From time to time I get a crazy word that will not quit dancing around in my head.  Today has been one of those days.  When I awoke, it was my first thought.  While trying to drink my coffee, random thoughts about this word has caused me to envision it, wonder about it, define its many meanings, research it, and question why a crazy word would scroll, spin and skip across the screen of my mind like a fancy PowerPoint presentation!  It has also tried to get my attention like an animated word trying to “show-off” what it can do, what it looks like, what it means….and what obviously God is trying to say about it… to me.  I could not get to the computer fast enough to begin typing in all of the bazaar thoughts and images that seemed to be blasting through the door of my brain!  Perhaps you cannot relate to the nagging call of words, but I often do.  Yep, I call it a God moment!  It’s a time when the Holy Spirit wants to reveal more of himself to me.  As the word rides the carousel of my mind, I have learned to stop, listen, and explore.  I don’t think I’m crazy, I think it’s just the way God designed my brain to think!  I’d rather like to call it creative!

So I know you are dying to know which word has caused me to stop what I’m doing, think about it, research it, pray over it, and then relate to you my findings….Ready?

                                     Gap!  A simple little 3 letter word with OH so much meaning!

                                            1.     Gap:  an unfilled space or interval; a break in continuity
                                            2.     a difference, esp. an undesirable one between two views or situations
                                            3.     a break or hole in an object or between two objects
                                            4.     a pass or way through…

Here in America, we have a department store that is even called GAP.  What an interesting name for a store and why would anyone want to open a store called this since it seems to be a negative term?  I began to think of it as the store that could not meet everyone’s need because there was a gap in the merchandise offered to its customers.  This is totally not the case.  I researched it on Snopes.com only to discover that it was first opened in 1969 because of the lack of jeans in most stores.  The retailer took its name in homage to "the generation gap," a term popular in the late 1960s describing the intellectual, ethical, and social gulf between young people and their parents' generation.   Now, the gap has been filled!  There is GAP for baby, men, women, and kids!  (That was just a side note!)

More examples of gap inundated my thinking.  I thought about the gap in my zipper when my clothes are too tight, the gap of age differences between some of my friends, the gap of understanding or misunderstandings between generations, and the big gap of understanding scripture from a historical perspective that I often experience.  There is also a gap of inability to accomplish tasks and often I need some one to fill it for me.  Sometimes there is a gap in my schedule that allows me to do things for others or simply enjoy a quiet gap or interval of time.

I imagined a gap in a door with the light shining through.  Then I questioned myself, “Am I shining spiritual light through a gap in the door of the dark places God sends me?”  I imagined a gap as silence that was issued between my friend and me because of God’s plan for our separation and her life.  I began to think about a gap as a void, and all the gaps that seem to have abstract bridges connecting space and time and circumstance.  My imagination led me to start thinking of the ways and things that stand in the gap or bridge the gap in my life or hold a gap open.  A substitute is also a form of filling a gap.  As a teacher, there are times that I need someone to be my substitute, take my place.  Many times Kathy and I “fill the gap” for one another when posting these blogs.  Though we write them, it’s not always us (on our turn) that click the Publish Live button.  Even Easter Sunday, I was ready to “stand in the gap” and conduct for Ken, our choir director and Kathy’s husband, in case they got an emergency call to be with their daughter for an early arrival of their new grandbaby! 

Our thought process and response seems to want to fill in all gaps, those empty voids that stare us in the face.  My mind quickly began to ponder stories in the Scriptures were “substitutes” or “gap-fillers” took place.  And then in another moment, I began to notice that not all substitutes were good and gaps were fixed (or tried to be) by taking things into their own hand.  (ie. Ishmael, a substitute son - Sarah and Hagar – Genesis 16) (David’s substitute method for carrying the Ark of the Covenant resulting in the death of Uzzah – 2 Samuel 6) 

How often do we try to take matters into our own hands, even thinking that we are doing good?  There have been many times that I have chosen to fill in the gap or seek a substitute…without first praying!   Yep, that’s when I find myself in a mess!  We all need to practice discernment before we jump into situations.  

 Hebrews 5:14
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Hosea 14:9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.

