The Seven Statements of Christ - part 4

The third statement Christ made was one of ISOLATION.

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45-46

At this point, if we consider the human side of Christ, it must have been almost unbearable to have been rejected and ridiculed in so many ways. The physical abuse aside, think about the emotional distress. Judas, one of his twelve has betrayed him, Peter has denied him not once, but three times, the disciples have abandoned him and scattered in fear - but at least He still has His Father. Then, when he has the sin of the world on his shoulders, His Father must temporarily look away too and Jesus asks "why have you forsaken me?" God could not look at the sin that was upon his son and Jesus feels completely forsaken.

Have you felt forsaken lately? Remember this, God has said, never will I leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5b) Your sin has already been covered by Christ, so Your Heavenly Father never has to look away.

The Seven Statements of Christ - part 3

The Third Statement Christ made was one of INTEREST.

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27

Interest can be defined as a concern for a cause or responsibility. When Jesus spoke these words to John, he was showing interest in his mother and her well being. He did not neglect the responsibility of taking care of his family and He wants us to do the same. He also shows interest by caring for us and in being involved in every detail of our lives.

The Seven Statements of Christ - part 2

The Second Statement Christ makes is one of INTERVENTION.

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:45

Intervention can be defined as coming, appearing or lying between two things. In this case, Christ intervened for the criminal on the cross by coming between him and what he deserved and giving him something he didn't - eternity with Him in paradise. None of us deserve heaven, but Christ intervenes on our behalf so that we can have paradise too.

The Seven Statements of Christ part 1

This morning at church, our pastor Larry Wynn shared an incredible message about the crucifixion and the last seven statements Christ made while hanging on the cross. I thought I'd share some of his comments as well as some of my own here with you on this week leading up to Easter.

The First Statement Christ makes is one of INTERCESSION.

Intercession is defined as prayer or petition to God on behalf of another. 

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

It's almost impossible for us as humans to believe one would be able to go through what Christ did during the crucifixion and still be able to love and forgive. He was able to because though He was fully human, he was fully God too. He loves us so much, He continues to forgive us when we don't know what we are doing and He is still making intercession for us day after day - every time we sin - all of our sin was taken care of once and for all when He died on the cross.

 
22Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
 23Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25Therefore he is able to save completely[c] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
 26Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Hebrews 7:22-27

Every morning when my kids pray on the way to school, they always say "Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins." They remind me I can't say "thank you" to Him enough for the price He paid.

Thank you Jesus for interceding on my behalf. Have you thanked Him lately?

Sweet Blessings,

Amy

Then Sings My Soul Saturday - Before the Morning

I can't describe in my own words why I picked this song this week, so I encourage you to go to this link and check out this video before listening to this week's song. It will say it all.

http://www.facebook.com/joshwilson?v=app_6009294086

We serve a mighty God who heals and fixes broken hearts.

Getting Out of the Holding Pattern - Or why I want to attend the 2010 She Speaks Conference

Have you ever had a season in life where everything comes to a stop? Life gets messy and things get in the way of your hopes, dreams and plans. You desperately try to arrive to a destination you feel sure God has led you to, but you just can’t seem to get there. It’s so close. You can see it. It’s almost within your reach, but you haven’t quite arrived. You are just hanging out, waiting to land. That’s where I’ve been recently - in a holding pattern.

Several years ago, I clearly felt God was calling me to speak to others about the wondrous and miraculous things He’s done in my life. So, being the organized, methodical, take control person that I am, I began to research how to become a speaker.

Several training opportunities were available, so I signed up for them and off I went to learn how to become a speaker. One such opportunity was the She Speaks Conference which is part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I attended the conference and was blown away by the teaching, encouragement and inspiration I received. The women who are part of the Proverbs 31 team share openly about their struggles and successes and offer friendship, advice and encouragement to the conference attendees. I came home and quickly put much of the information I learned to use, not only in speaking as part of a group I am involved with called Epilepsy Advocates, but sharing my testimony in many churches and women’s groups.

Then, life happened. Just as things were going really well, my son who has epilepsy (you can read more about his story here) began to have a great deal of health challenges. He made a trip to the hospital for about 17 months in a row with status seizures, so everything else sort of stopped. My speaking engagements stopped. My writing stopped. But, my desire to do those things didn’t.

So, I’ve been waiting and looking for opportunities to get back into the groove; to get excited again about what I know God has called me to do. So… when I read Lysa’s blog post about the Cecil Murphy scholarships that were being offered for the She Speaks conference this year, I thought “why not apply”.

Thankfully my son’s health is much better and we have much better seizure control for right now. So, I’m ready to move forward with whatever God has planned for me. The last time I attended the conference, I participated in the Speaker’s track. I would love to return to participate in the Writer’s track this year. I’m confident attending the conference would help move me out of my holding pattern to arrive at the destination God has planned for me.

If you would like to enter to try to win a scholarship too, you can click here to get the details and link up your post. To find out more about the conference, click here. To find out more about Proverbs 31 Ministries, click here.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

For those who have lost loved ones this week, hold on.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3

Sweet Blessings,Amy

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." Exodus 15:26

O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion Psalm 103:1-4

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.Isaiah 53:5

In case you have fogotten, we serve a mighty God who heals.

I pray for healing today for those who need to feel a touch from the hand of God.

Sweet Blessings,

Amy

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

Sorry about not getting a song up last week. Thanks to Linda who offered to host, but I didn't get the email in time. Glad you guys came back to visit and got your links up.We've had a rough week in the Wyatt household this past week. Everyone has had strep throat so the kids missed four days of school this week. We are all still recovering.
I hope you all enjoy this week's song.Have a blessed weekend!Amy