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~HIS LOVE FOR US~
~Open the Bible,
hear the Scripture praise,
this very special man,
and his sorrowful last days.~
~Pondering his mission,
Jesus sat upon the hill,
planning his days ahead,
and how to do God's will.~
~40 days spent in the desert,
fasting for his fate,
Jesus then returned to them,
his destiny couldn't wait.~
~Upon his return they greeted him,
with palms held high in the air
"Jesus our friend, we missed you,
our hearts were with you in prayer!"~
~Over the next few days,
Jesus went out to heal and bless,
sharing with others his friendship,
his loving and kind, tenderness.~
~Then He prepared for the meal,
the last, He would share with his friends.
calling them all one-by-one,
for a feast was the message He sends.~
~Before the meal, He washed their feet,
though his friends were humbled by this,
"It's your feet we should be washing," they said
"No, friends, it's your feet I want to kiss."~
~Then he broke the bread,
and shared it with his men,
"Eat this and remember me,
until we feast again."~
~Then He took the cup,
that held the bittersweet wine,
"My blood will be shed for all man's sins,
this life to give...is not mine."~
~For this was his Father's covenant,
a promise He must keep...
to give us everlasting life
a gift, for all to reap.~
~For this promise Jesus knew,
would bring him pain to endure,
and the love in his friends' hearts,
would not all remain true and pure.~
~For among those at the table,
was a traitor to Jesus, He knew,
and one who would deny him,
the cock crow would prove this true.~
~Though Jesus' friends did trust him,
they could not believe their ears,
for if what Jesus was saying did happen,
this would be the realization, of their worst fears.~
~Then Jesus went to the Garden,
for alone, He wanted to pray,
his friends were asked to keep watch,
awake, they were ordered to stay.~
~In pain and suffering He wept and prayed,
"Dear Father, Take from me this cup!
It is not my will to be done,
Your will shall raise me up."~
~When Jesus returned to his friends,
He found them falling asleep,
"My friends, you can't stay awake?
You make me promises, you cannot keep?"~
~He returned again, alone
to pray for strength of will,
to face whatever lies ahead,
his fate He questioned, still.~
~When He returned again,
his friends were asleep once more.
Jesus felt frustration,
let down by his friends, his heart sore.~
~"Prove that you love me friend,
that you can do what I ask.
For in the days ahead,
I will give you a very great task."~
~Then at the Garden appeared,
the traitor who kissed his cheek,
then soldiers approached for Jesus,
to arrest this man, they seek.~
~A friend drew his sword for Jesus,
and cut off the ear of one guard,
but Jesus said, "Put that away...
I will go in peace, from this yard."~
~So Jesus was lead away,
and his friends all fled in fear,
for they did not want to be caught,
No, they did not want to be near!~
~Jesus was arrested that night,
and brought before the judge,
but Pilate did not want Jesus,
against him, he held no grudge.~
~So he sent Jesus to the Chief Priests,
but they also sent him away,
Pilate washed his hands of it,
the people would decide...next day.~
~When Jesus was brought before them,
with his crown made of thorn,
they all cried, "Free Barabas!"
and looked to Jesus with scorn.~
~"Crucify him!" they shouted,
Though Jesus had done nothing wrong,
"Crucify him!" they demanded,
Jesus' fate was determined, all along.~
~So Jesus was lead away,
his cross He had to bear,
lead through the streets filled with people,
"Were you there?..."Were YOU there?"~
~Jesus was weak and beaten,
the blood dripped from his face,
a woman tried to wipe it,
and a man carried the cross in Jesus place.~
~When at last, the hill he mounted,
the nails were driven in,
through his flesh and bone,
Jesus let them do this, for our sin.~
~Then as the Scripture stated,
while Mary, his mother, looked on,
Jesus clothing was cast in lots,
and Jesus gave his mom, a new son.~
~His side was pierced,
his body failing,
What did Jesus do?
