He Is Risen

"He is risen, He is risen, tell it out with loud acclaim"

I think today of the sleepless night Mary must have had, grief and sorrow forcing her out early to the tomb. He came to her out of love, f to bind up her broken heart.

"Go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your God."

As the sun comes up this morning I am aware of the miracle of resurrection. I may not understand it but I am fully confident that it is so for all men. Of greatest comfort is that it is so for those I love who have died before me, and that it will be so, for me.

"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

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Good Friday

The Last Week In the Life of Jesus Christ

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Have you wondered why Christians call this day Good Friday? What is good about this day in the life of the Savior?

Jesus uttered seven statements from the cross upon which he was crucified..

1. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
2. To the man on the cross next to him he said, "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
3. Looking down from the cross he said to his mother, "Woman, behold thy son!' Then he said to John, "Behold thy mother."
4. In the ninth hour Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
5. Then he said, "I thirst." President Russel M. Nelson said, "To a doctor of medicine, this is a very meaningful expression. Doctors know that when a patient goes into shock because of blood loss, invariably that patient – if still conscious – with parched and shriveled lips – cries for water.” 
6. After receiving vinegar for his thirst he said, "It is finished."
7. Darkness was over all the earth and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. He then cried with a loud voice, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

        How can we say this sacrifice was good?

Is it good that he took my sins, my failings, and my misfortune onto himself? I would deny him as my Savior if I said no. It was the focus of his whole life. To bring me, with him back to my loving Heavenly Father and heavenly Mother.

I wince at seeing his suffering. Yet, I rejoice that he willingly submitted  for my sake. 

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."

To all the Marys who gave him so much comfort. Take heart. 
For myself I also say, take heart. 

There will be Sunday. 
And he will yet live again.

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Easter Week- The Longest, Hardest Day

 The Last Week in the Life of Jesus

"During the first of the days of unleavened bread, which was on Thursday, some of the Twelve inquired of Jesus where they should make preparations for the paschal meal."

While reading the story of Passover, going into the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Jesus into the hands of the Jewish authorities, I marvel at the emotional connection Jesus had in the midst of anxiety ridden events. As I am learning more of wholeheartedness and integrating emotions into our very identity, I look at Jesus as the model of all I desire in wholehearted living. I'll be using some definitions of emotion to make my points. 

Anxiety- Uncertainty, overwhelming fear, competing demands on our time, or social discomfort.

For Jesus there was an awful certainty about what would transpire and I believe a God who can know us completely would be required to feel all the emotions of mortality. I believe he felt fear and anxiety but was fully anchored in his sense of belonging and connection to His Father. His resilience was divine.

Resentment- An emotion we experience when we fail to set boundaries, when boundaries are ignored, or when expectations let us down because they were based on things we can't control, like what others think, what they feel, or how they react.

Surely he felt some resentment towards others who responded awkwardly and deceptively to him, not fully understanding all that he was offering in this life and in the next. Yet, he gave patience and love.

To me he fully exemplifies a wholehearted self. His thinking, feeling, and doing were fully integrated.

Heartbreak- More than just a particularly hard form of disappointment or failure. It hurts in an entirely different way because heartbreak is always connected to love and belonging.

I hurt for him because he hurt for me, fully submitting to carry my pain, my suffering, my lack, my evil, and my plain misfortune. In a desire for me to belong to him and in his desire to be connected to his Father, he knelt in Gethsemane and paid the awful price for justice to be served.

What an astounding day this was for him and for us all. And Friday will come next.

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Easter Week- A Day To Withdraw

The Last Week In the Life Of Christ

"But now it is Wednesday and tomorrow is the day for the slaying of the thousands of Paschal lambs. Today is a day devoted to his intimate friends."

Jesus passed this day of rest and retirement with his disciples. How could they not know that the end of a perfect ministry was coming? He had proclaimed it 12 times in the the previous years.

1. At the first Passover, three years before. "Destroy this temple and after three days I will raise it up. (John 2)
2. To Nicodemus he said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. (John 3)
3. To the disciples of John he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them ." (Matt. 9) 
4. To the sign seeking scribes and Pharisees he said, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt. 12)
5. To the Twelve he said, "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (Matt 10)
6. In the Sermon on the bread of life he said, "And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world." (John 6)
7. After Peter's stirring testimony it is written, "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matt. 16)
8. On the Mount of Transfiguration he discussed his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9)
9. Coming down from the mount he said, "The Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the hands of men; And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again." (Matt, 17)
10. En route to Jerusalem he said, "They shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him; and the third day he shall rise again." (Matt. 20)
11. In the teachings of the Good Shepard he said, "I am the good shepherd; and the good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.." (John 10)
12. In the parable of the wicked husbandmen he said. "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize his inheritance." (Matt. 21)

Will we be equally surprised at his Second Coming?

On this day alone with them he taught them all of his coming ordeal and what would result therefrom. 

