In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! – Galatians 1:8 “Discernment is not knowing the difference […]
I don’t do a lot of reposting other people’s blogs but I loved my sister Ann’s post so much that I had to share it. She cuts right through the tinsel and sentimentality to the point of why Jesus came and who He truly is. Yes -He came in a manger but He is King of Kings- Lord of Lords and the Word of God who came to give His life for ours. Now that’s the true and wonderful good news the angels told the shepherds of!
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 NKJV
As you are preparing for Thanksgiving, you may be tracking down the family china, defrosting the turkey or running to the store for eggnog. The details of the day with its hustle and bustle sometimes muddle the point of the holiday for a moment. For Jesus and His disciples, the preparing for the Passover were very much the same. Special food had to be bought, a table laid out and certain decorations set in place. While we bring to mind the Pilgrims, the Native Americans and the Mayflower they were remembering their deliverance from Egypt. It was sort of what I like to call – The Jewish Thanksgiving.
And it struck me, that on that special night, that things were not what they appeared. Just beyond the candlelight of that table, the religious leaders were putting plans in motion to arrest Jesus and have him executed. Everything looked good while the disciples were at the table with Jesus, but the reality for Jesus was that the worst day of His life, lay straight ahead. Judas would betray Him, Peter deny Him and all of them whose feet He washed, would run away.
For Jesus, the song He sang with His disciples as they left for the Garden must have had some sadness to it. With the same bittersweet sense of loss that many of us face at Thanksgiving, Jesus still trusted His Father to work all things together for good. He couldn’t see it yet, but His betrayal, led to our salvation, His last meal would still be shared today, and His cross would give forgiveness of sins to hundreds of millions around the world. And when in times of grief or discouragement we wonder how all things are working together for good, remember that even Jesus cried out to His Father for another way. Yet, at His lowest point, Jesus surrendered to His Father’s will, “Not my will but Yours be done”. And His Father answered that prayer, but it was three days later. There God had completed working everything together for good. Then Jesus gave life in the place of death, eternal joy for temporary sorrows and a golden crown in the place of thorns! Why not crown Him Lord over all we are passing through today and believe with all our hearts that He is working all things together for our good?
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 ESV
Surrendering all, is one of my favorite hymns and yet each time I sing it, that surrender looks a little different. The apostle Paul makes the point to the Roman church that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This type of surrendering is not a one-time thing. This surrender begins every morning when we open our eyes, sit up in bed and put our feet on the floor. The direction those feet walk is a daily choice to follow Jesus. Wondrous Cross reminds us that when Jesus died on the cross, it was a long painful surrender. He had to keep surrendering, from the moment of His arrest in the garden, through the trial, the scourging and the crushing weight of the cross He was forced to carry. I know that we all face some days when life seems too heavy to bear. That is when we need to remember that Jesus surrendered Himself as a living sacrifice for us and then humbly take up our cross again and follow Him.
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