He will hold you together

"He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together."   

                                                                                     Colossians 1:17   NLT 

Jesus was there at the beginning. He was there when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and all around was in total darkness. He was there when creation took place. The New Living Translation puts it this way:

'Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through Him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on the earth. He made all things we can see and all things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. 17 He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together'  

                                                                                     Colossians 1:15-17

Note the words, 'He holds all creation together', this includes you. If He can hold the planets in place, you can be confident that He can hold you together too. Things may have been difficult just lately - things going wrong, disappointments and ever-rising costs causing money shortages.  

It may feel like things are falling apart but, if Jesus holds things together, He can certainly help here. Your health may have been causing you concern and there doesn't appear to be a remedy. Don't forget, He holds your health together too. Because on the cross, 'By His wounds you are healed' 1 Peter 2:24. Receive your healing by faith, this is one of the reasons He died on the cross for us. 'Yes,' you may say, 'but not everyone is healed, are they? That is true, but it should never stop us from receiving our healing. Many can testify to being healed, myself included.

You may feel that everything around you is falling apart - things keep going wrong and it is getting tedious. Stop right there! If you have asked Jesus into your life, He is right there beside you, He can hold things together for you, including yourself. Try to avoid the 'victim mentality' and replace it with a, 'Jesus mentality'. This is far better. If you are in Jesus, you are not a victim, you are an overcomer, you have the victory.

Begin to see yourself this way. Allow Jesus to hold you together and begin to live in victory!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Death couldn't hold Him

"'They said to her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'Because they've taken away my Lord,' she told them, 'and I don't know where they've put Him."  

                                                                 John 20:23    Christian Standard Bible 

Mary Magdalene had gone to the tomb very early on the Sunday and, she was distressed to find the stone rolled away and Jesus' body missing. Two angels, who were in the tomb, asked her why she was crying. One can almost feel her love and pain as she replied, 'they've taken away my Lord and, I don't know where they've put Him.'

Mary thought that grave robbers were responsible, there had been quite a bit of this just lately and, the authorities had made it a capital offence if caught. It didn't make sense though; the grave clothes were folded neat and tidy, surely there would have been quite a mess if they had taken His body away. There were two other possibilities though; many of His disciples were uncertain and confused about the idea of Jesus being resurrected as he had told them. Could some of them have stolen His body to save His reputation from more humiliation? The elders had bribed the soldiers with a big fee to say this (Matthew 28:11-15). The only other reason could have been, that He had risen to life. All of this would have been going through her mind this day.

Mary, like some of the others, was not a great believer in the resurrection but, that was about to change. As she looked around the area, she saw a man who she thought may be the gardener. Her eyes were so full of tears that she couldn't see Him properly. He also asked her why she was crying and who she was looking for. She told Him and as she walked away in further distress, He called to her, 'Mary'. She knew His voice immediately and turning shouted, 'Rabboni'. To calm her, He told her to go and inform the others that she had seen Him, which she did - joyfully.

Mary was overjoyed and, so should we be. Jesus Christ is no longer in the grave. He overcame death - Satan couldn't hold Him and He blasted out of the realm of the dead and He is with us today - alive!

Think, if the grave couldn't hold Him, then your situation is not difficult for Him either. You may be ill - He can fix it. You be be lonely - He can fix that too. You may be grieving - He can heal the sadness and give you joy once again. You may be short of money - He holds the wealth of the world - He is rich and very generous. You may feel you have the problems of the world on your shoulders - He can lift that off you, right now. Nothing is too difficult for Him. He's alive; He has risen and He is ready and willing to bless you more than you have ever been blessed before. Are you ready for that? Then hold on tight, it's coming, HE'S ALIVE!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Just an ordinary Saturday?

"by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is, eight souls were saved through the water,"    

                                                                                  1 Peter 3:19-20  NKJV

Jesus died on the Friday and rose again on the Sunday. What did He do on the Saturday? Our text above, gives us the answer; He preached to the spirits in hell. He was made alive by the Holy Spirit to go and preach there. Whether He preached to the demonic spirits, lost souls or fallen angels, is unclear. However, it was not by way of evangelism but probably a declaration of God's power and victory over sin and death. 