Philippians 1:9-10
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

I had a small crisis moment (well…for me) this week when I realized that I was not going to be able to complete a particular task without an extreme amount of stress added to my week.  As I worked on it, the Lord began to remind me of ALL of the times that He has proved His faithfulness to me by providing others to help “fill the gap” for me with the many, many projects and time crunching events.  I had a hard time trying to stop the names and situations from coming to my mind.  They just kept flowing like a slow trickle from a leaky faucet.  Then I realized how incredibly blessed I am that others would see my need and volunteer and/or help with these numerous situations.  

• When I was out of time, the gap was filled.  
  
• When I couldn’t physically handle something, the gap was filled.  
  
• When I needed intellectual help, the gap was filled.  
  
• When I couldn’t think any longer, the gap was filled.
  
• When I was emotionally spent, the gap was filled.
  
• When I was financially depleted, the gap was filled.
  
• When I was spiritually dry, the gap was filled and restoration took place.
  
• When I was so angry, and separated myself, the gap was filled.
  
• When I was hurt, the gap was filled.
  
• When I needed encouragement, the gap was filled.
  
• When I needed help, the gap was filled!

                                           I could continue for hours…

The tears began to flood my eyes as God revealed His great love to me through remembering the beautiful sacrifice of the help given through others.  They stood in the gap for me, because they loved me!  I have sat in awe just thinking about it.  God has always sent someone along and that “someone” simply responded to His nudging.  It’s His great design for help meeting our need!  He sends others!  I think it’s interesting that even at the beginning of time, God provided Adam with Eve so that they could work together to help meet the need for one another (Genesis 2:18); each sorta standing in the gap for one another.  We all have different gifts and have need one for another.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
I recognize God’s hand in the midst of each crisis and also have learned to recognize two messages that He often repeats throughout my life:  Trust me!  I am Faithful.

It is now just 7 days after Easter.  I have thought about the many things Jesus did after the tomb was opened.  After the resurrection, Jesus began to appear and reveal himself for 40 days speaking about the kingdom of God.  On the day of His ascension, Jesus reminded His disciples of the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father.  I guess I kind of think about the Holy Spirit as a type of substitute for the physical being of Jesus, although they (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are three in one.  The Trinity!  (Joshua 1: 5 & Hebrews 13:5)

                                                  Even when we don’t know how to pray or what to pray, 
                                God has provided a way to fill the gap for that, too!  The Holy Spirit!  (Romans 8:26)

There is no generation gap with the Father.  He has sent His son for all and He meets us where we are.  As I recall more Biblical stories, He met everyone...man, woman, child, rich, poor, healthy, afflicted, those with great need and those who had it all (but Him).  He met with kings and rulers, harlots and thieves.  He has filled every gap!

Today I thank the Lord for His faithfulness in my life.  I thank Him for the many opportunities to trust Him completely.  I also thank Him for those whom He sends to help narrow the gap, fill the gap, brighten the gap and even bridge the gap!  If you have been one of the many people in my life with whom I am referring, I am personally thanking you again…even now! 

If you want to be blessed today, stop and think about the many ways that God has proved His faithfulness by providing “gap-fillers” in your life!  Take a moment to thank them, it might bless and encourage them!

If you haven't stood in the gap for anyone lately, I encourage you to do so, just don't take matters into your own hands!

Luke 6:38 - Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye meet withal it shall be measured to you again.

Acts 20:35 - I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

If you are needing someone to help fill the gap, remember...
Philippians 4:19 - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
                                                                                               Ask what you will and the Father will send what you need!

Sometimes filling the smallest gap can mean the world to someone!  It's a form of showing them love!

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13: 34, 35

Thanks be to God for His Marvelous Provisions,
Sherry

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       Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and bring glory to God, the Father. His death made a way for us to have freedom and victory in this life. But we must choose to live in the freedom, to live in the victory. So often we live as though the battle has not been won.

What would it look like for you to live in freedom today?
What is the sin, or guilt that has imprisoned your life?

         It could be bitterness. Maybe you just can't let it go. 
Maybe it's the poison of unforgiveness. Choose today to walk in freedom and experience the victory that Jesus died and rose for. As a believer your sins have been forgiven by the Savior. Embrace the life He offers you. Walk in forgiveness.

Maybe it's unfulfilled dreams, anxiety, failure, betrayal, unmet needs and expectations, the pain of your life and circumstances….

