Holy Week - Wednesday

On this day our Lord remained withdrawn in silence at Bethany, preparing Himself for the agony that awaited Him.

In the house of Simon the Leper, He was anointed by a woman, in preparation for His burial.

Judas was bargaining with the chief priests to betray Him.

Mark 14:1-11

A day of contrasts.
Judas is busy; secret meetings with enemies, money changes hands, greed is satisfied.
Jesus is quiet; no parables, no apocalyptic discourses, no signs.
 
A woman comes, no name given, but her story told wherever the gospel goes. She recognises Jesus: no, she doesn't know about the Trinity, or the incarnation, or the hypostatic union. She has not been trained in Creed or Confession - but she recognises Jesus.
The Jesus before her is worthy;
    worthy of her love,
    worthy of her devotion,
    worthy of her perfume,
    worthy of her tears.
The Jesus before her is greater;
    greater than any man she has known, (in all the senses of that word)
    greater than her fear,
    greater than her shame,
    greater than her need.
 
So she comes, she honours Jesus with the best she has and is accepted by him and given as an example for all to follow.
 
There's a Brenton Brown song 'Jesus You Are Worthy', I don't know how to copy audio files into a blog, so here are the words:
 
Jesus you are mercy, Jesus you are justice
Jesus you are worthy that is what you are
you died alone to save me, your rose so you could raise me
you did this all to make me a chosen child of God

(How) Worthy is the Lamb that once was slain
To receive all glory power and praise
For with your blood you purchased us for God
Jesus you are worthy, that is what you are.

Perfect sacrifice crushed by God for us
bearing in your hurt all that I deserve
misjudged for my misdeeds you suffered silently
he only guiltless man in all of history.

Holy Week - Tuesday

On this day our Lord told five parables; He answered the questions of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, a lawyer.


He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and spoke of the final judgement of all men and women.



Mark 11:27-13:36
 
Five parables,
Five lessons,
Five ways to reject the authority of the Lord Jesus.
 
One question about one baptism;
One refusal to answer,
               (He who is silent is assumed to agree)
One vineyard,
One owner,
Many servants,
Some tennants = some killings, beatings, greedy graspings.
 
One brother and a wife,
six brothers and no children.
Countless readings of Scripture without any understanding. (A warning to us all)
 
One commandment;
Two commandments,
Love is the way of the Kingdom.
 
One Christ,
One son of David,
One Lord over all.
 
Many fine stones can all be overthrown,
Many famines, earthquakes, troubles can all be misunderstood.
Many false prophets and false Christ's will try to decieve.
Many signs for many generations,
     but the sign of the fig tree must still be learned!
Many days, many hours,
but no one knows when, except the Father only.
 
One Lord, who is Jesus.
One Teacher, who is the Christ.
One call, 'Follow me'.

Keep Downloading

At 4.30 pm on Monday, Delirious? History Maker is no 21 on the iTunes chart, and no 1 on the Amazon download chart.

I've copied the lyrics into this post.


History Maker


Is it true today that when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

Is it true today that when people pray
We'll see dead men rise
And the blind set free
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land
I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into your arms, into your arms again
Into your arms, into your arms again

Well it's true today that when people stand
With the fire of God, and the truth in hand
We'll see miracles, we'll see angels sing
We'll see broken hearts making history
Yes it's true and I believe it
We're living for you
Written by Martin Smith �1996 Curious? Music UK

Holy Week - Monday

On this day our Lord returned to Jerusalem from Bethany, cursing the fig tree on His way.


He cleansed the courts of the Temple, and He declared that His Father's House should be a house of prayer for all nations.

Mark 11:12-26
 
A tree that should bear fruit. A house that should be for prayer.
Things are not the way they should be.
 
A nation that has been chosen to be a holy people, a royal priesthood is a nation that ought to display the likeness of the God who chose them, the God who brought them out of slavery, who has loved them with a great love.
The heart beat of such a nation is its living together with God. A house of prayer, a symbol for a people of prayer as the way we live together with God. When this symbol is perverted, demeaned, reduced into a market for crooks and swindlers no wonder there is no fruit in the nation.
 
In the Kingdom where Jesus is the King, where there is no need for a house of prayer because all in the Kingdom are united to the King, that fruit which is a blessing to the nations, a blessing to all creation is grown until the branches groan, so heavy are they with this bountiful fruit.
 
Jesus is King, His Kingdom has come. But where is the fruit? Where is the people who live by prayer?

Chocolate isn't close to the whole story!

Thanks to Mike Bird for a great response to a Ferrero Rocher ad (which I haven't seen) and giving us a great into to this holy week.

Read it here.

Welcoming the King

Mark 11:9-10

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

Three cries of welcome for the King.

1. Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Literally, 'save now', becomes a cry of praise and thanksgiving. We welcome the King by recognising our need, depending upon him alone and thanking/praising him for our salvation.

2. Blessed is he who comes in God's name.
An affirmation, not a prayer request for blessing. We welcome the one who comes as God himself because this is who Jesus really is, God with us.

3. Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David.
The great human king, promised an eternal kingdom, foreshadow of the Christ. We welcome God's Christ and together with him we welcome the Kingdom now come among us.

How do we welcome Jesus our King?

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