He asked for a drink,
then begged his Father,
"Forgive them, for they know not what they do."~
~Jesus longed for his Father,
to save him from this pain,
then the man on Jesus' side,
asked to see Jesus again.~
~Jesus promised that in God's kingdom,
he would see him there,
seated at the right hand of his Father,
everlasting life to share.~
~Then Jesus closed his eyes,
and slowly lowered his head,
and He quietly gave up his life on earth,
for everlasting life, instead.~
~The skies then darkened to night,
the ground rumbled and shook,
people trembled in fear,
"It was the Lord's life they took!"~
~But Scripture was fulfilled,
not a bone of Jesus was broke,
his body was removed from the cross,
this witnessed by the good folk.~
~Jesus' body was wrapped,
and placed inside a tomb,
the stone was rolled in front,
protected like in a womb.~
~But when the women returned,
to visit with Jesus and pray,
an angel appeared to them,
and the stone was rolled away!~
~"Why do you seek Him here?
for Jesus your friend, is gone,
to join his Father in heaven,
Father to be with his Son!"~
~The witnesses ran to tell,
the wondrous news, they did hear,
but Jesus had already sent word,
with some friends, to whom He did appear.~
~But they did not recognize Him,
or at least not right away,
but they did when He broke the bread,
and by the words He did say.~
~From this time on,
and forevermore,
they had a great mission,
like never before.~
~They must spread the Good News of Jesus,
to all the world far and near,
that Jesus the Savior was born and died,
the witnesses His friends here.~
~Then He said He would leave them now,
never would He return,
for they would do His great work,
to teach others, what they had to learn.~
~God's covenant would always be kept,
by what Jesus did for LOVE,
His LOVE for US guarantees,
EVERLASTING LIFE,
in heaven above.~
~Author Unknown~
~LET US PRAY~
~Oh, won't you spend a moment,
Though busy be your day,
To think about some soul in need
And for that dear one pray?~
~Sometimes we never realize
How great the cross they bear,
And that perhaps this very hour
They desperately need a prayer.~
~It may be at that moment
You lift them up in prayer
That faith will reach the heart of God
And He'll stoop down with care.~
~And gently ease the burden
This one has carried long,
Replacing all despair and doubt
With hope and joyful song.~
~They'll feel His presence near them
In a most blessed way,
And all because you took the time
And cared enough to pray.~
~Oh, friend, there are so many
With troubled hearts today,
And each of us knows someone
For whom we ought to pray.~
~The problems are so varied
Some graver than the rest,
But every precious heart that aches
By Jesus needs be blest!~
~Let's set some time aside, friend,
Today and every day,
To think about these souls in need
Oh, let us care and pray!~
~Author: Beverly J. Anderson~
~DO YOU UNDERSTAND JOHN 3:16?~
~In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there, of a night. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."~
~The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16 and they will let you in." So he did, he walked up the steps to the door, and knocked on the door and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said "Come on in, Son." She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace and she went off.~
~He sat there for a while, and thought to himself "John 3:16.... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm." Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days and I guess I could stand a little bit of food."
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself "John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full."~
~She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to
himself, "John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out."~
~The lady came in and got him, and took him to a room and tucked him into a big old feather bed and pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he laid in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night he thought to himself, "John 3:16... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested."~
~The next morning she came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and she took a big old Bible and sat down in front of him and she looked up at and she asked, "Do you
understand John 3:16?" He said, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it."~
~She opened the Bible to John 3:16 , and she began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there in front of that big old fireplace he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought, "John 3:16. I don't understand it, but it but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe." You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God would be willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living.~
~Author Unknown~
~WERE YOU COLDER THAN THIS?~
~It was a cold winter's night in Korea. An expectant mother trudged through the freezing snow toward the home of a missionary friend where she knew she would find help. A short way down the road from the mission house was a deep gully spanned by a bridge. As the young woman stumbled along, birth pains overcame her. She realized she could go no farther and crawled beneath the bridge. There alone between the trestles she gave birth to a baby boy. She had nothing with her except the heavy padded clothes she was wearing. One by one she removed the pieces of clothing and wrapped them around her infant son - around and around, like a cumbersome cocoon. Then, finding a discarded piece of burlap, she pulled it over herself, and lay exhausted and shivering beside her baby.~
~The next morning the missionary drove her Jeep across the bridge to take a food basket to a Korean family. On the way back, as she neared the bridge, the vehicle sputtered and died, out of gas. She left the Jeep on the side of the road and started walking across the bridge toward the mission, but stopped when she heard a faint cry beneath her. She crawled under the bridge to investigate. There she found the tiny baby, warm but hungry, and the young mother frozen to death by his side.~
~The missionary took the baby home and cared for him. As the boy grew, he often asked his adopted mother to tell him the story of how she had found him.