What is keeping you from living the life God intended when He sacrificed His one and only beloved Son for you?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Consider what Jesus brought to the Cross -
 "With scarred hands he offered forgiveness. Through torn skin he promised acceptance. He took the path to take us home. He wore our garment to give us His own." Max Lucado

The cross - We can study it, analyze it, pray to it, sing about it. But until we choose to respond to it, embrace it and all it stands for, we will never live in the freedom that God intended. We have to choose to leave something at the cross. What is the thing - the sin, the guilt, the death, the  ____________ that is keeping you from walking in the freedom and power of the resurrected life? 

“We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part, and men will take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.” 
― Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest 

1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Leave it at the cross, because we can't live in victory as long as we keep holding on to the things that are holding our hearts captive. Choose freedom. It's the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ! 

“God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having. life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bonds that hinder the life...” 
― Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

This beloved verse tells us what the captivating love of Jesus within us looks like.
1 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP)
It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].1 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP)

        Before Jesus went to the cross He spoke of many things to His disciples in the upper room and in the garden of Gethsemane. In His final words He told them how to live, how to love and He offered the hope of eternal life. Our Savior knew that His death on the cross was not the end of the story. Sunday was coming!! Jesus rose from the dead!!!!

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24

 The story doesn't end at the cross for Jesus and it doesn't end there for you or me. For Jesus reigns in heaven and one day as believers we will live and reign there with Him. 

        There is a song on our cd of choir anthems for the Easter season that I keep playing over and over. My friend and I were discussing the power and beauty of it's message just last night. Every time we listen we end up in tears. Not because it is sad, but because it is truth that offers hope in our fallen world.  Hope through the cross, hope in the resurrection and hope for an eternal, heavenly home.

 Please take a moment and listen to the words of this wonderful gospel song written by Jennie Lee Riddle and Crystal Yates.

Soon Lord, oh very soon, 
Oh, soon Lord, oh very soon, 
You'll come take me to be with You. 
Soon Lord, very soon, 
Soon Lord, oh very soon.










Won't you come and walk with Jesus on this journey to your heavenly home. We can walk together in freedom and victory because the price for our sin has been paid. Love was slain for you and me and Jesus is risen from the grave!


"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3 

I encourage you to break away for 10 or 15 minutes to read this blog.  It's a little long but full of things to ponder as we approach Easter.  I think you will be blessed if you remove yourself from your ordinary ritual and relocate today's reading in a setting of candlelit serenity and with an attitude of devoted contemplation.  Be blessed.

Head, Will, and Authority:
On His head was a crown of thorns.  We know according to scripture that the crown of thorns was a mockery from the soldiers (Matt. 27: 27-32).  Jesus had submitted and turned Himself over to earthly authority of government and to the will of His Father in heaven.  He sacrificed His head, and His will (Matt. 26:42).  In comparison, we must die daily, also sacrificing and submitting our head and mind to God.  "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" and "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..." James1:8, 5  How is your thought life? Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. (Phil.4:8)  We also should submit to authority 1 Peter 2:13 "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority..."  But more importantly, to God (James 4:7)

Hands:
I then thought about His hands that were nailed; sacrificed.  Both the right hand and the left hand.  He used those hands to serve.  He washed the feet of the disciples.  He cooked on the beach.  He lifted Peter up from the raging sea.  He touched eyes and ears, and healed with His hands.  He served bread, wine, and fish.  I imagine Him helping Zacchaeus out of the tree, lifting the chin as she washes His feet with perfume, knocking on his friends’ door and putting a small child on His knee.  All acts of service!  From the right hand to the left hand and as far as the east is from the west, our hands should also serve one another. (Gal. 5:13)  "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." (Ecc. 9:12a)

Feet:
I thought of His feet and where they had traveled.  They walked with the 2 on the road to Emmaus, his feet walked on water, climbed into a boat, walked down a dusty and rocky road, they were anointed by one who loved him greatly, they spent 40 days walking in the desert, they stood teaching in the temple, they shared steps with His friends on the path to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.  Lastly, they took that weary walk up the hill to Galgotha.  Jesus sacrificed His feet to perform His Father's will.  Think about the paths that you walk.  Do you sacrifice your steps by walking in the Spirit?  (Gal 5:16)  How beautiful are the feet of them that bring good news (Rom. 10:15).  Do you go out of the way to help a brother or sister in need?  Do you walk along side of someone who is weary and troubled, encouraging them in their journey?  Sacrifice your feet in service to the Lord and for others.  It is Christian love.