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Easter Week- His Last Public Discourse At The Temple

The Last Week In The Life Of Jesus 

"On the following day, that is on Tuesday, He returned to the temple with the Twelve, teaching all who would listen."

The chief priests and some of the scribes came upon him as a group. They asked him by what authority did he do his works. Of course they knew the authority he claimed; but their question was of a sinister purpose. Jesus chose to answer their question with a question. Was the baptism of John from heaven or of men? Since the crowd of people listening would be swayed by what the authorities would say and do, they were forced into silence. "We cannot tell."

Jesus continued to teach those that gathered, parable upon parable, story upon story, all pointing to the self-betrayal of the chief authorities. The Parable of The Two Sons showed how true repentance was more effectual than lip service. 

Matthew 21:32 

For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen pointed to the deceit of them that killed the son of the householder and stole his inheritance. 

Matthew 21:38 

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

Truly. how could they not get his message? Then he told the Parable of the Royal Marriage Feast. The guests refused to come and spurned their royal invitation only to be destroyed for their lack of loyalty.

Matthew 22:7-9 

 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

 If this story was to be an allegorical presentation of true events, then it passes into the future as the destruction of Jerusalem post dated Jesus by several decades.

This Parable was the last spoken by our Lord to the public. Jesus would now turn his attention on his apostles who he would instruct and support in the coming days.

"Many are called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world,..."

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Easter Week- Cleansing The Temple

Monday- The Last Week Of Jesus' Life

" Now, within four days of the cross. He cleared the courts again by casting out all "them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves."

         

    The cleansing of the temple had strong emotion. This was Jesus' Father's house but it was also His house. Worldly commerce was not allowed because in this house the power of godliness was manifest. By that I mean, the sacrifices made, the prayers uttered, the promises entered into within these walls were done in similitude of the atonement, showing that only in Jesus could sins be made "white as snow' and all brought back into correct alignment with Heavenly Father.

Matthew 21:12 

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

     After the indignation came the calmness of healing. Into the courts of the temple came those who were blind, lame and otherwise afflicted. His power was always used for binding, healing, and connecting. 

Who brought the blind to the temple to be healed?
Who carried the lame?
Who can we bring to Jesus?

    As the common people gathered around him, the enraged officials were silenced by the press of the crowd. Little children. who perceived his power, spontaneously burst onto praise, calling him truthfully, the Son of David. 

   That evening he left Jerusalem and retired to Bethany. His hour was near, but not yet.

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Easter Week- Palm Sunday

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee; and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foul of an ass."

Zechariah 9:9

   As prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus entered the city to the tumult of praising. It was a joyful noise, one of hopeful triumph. What were they shouting? Hosanna! Interpreted in Hebrew it means 'save now'. 

John 12:12 “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 

 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

     His pathway was strewn with clothing and palm branches. Some pharisees urged him to rebuke the outcry of his disciples but he answered them by saying that if he made them hold their peace even the stones would begin to cry out praise. Some would realize much later how the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled that day. 
   In the New World another reason for praising. The Nephites rejoiced because they triumphed, with the help of God, over the robbers who threatened to overtake all their land. In a few short years this God would come and save them yet again from natural disasters that rocked the world entire world at his death.
   
      3 Nephi 4:30  ”And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.  And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
    Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.”

     Back in Jerusalem, Jesus knew his days were numbered and he urged his disciples to believe in the light while the light was still among them so that they would be called 'children of light'.

Believing, receiving, be open

To the truth which makes you 

Loving, and caring, and feeling,

That ye may be his child.

The savior said, "I am the light",

Come, follow me, just reach for my hand.

Your heavy burdens I will share,

My arms enfold you.

Believing, Receiving, Be Open

To the truth which makes you 

Loving, and caring, and feeling,

That ye may be his child.

His light illuminates the path

Warms every heart, each flickering shadow.

Go forth in faith, remove all doubt,

His arms enfold you.

Believing, receiving, be open

To the truth which makes you 

Loving, and caring, and feeling,

That ye may be the children of light.

Words to a song I wrote decades ago as a family motto. To be wholehearted has been a desire of mine for a long time. It seems, sometimes, to be just outside of reach but I do want to be a child of light so that the salvation Jesus brings is mine.

Other Days In The Last Week in the of  Jesus
Sunday

Waiting On The Lord

C.S. Lewis expressed the sadness of the time after the death of the Aslan, who is symbolic of the Savior, so eloquently in The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe".. 

"I hope no one who reads this book has been quite as miserable as Susan and Lucy were that night; but if you have been - if you've been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you - you will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. You feel as if nothing is ever going to happen again..."

Psalms 27:13

 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Those who loved him endured an awful waiting. Waiting is a mortal experience. Uncertainty washes over us and our unruly minds go wild with the "what if's". What if this is the end of the teachings of Jesus. What if the Jewish authorities come after all the new Christians? What if the Romans come after them? How will we live without the comfort of Jesus? What if?

What if........it is true?

What if tomorrow he rises from the dead?

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Family Bakers

Baking is very popular in our family. To make a loaf of bread is a joy and an accomplishment.

                Gather up utensils and start the action. Easter braided bread was on the table Sunday.

     A cinnamon, lemon, sugar glaze was skillfully painted by the hand of the master baker.

                              And the finished product was light, yeasty, and perfect with the ham.

                                               Keep those fires burning and the buns rising, kids.

Easter Morn

    As I sit and wait to heal I think about the miracle of resurrection. I can wrap my head around death because I have lost loved ones and it is real to me but I don't have personal experience with coming back from death. It is a mystery, a mystery of godliness, which I know about from the testimonies of a few who saw with their own eyes.

   Luke 24:36 "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."

   I learn from studying the gospels that Jesus was very eager to show himself to those who would believe and he showed much caring in their ability to accept this miracle.

   Luke 24:15 "And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?"

  Resurrection is a glorious truth!

    Elder Howard W. Hunter proclaimed that “the doctrine of the Resurrection is the single most fundamental and crucial doctrine in the Christian religion. It cannot be overemphasized, nor can it be disregarded. Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles—but sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is in the ultimate miracle: for the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality” (Conference Report, April 1986, 18).

  Such a truth was surely taught from the beginning of time, even before the world was. Although it seems mysterious yet is this truth taught by all of God's creations. There is life after death.

     On the left is a small pot of dirt. Planted within is a dead bulb. Cur down to wither and fade away. I was told that it would come back in the Spring. I believed because I see that truth every year as Winter comes to a close.

  The pot was forgotten on the porch until I noticed the miracle had come to pass.

 "All things testify of Him." In truth the mysteries of godliness are manifest all around us. It is for us to develop believing hearts and eyes to see.

    Elder Melvin J. Ballard had the following remarkable experience with the Savior:

“Away on the Fort Peck Reservation where I was doing missionary work with some of our brethren, … I found myself one evening in the dreams of the night in that sacred building, the temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing I was informed that I should have the privilege of entering into one of those rooms, to meet a glorious Personage, and, as I entered the door, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious Being my eyes have ever beheld or that I ever conceived existed in all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, he arose and stepped toward me with extended arms, and he smiled as he softly spoke my name. If I shall live to be a million years old, I shall never forget that smile. He took me into his arms and kissed me, pressed me to his bosom, and blessed me, until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt! When he had finished, I fell at his feet, and, as I bathed them with my tears and kisses, I saw the prints of the nails in the feet of the Redeemer of the world. The feeling that I had in the presence of him who hath all things in his hands, to have his love, his affection, and his blessing was such that if I ever can receive that of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, all that I ever hope to be, to feel what I then felt! … I see Jesus now not upon the cross. I do not see his brow pierced with thorns nor his hands torn with the nails, but I see him smiling, with extended arms, saying to us all: ‘Come unto me!’” (Sermons and Missionary Services, 156–57).

It Is Good Friday

This morning I opened my Easter file and took out some pictures I have kept for countless years. I display them in my home during Easter week. They help me focus.

   

   Vanessa, my daughter-in-law, pointed out to me that we are all like the robbers next to Jesus on the cross. 

   Luke 23:39 "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

  We are not innocent and justly deserve our condemnation. But, this "Good Friday" helps us see that due to His suffering we can be with him in Paradise.

    In these last seven statements, made from the cross, I see the divine ability He has to finnish his mission, putting His Father and his brothers and sisters first, before his own pain.

 1- Luke 23:34 "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

  2- Luke 23:43   "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

  3- John 19:26 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

   4-Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

   5- John 19:28 "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst."

   6- John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

  7-Luke 23:46 "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."

   After the hours of darkness following his death, the veil was rent.

 The death of Christ was accompanied by terrifying phenomena. There was a violent earthquake; the rocks of the mighty hills were disrupted, and many graves were torn open. But, most portentous of all . . . the veil of the temple which hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom, and the interior, which none but the high priest had been permitted to see, was thrown open to common gaze. (Talmage, JTC, 662)

 "Before the death of Christ, only the High Priest could enter in – now all could see into the Holy of Holies, which symbolized the Celestial Kingdom, or being in the presence of God."

Spring Delights

            Each spring I look forward to certain events that bring me comfort and hope. One is the return of more daylight. In March, for several days, the light streams through the window in my door and illuminates my painting on the opposite wall.

     Easter celebrations make me happy to remember my Savior. This year I have an Easter tree.

      Lastly, the plum tree in the back yard is a riot of blossoms. They are even beautiful in the moonlight.

12 Days Till Easter

      I want to make more of Easter this year. Why not have an Easter Countdown and combine little treats with reading the scriptures dealing with the last week of the Savior's life? I 'll make one set for my Grand kids and one for my seminary class.

    These pictures can have scriptures on the back. Check back here for a list of scriptures dealing with the last 12 days.

                                            Pictures for the last week can be found here. Thanks, Bro. Bushman!
     The more I prepare for Easter the better I understand the full impact of his Atonement,  Crucifixion and Resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ.