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Holy Monday

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As I was led to do a blog about Holy Week.  Let’s chat about Holy Monday, but first let me say this.

Most churches have had to scale down their usual sercvices and even closed their doors because with COVID 19 creating physical distance from one another, we are not permitted to gather together.  It is important during this time that we remember we all have a personal relationship with God and our continued worship, prayer and time with God should not decrease nor stop because of this.  You are responsible to keep connected.  You are responsible for your prayer time with God.  You are responsible for your worship.  The church building should not keep you from that.  Philippians 2:12 says “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  You are responsible to seek God out yourself.  We usually hear an abbreviated version of the story of Holy Week leading up to Easter, but let’s read it and know for ourselves.  Know about the sacrifice, the pain, the beatings, the determination, the love that Jesus had for us and what he went through to save us!

Read with me today… Luke 19:45-48

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Jesus is once again in the temple and angry about how the merchants  and money changers are treating this holy place.  They were being dishonest, deceiving the people and my study bible notes say the commercialism in God’s house frustrated people’s attempts at worship. Money changers would change the foreigners money but inflate the exchange rate to make more money for themselves.  The merchants would increase the price of the sacrificial animals so they could make money for themselves.  And all this is happening inside the temple’s court.

My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

Sadly I must say, this has a familiar resemblance to some of the things that are happening in the church even today.  We as People of God should be doing everything we can to remove any barrier in the sanctuary that would get in the way of worship, of God’s presence.  All that other stuff is a distraction.  Its actually a bit frightening to me that someone would think their needs are more important than God and worship.

This same behavior is happening in our stores also with price gouging the COVID 19 pandemic.

I believe this pandemic is a permissible movement from God to get our attention.  he clearly told me one day that “this is a RESET”  He is calling us back to Him in a more intimate way, we are to sit back at His feet and hear from Him.  Things a shifting and changing.  We should not be the same when this passes over.  And He picked a significant time to bring this to our attention.

Be still and hear God in this time.

The Beginning of Holy Week – Palm Sunday

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Today I was led to do a blog about Holy Week.  Most churches have had to scale down their usual sercvices and even closed their doors because with COVID 19 creating physical distance from one another, we are not permitted to gather together.  It is important during this time that we remember we all have a personal relationship with God and our continued worship, prayer and time with God should not decrease nor stop because of this.  You are responsible to keep connected.  You are responsible for your prayer time with God.  You are responsible for your worship.  The church building should not keep you from that.  Philippians 2:12 says “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  You are responsible to seek God out yourself.  We usually hear an abbreviated version of the story of Holy Week leading up to Easter, but let’s read it and know for ourselves.  Know about the sacrifice, the pain, the beatings, the determination, the love that Jesus had for us and what he went through to save us!

Read with me Luke 19:28-42.

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What is known as Palm Sunday…

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people threw palm branches onto the rode; in his path…yelling

Hosanna!  Hosanna!

He who comes in the name of the Lord is truly blessed
and is King of all Israel. 

Jesus had become very popular by now, many had heard of him or witnessed his great and mighty works.  Healing people, raising people from the dead, bringing freedom and truth to their lives.  Although he was well known, he did not make a grand entrance in to the town.  He knew who he was and the authority that came with it, but he didn’t broadcast it.  He came into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey.  Always a person who walked in humility and without being grandiose, Jesus rode a donkey that was not even his own, but one borrowed.

The whole scene of Jesus coming in on a donkey was prophecy coming to pass.  This same thing was said in Zechariah 9:9. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your kings comes to you, righteous and victorious, low and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Palm branches symbolize triumph and victory!

Today we celebrate PALM SUNDAY…most churches (when they are open) would pass out palms to all members and visitors.  My Dad always makes crosses out of the palms and we would hang them in our cars or up in the house.  I’ve seen people put them in the back window of their car.  And I also hang them up in my house, sometimes replacing the ones from last year or adding them to the bunch from the years past.  It’s a reminder to me of what this Holy Week is about and what Christ endured.  His crucifixion and how he rose from the dead for me.  Little ole me.  Wretched mess…me.  Again a symbolism of triumph and victory!  So if you’ve ever wondered what the fuss was about on the Sunday before Easter, now you know.  Prophecy is coming to pass and Jesus begins his journey to the cross for you and I.  Willfully and obediently he is moving towards his death.  His love for us is immeasurable.

I’ll continue this chat tomorrow to see what the Monday of Holy Week holds.

Below are some ideas of what you can do with your palms.

http://4soils.com/blog/five-things-to-do-with-your-palm-sunday-palms/

Here 4soils.com offers five things you can do with your Palm Sunday palms to keep the spirit of the day fresh in your hearts all year long.

1. Make the classic Palm Cross from your branch. Tuck the Palm Cross in your Bible, place on your desk or like my mom, tuck behind your vanity mirror.

2. Include your palm branches in your Easter centerpiece. Tuck your palm fronds in your Easter flower arrangement as a reminder of Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week.

3. Have a family Palm Sunday parade. Get our kids in the spirit and march around your backyard joyously shouting “Hosanna.”

4. Return your palms to your church for Ash Wednesday next year. Some churches still follow the tradition of burning last year’s palms to use as the ashes on Ash Wednesday.  Ask if your church follows this tradition and if they do not, they may be able to direct you to a local church that does.

5. Offer your palm to a friend or neighbor or stranger. Offering the palm branch can be a way of sharing God’s love, the miracle of Christ’s resurrection and the Good News of the life everlasting.

When God calls you out of your dead place, RISE!!

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We have Hour of Power prayer on Sunday mornings at my church. This week I was asked to bring the Word of Edification. The Prayer Team was using John 11:1-44 as their bible reference for this month. This is the story about Lazarus and how he was dead and in the tomb when Jesus came to see about him. I’m being led to share this word of encouragement on my blog.

What I saw when I read the scripture was Lazarus coming out of the tomb, yet this was representing us coming out of our dead places. And the Lord said to me…”When I call you out of your dead place….RISE!

As God was dealing with me about the dead places, He said 1st you have to believe in me and believe that I can do ALL things, that I can do THIS thing. Then He said you must identify the dead place(s) in your life. Let me explain that…there are places in your life that you no longer tend to, you don’t give attention to it, there is no life there, no fruit is bearing there, you’ve avoided it, or dismissed it, you’ve grown tired of it so you left it alone, you lost hope in it, doesn’t grow anymore, you haven’t talked to them in a long time, you don’t see them anymore,  you stopped doing it, maybe some of you stopped coming to church, don’t attend bible study anymore, you’ve gotten away from a healthy activity you used to do, gone back to bad habits. That’s the dead place, the dead thing.

Then the Lord said you have to ask Him for the help. For some of us it is very difficult to ask for help, but there are times that you do need it. We need others. Sorry if you don’t believe that but it’s true. We were not created to do life by ourselves! So, my question to you is….do you want the help? If you do…you have to ask for it!

In vs 41, Jesus says Father, I thank you that you have heard me. That tells me that Jesus asks for something.  Ask God for what you need, nothing is too small and nothing is too big.

Then,  you come out! You RISE up out of that that dead place, that dead situation. Leaving everything that was attached to that dead thing behind. The scripture described Lazarus as having strips of linen on him and a cloth around your face. That is how they dressed the dead body in biblical times. God showed me that the strips of linen and the cloth around the face represented the things we need to leave behind when we RISE. Like, those who are attached to the dead situation, the belongings or material things, the fear of walking out of it, the comfort you thought you had in it, the talk that people would do because your coming out of it, the money put into it, the emotions you carry in it.

Let me also add, when you’ve made the decision to come out of your dead place or places, don’t expect the worst…expect the best! Expecting the worst will already determine the outcome. You have to BELIEVE that God is bringing you to a better place and that He will work it all out for your good. So, expect the great!  There should be an excitement in following God, a satisfaction.  The thing was dead…you should be happy to let it go. Be happy that God is calling you out of it!  If your not joyous…re-examine that, and identify why your not happy to let it go. Bring the concern to God as well. 

Everyday I want to search my life to find the dead areas that I need to purge and dead things that need to come out of my life.  I encourage you to regularly go to God saying, “search me O’ Lord for the dead areas, the areas that I’m not producing fruit and also ask Him to show you the areas so that when He sweeps it clean; you won’t go back to it, you won’t go putting stuff back in that area. Ask the Lord, what have I become lazy in, what have I become complacent in, what could I do more  of, what have I forgotten about, what am I avoiding?

The Word of the Lord this week is…”When I call you out of the dead place…RISE!

Let me say I also saw in the Spirit my own self (which I know its for all of us) but I saw myself steeping out of my dead places but I wasn’t small 5’5″ Tara…I was a GIANT…I was BIGGER than my circumstances, I was walking TALL…I was BREAKING OUT of the places that keep me from truly understanding who I am in God. He LOVES me and He wants me to SUCCEED!

I pray this was an encouragement to you and that you will go before God this week, asking Him to show you the dead places in your life that you need to walk out of so you can thrive!

Then I heard this song in my spirit and I sang it out loud in my kitchen LOL
VICTORY, VICTORY SHALL BE MINE. IF I HOLD MY PEACE LET THE LORD FIGHT MY BATTLE…VICTORY, VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!!