What's So Good about Good Friday?

What's Good about Good Friday?

You see them throughout the world. We make them of gold and jewels and drape them around our necks. We carve them of exotic wood and adorn church buildings with them. We fashion them of different sizes and shapes of stained glass, pieced together to form exquisite works of art that fly our souls heavenward.

            But the cross was not designed to sparkle on throats or beautify a place of worship. Invented before the 4^th century B.C. by the Persians, its purpose was as an instrument of slow, torturous execution. By the time of Jesus, the Romans had begun using this way of hanging their worst criminals. Making it a public spectacle served as added humiliation. Anyone could walk by a murderer or thief as they hung on the rough-hewn boards and spit on them or cast abuse up at them.   

          Thus hung Jesus, naked before the world, nailed between two real criminals while the world gaped, supposing Him a fool. After all, He’d raised three people from the dead, multiplied food for thousands, and healed multitudes. Why was He submitting to this mockery and abuse, like a stupid lamb? They railed at Him, “You saved others; but you can’t even save yourself!” Why did He not use His power to subdue the Roman guards and come down from that cross, if He truly was the Son of God?        

            The answer to this question, my friend, is why we call the Friday before Easter “Good Friday.” The goodness in His heart compelled Him to hang in our place, so you and I could have a relationship with the God of the Universe.

            Don’t believe for a second that if Jesus had wanted to, He could not have freed Himself and jumped down. He told the crowd, “Don’t you know that I could at this very moment call ten legions of angels to come and rescue me?” Yet He remained to the end, although it meant God turning His face from Him. Not because He was a fool. No. Because He loved us too much to let us die in our sins and spend forever in Hell.

No one kept Jesus on the cross but Jesus.

            Next time you put your favorite crucifix around your neck or gaze upon the loveliness of a stained glass cross, remember how it came to mean a sweet symbol of love and beauty, rather than an instrument of death. Remember that Jesus went there of His own free will, to give you a future and a hope.

            And, if you’ve made Him the Lord of your life, you’ll hear Him say one day very soon, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into my joy” as He welcomes you to Heaven. Cross my heart.

Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life? If not, please email me at Jeanette@jeanettelevellie.com. I'd like to share the Gospel with you, so you can share Heaven with me.

Why Listen to Jesus?

I have an old, ratty wind-up timer (much more grungy than the one above).  I love that thing. It's face often. falls off in my hand or onto the kitchen floor  I've bought newer ones--a bright red apple, a fun yellow chicken to name a few. But none of them work as well or have that same familiar "ding" that reminds me of baking cookies with my mom when I could barely see over the counter to frost them. 

Some people might think I'm silly for using something that's probably an antique. They might be the same people who think the words of Jesus are obsolete, or only for His contemporaries. Yet Jesus's words contain powerful truths that are always relevant. 

"Don't keep the children from coming to Me. You need to become child-like if you want to be part of My kingdom."

"Take the speck out of your own eye first; then you can see clearly to help your neighbor with their faults." 

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can get to God apart from Me."

"I came to give you life, and life in all its fulness, till it overflows."

"Don't be afraid." 

That's what I mean. Timeless. Words of life. Words to live by. That's Jesus for ya. 

Do you have a favorite saying of Jesus that helps you live life to the full? 

Why give Jesus a Birthday Gift?

 Why give a birthday gift to Jesus? 

     Many years ago some friends suggested this to their children, to help their family focus on why we celebrate Christmas. This is why I decided to incorporate this excellent idea into our church's celebration of Jesus' Birthday. So our focus would shift from potlucks, cookies, and decorations. 

          We have a fancy purple Christmas gift box that sits on our piano at church. But it's empty. 

     I'm asking each member of our congregation to write--leaving off their name--what they plan to give Jesus for His birthday. And then put those gift promises into the empty purple box. At our Christmas Eve service, I will open the box and read aloud all the ideas people committed to do for Jesus. 

Here are a few things I thought to write on my own paper:

• Prepare communion elements for the month of December
• Repent of complaining
• Give $XXX to an orphanage or homeless shelter
• Invite someone who can't repay us to our home for Christmas dinner 
• Show more respect to my husband

What will you give Jesus this year for His birthday? 

How God Gives and Gives and Gives

I've always wanted to invite people over for holiday meals that had nowhere else to go, or no family nearby to share with. This Thanksgiving we get to have two extras--a friend of our daughter whose husband is traveling and a friend of our granddaughter who merely wants to hang out. 

Hooray and Hallelujah for dreams come true! God is Absolutely Good. He doesn't only give us what we need, but a lot of what we dream for. He is all about giving. 

I hope your Thanksgiving this year brims over and bursts with dreams come true, and new things to thank Jesus for!

Where's the Wisdom?

When I read James 1: 5, "If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking" (CEV), I want to say, "IF? IF? Of course we need wisdom!"

We need wisdom to have healthy relationships, to worship God in the way He deserves, to earn enough money to live on and help others, to do our jobs well . . . I'm sure you can finish this list with dozens more ways we need supernatural, divine wisdom. 

James has the perfect solution: ask God. Pretty simple. And pretty wonderful. Our loving God, who is wisdom personified, will give us all the wisdom we need, if we just ask. Hooray and Hallelujah! 

And the best part? God will not scold us for asking. Isn't He so sweet?

We do our part: we ask. God does His part: He gives. 

What do you need wisdom for today? Let us agree in prayer for each other.