Soul Sister Time

              Why didn’t Jesus choose John as the apostle upon whom to build His church?  John was the good guy; he didn’t betray, deny or reject Jesus in any way.  He had strong leadership skills and was one of the youngest of the disciples and, in fact, did live the longest.  It makes perfect sense to me to give the responsibility of building the church over to John, rather than Peter.               I’m not God, and thank God I am not, because handing over the leadership of the church to John may have looked promising from the foot of the cross, but Jesus knew that Peter was the best man to show Christians what their relationship with Him is all about.  Peter’s infamous denial of Jesus and Jesus’ ultimate forgiveness is an example to us all.  John had other responsibilities in God’s kingdom: protecting Mary, writing a theologic...

              St. John of the Cross drew a sketch of Jesus on the cross looking down from heaven—from Gods perspective.  Most renderings of the cross are straight on—like a photographer capturing a moment in time.  Rarely, you see a painting from the foot of the cross, but I cannot recall a sketch or a painting from the perspective of either one of the thieves who were literally hanging on their crosses to the left and to the right. Imagine how Jesus looked to them.  Was Jesus a complete stranger to them before that dreadful day?  Was what they knew about Jesus merely the jail gossip blabbered in the holding cell as they awaited their previously determined executions?  Were they inpatient about getting the miserable existences over with because some guy’s fate was being considered by Pilate himself?  The guy in questions hadn’t even done anything truly criminal they say, and seemed like a...

Here she stood at the foot of the cross, everything inside of her wished to be in a different place, anywhere but there.  Anyplace, yet nothing could keep her from being exactly where she stood.  Her feet set one beside the other, anchored to the earth as close as the executioners would permit her to stand.  She knew her place was there.  She had come to the moment in time that Simeon predicted the first time she came to Jerusalem with her infant son held safely in her arms. As he prophesied about His life, he prophesied about her too.  Luke 2:34-35 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Knowing it would happen some day and experiencing are two very different realities.  As she stood at the foot of the cross forced to ...

              As we Journey from Ash Wednesday through Lent to Holy Week and land at our destination of Easter Sunday, let’s consider some of the people who were assigned to the space and time that these events took place and how their choices and experiences related to their experience of Jesus.  In our attempt to understand their statements and actions, we might see our own reaction to Jesus.               The first three were missing during Easter week.  It seems they may have gone into hiding while all of Jerusalem was in a frenzy about whom He was and where He went that week.  Yet, their significance to the Easter story cannot be forgotten.  Jesus Himself stated that every time the story of Easter is told, their story, especially Mary’s actions, should be recounted.           ...

               The cross has the answers to all of life’s problems.  Perhaps the lament from the cross is the greatest example for us.  It is absurd to believe that our lives on earth should contain only goodness and joy.  We live in a world created by love and goodness but corrupted by sin.  Our DNA demands love from a fallen world, and we are stunned when it does not provide what we are seeking.                We are looking to the world for the love that is only sustained through a relationship with the Creator. So many of us tear apart our own lives in our efforts to make life work without the love of God.  I find it is impossible to connect with God’s love if I do not learn the healing power of lament.  That momentary darkness that Jesus agonized over from the cross was misunderstood by the crowds.  When ...

            God wanted it to be completely clear that Jesus was placed on the cross in the middle of two criminals receiving their just punishment for how they had lived their lives.  Their crimes had brought them to Golgatha—the place of the skull.  It was the garbage heap of the town.  It was a place meant for those who lived their lives for themselves and ignored the laws of community.  Their deathbeds were crosses with no loved ones gathering around them.  Their personal choices in life had led them to the crosses on which they would die.  Both criminals found themselves nailed to crosses, experiencing one of the most excruciating deaths one could die.             Into their predicament came Jesus.  He was nailed to a cross just like them.  They knew Jesus was the reason all these extra crowds have come to their crucifixion sc...

                        I have been telling people for years that the cross has all the answers for any problem we face in life.  Jesus demonstrates how to walk through anything that we must face in life by the way He, Himself walked to the cross.                         Surviving, loneliness, hurt from your father, sexual abuse, mockery, bullying, abandonment, injustice, death, singleness, betrayal, denial, separation from God, and all the realities of sin have become part of our lives.  We can look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) to endure the crosses we each are asked to bear as a part of living in a sinful world.  Every answer to every problem is found in the cross.        ...

Ash Wednesday is February 10!- I wrote a Lenten Bible Study that is available on Kindle and can also be printed from Amazon by next week.   I encourage you to prepare your heart for Easter by taking time to walk with Jesus during Holy Week.   You can preview the first two chapters on Kindle for free from the Link below.   I started a discussion in Kindle where we can share our impressions and insights from the personal study.   I will also be teaching through the study on Thursday mornings from 7-8 a.m. (no childcare) and also from 9:30-10:30 a.m. (with childcare available by reservation) at Park Cities Baptist Church.   See link below to church address and more information.   May you have a Holy Lent. Amazing Grace--the story of Easter Week is a six-week Bible study to prepare your heart for Easter. You can use it every day during week of Holy Week or study one chapter each week of Lent. It is written to help deepen your understanding of God's lov...