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Hosanna

Sketched IX Day 11 I Have Seen Him

July 5, 2021 by Paula Romang Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 35:5-7
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 78:2-4
Luke 5:1-11
Acts 1:12-26

Sketched IX, Day 11

Golden-rosy light glows in the east, dispelling the darkness. The breaking dawn mirrors the dawn of truth upon my soul. Truth casts its glow into the dark soul, ever brightening, ever rising, finally flooding the soul with radiant light. Like the rising sun, the truth of Jesus’ incarnation and His sojourn on earth has become increasingly clear. The light has broken upon my darkened understanding.

It all began on an early morning like this one. The crew and I had just finished a frustrating, fruitless night on the water. Usually we caught something, but that night there was nothing; it was odd. 

A rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, whom Andrew knew, often came to the lake in the early mornings, teaching from the boats. Many viewed him as the Messiah. He told parables; His teaching was interesting and relatable. He taught as One having first-hand knowledge of ancient truth. His wisdom was primordial, yet fresh and alive. He was not just another rabbi, but Who He was remained a mystery to me. Andrew hung upon His words, convinced He was “the prophet” of which Moses prophesied.

That morning, He taught from our boats longer than usual. Water slapped against the side of the gently rocking boat and I dozed, half-listening. He roused me and matter-of-factly instructed, “Go out into the deep water; let down the nets for a catch.”

This Nazarene was serious. Andrew was already in his boat, shoving off; I followed. Andrew flung out his net; it slapped onto the water and slowly sank. Nothing, silence . . . then in an instantaneous rush, there were schools of fish!

Andrew gasped, then whooped as he began drawing in the net. Immediately his boat listed violently, nearly keeling over. We rowed fiercely, reaching them in time to fling out our net to reinforce theirs. Immediately, ours were full, nearly breaking under the weight. We were in danger of losing all the fish, both boats, and our lives as well.

We dug in with the oars, straining in unison for the shallows. I bailed into the lake and with rhythmic heave-hos, the crew and I made for the shore, dragging the straining nets. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the beach. My chest heaved as I lay on the sand and simply breathed.

He came to me. I stared up at the Creator against His blue dome of sky. He extended His hand and helped me stand. We all gaped in silence– at the haul of fish, at one another, but mostly at Him. He smiled and simply said, “From now on, you will be fishers of men!”  The light of truth was breaking upon me.

As I watched and listened, evidence began to mount. He just might be “the prophet” as Andrew insisted. He certainly held power over the movement of fish in the lake; no ordinary man does that! Every day He healed someone, often anyone who asked. Isaiah prophesied when “the prophet” came, healing those born blind would be one of His miracles. With my own eyes, I witnessed Jesus restore sight to people blind from birth. Elijah healed on a few occasions, but Jesus healed all the time.

The evidence continued increasing, but we understood Messiah’s coming as restoring Israel’s political and national glory. While Jesus spoke often of “the kingdom of Heaven,” He showed no interest in initiating an insurrection. On the other hand, His fulfillment of prophecies couldn’t be coincidental, or denied.

He multiplied food and wine as needed and had power to heal all diseases.

Nature obeyed His commands as though He were its Master. Storms stopped at His command; trees withered at His rebuke.

With evil spirits came immediate recognition, “Son of the Most High God,” they called Him. It wasn’t their first encounter with Him; they groveled in His presence. He held their fate in His hands, it seemed. Only Elohim could do this.

Then, in a brilliant, unforgettable moment of divine splendor, He showed James, John and I His glory on the sacred mountain. He stood as Friend with friend beside Moses and Elijah, emanating an ethereal, other-worldly light.

Then there was Lazarus’ return from death, and the people shouting “Hosanna” as He entered Jerusalem, riding a donkey’s colt. Within hours, the tide turned. His arrest, the flogging, and the cross. It was brutally sudden, unnerving, and terrifying, yet all of it followed straight from Isaiah’s prophecies.

Then Resurrection Day; He was back! It was stunning, yet confusing. Now He’s ascended to His former glory. He’s gone, and He left me in charge! This is both terrifying and humbling.

Every crowing rooster reminds of my failure. However, it was another early morning like this one, days ago, when His grace breathed life into my deflated soul. As long as I live, in the soft gray stillness of each breaking dawn, I will remember the fire of coals and the breakfast of fish. His questions were like well-aimed arrows piercing my soul. The same knowing gaze rested upon me, as it had in the courtyard the night of His trial. There was eternal knowing, yet eternal kindness in His eyes.