On the 12th anniversary of his mother's death, the lad asked the missionary to take him to her grave. Once there he asked her to wait a distance away while he went to pray. The boy stood beside the grave with bowed head, weeping. Then he began to disrobe. As the astonished missionary watched, the boy took off his warm clothing, piece by piece, and laid them on his mother's grave.~
~Surely he won't take off all his clothing, the missionary thought. He'll freeze! But the boy stripped himself of everything, putting all his warm clothing on the grave. He knelt naked and shivering in the freezing snow. As the missionary went to him to help him dress, she heard him cry out to the mother he never knew: "Were you colder than this for me, my mother?" And he wept bitterly.~
~Then Christ came, He stripped himself of every royal garment and entered into a world of hatred and cold indifference. Why did He do it? Because He saw that centuries of broken lives needed a Savior. And then He died of a broken heart. What broke it? The sin of mankind. The long history of men worshipping false gods in temples made with hands. War, bloodshed, crime, cruelty, sexual deviation, and greed - these things broke the heart of Christ.~
~But so did we. Our coldness broke His heart and now it freezes Him out. We complacent Christians who are outwardly satisfied, yet inwardly suffering from apathy! We who pray, "Give us compassion for a lost world," and then "sacrifice" a dollar for missions. We with our comfortable homes and apartments and brimming garbage cans. We who have the money, knowledge, and manpower to take the gospel to every creature, and yet we don't. We who say we love the lost, and neglect to tell a lost neighbor about a loving Savior. Jesus' love lies frozen between lips that ought to be warm to speak for Him.~
~Lord, we take off our garments of pride and self-righteousness, glittering but transparent filthy rags that they are, and lay them at Your feet. In our naked need we cry, "Were you colder than this because of us, Lord?" And we weep bitterly, because we know You were.~
~By Ruth Seamands~
~AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS~
~Fearing the battle was over
and I'd already lost the war,
I was tired of trying and failing.
I just couldn't fight no m~
~So, dragging my battle-scarred body,
I crawled to the foot of the cross.
And I sobbed "Oh please, Father forgive me.
But I tried... I tried... and still lost."~
~Then the air grew silent around me.
I heard his voice just as clear as the dawn:
"Oh, My Child, though you are tired and weary,
you can't stop, you have to go on."~
~Then He gathered me lovingly to Him,
as around us God's light clearly shone.
And together we walked through my lifetime
to heal every wound I had known.~
~I found bits of my dreams, long forgotten,
and pieces of my life on the floor.
But I watched as He tenderly blessed them,
and my life was worth living once more.~
~I knew then why I had been losing.
I knew why I had not grown.
At the foot of the Cross came the answer:
I'd been fighting the battle alone.~
~At the foot of the Cross, where I met Him,
At the foot of the Cross, where He died,
Then I knew I could face any challenge
together, just my Lord and I.~
~By Marcia Krugh Leaser~
~THE BLOOD OF JESUS~
~One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a
faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began.~
~You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak.~
~He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this: " My fiancée's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.~
~If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. End of case!!~
~Pass this on to everyone that you truly care for. We all need this message.... God Forgives.. So should we.~
~Author Unknown~
~THE OLD RUGGED CROSS~
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