From Golgotha To Paradise

They led Jesus outside the city gates of Jerusalem towards a hill called Golgotha which means the place of the skull.

Wearied and bloodied with a crown of thorns on His head, His feet painfully, slowly lifted one after another over dirt and stone that cut into his soles. 

The very same feet that had walked distances to heal the sick, raise the dead, and help the lost were now bruised with bones that ached and throbbed from the weight of wood upon His back.

Those who used to run towards Him, now ran away from Him.

Drenched red from a lead tipped whip, His back, all the way to His soul, bore the weight of a cross and of all people ladened with sin. 

The same back that was sure to have been embraced with affection by men and women at the sight of their healing, now barely able to carry the mass of wood slung over His shoulder and back.

Nails bore into His hands. The same hands that clasped hands and wiped away tears, now pierced by the force of hammer to nail, his body broken for us.

Hung for all to see upon the hill at Golgotha, He was hurled insults by the passerbys on the road. The sign on His cross, "Jesus, the King of the Jews."

The lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world now pained by cruxificion still even in death spoke and gave life. The very essence for the reason of His walk on earth to give life, true life, eternal life, and to give it more abundantly.

Next to Jesus on his right and left hung two criminals, one of them hurled insults at Him. " Aren't you the Christ, Save yourself and us!"

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus answered, " I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23: 40-43.

And that is what He gives us His children, His friends, His heirs through His death on the cross. A paradise unlike any fathomable to the human mind.

Death comes to all, but He brings us resurrection and life. These fleshly bodies will cave and vanish and wither, but the soul lives on towards paradise. 

Worry and fear mounts over death, but a heavenly paradise awaits for those who speak words of repentance and whose hearts connect with His.

There will be no more pain or mourning or loss for all of those have passed away (Rev. 21:4) And we have been given a glimpse, a glimpse at this paradise where He sits upon the throne, the Spotless Lamb of God, the Messiah. From John's encounter in the book of Revelation:

" It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gate. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

" The wall was made of japser and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the foruth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eight beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass."

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. One each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp for the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Rev 21:11-14, 19-21. Rev 22: 1-5, 12.

Jesus, the light of the world, came to save us from or own darkness.

Jesus came, because the Father loves us so.

He longs for us to walk with Him, to give Him our sin, our time, our heart, and our prayers.

And in return, He gives us ressurection and hope through salvation.

He gives us an eternal paradise... .
This post was originally posted on ,Christian Women Online a wonderful resource of devoted hearts and words for women.

Believing in Purity

So I'm open and brave today with the pen. 

Drawing close and embracing freedom that comes from letting go and just letting God. 

I hope it brings your heart into a rest that God works everything out for good, and that no matter the past our God is good, and through him we are made pure.

{There she stood.

Her skirt was a little too short.

Her heels were a little too high.

Her composure a little too confident.

Before the door could close behind her, she struck a match, and lit a flame to a cigarette. Inhaling deeply, she blew a gust of smoke into the cool, morning air.

She knew others were watching.

She walked down the steps, past the stained glass windows and white steeple, past the place that she just couldn’t understand.

She walked with no fear. She walked blindly.

Once in the car, she drove down the cobblestone, brick road. Her red old dingy Datsun hobbled over bumps and grooves until she came to her usual spot.

She walked in the musty building where the stench of alcohol and stale cigarettes from the night before still lingered.

They all knew her.

She felt accepted.

She felt known.

But she was deceived.

Flash forward fifteen years, and I can still see her there. Those wild, crazy, selfish days of instant gratification existed foolishly. Those years still sit and soak in the back of my mind.

I wish she would have driven down a different path..................}

The rest of the post can be read over at Incourage. Humbled to be able to share the rest of the post today with a wonderful community of women and writers and grace filled followers.

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A Morning Prayer

In the morning Lord I give you praise,

for the breath and the joy of another day's dawning.

Help me to keep you as the center from which all things will point to.

Moments may be hard and will test the soul but help

me to respond in peace and patience and the fruit's of your Spirit.
Teach me to sing praises when the moments get restless and hard and
to shout hallelujah's for when You have won in me.
You, Oh God are my Rock
You, Oh Jesus our my Salvation's Song.
My hope is in you.

For A Good Man To Fly

The thuds from the wall are loud and you could swear the wall might just cave in.

The clock pasts 10pm and it looks like it's another late night as he rearranges and moves his tools and saws and its packed full of clutter and beauty and wood chippings and dirt.

To a unknowing person it's just a mess of mismatched items, strung about with no real purpose that causes the mouth to gasp at its sight.

But to him it makes a perfect, majestic disorder. 

Sometimes life throws hurdles and messes and disorder and some can handle it well and others cave.

I cave and always fail and ask, "why?"

Why?

Everyday can sometimes feel like the day before and the day before that and the day before that and suddenly you question purpose and point and wonder where it is all heading after all the waiting and waiting.

