Good Morning Girlfriends!
I know I'm a bit early this week, but I wanted to get a jump on the week. We are heading into Holy Week, and I've a couple of important things to say. First, this week marks probably the most vital aspect of our entire faith. Throughout the course of this week, we will walk through the institution of the Lord's Supper, we will walk step by step through the arrest, trial and crucifixion of our Savior, and finally rejoice on Easter morning with our Risen Lord! But why? Why do we celebrate (odd word choice) these events? Hold that thought for a minute. Settle in. I want to tell you a story.
What do you know about powder? There are several different types of powder. There's the powder you put on your face, the sweet smelling kind you sprinkle on a baby's bum, and then there's the powder I want to talk to you about today. Last Thursday I came home from work to a great big mess in my house. You see, my husband decided to have both of the upstairs bathrooms gutted...at the same time. The upside to this is that once it's done--it will be done all at once. The downside, the mess is absolutely horrific. The tile from those bathrooms had to be beaten apart, scraped up and basically pulverized in order to remove it from the floor. Apparently when you lay tile, you are never supposed to change it out. The kicker with this little scenario is the simple fact that I was unaware this was taking place. Oh, we had talked about doing this...but the actual day and time had yet to be announced. Therefore when I came home, I was greeted with a layer of powder-fine dust over everything in my house. You see, I had not moved anything from the rooms directly adjoining to these two bathrooms. So everything in those rooms were completely covered with about an inch thick layer of this very impressively clingy dust. It absolutely permeated everything. Made me think of something else...
As I mentioned, we are entering into Holy Week. More than any other week in the year, this week we take a good long hard look at ourselves. We have a "dust" problem with ourselves. I'm not suggesting that y'all are hygiene deficient. What I'm saying is we all have a sin problem. And this sin covers each one of us so thoroughly, so completely that it permeates every part of our lives. It blankets the outer layer of our person, and then it creeps into the very core of our being. Let's see what the Book has to say about this. Psalm 51:5 says: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Ouch. I remember when my babies were born. It was hard to look at those sweet angels and think of them as being sinful, but they were. If we keep moving to the right, we'll land in the book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 17:9 tells us from the New King James Version, "'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind...'" Are you beginning to see a pattern? We have a sin problem that is covering us from the inside out. This sin, is in every part of us. It is even in places we cannot see. I have one more place I want to show you. We are going to jump all the way to very back of the New Testament; to the book of 1 John chapter 1 verse 8: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
No one is immune to this. We cannot escape it. It doesn't matter how well we drape ourselves. We will always and forever be covered in a fine layer of sin. What can we do? I have an answer. You see, when Jeff finally gets finished with his little remodeling project, and the dust finally settles--I won't be able to effectively rid my house of the dust. There's simply too much of it. I'm going to need help. It's the same with us. The sin that is on me and in me is simply too much. I cannot rid myself of the sin--I never could. You can't either. We need help. We need a Savior. Jesus came to help us, Girls, He came to save us. Without Him, we'd be lost forever. This week as we make our way from the Garden of Gethsemane, the Cross of Calvary and finally the empty tomb on Easter morning...thank Him that your sins are gone forever. There's not one place your sins can hide from Him. Jesus is more effective that Swiffer, Mr. Clean and Merry Maids--combined! It's over. "It is finished." John 19:30 (emphasis added) So, how's the powder that covers you? Walk with me this week, let Jesus dust you off. You'll enjoy the fresh new robes. Have a blessed week!
"'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" Isaiah 1:18
Join us this week for services!!
HOLY WEEK IS NEXT WEEK!!
April 21 (Thurs) 10:30 AM, 7:15 PM Maundy Thursday
April 22 (Fri) 10:30 AM, 7:15 PM Good Friday/Tenebrae*
April 24 (Sun) 6:00 AM Easter Sunrise Service
8:00 AM,
9:30 AM,
11:00 AM Worship/Communion
*The Tenebrae service is an extremely somber service done in progressing darkness. It is by far, my favorite service of the year!
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