Last week I attended a Good Friday lunch that allowed me to truly come into a realization of the season we have just entered, the real NEW YEAR! They have paper available on the tables so that people can write if they please as they reflect upon the death of Christ...and ultimately the resurrection three days later. Below is a combination of some key phrases that struck me throughout the afternoon:
Jesus didn't die to make us cry. Jesus died to give us the freedom to laugh. He took away our sins so that we might be free, to be anointed by his spirit and to follow that anointing where our flesh wouldn't necessarily want to go. How great Thou art! The bright and morning star shines up us in all His glory! Awaken my heart to all that you have called me into in this coming New Year; a New Year that begins at the death of the savior. We are free because of the wounds that He suffered. We are free because he went to the depths of hell to release us. We are free because he ROSE! The Father's heart was torn as He watched His only begotten son die on the cross. The body was torn and hung and as it was finished the Father held the spirit of His Son while he freed us from the slavery of sin, as not to tarnish his pure spirit. We are free because of that day. The tomb was rolled back and we came to the realization that all had changed, never to be the same. Owe no debts, except the debt to love one another (Romans 13:8). We are to repay the cost of this day by not only loving God, but by loving and serving one another. Dead to Sin & Alive in Christ! Amen!
