Another tough week is under our belt. We are one day closer to Easter.
Palm Sunday
On this celebratory day of Palm Sunday Jesus KNEW that things would get much worse, before they got better. He knew what horrific events would unfold. He knew of His own suffering, pain and sorrow. And still chose obedience.
This day marks the joyous entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The crowds assembled, threw down their cloaks and covered the dirt with palms eager to welcome the Messiah. It was not a warrior’s stallion or a king’s carriage that carried Jesus through the gates. Jesus rode in on a smelly, ordinary, nothing special, donkey. This divine reversal was just one of many. And representative of how, even today, Jesus often confounds our expectations.
Looking Back
We have the advantage to look back on history and know the events that followed Jesus’ triumphal entry. We know that the throngs of people who were cheering, soon changed their tune and began jeering. “Crucify Him. Crucify Him.” As you complete your final week of this Lenten Prayer Challenge may you be motivated as you consider the notion that YOU quite likely would have been among those throngs of people shouting for the Messiah’s death! And yet, Jesus pressed on. Jesus completed the will of the Father. He did it for the people shouting for His savage death. He did it for you. And He did it for me.
PAUSE to celebrate
In light of our present day pandemic, does it feel as if Holy Week will take a back seat? Sure, Easter will still come, but our isolation won’t be over, uncertainty still looms and more suffering is inevitable. So doesn’t a celebration feel forced?
Here’s the thing… this life is not our final home. Easter never promised an end to sadness and suffering this side of heaven. Easter promises a hope and certainty for our eternal home. And that is worth celebrating!
We have a lot to learn from this Holy Week. May your faithful devotion throughout this lenten prayer challenge fuel your relationship with Jesus forever more.
Dear Heavenly Father, This is NOT what we expected for Palm Sunday. Please be near. Please guide our thoughts and calm our fears. May we find eternal hope and assurance in your promise of Easter. Amen.
How is the Lord encouraging you? What is He teaching you? What scripture or devotional spoke to you this week? How can we be praying for you? To leave your comment…. simply scroll to the very bottom, beyond any other comments, and you will see a white box labeled… leave a reply. You write what you’d like in the box then hit the gold tab (this color) that says POST COMMENT.
Please join me in praying for La vida Llena, here in Albuquerque. Several of our faithful lenten pray-ers reside there and several residents and some staff have tested positive for the virus.
These daily devotions seem to be coming more and more significant. The best thing for me and this isolation is it has resulted in my sister-in-law and me devoting together, but from different cities. The daily contact has been wonderful and inspirational and I opening in some ways. Thanks for continuing this devotional, Debbie, I greatly appreciate it.
I know this is truth, because one day I heard from you emailing the “wrong debbie”. I am so pleased. May this bond deepen and continue.
How I look forward to the daily devotional, Debbie! Thank you for keeping me centered on Jesus. I am ashamed to say that this is the first Lenten season when I have not been distracted by busy-ness. And in spite of distance, I feel closer to family than ever before as we share God’s truth . Thank you for keeping me focused and hopeful.
Thank you Anne. Strange how we can identify obvious benefits in this awful time. Thank you for your faithfulness Anne.
Love You Debbie, God is Good All The Time
Amen! So thankful to hear from you Anne. God is good indeed! ❤️
As with you Deb, foremost in my heart this morning are all the residents who live at La Vida Llena. What a frightening and unsettling time this must be for them. Several members of our church family live there, so let us keep them ALL in our prayers – for their wellness, for their safety and for our Lord’s protection and comfort.
I’ve heard from one and they seem well and strong. Continuing to pray.
Online church this morning was wonderful. Doug’s message was especially moving. We are blessed.
I enjoyed it too Ruthie. In the darkness… even a little light will shine! Thank you.
This mornings message was wonderful. The children and their palms was a tremendous surge of happiness in this household. We will get through this and be better people for it. As much as
technology bugs me, it has been a very big blessing.
Indeed.
If you have a bonfire going, and an ember falls too far away from the rest of the fire, it will burn out. If too many embers fall away, soon the whole fire burns out. Just like each ember needs the warmth of the other embers to stay lit, so, too, do we need the warmth of each other to stay lit. Your daily devotionals, news from Mary, and the online services help gather us embers back into the warmth.
Beautiful analogy. thank you Sheri.
Debbie,
Thank you for your Lenten challenge. I look forward to it each day and
I have also been reviewing my journal from last year‘s challenge. The circled words and phrases are still so pertinent and helpful.
This morning…ˋthere are things in life that you can‘t go Over, Under. Or Around..got to go Through them.´ I think the sermon this morning will help me do that with this unimaginable happening. God bless you and those you love!
What a great idea to review your journal! AWESOME. Thank you Peggy. Debbie