Easter is the day that we recognize the resurrection of Jesus. Some 2022 years ago in Jerusalem, a great act of injustice took place when Jesus was nailed to the cross.
Hisdeath on the cross was not proof that He was the Son of God….in fact to his criticizers and detractors, it was proof that He wasn’t.
But on the morning of the third day, a rumbling was felt from the center of the Earth. The jingling sound of keys (death, hell, and the grave) was heard; it was Jesus coming out of the tomb! He had conquered, forever, the power of the grave!His resurrection was the indisputable, undeniable truth that this Man was no ordinary man. He was/is, indeed, the Son of God!! My highest hope is that we can learn to live from the resurrection and what was completed for us on that day!
You’ve heard of Black Friday, of course. But I doubt you’ve heard of “Black Saturday”….since I just made it up.But I think it’s a great fit for what I want to write about. You hear a lot about Good Friday, as you should. Good Friday is the day we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You can only totally understand why it’s called “Good” when you look at it in the context of 1) What it provides for you, and 2) What transpired two days later.
Jesus’ death on the cross was the one and only thing that could provide us the awesome opportunity to be forgiven of our sins….and delivered from our sinful nature and engage in a relationship with the Father…. in exactly the way Jesus did!The pain and suffering Jesus endured on the way to the cross would’ve ‘done in’ any other human. But Jesus was determined to carry out to the ‘T’ His Father’s plan. So, YES, Good is an appropriate word to use for this Friday!
A wise person would stop to reflect on all that happened on that day and, somehow, give thanks to the Lord. Seems like the least we could do.
Two days later on that ‘third’ day when the women went to His tomb, they were astonished to find that Jesus was gone. The stone had been rolled away (an undeniable supernatural happening!) and two angels were sitting in the tomb. Jesus had risen from the dead! The resurrection; it’s the bedrock foundation on which the entire Christian faith is built. What a day!
But, have you ever thought about the day in between??
I’ve thought a lot about it. I’m sure there are those who have written pieces about that day, but I’ve yet to see them. I think about what might have been going through the minds of the thousands of Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover. Most of them believed that justice had been donein that ‘this imposter’ who made Himself equal with God had been rightly put to death.
I think about the religious leaders who were obviously gloating over the fact that they, once and for all, did away with Jesus Whose faithfulness was a constant reminder of their full-blown self-righteousness. They wouldn’t have to deal with Him anymore. They must’ve felt good about themselves.
For them…..it was a good day.
But, I think about the eleven who were with Him nearly every day for the past three years. They’d seen Him multiply the food, walk on the water, calm the storms, heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. I think about James and John who had left their fishing business to follow this Man. And, Matthew the tax collector who, maybe for the first time in his life, felt valued and loved. I think about Peter who, in not much more than 24 hours’ time, had denied Jesus. They never once saw Him waver in His devotion to them or in obedience to His Father. But, now they’d failed Him at a time when He needed them most. What would they do now? Would they spend the rest of their lives in regret for how they performed? Would they go back to their fishing business or collect taxes? For these men it was a dark, dark discouraging day; the worst you could imagine!
I call it Black Saturday!
Have you ever thought about what might have been going on in the spirit realm?I’m sure the angelic host were totally taken aback when Jesus died on the cross. What did God have in mind? How could He let such a thing happen? They did NOT see this coming! And, to make matters far worse the demonic hordes of hell were celebrating with a deafening noise…..so loud it almost spilled over into the natural realm. Yep, for the angels, it was a dark, dark day!A Black Day!
But at just about daybreak on the third day, a tiny little jingling was heard above the hellish and noisy celebration. It almost sounded like keys jingling together. The atmosphere began to change. Light began to break forth. Something BIG was happening….and both sides in the spirit realm knew it.
…..and there He appeared!!
And in His hand were the keys to death, hell, and the grave! No longer would the Father’s children be intimidated by the fear of darkness or death.
On that day EVERYTHING changed!
That’s why you don’t hear much about Black Saturday!
Let us learn to live in the ‘finished’ work of Jesus!
I like Fridays’! They’re nothing like Mondays’!I can live with Mondays’ but I don’t just crave ’em. More stress, too far to the weekend, usually a dilemma or two; Yep, Mondays, can be tough. They don’t call ’em Mondays’ for nothing! But Fridays’, now there’s a day I can enjoy! I can do Fridays’!