He had completed His mission and no doubt His declaration would have included the fact about this triumph and a reminder that, 'at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth'  Philippians 2:10 NKJV. This would include the fact that judgement and final condemnation was imminent. He had the victory!

Warren W Wiersbe comments:

'The word translated 'preached' simply means 'to announce as a herald, to proclaim.' It is not the word that means to 'preach the Gospel.' that Peter used in 1:12 and 4:6. Our Lord yielded His spirit to the Father, died and at some time between death and resurrection, visited the realm of the dead where He delivered a message to spirit-beings (probably fallen angels see Jude 6) who were somehow related to the period before the flood. The declaration was probably one of victory over Satan and his forces.'  The Wiersbe Study Bible

Jesus had been victorious; He had defeated sin and death and through this, had opened the way to the Father for all who accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Your sin and mine is now under the blood of Jesus. Because of this, all who believe in Him win also, and have a place in heaven. Our insurance premiums are fully paid and we have been declared 'Not Guilty'. All our past sin has been taken care of never to be mentioned by Jesus again. We are liberated Romans 8:1-2. 

Somebody needs to shout 'Amen' here!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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He never misses a chance to show us His love

"Pilate, therefore wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. 21 But they shouted saying, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him."                            Luke 23:20-21    CSB 

It is now Good Friday and Jesus has had to suffer heavy questioning from the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod. He has had no sleep and has had to face trumped up charges against Him together with a somewhat unfair trial. Finally a bewildered and procrastinating Pilate, hands Jesus over to be beaten and crucified.

Soldiers mocked Him, slapped and spat at Him, pulled out His beard and then flogged Him with the most barbaric form possible - a leather whip interlaced with sharp stones and broken pottery. Each lash ripped His back to shreds. They wound a crown of thorns and forced it on to His head. The thorns were possibly about two inches long, so one could imagine the pain that He suffered. They then paraded Him around to humiliate Him in front of the crown, many hungry for His blood and the excitement of the kill. He was then placed on a wooden cross and had long nails hammered into His hands and feet and He was finally hoisted up between two criminals who had also been crucified.

One of the crucified men at the side of Jesus started verbally abusing Him, challenging Him to come down off the cross and save Himself and the two of them. He carried on blaspheming Jesus Luke 23:39. The other criminal rebuked Him saying that Jesus was innocent and shouldn't have been here, whereas they were both guilty. He turned his head to Jesus and said, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom'. Jesus' reply was breathtaking, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise' V43 NKJV.

This is the kind of love Jesus demonstrates. None of us, just like the criminal, deserve His love and forgiveness, but when we call to Him with repentance we receive it. Just think for a moment, none of the pain and suffering that Jesus had suffered these past couple of days could prevent Him from demonstrating love in action. His body was broken, people were laughing and insulting Him, others waiting for Him to perform a miracle and come off the cross, and He was in agony and yet, a criminal who deserved to be on the cross called to Him and, Jesus' ears were opened and He gave the man Paradise. Amazing.

His grace is enormous; His kindness eternal. He knows what it is to suffer and, He knows what it feels like to be let down and disappointed. You may have been let down recently, your world may be shattered but, hey, this is the reason that Jesus hung on the cross and died for YOU! He can take all of those let downs and disappointments; all of the pain and humiliation, in fact, He wants to change your life right now. Why not allow Him to:

'Lord Jesus, please come into my life and help me. Please take away the hurt and the pain and be my friend. I am sorry for all the bad things that I have done in my life. Please forgive me Lord and fill me with Your Spirit and be my friend. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Total Anguish

"Being in anguish, He prayed more fervently and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground."  v44   of   Luke 22:39-65    Christian Standard Bible 

Anguish can be described as, 'agonising physical or mental pain and torment'. We can only imagine the anguish that Jesus was going through as He knelt and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He would have to face and being in human form the prospect would have been quite daunting.

He asked His Father, 'If You are willing take this cup away from Me - nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done' V42. It was a lonely, frightening night for Jesus; He was so full of anxiety, that an angel came from heaven to strengthen Him V43. His disciples couldn't stay awake and slept soundly, therefore He had no back up or prayer support, no wonder He was so anxious.

Many question whether Jesus did actually sweat blood and I would say that He did. There is a medical condition called Hematidrosis, which is very rare. This condition causes one's sweat to contain blood. The sweat glands are surrounded by tiny blood vessels that can restrict and then dilate to the point of rupture, causing blood to effuse into the sweat glands. The cause of this is extreme anguish. Sourced from WebMD.com

It really would have been an anxious time for Jesus; He was facing the cross and the pain and humiliation of this. Then one of His team - Judas betrayed Him to the authorities V47-48. Judas used an act of love - a kiss, to do this and received thirty pieces of silver for doing so. This was short lived however, because later Judas returned the silver to the Chief Priests and  hung himself because, he was so full of remorse. Some ask, if he had gone to Jesus and repented, would he have been forgiven? We don't know the answer to this but, it may have been possible. Then there was Peter, who despite disagreeing with Jesus' claim that he would deny Him three times, went ahead and did this.

All of this led to Jesus' anguish. In His humanity, He must have felt very let down and hurt, even alone, after all, He had been with these people for over three years. Following all of this, He was mocked and beaten after seeing Pilate. However, there was much more suffering ahead.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Baruch Haba B'shem Adonai

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."                               Mark 11:9     CSB

Baruch Haba is a Hebrew word for 'Welcome', Jews may use this term with a blessing too. The word 'Hosanna' is Hebrew for 'Pray, please save', and our title today, 'Baruch Haba B'shem Adonai, is Hebrew for 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'. 

As Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem, He rode a donkey. One would think, not the most becoming ways of travelling for a 'king'. However, one would be wrong as riding a donkey was almost like a status symbol for kings to use in that day and age. As He approached the city, the people spread their clothes and leafy branches on the road to make it easier for the donkey to tread on. It was also a sign of an offering to Him. 

The people were calling out this term to Jesus by way of praise and adoration as He went by. An alternative declaration would have been, 'Welcome to Him who has come in the name of YHWH'. 

The term Baruch Haba B'shem Adonai, was occasionally spoken at a Jewish wedding, especially to the Bride and Bridegroom. Some Rabbis still use this term in the ceremony. It has been said that Jewish guests at a wedding would shout out when they saw the Bridegroom coming with his entourage, in order to welcome him. Many Jewish scholars, have even suggested that this could be interpreted as, 'Come Bridegroom! Baruch Haba B'shem Adonai'. 

As Jesus - the Lamb, is the Bridegroom, one day as scripture tells us, we will be with our Bridegroom - 'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb' Revelation 21:9, and this will only be the beginning!

Sourced from www.ourancientpaths.org

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Jesus has your back

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."                     Jude 24    NKJV 

As we approach Easter, take the time to fully realise all that Jesus did for us; take the time to consider and understand how He has set us free from our sinful life to present us, holy before His Father. Colossians 1:22 says that He has reconciled us, 'in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in His sight.' Amazing, when He sees us, we are blameless in His sight. If you are feeling bad about yourself today, remember that. Warren W Wiersbe writes:

 'God chose us to be without blame before Him in love. People may have accusations to bring against us, but they cannot change our relationship with God.'

The devil will accuse us to God; he will attempt to get us into trouble but, the Lord rebukes him Zechariah 3:1-2. He will have no accusatory statements made against us. When Satan creeps in unnoticed and sees what we are doing, he may then run to God to tell tales; but God refuses to take it on board. Jesus keeps us from stumbling; the enemy will try to trip us up or lead us down the wrong path. But, Jesus is right there with us, and if we have placed Him in charge, He will pick us up or lead us in the right direction. 

Can you imagine what it will be like to see Jesus face to face. One thing is for sure, we will have no sin clinging to our bodies; we will be spotless and without blemish. But are you open to the fact that, even in our earthly body with all of the sin smothered  upon us, when Jesus looks at us we are perfect; He sees the finished product, He sees us through the eyes of faith.

You may not be feeling this way today. You may be feeling battered and bruised or taken for granted - even left out in the cold. Try to focus on how Jesus sees you; talk to Him, He really is interested. He has your back so stay in His presence and remember, He can change your situation in the click of a finger

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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