April 20, 2024

Lead Me To Calvary

April 18, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

King of my life, I crown Thou now
Thine shall the glory be
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow
Lead me to Calvary

Lest I forget Gethsemane
Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary

Show me the tomb where Thou was laid
Tenderly mourned and wept
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept

Let me like Mary, through the gloom
Come with a gift to Thee
Show to me now the empty tomb
Lead me to Calvary

May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for Thee
Even Thy cup of grief to share
Thou hast borne all for me

Fill me with Thy desire
For all who know not Thee
Then touch my lips with holy fire
to speak of Calvary

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

Jennie E. Hussey/WJ Kirkpatrick/ Performed by Andrew&Saskia Smith

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And as they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian,
coming out of the country, and on him they laid the Cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
Luke 23:26

As we near this time in the year that we celebrate Easter, it is easy to focus on other things as we get nearer to the Easter weekend. Many of us are busy with family traditions and other things, and it is so easy to forget what Easter is really all about—just like we do at Christmas. Yet, Easter and Christmas are both about something different from the Easter Bunny and Santa.

During Easter, we celebrate the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Christ’s defeat over sin and death. We celebrate His sacrifice so that we may live in eternity with God. Yet there is more to those three days than we often realize. In other people’s actions, we can see hints of what is expected of us as Christians.

When Christ was led to the Cross, the Roman soldiers pulled a man, Simon of Cyrene, from the crowd. The soldiers forced Simon to help Christ carry the Cross to Calvary. When you look at the verse above, notice the last phrase: “…that he might bear it after Jesus.” Now symbolism can take root here. As it is told to us and sung to us, when we accept Jesus, we are supposed to take up the Cross with Jesus.

In a way, this is saying that as Christians we take up the Cross with Jesus upon our acceptance of Him into our hearts. Just as Jesus took up the Cross to bear the weight of our sin, we should bear the Cross as a reminder of why Jesus died for us. Our Cross will be the sufferings and sorrow we endure here on Earth. Our Cross will be the persecution we receive from those who do not follow Christ. We will bear the Cross with Jesus.

By bearing the Cross with Jesus, we will be blessed with eternal life in Heaven. We will be able to beat death just as Jesus has. One day Christ will return and resurrect His faithful followers to return with Him to Heaven where we will spend eternity. We worship our God every day, and there will be no suffering or pain. There will be great joy and happiness abound.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your sacrifice on the Cross. Without that sacrifice, we would not be able to look forward to eternal life. We would not be able to defeat death. Thank You for Your love and Your presence in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Captivating: Chapter 9 – Arousing Adam – Standing in Love’s Way (pp 148-153)

March 4, 2013 by

This is one of those chapters where if I happened to meet with John and Stasi, I would thank them for including this topic.

It’s so easy for us as women to blame the men in our lives for the pain that they have caused us over the years without knowing that they, like us, carry the same wounds. Such blame comes because we have not really gone to the basics to find out why men act the way they do.  It’s only when we understand the issues at play that we will begin to address our hurt.   The truth of the matter is that both men and women have wounds that date back to the time of Adam and Eve and, should we fail to address them, every generation will go through the same things.

There are so many misconceptions about masculinity that we have believed and embraced.  However, looking at our topic today, we can put some of those lies to rest.  Men just like women HURT and as much as they don’t always show this side to us, deep inside they carry childhood wounds.  They may act macho and have an “I don’t care” attitude, but they too have been hurt by their fathers who were also struggling with the same issues and did not know how to reach out to their sons.

How do we expect little boys who have grown up being told that “boys don’t cry, it shows weakness” to understand and comfort a woman when she is hurt and needs emotional support?  How will such a man relate to you when you want answers to these questions:  “Why won’t he talk to me? Why won’t he commit?  Why is he so angry? Why is he violent?”  The truth of the matter is the boy in him sees this type of emotion as weakness and probably thinks you are needy.

John and Stasi tell us that we won’t begin to understand a man until we understand his Question, his wound and how Adam also fell.  His search for validation is the driving force of his life.  The question that boggles a man’s mind is “Do I have what it takes? Am I the real deal?  Am I a man?”

We may love the men in our lives with everything we have got but we cannot answer this question for them.  This validation of a man’s soul only comes from knowing who he is in Christ.  In the same way, a man cannot fill the void that is inside our hearts no matter how much he declares his love for us.  ONLY GOD CAN.

Let us allow this chapter to help us heal the wounds that have been inflicted on both men and women.  Let us open our hearts and minds to allow God to validate our souls.  Only God can restore our beauty as women and strength to the men who we love and cannot live without.

Our understanding of this topic will help us build loving relationships and help heal the hurt that we have inflicted on one another because of lack of knowledge.  The bible says in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish because of lack of knowledge….”  When I understand what my husband or a boyfriend went through while growing up, it will help me understand why he acts the way he does with me.  Then it’s my job to pray for him, not try to fix him!

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ went through Calvary in order to restore the relationship that we had with our Heavenly Father.  At Calvary, Jesus bore our sins, including all the misconceptions that are there between men and women.  When He created us as male and female, He did not create us to inflict pain on one another but to love one another, enjoy one another and be One.  However, it is because of the Fall that we were cursed and have to endure the pain and suffering of this fallen world.  Jesus’ death and resurrection was vital for man’s existence because it validates our existence and answers the questions that He alone can answer.  It is through their relationship with Jesus Christ that men and women can truly love another and live in harmony.  I pray that this study will continue to draw us near to Him and, that through Him, we will embrace the relationships that we have with one another.

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LET’S PRAY:

Father, thank You so much for all that You did for us at Calvary through Jesus Christ.  His death gives us purpose and validates our existence on this earth.  It is only when we know You that we can embrace who we are and are able to truly love one another.  Restore in us that which was stolen when Adam and Eve fell.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Ask Jesus to show you what you’ve been doing with your Question and how you have related to Adam.

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If you are interested in sending Jackie a private message in regards to this blog, please email her at: Jackie@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

Filed Under: Singles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Resolution for Women: Living w/ Grace Weekly Review

September 21, 2012 by

Because He Gave His Everything

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This week, we’ve been talking about living with grace in our home.  Learning to just say “okay”.  Learning how to use WD-40, better known as GRACE, to loosen up a bit and not be so rigid in our expectations.  Then we ended the week in learning how to find that Sabbath Space in our home.

We could focus on grace here on out, if we wanted to; which is technically what this chapter was about.  But I want to focus on something else today.  WHY we are able to offer grace.  Because of Jesus and what He did on the cross.  He gave His everything in order for us to walk in grace and offer it to others.

His sacrifice was the ultimate act of grace!

Today, I want to Praise Him!  I want to shout His name on high.  I want to thank Him, and bring all glory and honor to Him, for that sacrifice of grace.

I’m not sure if we will ever truly comprehend the price He paid to show us grace, until we meet Him eye to eye.  The ultimate sacrifice of being scourged for our sins; of being nailed to that cross….FOR YOU AND I.

GRACE ….

GRACE …

GRACE …

Because of Him and what He did for us that day in Calvary, we CAN offer grace to those undeserving.  There is no reason for us to think otherwise.  He paid that ultimate price to give us the ability to love those undeserving, and offer them grace.

GRACE …. Because He gave His Everything!

The resolution this week calls us to cultivate a peaceful home where everyone can sense God’s presence not only through acts of love and service, but also through the pleasant and grateful attitude with which we perform them.

Next time something in your home calls for grace…and you don’t think you can offer it …. think of what He did on the cross for YOU and how undeserving you were for that sacrifice.  Then extend the same kind of grace to others.

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Let’s Pray:

Jesus, we love YOU so very much!  We thank You for the ultimate sacrifice You paid on the cross that day in Calvary.  Jesus we would be lost without You; but because of You giving Your everything, we can face tomorrow and live eternally with You!

Thank You Lord.  Some days there just doesn’t seem to be an adequate way to say thank you for the deep sacrifice that You paid.  But Lord, my heart is full today; it is alive; and I am alive today because of You!  I give You all my praise, glory, and honor.

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If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, please write to us so we can get in contact with you today to share the Love of Christ with you, and walk you through a prayer to accept Him into your heart.  We love you!  He loves YOU!!

You can email Robin Packer, our Intercessory Prayer Ministry Leader, at Robin@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com.

Robin will contact you and pray with you.

Thank you for joining us this week.  I pray the blogs this week spoke to your heart, as they did mine!

We love you, and so does He!!

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Reminder… on October 1st, we will begin our brand new Online Bible Study, entitled “Winning Him Without Words” by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller.  If you are in an unequally spiritual marriage, you won’t want to miss this study!!

To sign up for this study, please send an email to: Womens@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com and we will send you all the details you need to get started!

Now jump on over to our Facebook Group for the daily activity!! If you do not yet belong to this group, and would like to, send us an email atGirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com with FB GROUP in the subject line, and we’ll be glad to add you!

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,