But seriously, there was a Friday, way back, that someone decided to call ‘Good Friday’. I’m not sure who coined the phrase but I think they did a heckuva job! When you look at that particular Friday a couple thousand years ago, and what took place on that fateful day, you might be really perplexed as to why anyone could have the audacity to call anything about it, ‘good’.
In fact, if I didn’t know the whole story…..it would’ve been the worst Friday that ever happened!
That Friday that I’m talking about was the Friday that Jesus, God’s Son, was put to death by crucifixion on The Cross.…the cruelest method of corporal punishment in the first century. It was the greatest miscarriage of justice that would ever take place in the context of time itself! Jesus,……sinless, perfect, lover of sinners and tax collectors, put to death with absolutely no wrong done. How in the world could that possibly be ‘good’?!
Because if Jesus hadn’t done what He did….we’d be doomed to be slaves to sin, forever. That, in turn, would make eternity to be dreaded to the deepest degree! No hope. But Jesus turned it all around! It didn’t come easy, though. He was beaten almost to the point of death, stripped of His clothes, and made to carry His cross through the swelling crowd in Jerusalem to the hill called Golgotha (the place of the skull) where he was nailed to the cross. …..and there He died. Bad Friday……really bad!
Saturday,…..not good! Terrible, in fact. But Sunday everything changed. I mean, Everything!! ….when Jesus came out of that tomb! And, He was carrying the keys to death, hell, and the grave! They would no longer have any kind of hold on mankind!
Jesus, motivated only by love, willingly laid down His life for you and me! Because of that, now, we have the awesome opportunity to have the same relationship with God that He has!
And that,………that right there’s why they call it Good Friday!!
It goes against logic, I know. But after 60 + years of observation…I think it’s true. Now, for starters, I haven’t yet had the experience of being a millionaire….but I’ve been a ‘thousandaire’ for years. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve dropped below the qualification limit a few times down through the years…..especially during my illustrious rodeo career. But for the most part, I’ve been a steady thousandaire.
I’ve noticed the last few years as I’ve gotten older that I don’t need as much ‘stuff’ as I use to think I needed. All those things that we ‘needed’ and thought would make us happier……didn’t! I think it’s part of actually growing up and maturing and learning in part, what’s really important in life.
I’ve observed throughout my life those who had lots of money. Even had friends growing up whose parents were very well off. There’s nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, it’s to be commended in most cases. It’s America; we can do just about whatever we want to do. And for those who really find their niche and do well financially, it’s a very good thing. I did notice that some of the rich kids didn’t try near as hard at sports as some of the less fortunate. They had enough athletic ability, alright,…..but the ‘try factor’ was lacking. It really showed up during my rodeo career. It’s a broad statement,….and not always true, but the rich kids weren’t nearly as gritty as those who had nothing to fall back on.
“I’ve been hungry and I’ve been full; I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. I’ve learned to be content in whatever state I’m in”.
Paul
The human spirit is an amazing thing. We’re created to conquer and to succeed. Everybody loves the story of those who overcame extreme odds to succeed in life. It’s a very good thing to ‘have’ to get up and go to work and put in a good day…every day. It’s good to learn to manage our finances and resources and to live within our means. We can do a lot more than we think we can….but if it’s always been done for us….we’ll never know. If we never have to really ‘try’, we might just not ever do it.
I recently told a friend, “This time next year I’ll have 9 grandkids”. He jokingly said, “You’ll never be able to afford Christmas”...to which I replied, “I’ve never been able to afford Christmas yet!”(We raised 5 of our own!) But, you know what?? We’ve had great Christmases for, going on now, 39 years! We have somehow survived….just being ‘thousandaires’!
Paul said it in the Bible. “I’ve been hungry and I’ve been full; I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. I’ve learned to be content in whatever state I’m in”. He’d found the ‘secret’ to true happiness and contentment. His ‘joy’ was in the Lord!
I’m only a thousandaire but if family and friends and relationship with the Father were measured in money……I’d be a millionaire many times over!! I’m really, really rich in the things that matter most to me!