“Shepherd my sheep,” He said softly, His eyes of grace locked with my own shame-filled eyes. He placed before me the enormous calling of shepherding this fledgling flock.

The brothers and I remain in steadfast prayer since He returned to Glory.  It seems job one is to appoint Judas’ replacement, as Scripture says. We shall proceed in prayerful obedience, as we await His affirmation upon the chosen man.

In the courtyard below, the rooster fluffs his bronze-green feathers in the first rays of dawn and readies himself for a morning crow. Though he attempts to remind me of my failure, I choose to remind myself of my Lord’s grace and His holy calling.

“His grace covers me! Crow away, rooster, crow away!”

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Sketched IX Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Sketched IX!

Posted in: God, Grace, Healing, Heaven, Jesus, Kingdom, Life, Power, Sketched, Wisdom Tagged: creator, Him, Hosanna, I Have, Messiah, Most High, prophet, Seen, silence, Teaching

Enough Day 13 Sacrificial Lamb

April 14, 2021 by Rebecca Adams Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118
Exodus 12
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Mark 11:1-11

Enough, Day 13

“Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar!”
(Psalm 118:27)

This was the concluding chorus of King David’s praise song, preceding his final stanza, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will exalt You.” (Psalm 118:28)

Then, arms flung wide, inviting all to join him in praise at the Passover festival, the King shouted victoriously the timeless familiar refrain of God’s chosen people, “Oh! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:29)

Israel’s King David, known for his whole-hearted passion for God, his musical ability, his songs of celebration and laments, his sin and his forgiveness, was leading his nation in another Passover feast.

The hingepoint?
The binding of the Passover lamb.

One sacrifice, given on behalf of all, to atone for their sinfulness and free them from the slavery of sin and the cords of death.

Each Jew in attendance imagined the mighty Red Sea rolling back on itself at the command of Yahweh, so Israel could pass on dry land.

Freedom was coming, even as Pharaoh’s militia followed them, effectively sequestering them between two death traps, the sea or the army.

I can imagine Israel’s intensifying fear coiling within them. Mamas, hushing babies as their own tears flowed and panic pounded in their ears. Fathers, knowing they were helpless, pushed their families behind them, certain there would be no mercy from Egypt’s finest soldiers.

Israel knew these faces.
They’d seen them every day.

These Egyptians didn’t just ride chariots and fight Pharaoh’s battles; their hands held whips and their voices laughed as Jewish blood spilled under their abuse. These were the taskmasters. These were the men who spit on the Israelites and cruelly dictated every aspect of their lives.

Freedom from this nightmare seemed utterly impossible, until one afternoon Moses announced Yahweh had heard His people’s cries.
Mercy was coming.

But now, with desert sands quaking beneath them from the thunder of oncoming horses’ hooves, mercy seemed like a cruel joke. Where was Yahweh now? Where was His great freedom? Death from the sea on one side. Death from the ruthless Egyptian army on the other.

Then, in one unthinkable act, the Lord breathed a pathway through the Sea while His cloud moved to block the army, lavishing an entire nation of runaway slaves with incredible mercy.

In the place where Death had reigned, mercy ruled.

“Lord, save us!
Lord, please grant us success!
He who comes in the name
of the Lord is blessed.” (Psalm 118:25-26)

Hundreds of years after the Red Sea victory, David’s voice carried across the nation sprawling before him on Passover, his words a prescient echo of centuries beyond, when another crowd gathered before another King.

Palm branches waved, excitement electrified the atmosphere, and the same prophetic words reverberated through the air, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” (Mark 11:9)

Victory seemingly swelled, but the cheering participants were oblivious to the pervasive Death around them. Two Death Traps.

Death was the rightful consequence, earned like a paycheck, for even one sidestep from God’s standard of righteousness. And sins were aplenty. Lies, gossip, lusting hearts, and manipulative tongues named only a few.

An impassable chasm stood on one side, separating every person, of every color, every language, every gender, every sin from the glory of freedom and delight found only in the presence of the God of everlasting, enduring love.

On the other? Eternal Death. Unending darkness, unceasing punishment, and the fullness of God’s wrath poured out without pause for grace or mercy.

Mankind was hopelessly caught between Death on either side; yet freedom was coming.
In one unthinkable act, God Himself left His rightful glory and humbled Himself to stand between the ones He loved and the relentless onslaught of Death’s fury.

“Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar!” (Psalm 118:27)

Impossibly, the sacrifice of God Himself was bound to a Roman tool of unthinkable torture.
His blood spilled to pay for our sin. Mercy had come.

Mercy to take the eternal blow of death.
Freedom unleashed as Christ’s once-dead body flooded with the warmth of life.
Death lost and Life won as Christ rose to victoriously conquer the grave, forever.

Mercy ruled where Death once snarled.

“There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
‘The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!
The Lord’s right hand is raised.
The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!’”
(Psalm 118:15-16)

The Lord God had done, again, what mankind could never accomplish. Just as He forged the path of mercy through the Red Sea, so He paid the consequence of Death in His own body, allowing Himself to be bound as the Sacrificial Lamb. In His offering, He became the gate of Life, declaring “righteous” all who enter through Him, trusting Him as their sacrifice on their behalf.

By the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb of God, we are emancipated from the slavery of Sin’s whip, shame, mockery, and reign to run forever free in the rich flood of Christ’s unabashed mercy and love. And so my lips will ever shout King David’s refrain,

“I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done!”
(Psalm 118:17)

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Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Enough Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Enough!

Posted in: Enough, Freedom, God, Humility, Mercy Tagged: Breathed, Give Thanks, Hosanna, lamb, Lord, passion, righteousness, Sacrificial, Yahweh

Neighbor Day 13 Wounded One

May 6, 2020 by Jami Stroud Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 7:36-50
Luke 10:25-37
Romans 5:6-11

Neighbor, Day 13

“Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”

These words from Hillsong’s “Hosanna” echoed from the walls of a small school cafeteria full of people seeking Jesus one bright, Palm Sunday morning.

God was already working in my heart before those words even left my mouth as I sang along.

The morning before, I’d run through my normal Saturday routine and headed to a nearby coffee shop to join some of the best women I know as we dove into God’s Word.

I happened to arrive a little early, so I ordered my breakfast and had a seat to kill some time.

Opening Facebook for what I thought would be a mindless scroll, I ran across an article about a 5-year-old boy who was thrown from the 3rd floor of the Mall of America by a random man. There wasn’t much information available, because authorities still were unclear on many details. Normally, I would read the article, think something like, “Oh that’s so sad” and move on, but for some reason, I was prompted to delve further.

I looked up several different articles and then unwittingly dove into the comments section on Facebook. People were commenting with prayers for the young boy and his family, for healing and peace and comfort. I was heartened to see the support pouring out for this family in their time of crisis.

Yet, what really struck me were the comments about the young man who’d allegedly thrown the boy. Comments abounded regarding what an evil person he was, and vengefully suggesting people violently take matters into their own hands. As I read, I felt convicted to pray for the accused man. So, throughout the rest of the day, I prayed.

The next morning, as our setup team for our little plant church gathered for prayer, I continued to feel burdened to pray for everyone involved in the tragedy. As I shared about how this man was God’s creation and needed healing and Jesus just as much as any of us, tears flowed uncontrollably from my eyes. The depth of my reaction surprised me, but I knew it was a sign of the Holy Spirit working within me.

The rest of the morning I was a mess, crying during prayer and as I spoke with others, all outward signs of God breaking my heart for what breaks His. Opening up my eyes to the things unseen. Showing me how to love like He has loved me.

Jesus spoke often on forgiveness and its power to completely change a person’s life; the parable of the man who was forgiven much in Luke 7 is an amazing example. If you’ve ever been subject to debt, imagine how grateful you would feel if it was completely paid at no expense to you. 

What if extravagant forgiveness was shown to the young man from the Mall Of America incident? What if, instead of all of those hateful, vengeful remarks, the comments were filled with words of compassion and forgiveness for this man? Imagine how his life might have changed.

None of us deserves forgiveness. Regardless of the ranking system we humans have erroneously developed for sin, all sin deserves God’s wrath. And yet through the death and resurrection of Jesus, forgiveness is ours. All of our debts, past present, and future are paid.

That man at the Mall of America could be any of us, one snap or mental health breakdown from wreaking havoc on another life, community, or ourselves.

So, before we are quick to condemn today, let’s ask ourselves if that person could use forgiveness.
If they could use love and an encouraging word instead of ridicule and condemnation.
If they need Jesus.
Because don’t we all?

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Neighbor Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Neighbor!

Posted in: Forgiven, God, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Kingdom, Love, Neighbor, Prayer Tagged: forgiveness, God's Word, heart, Hosanna, power, wounded

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14