Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53: 5-6 (NIV)

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
John 19: 30 (NIV)

‘Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 
Romans 8: 1 (NASB)   

Palm Sunday. Holy Week. 

A time to remember, to celebrate, to hope and to assure ourselves, and others of the joy of an eternal future through a relationship with the God of all creation. 

But storms and disappointments hit and linger, sidetracking dreams and stopping us dead in our tracks at times.

Careers are off track as we stand at a crossroads unsure of the next step.

An illness hits close to home, loved ones are lost—and we struggle to find an answer to the only question which comes. Why?

Finances get tight and we wonder if we will outlast them, and then what.

The crud-filled bag of regrets we carry on our backs gets heavier day-by-day and we can’t let go of and forgive ourselves for them.

Despair and hopelessness paint the landscape of our days.

A brave face masks the emptiness within, as we still wonder, reach and hope. 

And the Cross. With tears, blood, pain and shame. Ridiculed, cursed, spit upon, whipped, and sentenced to die the most horrific of deaths.

But then we hear “It is finished.”

And then the tomb is empty. Christ is risen. He is alive. 

For us? For why? For what?

Because of who He is. 

All for us.  

Why? Because of who He is.

A price He was willing to pay. 

For what? For you and for me. 

Because we are His. 

The contemporary Christian singing group, Casting Crowns, gets it right with the words from their song, “Who Am I”—

“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way for my ever wandering heart?
Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done,
Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean (ocean), a vapor in the wind
Still, You hear me when I’m calling, Lord, You catch me when I’m falling
And You’ve told me who I am—I am Yours.

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin,
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain, and calm the storm in me?
Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done,
Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are.
And You’ve told me who I am—I am Yours.”

The Cross. The Empty Tomb. 

Because of who He is.

Because we are His. Always and forever. 

In His Name–Scott

Take a moment to be blessed and lifted. 

Sit back, watch and listen to “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns.