He Wants to Sit With Us

And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: 
Luke 22:15 KJV

When I was in Junior High, (more than a few years ago!) one of the most important things of the school-day was finding who to sit with at lunch. If, as a seventh grader, I could sit with the older cooler guys in 8th I knew I would be set for life! Considering the fact that Jesus already knew that Judas would soon betray Him, Peter deny Him and the rest turn tail and run, it is astonishing to read that He was looking forward to sitting down with them all for dinner. Adding to those disturbing details, a few verses down we learn that while Jesus is giving them the bread and the wine and telling them that it represented His body and blood, they were arguing over which one of them was the greatest. This sounds like the worst possible family get together that we could ever imagine! But as bad as the events occurring around that dinner table sound, it gives me hope! It gives me hope because there are times when every one of us has acted like one of those guys! We have been far less loving, more proud and unkind, yet Jesus still says, He is longing to sit down at the table with us. So, the next time you receive communion, remember that night, when it all began. There, Jesus gave His body to suffer for our sins and His blood to pay the price for us to begin a new life with God. What a loving Savior we have. How amazing that He wants to sit down at the table and share His life with us!

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Surprised by Love

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Luke 22:24 ESV

Earlier this year, I was surprised by the beautiful flower that suddenly appeared on a large cactus, that had always looked awkward and unlovely. Somehow, just the right combination of rainfall and temperature, had flipped the switch on an inner clock and spectacular white blossoms began to cover its dull and twisted trunk. In the same way, a funny thing happened at the Last Supper. Just after Jesus had finished giving them the bread and the wine, while supper was ending, the disciples began arguing among themselves about who was most important. I can just imagine Jesus striking his forehead and crying out “Oy Vey! These disciples are making me crazy!”

We may chuckle at the absurdity of that scene, but sadly, that conflict about who is the most important, has remained among us till today. But that night, Jesus set us all an example of what we should be doing, when He surprised the disciples by beginning to wash their feet. Now, we don’t do much foot washing in the 21st century, but the kind of service that this humble task represents is still very much with us. As Easter approaches, we need to each ask God just how He wants us to wash feet. His answer just may become the greatest surprise of our lives!

 So He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-6 ESV

He Lives!

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  John 20:17 ESV

Though some may consider the song. “He Lives!” a less important Easter song, due to the lack of Biblical context, it makes an important point. Both our lives and our faith are like two-sided coins. On the face of the coin is of course, the image of Jesus. That is because both salvation and grace must begin in Heaven with God, and they need to help of ours. But when God begins His work in us, what He has done by grace will be reflected in our hearts. In the words of Alfred Ackley’s song, I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast,” because “He lives within my heart!” Is He really living in your heart? If you aren’t sure of the answer, then there is no better time to receive Him with praise than on Palm Sunday weekend. Why not humble your hearts for a moment and kneel down and pray right now? There is always hope, because God will always help us to find Him, when we are truthfully looking for Him with all our hearts!