Palm Sunday

They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!"

John 12:13

Jesus did not hide from His enemies; He boldly came into the city and was received with joy and honor by those who had heard of His mercy and love and good works.

Jesus did this knowing that in only a few days everything would change and He would be charged, convicted and crucified for our sins.

Let us remember today that being a Christian is not about being comfortable, it is about doing what we are called to do by God. We may think that God requires a lot from us, but it is nothing compared to what He did for us when He sent His Son, Jesus, to deliver us from our sins.

Celebrate the love of God and boldly proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the world.

 

The Best Fringe Benefits Package

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And all that is within me bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion;

Who satisfies your years with good things;

So that your youth is restored like the eagle.

Psalm 103:1-5

When we go looking for a job, we look for good fringe benefits - health insurance, vacation time, a retirement plan and other goodies - that can make our life easier.  Good as these sound, they can not compare to the benefits God offers us.

We are blessed hundreds and hundreds of times by God.  Psalm 103's declaration of the benefits of serving God just touches the surface of all the things God does for us. The writer recognizes that even though our sins have been pardoned by God, we sometimes fall into sin and declares that it is God who “redeems us from the pit.”

And, when we are feeling tired and worn God will restore us.

God's offers us the best fringe benefits package, think about that.

The Greatest Among Us

 

But the greatest among you shall be your servant.  

Matthew 23:11

We see many people working to be number one, the best of the best, smarter than anyone else, rich and powerful, believing that these things will result in them being the GOAT - Greatest of All Time.  And, these people will not hesitate to tell you that this is their ambition and that anyone settling for less is just not working hard enough at life.

But I will tell you what I am seeing.  I have a family member who is recovering from a serious illness at a nursing home.  The people who work there are the hardest working people we have ever seen and they do their work with kindness and without complaint.  They are affectionate and caring.  They will not ever become rich or famous - but they are clearly the greatest among us.

When we encounter people who are serving us, be it the custodian who sweeps the halls or a fast food worker who brings our food or a cashier or a bus driver or any of a hundred others whose service makes our life easier, we should thank them for helping us because Jesus says they are the greatest. 

   

 

God Is With You

 

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10.

When we face the unknown, it is only natural that we have some fear.  But God promises us that He is with us to encourage us and strengthen us.  God holds on to us.  

Be brave, God is with you.

Not Guity, Forgiven

 

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:12-13

We are a guilty people.  From the day we are old enough to understand, guilt is heaped upon us.  We are guilty of being selfish for not sharing.  We are guilty of talking out of turn.  We are guilty of running when we should walk.  We are guilty of calling in sick when we are not ill.  Even if we apologize and try to make things right, in the eyes of the many people, we are still guilty.

 

And, probably the worst guilt is the guilt we heap on ourselves because of our shortcomings of which we are all too aware. 

But when we come to God, He looks at us and says, “Not guilty, forgiven.”  God forgives our sins and He forgets them.  Our sins are gone forever, because God is compassionate. 

What we cannot get from man, God freely gives us through His Son, Jesus.  When we ask Jesus to forgive us and be our Lord, Master and Savior, God washes us clean of our sin and we are forgiven. 

Say Thank You

 

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

Hebrews 13:15

One of the first things we teach children is to say “Thank-you.” Yet, as we grow up the words escape us and we take things more and more for granted.

We sometimes get on this same bent with our worship. We pray for the world, our family, more money, and our problems, but we forget to take time to thank God for all our blessings.

Take a little time and raise your hands toward heaven and thank God for His mercy, His love, and all you have been blessed with. And, even thank God for your problems because problems give us an opportunity to watch God work in surprising ways.

Praise the Lord!

Get Over It

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

Can you picture a world where there is no road rage, no yelling at store cashiers, and no arguing about tooth paste tube lids?  Every day we are faced with petty annoyances, and every day we pop off at people because we think it will make things better.  And, what is the result?  We are angry, they are angry, feelings are hurt, and in the end all we have done is make stuff worse. 

 

We need to get over it and stop letting petty annoyances dictate how we react. 

The fruits of the Holy Spirit seem simplistic but they are packed full of life changing, life improving characteristics.  When we have the fruits of the Spirit we are less belligerent and more in control of our actions which translates into healthier personal relationships with others.    

Seek the fruits of the Spirit.