Side:
The soldier pierced Jesus' side.  He was sacrificed from the bloody, matted hair on the top of His head to the bottom soles of His feet.  Then, His side, the very middle of his frame.  I think of it as the very center or the depth of who He was, all around the vital organs; close to His heart, His lungs and taking his very breath.  Do we give our all, our very being?  Jesus did!  For Me to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Phil. 1:21)

Back and shoulders:
Jesus was scourged.  Beaten and whipped. His back was covered with blood and his muscles exposed. By his stripes we are healed.  His flesh was ripped and torn. Yet, He carried the heavy burden of the cross and the weight of mans sin on His shoulders.  Are we willing to sacrifice our back and shoulders to help carry someone’s cross or burden?  (Gal. 6:2)  Be a friend to someone.  That’s sacrificial love.

Appearance:
Jesus sacrificed His whole body, including His appearance.  His face was spat upon.  His brow was bruised and bleeding.  He was completely exposed on the cross.  Nothing hidden from anyone.  How often we have let our appearance or identify get in the way of Christ’s work in us or through us?  It's called pride.  Will you sacrifice it for the cause of Christ?  Are you willing to be transparent?  It’s called intimacy.  

Clothes:
Even His clothes were taken, along with His dignity as the soldiers cast lots.  (Matt. 27:35)  Give what you have (Luke 6:38 Matt. 5:40)

Emotions:
Jesus even sacrificed His emotions.  Can you imagine watching your family go through such grief? (Jn. 19:26,27)  How about the disappointment of His friends when they couldn’t stay awake to pray with Him or fully understand His Lordship and the coming Kingdom, or His great love for them?  What about the emotions He felt as the Father turned His Face away?  Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice by taking on the sin of man and paying the penalty for us.  In Jn.19:28 we read, "After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst."  I can't help but think that now he thirsted not only for drink, but for the Living Water that He freely gave.

Jesus Christ sacrificed everything!  From within and out.  Why?  Because of His deep love for us.  For you.  For me.  Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Heb. 9:22  Prophecy was fulfilled, payment was made, and now the free gift of eternal life is yours by receiving God's son, the Savior and Lover of your soul. 

          " Love so amazing, 
                        so divine, demands my soul, 
                                         my life, my all!"    ~ I. Watts

Over the last week, I have replayed a special moment that Kathy and I shared as time was consecrated and prayers were lifted - bathing from head to foot over ministry and direction.  My desire is to be like Jesus, devoting my all and sharing His love with others.  I give my head (mind/thoughts), my heart (passions/desires/soul), my hands and feet (tools for service), my side/center (inmost being/depth of all I am).  It will take great sacrifice on my part. 
                                                                                                 I am willing.  Will you join me? 
                                                                                                          Love is a sacrifice.

How deep is the Father's love for us!  Won't you go deeper still...with Him?  Play Kathy & Ken's recording below.  Listen closely to the words and let the Holy Spirit minister to your soul.  Then read the scripture.  It will help you know how to live a sacrificial life.  One that is pleasing to God.

A Living Sacrifice  
Romans 12: 1-21

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your a faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love in Action
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I do have glorious news!  After Jesus made such a beautiful, terrible sacrifice and died, He rose again and lives today!    That same resurrection power is alive in those who believe in the Son of God! 
Remembering His Ultimate Sacrifice for me,
Sherry

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        It is Easter season. The flowers are blooming in all their glory in celebration and we are preparing to celebrate the blessed hope that we have in the resurrection of Jesus. Each year as I come into this season I am reminded of my time visiting Jerusalem almost 20 years ago now. The impact that walking in the footsteps of Jesus had on my life at that time forever changed me.  

 

      His Word came alive in new ways for me in that season as I experienced the land and people where Jesus lived on earth. As I walked in the garden of Gethsemane and sat on the hillsides of Galilee, ate a Passover meal in Jerusalem and sang in the streets, hillsides and citadels of Israel, His life in me was renewed. Through the years my faith has been nurtured and challenged by wonderful teaching of many great scholars and preachers. But each year as we approach Palm Sunday and Easter my mind goes back to my experiences in that place and the teaching of a great man of faith Ray Vanderlaan. Much of what I am writing today I learned from his Biblical teaching series.

       So today as you read, I encourage you to use your imagination and try to place yourself in the setting of the land of Israel and the ancient city of Jerusalem.  Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem with his disciples for the Passover. He passes through the same Judean wilderness where He was tempted. It is barren, rocky, dusty. I wonder what He was thinking as He passed through that desert place. He is on His way to die on a cross for your sin and mine.  Surely He wonders, “Is there no other way?”, but again He presses on in His mission. 

        On the Sunday before Passover when Jesus enters Jerusalem, his heart is set toward the cross. He enters on the side of the Mount of Olives and the bustling city lays ahead of Him. The Sunday before Passover, according to Exodus 12, was the day the people began the celebration of Passover.  The city would have been crowded with people for this day was lamb selection day, the day when each Jewish family picked the lamb that was to die on the following Friday. This was the day when the people would choose a perfect lamb for the Passover. On that day the Lamb of God entered the city among the crowd riding on a donkey to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah. 


On this Sunday Jesus came not just as a triumphant King, but as the Lamb. It was almost as if God was saying, “Here’s my Lamb. Will you choose Him?” 
God’s perfect, spotless Lamb chose this day to enter the city where He would die. But the people did not recognize who He was. 

        Passover was a season of freedom, when the people celebrated their freedom from slavery in Egypt in a feast. During this time, it was not unusual for there to be uprisings among the crowds and so the Romans brought in extra troops to keep order in the city. As Jesus entered the people began to shout out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna was a very different cry of God’s people than the songs and shouts we speak in our churches on Palm Sunday. For today we recognize Him as the Lamb of God, the Conquering King of our souls who reigns in Heaven. But the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem their cry, “Hosanna, Save us!” was a political statement - save us - deliver us - from the Romans!  

       Try to place yourself among the crowd of people oppressed by the Romans when the One enters whom you believe can deliver you. As Jesus, the Messiah comes, the excitement grows, almost like a parade the people clamor to see Him as they wave their palm branches.The palm branches were also a Jewish symbol of freedom. They were crying out for national deliverance, not the kind of deliverance the Lamb of God had come to bring.

        The Scriptures tell us that Jesus wept as he entered the city. The people were crying out joyously as they welcomed the Messiah, but Jesus wept! The week before Jesus had wept at the death of his friend Lazarus, even though He knew He would raise him from the dead. He wept in silent sobs at the sorrow of his dear friends. He grieved with them for that is the kind of King we have. Now, a week later, He wept again.The Greek word for weeping used here means He cried aloud, in convulsive sobs. Jesus, the King, rides in on a borrowed donkey and the people throw their cloaks down on the road before Him and begin to praise God for all the miracles He had done and their voices rise to such a level that the Pharisees ask Jesus to hush up the people. They fear, I suspect, the emotion and love of the people for Jesus, they fear the Romans reaction, and they fear this Jesus who questions their integrity and undermines their authority.

         But Jesus says to them, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  Luke 19:40

       Then Jesus approaches the city. It is a breathtaking sight of beauty, lush gardens, watch towers surrounded by stone walls, and Jerusalem’s crown, the temple, gleams like a jewel within.
 "But to Jesus it is a panorama of pain."  Ken Gire 

         As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:41-44

         He heard their cries, saw their future and knew that the people, His people, were seeking peace in the wrong way. Jesus had another way to peace, another plan for battle. Jesus does not weep for Himself and the pain and curses and cross He will bear in the days ahead. He weeps for Jerusalem, for the millions who will suffer and die. Jesus knew as He wept that the battle for our peace could only be won on the cross. Before the week was done, Jesus, the King, who rode in on a borrowed donkey, would lay in a borrowed grave.

                                                            How does Jesus cry for you today?
               Does He cry as your Savior and friend for the brokenness and sorrow of your heart? 
                      Or is He weeping bitterly because He has come as the Lamb of God for you
                                              and you have missed it?

       In Jerusalem, this Palm Sunday, Jesus has at last come to reveal himself as King, but He is not the kind of King they are looking for. Jesus came for you and me as a King, but his kingship would be different. He came as a servant King, a King who was willing to give his life as the Lamb of God to usher in His kingdom.

         So as we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Easter week, the coming of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and the cross, Easter and His resurrection, I think it’s important to pause and ask some questions.