Preparing seems to be part of our fabric as women–we prepare lunches, backpacks, family dinners, holiday traditions. As we’ve examined the last words of Christ on the cross this past month and a half, we have prepared for this week’s celebrations. Preparing and remembering. This week we remember Jesus, the King, serving His disciples by washing their feet. Jesus, the Lamb of God, enduring false accusations along with mocking and scourging. Jesus, the Victorious Champion, conquering death by rising from the grave. What a glorious week to celebrate Jesus! And, this is the crux of our Christian faith; this is what we celebrate every single day of our journey with Him. His joy in laying down His life and triumphing over death was to reconcile us with the Father. May remembering and celebrating this bring you a fresh joy in Him.
Rejoice! Jesus is risen! Love, Wendy
Crucifixion and Resurrection
O LORD,
I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,
be crucified, dead, and buried.
The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,
for it is empty and thou art risen;
the four-fold gospel attests it,
the living witnesses prove it,
my heart’s experience knows it.
Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,
for I wish to be as dead and buried
to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
and might be delivered from his lusts.
O Lord, there is much ill about me–crucify it,
much flesh within me–mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern.
Let me reckon my old life dead because of crucifixion,
and never feed it as a living thing.
Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour,
to be content to be rejected,
to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
and to hold fast despised teachings until death.
Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
may it rule me,
may I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence.
Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions Arthur Bennett