You’ve heard of Black Friday, of course. But I doubt you’ve heard of “Black Saturday”….since I just made it up.But I think it’s a great fit for what I want to write about. You hear a lot about Good Friday, as you should. Good Friday is the day we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You can only totally understand why it’s called “Good” when you look it in the context of 1) What it provides for you, and 2) What transpired two days later.
Jesus’ death on the cross was the one and only thing that could provide us the awesome opportunity to be forgiven of our sins….and delivered from our sinful nature and engage in relationship with the Father…. in exactly the way Jesus did!The pain and suffering Jesus endured on the way to the cross would’ve ‘done in’ any other human. But Jesus was determined to carry out to the ‘T’ His Father’s plan. So, YES, Good is an appropriate word to use for that Friday! A wise person would stop to reflect on all that happened on that day and, somehow, give thanks to the Lord. Seems like the least we could do.
Two days later on that ‘third’ day when the women went to His tomb they were astonished to find that Jesus was gone. The stone had been rolled away (an undeniable supernatural happening!) and two angels were sitting in the tomb. Jesus had risen from the dead! The resurrection; it’s the bedrock foundation on which the entire Christian faith is built. What a day!
But, have you ever thought about the day in between?? I’ve thought a lot about it. I’m sure there are those who have written pieces about that day, but I’ve yet to see them. I think about what might have been going through the minds of the thousands of Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover. Most of them they believed that justice had been donein that ‘this imposter’ who made Himself equal with God had been rightly put to death.
I think about the religious leaders who were obviously gloating over the fact that they, once and for all, did away with Jesus Whose faithfulness was a constant reminder of their full-blown self-righteousness. They wouldn’t have to deal with Him anymore. They must’ve felt good about themselves. For them…..it was a good day.
But, I think about the eleven who were with Him nearly every day for the past three years. They’d seen Him multiply the food, walk on the water, calm the storms, heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. I think about James and John who had left their fishing business to follow this Man. And, Matthew the tax collector who, maybe for the first time in his life, felt valued and loved. I think about Peter who, in not much more than 24 hours time, had denied Jesus. They never once saw Him waver in His devotion to them or in obedience to His Father. But, now they’ve failed Him at a time when He needed them most. What would they do now? Would they spend the rest of their lives in regret for how they performed? Would they go back to their fishing business or collecting taxes? For these men it was a dark, dark discouraging day; the worst you could imagine!
I call it Black Saturday!
Have you ever thought about what might have been going on in the spirit realm?I’m sure the angelic host were totally taken aback when Jesus died on the cross. What did God have in mind? How could He let such a thing happen? They did NOT see this coming! And, to make matters far worse the demonic hordes of hell were celebrating with a deafening noise…..so loud it almost spilled over into the natural realm. Yep, for the angels it was a dark, dark day!A Black Day!
I call it Black Saturday!
But at just about daybreak on the third day a tiny little jingling was heard above the hellish and noisy celebration. It almost sounded like keys jingling together. The atmosphere begin to change. Light began to break forth. Something BIG was happening….and both sides in the spirit realm knew it.
…..and there He appeared!!
And in His hand were the keys to death, hell and the grave! No longer would the Father’s children be intimidated by the fear of darkness or death.
On that day EVERYTHING changed!
That’s why you don’t hear much about Black Saturday!
Let us learn to live in the ‘finished’ work of Jesus!
The heavenly angel, on a mission from the most High God, appeared with the heavenly host (multitudes of other angels) to announce to the world that a Savior had been born. Oddly enough this angelic sighting didn’t take place before a crowd of people….but to the shepherds who were watching over their flocks by night. *(read “Good Tidings of Great Joy”) The angel didn’t say much….but what he did say was ultra important!
But, just what does the angel mean when he says,“Good will toward men”?I’ve been thinking about it all week. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about that part. After pondering it for awhile…here’s where I landed. It’s an extremely important part of what the angel had to say. I’d even call it a great revelation. A Savior is born! And He came to the earth to “do us good”! It’s as clear a picture of Who God is that you’ll probably ever see. It reveals His heart toward all mankind. I don’t think it takes some kind of sophisticated commentary to figure this one out; it’s pretty simple. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
That phrase, “good will toward men”, reveals God’s absolute determination to be good to, and bless, all mankind…and in an almost unbelievable way! In ‘it’ He would do the only thing possible to redeem every single person that would ever live. He’s that good!
