While I was praying and writing this morning, a friend posted the same words I had in my heart. I'm going to merge the two here and share them with you all this week.
There are many people of faith who don’t celebrate Holy Week or Passover... Believers who go to church on Palm Sunday, wave palm branches, shout hosanna and celebrate Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem on a prophesied colt. And then they skip directly to Easter Sunday- resurrection day- where we sing songs of a risen savior who conquered death for us!
I don't blame them? We love the concept of living victory to victory. Who wants to focus on betrayal and denial and a gruesome death? It’s human nature to want resurrection without death.
But Romans 8 tells us this:
“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering."
This week I encourage you to journey with Jesus through the hard times. May we engage differently, this week with the families we serve. May we willingly walk with them in difficulty knowing God can revive any situation! May we learn from his example how to endure the grief, pain and even death that leads to our ultimate resurrection.
Pray this prayer with us, written by Bart Fletcher this week:
Lord Jesus Christ, we honor and remember you today in praise and pain, for in this holy week of your life you experienced both. Lift our hearts in praise! You are our King! We are grateful for your strong presence in our lives. And then, Lord, lead us into the shadows as we feel your pain. We trust you with our injuries, our betrayals, our suffering. You know what it is to be human, and we thank you. Strengthen us in the days ahead as we walk closely with you, for your sake … and ours. Amen.
If your church is looking for ways to serve your community... If you would like to be part of stepping into painful situations and bringing life... please contact me 513-348-6798 or renae.denbow@careportal.org so I can help you enroll your church or join an existing response team.
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