He walks in from work a smile on his face as he opens the door all dirtied and covered in sawdust. 

His front pant pocket had a hole where the night before he had taken a stapler and stapled the seams together underneath the color so his keys wouldn't fall through.

His smile, I've seen before.

He said he got a text. A text from someone who needed a player, a guitar player for hope city, an outreach center. If smiles I could remember this one I would have wished I had.

Hopes don't soar high here, because sometimes it doesn't work out and more than likely it wouldn't work out for him as it usually does and it would only break again, my hope.

Excitement, don't let it show, but yet ride the waves high for dreams are only short lived and then age and distraction and disappointment and life swallow them up.

What does it take for a good man to fly?

It just takes some time. 

It just takes a word. 

Someone spoke good about him. 

And now, he was smiling as he practiced. 

His fingers stained with paint as they plucked and pulled the strings of a dust covered guitar.

I've tried to push him and pull him this way and that way to tap into skill and it's a sad road. 

A sad road of knowing and being able to go nowhere.

Adhd/add where a mind is torn between so many talents and arts and disappointments, but to him, he doesn't see it that way because he doesn't see through the mess of talents and if he could he wouldn't let it bother him.

When life is lived with multiple thoughts in the head, its hard to pin one down where accomplishment actually produces results.

Daily life has its demands and dreams are lost to the reality of working the clock for the basics, but to give up hope is to lose the battle of the souls will to flourish.

I thought he would miss the bus.

Surely,  he would. 

Never had thoughts entered my mind in the past of wondering if my husband would ever not be able to care for himself.

He played...for hours...and he said his fingers wanted to cave, but he wouldn't let them stop and it was good, because worship is what we are made for and it doesn't matter how many or how few hear, but what matters is the heart connection to the Savior.

I could imagine his smile. 

The way his eyes closed and how his crooked tooth would show and of how much he loves to worship.

If he never played a day again he wouldn't mind for he rests in the promise that one day he will fly right out of here towards heavens pearly gates and yes, he can't wait for that day to soar.

His heart would be content here, but mine, mine would always wonder and I could cave.

To give glory and praise for every minute and moment no matter how grandiose to God. 

For there is hope at the end of the day because of salvation and this life, a free gift, and its better to spend it with joy so fought for, than bitter from strife or life's toll.

Hearts pump thick now and to offer praise up High, a hallelujah, for all that He is and all that He has given us.

Purim~ For Such A Time As This

There is a certain beauty and truth to it all.

It's a quiet hush, a gentle display, a soft proclaiming of traditions and people. 

It's a certain holy that emits a closeness to God unseen in any other race or people.

It can take breaths away, this reverence of a sacred closeness of the jewish people to God.

It's heavenly music to a thirsty soul and when it's heard the heart can't help but be moved.

Only to look and see that through His people comes glimpses of His plans, His words, and Himself.

I never thought much of it or any of it because it wasn't for everyone or was it?

She had to have been nervous.

The fate of her chosen as queen rested in her humble beauty.

The fate of her chosen people rested in her willingness to obey.

The fate of her chosen people rested in her sacrifice to move forward in bravery.

Her beauty could have fallen by the sword.

Esther.

Motherless, fatherless, raised by her cousin, Mordecai, "Hadassah," won the favorful heart of the King.

Not long after crowned, Haman, a nobleman of the King, plotted to destroy and kill the Jews.

Unbeknown to the King, Esther was a Jew.

Mordecai tore his robes, wailing loudly outside the city walls, and Esther heard the news of the decree, and of her cousins cries for her to alert the King.

But to approach a King unannounced could mean death unless summoned.

"Who knows, but that you have to royal position for such as time as this?" uttered Mordecai.

Esther planned to tell the King, "And if I perish, I perish."

Through a series of requests and feasts Haman's plot was unfolded and the King, now knowing of Esther's nationality, had Haman hanged.

The Jewish people had triumphed, and every year the Jewish people and those who believe, celebrate "Purim" of how a queen saved her people from utter extinction.

During "Purim," The Megillah is read, the parchment scroll, of the Book of Esther. 

There is feasting and a celebration of a young queens stand to not be quenched or silenced but to speak to save her people. 

Children twirl, and dress up, and dance and remember how to live as though to never be silenced. Gifts are given to the poor. 

Around the breakfast table, I read of Esther to two little boys who have heard the story before. 

They listen and slowly I see their hearts open and souls come alive.

In everyday life, dry spells come and we remain steadfast and wait. Wait for such a time as this to open and show our true selves tested faithfully to the end.

Today the Spirit of Haman still lives on, it will never be quenched and it hopes to drain the life from all who believe in God's plan for His people, for those who kneel and pray and give grace.

But for such a time as this, those few rise and stand up and will not let go of their beliefs of His people and His word.

And we, we are only as close as we allow ourselves to be drawn in and there is so much beauty and truth there waiting.