As we move through a very fearful time in history with COVID -19 threatening on every front and in every country every continent, let’s not forget to celebrate our Saviour in this precious Holy A holy week, this year, surrounded by some kind of evil force raging on all fronts, against us, around us, beside, behind and before. Yeah, today is Palm Sunday, the celebration of our King, the week before the cross, and we celebrate at home, maybe through virtual connection and Social media! Yet, today, we celebrate our Saviour, who didn’t come to be an earthly king, but a heavenly King and One of greater glory. One of Heavenly glory that would finally defeat the ultimate enemy of death! So as we move through the day our emphasis and focus are on the triumphal entry of our Lord riding into Jerusalem on the lowliness of a borrowed donkey! This event fulfilled an ancient prophecy prophesied back in Zechariah 9:9:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
He was their King, but not a military King, arrayed in royal robes of silk and satin, purple or gold, rather He wore the common clothes of humility. His birthplace ~ a stable and His bed ~ a feeding trough. His triumphal entry wasn’t mounted on a prancing steed of pride or a spectacular show horse but rather He approached His ‘palm branch waving,” crowd of fans, on a borrowed donkey, as a lowly servant of God, coming only to seek, to save and to serve. This journey would end in death but the ultimate irony ~ Victory over it! That’s always God’s way ~ Good out of bad!
Christ didn’t come to make war with gunfire and bloodshed or to take by force as earthly kings do, but to win hearts by unconditional love, awesome mercy, amazing grace and His own shed blood and ‘self’ sacrifice for a world lost in wretched sin. He didn’t come to take people captive but to set them free; those bound tightly in their sin and on death row. He doesn’t rule a kingdom of mighty armies but His Kingdom is of Heavenly angels and weakened blood-washed saints who have been refined in the fires of adversity and come forth as gold. Powerful, prayer warriors, who’ve been washed in the Blood of the Lamb, cleansed, forgiven and set free from the chains that bound them; they are those who’ve been purged in the fires of struggle, and trial and who have tasted the results of bad choices in the fast lane and on the downside, yet strengthened, quickened and renewed by them all at the same time. His saints and warriors know how to fight the good fight of faith by putting on the full armour of God in order to stand against the wiles and deceits of the enemy. In all faith, they know how to pray mighty prayers that move the hand of God upon our sin-sick earth to see results for the glory of God’s Kingdom! He came not to take nations down but to heal their land through forgiveness and changed lives. He takes minds and renews. He takes lives and cleanses, setting them on the path of healing to a new life in Christ. His message is not one of anger but of peace with God! A peace that’s not of this world:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14: 27:
Only a week after His triumphal entry, Christ carried His own cross to that Gethsemane Hill where He willingly laid down His life for the good of the world. He offered peace, but the majority didn’t get it, and the cross ruled as they nailed Him there ~ as we nailed Him there in those lonely moments, when God turned His back allowing the sin of the world to be laid on Him. It was there on that horrendous yet beautiful cross that Christ took the sin of mankind upon Himself. Let your mind wander to that Hill, to the mercy cross! Let your heart follow to that place where justice and mercy meet; to that scandalous place of bloodshed, horrendous horror, torture, humility and sacrificial servanthood to the ultimate degree! Yet against all odds, three days later, He rose again, defeating death, according to and fulfilling His Father’s will.
Meet Him there at the cross, for forgiveness and then look to His victory over death and the empty grave for hope and everlasting life beyond death!
One day He will rule the world in peace but until then, He still desires to make His triumphal entry into the individual hearts and souls of those that will receive Him; to set up His Kingdom of peace in the lives of humankind one by one and in so doing, heal the nations of the world one heart at a time, through cleansing and forgiveness, saving it and it’s people from its own sinful, self–destruction. He still offers peace but the majority just doesn’t get it!
His motive is salvation! His driving force forgiveness and healing! His message ~ unconditional love and His rule is peace! It’s simple yet many don’t get it! Have you got it?
#Palmsunday #Holyweek #Soulnotetoself
Yeah, we might truly feel, at such a time as this, the sky is falling with imminent disaster but what on the face of this virus-infested earth are we to do about it? Turns out there’s nothing we can do, except be heroes in our homes to keep others well. I get it that, we may have our own trauma, inside our COVID-19, social distancing, walls with many things churning in our minds. Close quarters, sometimes too close for comfort! Fear of death, safety for our kids and our families coupled with financial pressure, health issues, family struggles, and emotional upheaval, where just coping and keeping our heads above water is hard. There may be many voices to hear and many thoughts to control. Some voices will convey fear, others panic! Other confused voices might lead us off track making us feel completely helpless and hopeless in it all and lure us into a den of temptation, despair and eventually defeat.
Philippians 4: 6, 9
Hope and Healing In Hard Places 