What Good Friday Means to Me

Good Friday is the day we remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Whether or not you believe it occurred on a Friday or a Thursday is not important. What is important is that we remember the event that is commemorated on that day.

I like what my pastor has called it...God's Friday. In the time of Jesus the day began at sunset on Thursday and continued until sunset on Friday.

And for me...that's when Good Friday begins...the evening before...

When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with the twelve apostles...then He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray...then He endured the arrest & the beatings...then He hung on the cross for six hours before His death.

If we didn't need a Savior there would have been no need for a sacrifice. His battle for us began in the Garden. It was in the Garden that He travailed in prayer and sweat great drops of blood. He asked the Father to take this cup from Him...and then He submitted His human will to the Father's will. I believe He prayed to the Father for strength to go through with the Divine Plan.

His human nature had to willingly submit to His divine calling for that plan to work. At any point He could have said, "No"... He had the free will choice.

...And He chose to accept the challenge, the suffering, and death on the cross. It was not an easy task...He did it in His humanity. WHY???

Because He loves us...you and me. When I look at the cross I see a symbol of overwhelming love.

...I don't understand it...I could never do anything to deserve it...but I fully embrace and accept it.

SUCH AMAZING LOVE !!!

Even before I knew Him...He thought of me! Jesus knew that if He did not pay the price for our sins that we would be forever separated from the Father. He also knew how much He wanted us to be with Him...forever!

So He paid the price...

WHAT KEPT HIM ON THE CROSS ??

His love for us...and because He could see our future.
Jesus could see past my sin to the day when I would accept His sacrifice as my own. He saw me in my sin and He saw me alone in my bedroom one night in March of 1980. I was reading in the gospels and my heart was breaking as I read about how much Jesus suffered for me. He was innocent...I was the guilty one...and I knew it.

My mind was a whirl of conflicting thoughts... It's not fair that Jesus had to suffer and die...He was INNOCENT! ...Why couldn't I pay the price for my own sins? ...I didn't understand about sacrificial lambs.

I told God that I didn't think it was fair that Jesus should have to suffer and die for my sins...but if that's the way He wanted it...I would accept it.

I asked God to forgive me then and there, and I asked Jesus to be my Savior. As I reached out towards Him, I felt a distinct touch in return...on the tips of my fingers...and an immediate lifting of my burden.

My life had changed forever!

My life didn't suddenly become care free. I still had many problems...but now I knew the Problem Solver and I knew He would help me. God has been faithful to me ever since. He has helped me to learn and grow in my relationship with Him.

It has been the journey of a life time!

I invite you to join me on this great adventure with Jesus!

Do You Ever Wonder Why You Are Here?

Do you ever wonder why you are here? What is your purpose on this earth? What is the meaning of life? Some people never think about things like this, preferring to live for the day, or for the weekend when they can party. Endlessly searching for the one thing that will bring them happiness, and peace to the restless yearnings within.

What about you? What drives you? Is it a search for that one true love? For acceptance? For fame and fortune? Or simply for recognition that you are a person with dreams and hopes that are, as yet, unfulfilled? What drives your engine? What deep longings do you try to quench with ceaseless activities, with the quest for the next party, the next great adventure, the next relationship?

In the quiet moments of our lives we face the stark reality that no one really knows us deep inside, in the core of our being, what we really think or feel about everything. Oh some may know bits and pieces, some more than others. But no one knows the whole story of who you are, every experience of your life, your thoughts and feelings about those experiences and how all these worked together to shape you into the person you are today...you. You may be afraid to let anyone truly know you at the core because you fear they would not like you if they knew the 'real' you.

Would it surprise you to learn there is someone who knows everything about you? Every detail of what you think, what you feel, the sad things, the bad things, the happy things, the good things. The choices you have had and the paths you have chosen. The circumstances that surrounded you that you feel you had no control over. Everything.

Would it surprise you to learn that in spite of knowing all this about you this person loves you with an everlasting love. He longs to have a personal relationship with you. For you to know Him as well as He knows you. Ok, by now you have guessed I'm talking about God. No...He is not some impersonal being 'out there' somewhere who is not interested in your life.

Stay with me for a moment.

Listen to your heart's cry within.

You know you long for this kind of relationship.
He is very much interested in you. After all, He created you in His own image. He put a yearning inside you to know Him. But He does not force this relationship. You can try to fill this yearning in any way you choose. But sooner or later you will come to the realization that all your efforts are in vain because you still feel like something is missing in your life. Does that ring a bell yet?

Does that sound fair? That He would give you this longing and not give you a way to fulfill it? There is a way. When you come to know Him you will discover what it means to experience true joy …not fleeting happiness. You will discover true peace…not temporary security... in your job, ...in your finances, ...in your relationships with other people.

I'm talking about a peace that passes all understanding, in the midst of the happiest times of your life and also the saddest or most distressing times of your life.

Think I'm kidding? Crazy? Fanatic about religion? No. I'm not talking about empty religion or a commitment to a church. I'm talking about a vibrant, real relationship with your Creator, the One who knows you best, and loves you most. So much so that He sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for your sins. So you can enter into everlasting life with Him. Not just in heaven someday, but beginning here on earth.

If you sense a longing to know more or if you are a skeptic at heart and want to prove me wrong…I encourage you/challenge you to find out more by reading God's 'instruction manual for life'…the Bible. I suggest you start with one of the gospel stories. He did not inspire the writers to tell His story to condemn us or to hem us in with rules. The Bible stories are meant to show us how much we really do need to connect with our Creator to find complete fulfillment in our lives. That is freedom. And we are free to choose to accept or reject the challenge.

What will you choose? What have you got to lose by accepting the challenge? If you want to know more, feel free to contact me. I am not interested in debates but I will be willing to communicate with anyone who is truly seeking to understand who this Jesus is and how He can connect you to your heavenly Father.