All other religions focus on how a person can get to God….but Christianity is vastly different.Yep, Christianity is about our God ‘coming to us’! He loved us so much that He came in the likeness of man, laid down His own life to, once and for all, forgive us of our sins!And the icing on the cake would be that, now,…..plain old people like you and I can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe! I I don’t know if you’ve figured that out by now but …that’s one heck of a deal!
“Good will toward men”……..
It’s God……willing (wanting, desperately desiring)…..to do you good!
Let me first say that I’m not trying to influence anyone in any way.To watch….or not to watch…that’s your own business. And if you’re getting blessed by Christian TV….watch on!! I’m just stating my own opinion. And my reasons for not watching may not be valid for you in the least. When my life first ‘made the turn’, so to speak, back in November of ’84 I did watch quite a bit of Christian TV. I even watched Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker some. I did find them to be a little peculiar but, what the heck, I did learn a few things by watching their show. Same with Paul and Jan Crouch; peculiar people but no big deal at the time. And I do believe that lots of people were blessed through their TV ministries, even though I didn’t send my $100 for the little bottle of ‘holy water’ from the Red Sea.
But the further I went the less I watched TBN, The 700 Club and shows like that. For the most part, at least for me, it started feeling un-authentic, a little too much put-on, and way too theatrical for my liking. I would catch Jack Hayford from time to time, which was always good. There were a few others who weren’t ‘regulars’ that I’d try to watch if I had the chance. But it wasn’t too long that I found myself not watching Christian TV programming at all. (Been about 20 years now) And now if I’m surfing through the DISH channels and happen to cross one of those networks it just seems that I’m now further and further away from where they are and what they’re saying…..and from what I believe and perceive the Lord is saying to me.
But the clincher for me came a few years back when someone very close to me was contacted by one of those TV shows. It was one of the most highly acclaimed ones….and one that you’d surely know if I had the liberty to disclose it. This person’s life has been one of the most, if not THE most, dramatic conversions and transformations that I’ve seen in all my years. And after several phone interviews with my friend and then with me….they declined to do the story. Why?? Because, according to their representative, his conversion and transformation didn’t fit their grid of how it should happen. Tragic….in that this person’s life….and his story could have made the difference in hundreds, if not thousands who might’ve seen the TV show.
I left that situation discouraged and, to tell the truth,….about half ticked off. It was obvious to me that they were completely out of touch with what often happens out here in the real world. There’s no formula and there’s no set way for someone coming to the Lord. There’s millions of different scenarios and I wouldn’t argue the validity of any of them.“Any man who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved”.
The cynical part of me would say that if my friend would’ve just said, “I was at the end of my rope, on drugs and ready to commit suicide and I turned on the TV and the “- – – – – – Show” was on and I fell down on my knees and cried out to God.”, that they would’ve done the show as quickly as possible.
So, don’t get me wrong….I think there might be a place for Christian TV….but it needs to be authentic, it needs to ‘not’ be about money, and it needs to be relevant for what the Lord is saying and doing in our generation.
I like Fridays’! They’re nothing like Mondays’!I can live with Mondays’ but I don’t just crave ’em. More stress, too far to the weekend, usually a dilemma or two; Yep, Mondays, can be tough. They don’t call ’em Mondays’ for nothing! But Fridays’, now there’s a day I can enjoy! I can do Fridays’!
But seriously, there was a Friday, way back, that someone decided to call ‘Good Friday’. I’m not sure who coined the phrase but I think they did a heckuva job! When you look at that particular Friday a couple thousand years ago, and what took place on that fateful day, you might be really perplexed as to why anyone could have the audacity to call anything about it, ‘good’. In fact, if I didn’t know the whole story…..it would’ve been the worst Friday that ever happened!
That Friday that I’m talking about was the Friday that Jesus, God’s Son, was put to death by crucifixion on The Cross.…the cruelest method of corporal punishment around the first century. It was the greatest miscarriage of justice that would ever take place in the context of time itself! Jesus,……sinless, perfect, lover of sinners and tax collectors, put to death with absolutely no wrong done. How in the world could that possibly be ‘good’?!
