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“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:38 / NIV
As you probably know, this week, the week before Easter is called Holy Week. Easter Sunday marks the end of the 40 days of Lent. Holy Week is the holiest 3 days of the year for Christians here in the U.S. and all around the world: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
Lent is a special time of year set aside for us to carefully look at our own lives, and to ask God to forgive our sins. We as Christians already do that often—some people daily–throughout the year. However, Lent is a little different. It is actually more like a thorough spring cleaning for your soul! We look at what we have done and what we have failed to do in our lives, and then ask God to forgive our sins. And He does!
Holy Week begins with Holy Thursday when we remember Jesus’ Last Supper when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples to teach them about the great Love He had for them, and that they were to have for others. This is the last meal that Jesus had with His Apostles. It is when He prepared the Apostles by telling them what was to come—about the crucifixion that would occur the next day, on what we now call Good Friday. Good Friday is when Jesus suffered extreme hatred, humiliation, pain, and finally death when He was crucified and died on the cross.
What Jesus Went Through!
The powerful High priests, Centurians, and the people present made Him suffer an awful death as they jeered at Him. They hated that He spent His time helping sinners find the Love and forgiveness of God. They arrested him for no reason, though He had committed no crime, stripped Him of His clothes, beat Him, spit on Him and humiliated Him in every way. The people yelled cruel things at Him demanding, “Crucify Him!!!” The Centurians beat Him unmercifully, and a painful crown of thorns was placed on His head. You may be wondering why he couldn’t didn’t stop it all from happening before it even started? Of course He could have, but He chose not to. Instead, as we see in our Scripture of the day, Jesus said in obedience to God, “Father, Thy Will be done!”
Jesus IS our hope. In turn, we as believers can trust that God can and will forgive us for whatever we’ve done in this life. He will forgive absolutely everything and anything we’ve ever done and leads He us to eternal life! But we need to ask God for His forgiveness.
Do You Have 2 Seconds?
You may be wondering how you can make Holy Week special. If you have something, a sin, that is bothering you, perhaps it’s time to ask God for forgiveness. It can be as easy as quietly saying a 2-second prayers if you feel so led. Here are 7 examples of 2-second prayers:
- Dear Father God, I ask forgiveness for my sins. Send your Holy Spirit upon my life.
- Dear Lord, God, please forgive me, for I have sinned.
- Dear Lord God, I am a sinner. Please forgive me,
- Dear God, I ask in the name of Jesus for forgiveness of all my sins.
- Dear God, I repent of all my sins, especially ______________.
- Dear Father God, I ask You to forgive me my sins, and be with me always.
- Dear Lord God, please heal me of all my sins, and help me to live my life in Jesus.
That brings us to the third day of Holy Week: Easter Sunday. Beyond coloring Easter eggs and receiving milk chocolate bunnies in our Easter baskets, the true reason for celebrating Easter is to celebrate when Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead! He defied death once and for all, when He rose from the dead according to Scripture. By bringing salvation to all who believe, He sits at the right hand of God for all of eternity. To think He did it all for you and me!!! That is why Jesus really is the Greatest Hope the World has Ever Known.
A Little Faith Goes a Long Way
Sometimes life takes us where we’d rather not go. I’m sure that’s how Jesus felt as He drew nearer to the betrayal he experienced and the extreme suffering He endured at His crucifixion on Good Friday. But today’s Scripture of the Day Bible passage tells us to keep praying, keep praising God as Jesus did. We need to try to pray about everything and try to accept whatever comes and goes as all part of God’s plan, regardless of the circumstances we face. That’s exactly what Jesus did! There’s always something to be grateful to God for…no matter what.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
1 Peter 1:3 | NIV
Life is different when you believe that you are in the palm of God’s hand, and whatever happens is ‘meant to be.’ When you have that level of trust and confidence in God, you realize that you are never really alone, wherever you go, whatever you do according to His divine will. Jesus is with you! God will never leave you nor forsake you! We need to strive to have the kind of hope and faith that Jesus had in his darkest hours in our own lives. So let’s ask God’s forgiveness for our sins this Lent, and keep looking for and finding hope through silver linings in our everyday lives. After all, that’s what Easter hope is all about!
Copyright 2024 | Adele M. Gill
The Inspiration Café Podcast & Blog
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