Soul Sister Time

              Everything from Thursday evening after Jesus’ third prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane until the Resurrection on Sunday morning seemed stained with darkness, evil and, ultimately, betrayal.  Judas is the figure of betrayal.  But he wasn’t alone; the betrayal of Jesus was rampant in Jerusalem.  The religious leaders, the crowds, the Roman government all—fell in line with Judas.  Judas stands out as the ultimate betrayer because of his personal relationship with Jesus.  His betrayal cut a little deeper because his was disguised by friendship and a kiss.  He was so convincing that the other disciples thought nothing of his departure from their sacred dinner to carry out his evil mission.                The facts contained in the gospels from the last 14 hours of Jesus’ life are filled with the horror of betrayal.  Putting the pieces together, the closest I can come is that Jesus was arrested around 1:30 a.m. and by 3 p.m. that same day He was dead.  In less than 14 hour

              On Holy Week Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem and grieved.  He cried: “ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”               Jesus was experiencing a broken heart.  What caused Jesus’ broken heart?  Was He broken hearted about the sins the nation had committed?  Just read about one of those kings in Israel and see how they led their nation to do the very opposite of what God asked, especially in the places of worship.  It is bewildering.  The ugliness of sinful behavior seems like it would be more than a holy God could take.   Yet, that is not what broke Jesus’ heart. It wasn’t the thought of the woman brought to Him because of adultery or the many demons-possessed people He had confronted even in the synagogue, that came to mind.  It wasn’t the outrageous acts of sin that broke His heart.  It w

Psalm 51: 15-17 describes true worship: Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise .                The Lenten Season shoves in our faces the reality of who God is.  He is the God who killed His Son to conquer death for the humans He had formed with His hands in love.  What kind of God does that?  What kind of God creates heavens and earths, all the while knowing that the inhabitants could turn on Him in an instant? He had the power to destroy everything He created, yet finds a way to allow all the inhabitants to have their own way, either to follow Him or follow their own will?  He is the GREAT I AM.  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is worthy of all praise.  He created us to bring Him praise (Isaiah 43:21).  He declares that His Son is worthy of even hig

s               Lent is always a welcomed and very much needed season of repentance for my soul.  I’m not naturally a person who focuses on my personal sin.  Now that I’ve got my sinning down to those “respectable sins,” I tend to ignore, minimize and justify any wrongs I commit.  Perhaps that is the most dangerous state of sinner—neglecting the reality of sin’s sinful effect.               Psalm 51:5-6 describes the state of all sinners: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.   Since that is truth, there is no reason for me or anyone not to be motivated to recognize our personal sin every day.  We are born with besetting sins and with a soul that can guide us to face up to the sinful realities of our lives.  It’s truly hard to hold a newborn baby and think of that precious creation as an utter sin-filled being, but that is what they are.  Though we ex