Because if Jesus hadn’t done what He did….we’d be doomed to be slaves to sin, forever. That, in turn, would make eternity to be dreaded to the deepest degree! No hope. But Jesus turned it all around! It didn’t come easy, though. He was beaten almost to the point of death, stripped of His clothes, and made to carry His cross through the swelling crowd in Jerusalem to the hill called Golgotha (the place of the skull) where he was nailed to the cross. …..and there He died. Bad Friday……really bad!
Saturday,…..not good! Terrible, in fact. But Sunday everything changed. I mean, Everything!! ….when Jesus came out of that tomb! And, He was carrying the keys to death, hell and the grave! They would no longer have any kind of hold on mankind!
Jesus, motivated only by love, willingly laid down His life for you and me! Because of that, now, we have the awesome opportunity to have the same relationship with God that He has!
And that,………that right there’s why they call it Good Friday!!
It was the message on a little plaster of paris wall hanging at my Grandmother’s house in Wheeler, Texas.(My Mom’s Mom) I never knew my Granddad, he was killed in a motorcycle accident earlier in the year that I was born. That left her to raise 3 kids who were still at home. (2 older ones already married) She was an incredible person, in my opinion, and I’ve grown to appreciate that more and more as I’ve gotten older and understanding more of what it takes to raise a family.
One of my favorite things to do was to stay overnight, or a few days, at her house. I still vividly remember bedtime at her house. There were two beds in her room…one for her and one for Herman, my uncle, her youngest son. (only 3 years older than me)There’d be a story or two before we all fell asleep and they were always good ones. *(Herman always tried to tell a scary one..so we’d sleep with a butcher knife under our pillow for safety! lol)One story she told me when I was 3 or 4 years old was of an ‘old, old Grandmother by the name of ‘Mamaw Teak’. Well, that name ‘stuck’ and I called her that for the rest of my life.
When you’re a single mother with 3 kids in a small town you just have to do what you have to do to make ends meet. I remember her working at cafes and cleaning houses for people and then coming home completely worn out…but then cooking one of the best meals that you could possibly imagine. One of my most memorable Christmases was when Herman, my brother Monty and I all got our “Rifleman” rifles. We maintained a high level of justice on that block and kept the bad guys at bay in Wheeler, Texas for a good long while!
I think, somehow, the importance of prayer was imparted to me back in those days. That’s one of the things we’d do every night that I was at her house. And looking back and assessing her situation….I think she lived by it! They lived a simple life, a good life….but a simple life. And they got by,…I believe, by the provision of the Lord.
There’s a lot more to say on the subject of prayer. But simply put, “Prayer Changes Things”!
*When my Grandmother passed on, I asked for this little plaster of paris wall hanging. It means a lot to me!
Yesterday was another milestone for me as a writer. My post, Weapons of Mass Construction, was the #200th one! That’s 200 since January 1 of this year. Sure seems like a lot when you look back from here. I’ve learned a lot of things by writing on a regular basis, not the least of which is that writing seems to help me figure me out. There’s something about writing down your thoughts that seems to be good for a soul. I’d recommend it for anyone…and I can tell you that the hardest part is to just get started. It took me a few years to write the first one.
I’ll say again that my main reason for writing is to help. Some of the posts are serious, some are funny but all of them are written from a perspective of a life that the Father has blessed immeasurably! My deepest hope is that something you’ve read has helped you to simplify your relationship with Him, and maybe get a glimpse of the Creator of the Universe Who I think modern religion may have grossly misrepresented. He’s better and more gracious than religion has portrayed Him to be…but you won’t find the full truth of that until you’re connecting relationally with Him.
I appreciate your taking the time to read the posts. I look at every name that clicks the “Like” button. I especially appreciate your verbal feedback. I think it helps me to get better at what I’m doing. If you think they’re valuable in some way I’d appreciate you ‘passing the word’. Every time you click the “Share” button you make it available to an entire new, broader audience.
If you’re new to the blog….take some time to go back through the “Archives” and play a little ‘catch up’. Best case scenario, go to the site, click the “Follow” button. You’ll get an email every time I make a post.
The posts that have garnered the most “Views”(nearly 41,000 total!) are not necessary my favorite ones. Below, I have listed my Top-5 Favorite Posts. Give ’em a read and let me know which have been your favorites, or ones that have really ‘spoken’ to you. Thanks a bunch!
