A Christ Follower: The Journey

  He was wounded for our breaking God's law. He was bruised for our premeditated sin. The punishment, for our sin, that should have been ours, was placed on Him so we could  have Peace with God. And by His stripes we are eternally healed. Isaiah 53:5 And so, we call this day "Good Friday." SoJourner

  On This Day On this day, Holy Wednesday, a covert operator of the 1st century went into action.  We call him "The Spy."  We know him by the name of Judas. He was motivated by the Satan who, via "Holy Men" was paid off to deceptively betray Jesus. What Most People Don't Know What most people don't know about this is how Jesus demonstrated the lengths he went to offer Judas grace and love; for example, on one occasion early in his ministry, Jesus sent out the twelve to accomplish powerful tasks. They healed the sick, cast out demons, and worked all kinds of miracles.  The Holy Spirit, with His power, made it possible for them to do what no one had ever done before.  Judas, in spite of all he was, was also favored in such a way. He worked miracles, cast out demons, and he healed the sick. Additionally, even though Judas was identified as a thief, he was selected as the treasurer for the twelve. Finally, Judas was given 3 full years with Jesus to see him in ac...

  Holy Tuesday AD 33 -- More or Less On this day during Holy Week, we see a side of Jesus that many people don't like to see.  It was on this day; He prophesied some bad news about the Temple, and it came true, as the Temple was destroyed as He predicted. It was on this day He drove the money changers, the thieves and religious leader conmen out of the Temple in Jerusalem. And it was on this day He spoke forcefully towards the religious leaders that constantly came after Him, and who were corrupt to the core. I call this the " Seven Woes of Jesus ." No, we don't hear a lot about this side of Emmanuel, God with us. But just as Jesus spoke words of love, joy and peace, as God, He also pronounced God's judgement, and this gave the religious bigots of His time on earth more motivation to get rid of Him. The Seven Woes Pronounced on the Teachers of the Law and The Pharisees Here the Word of the LORD Matthew 23:13-33 I "'Woe to you, teachers of the law and Phar...

A Day of Judgment  Today is a sacred day during Holy Week.  Some call it "Holy Monday. "   Jesus stayed fairly busy on this day: I call it a day of judgement, and a day of prophesy. We see in Matthew 11:12-33 that Jesus must have been hungry. He saw a fig tree, and he went to pick some figs. This was strange because it wasn't, according to the Bible, the season for these trees to produce fruit. Either way, Jesus declared the fig tree would never again produce figs, and later it was clear the fig tree had died.  Now, the fig tree is a key biblical symbol of the nation of Israel.  Israel had failed to carry out its covenant obligation of sharing God's Kingdom and covenant.  Israel was about to reject its Messiah; therefore, Jesus was making a judgment, and it was in line with what we discussed yesterday.  Israel was carried away once again by an invading nation -- this time it happened to be Rome. And the prophesy, as we said yesterday, came true wh...

  Here Comes the King... Sort Of A Day of Joy Palm Sunday was a day of joy for the crowds shouting "Hosannah!" But they were shouting with joy for the wrong reason. They took only part of Zechariah's prophesy for this day as gospel, and they assumed because of what they were viewing that in a short while Jesus would be defeating the Romans who had enslaved them for so very long. Everything Jesus was doing that day, as He rode on that donkey, was clearly written by the Prophet that this King would do; however, they left out the part where Zechariah said of this King, "It is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord."  These folks couldn't see the spiritual revival that would sweep the globe and provide eternal life all over for more than two thousand + years and counting. They only saw the conquering hero of their dreams. The Day and Person of Sorrow There was one person grieving that day, and it was Jesus. He wept over Jerusalem as He cried t...