Good Friday and Easter greetings!

OUT OF THE PIT

“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Good Friday – the original Good Friday – was a dark and sorrowful day. Jesus was pierced, crushed, chastised, wounded and killed. It was a day that the first followers of Jesus, who loved Him as we love Him today, went away in utter despair, mirroring the despair Jesus Himself expressed upon the cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”

Why? Why did the Father leave Jesus feeling forsaken? So that we would never have to be! To fulfill God’s promise to us, “I will never leave nor forsake you.”

But Good Friday ultimately amounts to very little without Easter Sunday; because on Good Friday, Jesus joins us in our suffering, our despair, our darkness, but on Easter He defeats them, even death! This is the weekend, friends, that gives us the courage to live the rest of the year.

A dear friend reminded me this morning of Psalm 40. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

This Holy Weekend, remember, in Jesus Christ, God has not merely joined us in the mud and mire, but He lifts us out of the pit and gives us a firm place to stand. For, we stand in His overwhelming love!

A joyful and redemptive Easter to all!

In Him,

The POP Staff

Lately, I feel and often hear, “I am a different person after 2020.” Sharing about the many changes people have moved through; indescribable losses which came on suddenly; you too may feel “life is not normal anymore.” It’s a long list for 2020, full of great sufferings witnessed and personally experienced. What did the suffering change? Do we appear different after 2020?

At Christmastime, dear friends sent me a lovely box of pears from the Harry & David orchards. The company added a small insert in the box to describe a difference about their pears:

“Wind-Scarred Pears
Noticing unique markings on your Royal Riviera® Pears? These blemishes are called wind scars and are the result of high winds whipping tree branches and causing abrasions to the skin of our delicate pears. Sadly, these same winds contributed to the spread of devastating fires in our Southern Oregon community – destroying homes and displacing countless people.
We often pride ourselves in the beauty of our Royal Riviera® Pears, and this harvest is no exception, if only in a different way. These scars are a reminder of what our community has been through and how we’ve rallied to support one another. The untouched, juicy, delicious interior of the pear demonstrates – it’s what’s inside that counts.”

This brilliant metaphor speaks to how we too, are different after 2020. How do we look to others?
“Wind-scarred,” yes? We are all recovering from the fierce, sweeping winds of change. Change often including suffering. Thankfully, we have One who suffered for us. A Savior whose very scars heal us. The changes, the suffering, the scars – all may be occasions for us to draw deeply within Our Lord’s sheltering arms. We are transformed, in the storm, in His Heart, and precious scars.
Have I ever prayed that His scars would be life-giving to me, to my loved ones, to His precious creation of people all over the world? Am I angry about the fierce winds, “scarred for life?” Yes! Together may we pray our anger is transformed into joy as we cherish our likeness to our Savior. May we view one another’s scars as beautiful – remembering they nod to our desperate need.

O Holy Spirit, Your presence is closer to us than the very breath we breathe. Allow the winds of circumstances and suffering to transform us deep within. May we appear different because of 2020. May we shine Your peace, Your compassion, Your forgiveness, Your unchangeable Faithfulness. Keep us humble, please. Rally us! We will share Your healing scars as balm for our neighbor. O how we love You, Sweet Lamb of God.

Halleluiah and Amen.

.

     ^{The owner of The Stanley Hotel opened his “house” to feed and provide rest for the Firefighters of the 2020 Colorado fires.}

⁵ So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’….[Hiram was in agreement to bring cedar from Lebanon and have his workers work with Solomon’s workers and so he responded to Solomon saying:] And you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household.” ^[1]       [בַּיִת bayith household(125)^[2]]

Resplendent are God’s gifts when used “for the name of the Lord my God.”

Brilliant are needs met by “providing food for my household.”

Solomon’s wisdom, a gift from God, continues to teach us today!  Given the opportunity to build anything, small or large, whatever we are building is it

“for the name of the Lord my God?” 

As others join us in the process of how and what we are building; as we gain even the smallest measure of blessing, do we adjust our thinking to say

“you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household?” 

During 2020, who is building?  During 2020, who is feeding?  But aren’t households closed in the midst of a pandemic that rises and falls and rises again?

Created in God’s image, we are always able to create and share!

As His magnificent Spirit hovered over the darkness, light burst through…

You and I are able to create moments that exclaim the name of the Lord Our God!

You and I may draw hearts to God’s Heart, praying and working together!

You and I may provide food for households – which will meet our needs!

Make our every moment one of creation for

Your Name, Sweet Jesus.

Feed others with our smallest and greatest resources,

all given by You.

Each day, invite others to feast with us

at Your table of Mercy and Love. 

 My heart ~ God’s Household ~ Your heart    

Amen

BILLOWING BEAUTY ON THE BAY

NOT A SPIRIT OF FEAR

Come, Spirit of the Living God!
Come into my dark and trembling fear.
Let Your fierce and tender love restore my soul to its rightful place of rest in You.

Psalm 73:21-23 and Heb. 2:14-15 [More Light Unto the Path, p. 26]