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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, April 7, 2023
Today's Passage : Today's Passage : "Jesus Dies" Bible Verse:John 19:28-30 "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." Message:
This is the most somber day of the year, in the Christian calendar. We grieve. And oddly enough, we mourn. How can we mourn the death of Christ, a death ordained by Christ himself, especially when we know he will rise again in a few days, in great glory? But we do mourn, perhaps to reenact in ourselves what his mother and those close to Him felt at His terrible death.
Mourning is an emotion, not an intellectual statement of doctrine. It does not show lack of faith, if one feels a sense of loss and sorrow. Just as children will cry when their parents leave on a long trip, or even a mother when her child goes to school, a Christian might mourn and grieve the death of a loved one. It is not that they are gone forever; only that we will miss them while they are gone. We grieve whatever pain they have suffered and we mourn the pain we feel at their departure. So it is natural to mourn the death of one who is so innocent as Christ, so perfect, the very Prince of Peace.
Painting of Christ crucified, by Sieger Koder
We also mourn for Christ’s pain. Never does he seem as fully human as when he says he is thirsty. Thirst is used throughout the Gospel of John to stand for spiritual yearning; and Christ repeatedly offers to quench others’ thirst with a river of water that will never run dry. But now, he himself thirsts; he seeks the spirit of his Father to comfort him in his agony. He lets us know, without question, that God has experienced the most extreme pain of being human and thus gives us confidence in his sympathy for us. He knows our suffering first-hand. He has felt it Himself.
And we mourn for the sinfulness of those who killed him and for the pain we, ourselves, have caused in our lives. Despite our best efforts, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and we regret it. It is the ultimate day of penitence.
Although the accounts differ among the gospels, Christ receiving vinegar is the source of a lot of confusion. People can’t even agree on what the “vinegar” actually was, much less whether giving it to Christ was an act of cruelty or mercy. One must think that in John’s version, vinegar on hyssop was intended as an act of kindness, because hyssop was a medicinal herb used widely in Jewish purification ceremonies. But whatever it meant at the moment, the greater significance to us was the fulfillment of yet another ancient Biblical prophesy: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (Psalm 69:21)
Meditation : Prayer : Christ Jesus, you hung upon a cross and died for me so that I might live for you; Your body was broken and your blood shed so that I might be healed and made whole. You were faithful unto death so that I might be faithful unto life. Your last command was that we might love one another, one family together from every tribe and nation; a new creation united through your sacrifice, redeemed by your blood, healed by your love, united by your covenant of peace. Grant that, in your death I may find life, and in your suffering I may find peace, today and forever. Amen........ |
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