that Jesus would be alive again. Just as I know my beloved little Billy is alive and safe with Jesus in Heaven, along with his two sisters Jamie and Jodi. I know that one day I will be with them all again. I will see my little boy for the first time in all his glory.
One question from our Palm Sunday service yesterday made me think once again about my relationship with my Lord.
"Is my faith casual or committed?"
I truly believe all the way down to the bottom of my heart that my faith is committed!
Dear Father God,
For many months I have been praying for You to rescue me in my financial needs. I am more than willing to work to increase my income but my physical abilities are not longer those of a young woman. Now I am at the end of my rope. I've tied a big knot on it and am hanging on for dear life. I know that life cannot throw anything at me that You and I together cannot handle. I know that many of my friends are also praying for me. All I ask is that you show me the way out of this pit. I am at a point where I am unable to buy the groceries I need for my digestive situation. I'm grateful for the healing in that area so that I can eat the food that I do have on hand.
Lord, I know I got myself into this mess and I would give anything to be able to get myself out. But I don't see a way to do that. Please show me a way. I am a child of God! God has all the riches in the universe! I claim a portion of those riches to get me out of this mess.
I look back and realize that my depression over all the bodily illnesses and pain caused me to literally go berserk with the credit I kept receiving. Now the bills have caught up with me and I do not have the income to cover them.
I know that you, Lord, only want the best for me. I know that you do not want me to be in this situation. I cannot promise that I won't make mistakes in the future, but I can promise I will try so very hard to strengthen my self-control, for that is the one gift of the Spirit I have the most trouble with.
I put all this in Your amazing hands. You are the King of the universe! You are God Almighty! And knowing as I do that you love me unconditionally gives me great peace. I am not stressing out over this, nor am I going to worry. I will spend that energy loving everyone I meet and showing them Your love.
Thank you for your guidance in this matter and for the solution to my problem that I know you are already working on and might even have solved. I believe with all my heart that this is taken care of.
In Jesus most holy and precious name, AMEN
"It's Palm Sunday," the father told him, "The day that everyone laid Palm branches and their cloaks down for Jesus to come on the donkey."
The little boy thought about this and finally said. "Wouldn't you know! The one day I'm home sick and Jesus shows up!"
I just love that little story. Leave it to a child.
This is Holy Week, a time to really search our hearts and figure out what kind of a relationship we have with God. Many years ago my first born son died after 45 minutes of life. I never got to see him, touch him, hold him. They didn't do that back then and I was only 18 years old! But the pain was still there. My husband at the time took pictures of Billy in his casket at the funeral. Oh what glorious red hair he had! But those pictures were all I had and after a while my mother decided I should not be looking at them all the time and she took them away. I've never seen them since. Just another thing it was so difficult to forgive my mother for.
But losing my son gave me good insight to the pain and anguish that God must have felt when he watched His son, Jesus the Christ, suffer greatly and then die on the cross. God's free gift to us cost Him dearly! Even though He knew that Jesus would be alive again. Just as I know my beloved little Billy is alive and safe with Jesus in Heaven, along with his two sisters Jamie and Jodi. I know that one day I will be with them all again. I will see my little boy for the first time in all his glory.
One question from our Palm Sunday service yesterday made me think once again about my relationship with my Lord.
"Is my faith casual or committed?"
I truly believe all the way down to the bottom of my heart that my faith is committed!
Dear Father God,
For many months I have been praying for You to rescue me in my financial needs. I am more than willing to work to increase my income but my physical abilities are not longer those of a young woman. Now I am at the end of my rope. I've tied a big knot on it and am hanging on for dear life. I know that life cannot throw anything at me that You and I together cannot handle. I know that many of my friends are also praying for me. All I ask is that you show me the way out of this pit. I am at a point where I am unable to buy the groceries I need for my digestive situation. I'm grateful for the healing in that area so that I can eat the food that I do have on hand.
Lord, I know I got myself into this mess and I would give anything to be able to get myself out. But I don't see a way to do that. Please show me a way. I am a child of God! God has all the riches in the universe! I claim a portion of those riches to get me out of this mess.
I look back and realize that my depression over all the bodily illnesses and pain caused me to literally go berserk with the credit I kept receiving. Now the bills have caught up with me and I do not have the income to cover them.
I know that you, Lord, only want the best for me. I know that you do not want me to be in this situation. I cannot promise that I won't make mistakes in the future, but I can promise I will try so very hard to strengthen my self-control, for that is the one gift of the Spirit I have the most trouble with.
I put all this in Your amazing hands. You are the King of the universe! You are God Almighty! And knowing as I do that you love me unconditionally gives me great peace. I am not stressing out over this, nor am I going to worry. I will spend that energy loving everyone I meet and showing them Your love.
Thank you for your guidance in this matter and for the solution to my problem that I know you are already working on and might even have solved. I believe with all my heart that this is taken care of.
In Jesus most holy and precious name, AMEN