Psalm 22: A Praising, Christ Centered Easter

Happy Early Easter! I Pray that each of you have a great Easter that is centered around Praise for Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection for US! I am once again sharing Psalm 22 with you this morning. Can you tell that I love this Psalm? As you read it, think about Jesus and what He did for us. I know that I am so undeserving and so, so unworthy of such a gift from my Father, the King! It is by my Savior's wounds that I am healed and I am just so grateful that He loved me enough to offer me such a wonderful, free gift of Salvation!

If you don't know Him as your Lord and Savior, I Pray that you will stop and meditate on this Psalm. Let is speak to your heart and really listen. This isn't just a story, but our Christ who walked this earth just as we are and gave His life just so we could have an eternal one with His Father, Our Father, The King!

Psalm 22

¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

¹³They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

²³Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

²⁴For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

²⁶The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.

²⁹All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Just wanted to share the notes from my New Defender's Study Bible on this Psalm. These are such interesting notes and they really provide insight on these prophetic verses of scripture!

22:1 why hast thou forsaken me. Psalm 22 is an amazing prophetic description of the future crucifixion of God's Son. This psalm was written a thousand years before its fulfillment and described in graphic detail the sufferings of Christ on the cross, long before the method of crucifixion was known and practiced among the Jews and Romans. It opens with the central of the "seven words" from the suffering Savior: "Why?" (Ma 27:46). The other "seven words" are located in order: Luke 23:34; 23:43; John 19:26-27; John 19:28,30: and Luke 23:46.

22:2 night season. This evidently a reference to the supernatural three-hour darkness at the height of His sufferings (Mat 27:45).

22:3 thou art holy. Here is the reason for the darkness and the silence of God. God had made the sacrificial Lamb "to be sin for us" (2 Co 5:21), and a holy God could not "look on iniquity" (Hab 1:13).

22:6 worm. On the cross, the Lord Jesus called Himself a "scarlet worm." This same word refers to the worm from which the Israelites of that day obtained their red dyes and is usually translated "crimson" or "scarlet." The female worm of this species, when laying her eggs, affixes her body to a wood surface on which she will die after the young are born. The wood, her body, and the young are reddened with the death of the life-giving mother. In a similar image the Lord Jesus made "peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20).

22:8 let him deliver him. This was exactly the mocking cry of those enemies of Jesus around the cross who instigated His execution (Ma 27:43).

22:10 from the womb. Christ's miraculous conception and birth were unique among men. He did not need to be converted to God sometime after He was born, like other men with inherited sin-natures.

22:13 roaring lion. The picture seems to be one of an assembly of the wicked spirits of darkness gleefully prancing about His cross, waiting to swallow Him up - Satan, the roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), mighty bulls, and dogs and unicorns (22:12, 16, 21). These references could mean demon-controlled men, but are actually invisible powers of darkness. Nevertheless, "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it there at "his cross" (Col 2:14-15).

22:14 it is melted. The awful sufferings of crucifixion involved the slow separation of the bone joints, the collapse of the heart cavity, and finally a gushing of both blood and water (Jo 19:34) when the soldier's spear pierced His side.

22:15 potsherd. A "potsherd" is a broken piece of pottery.

22:15 my tongue cleaveth. Indescribable thirst was induced in the midday sun (Jo 19:28).

22:16 dogs have compassed me. It is possible that the reference to "dogs" was a euphemism for a crowd of sodomites (De 23:17-18).

22:16 pierced my hands. The piercing of His hands and feet is a clear reference to the nails which affixed Him to the cross (note also Ze 12:10; 13:6; Jo 19:37; 20:25-28; Re 1:7).

22:18 cast lots upon my vesture. The unusual action of gambling for His cloak is prophesied here and is one of the very few events recorded in all four Gospels (Ma 27:35; Mk 15:24; Lk 23:34; Jo 19:24).

22:20 my darling. In the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, "darling" is monogenes, used in John 3:16 and elsewhere to identify Jesus as God's "only begotten" Son.

22:21 though hast heard me. At the very climax and completion of His sufferings, as He was about to be impaled on the mighty horns of the unicorns and swallowed by the ravening lion, the Father finally heard His cry, and delivered Him.

22:22 midst of the congregation. At this point in the psalm the theme suddenly changes from suffering to praise. The debt for sin has been fully paid, and our sin-bearer becomes our great praise-leader. His congregation at the foot of the cross was very small --His mother, John, and the other women. One day His praise would be in the midst of not just "two or three ... gathered together in my name" (Ma 18:20), but of "the great congregation" (22:25), "the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven" (He 12:23).

22:22 praise. It is strikingly significant that this first mention of the verb "praise" (Hebrew hallal) in the book of Israel's praises, as the Book of Psalms were called, is at Psalm 22:22. This surely seems more than coincidence, for twenty-two is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The chapter and verse structure in the Book of Psalms, unlike the rest of the Bible, was there from the beginning. Thus, the very purpose of human language is to praise our Creator and Savior, and the great occasion of praise is His victory over sin and death on the cross.

22:25 great congregation. See also Psalm 35:18; 40:9-10; 149:1.

22:27 All the ends of the world. As a result of His work on the cross, His followers will be His witnesses "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Ac 1-8).

22:31 shall be born. As the great message is carried to "all the ends of the world" (22:27_, the spiritual "seed" (22:23, 30) that "shall be born" because of His death will testify "that he hath done this" --literally, that as He cried from the cross (Jo 19:30), "It is finished!"

Have a wonderful, Christ Praising Easter!

Ps. Share this Psalm and notes with someone you know!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

I GOT THIS TODAY IN AN EMAIL! SO GOOD!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?



Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I

Never noticed this....

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed

Over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave

Clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly

Folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to

the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the

Entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom

Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the

tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other

disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in

And saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside.. He also noticed the linen

Wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head

Was folded up and lying to the side.


Was that important? Absolutely!


Is it really significant? Yes!


In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have

to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.

The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and

Every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure

that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait,

Just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the

Servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.


Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe

his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that

napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the

wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and

Laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table,

Because..........



The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'



He is Coming Back!! Be Blessed

John 10

So, here is Jesus' very own people accusing Him of creating this "story" that He is the Son of God. Imagine, the very people that you love and came from, discrediting your journey to earth to die in their place. Even to this day, Jews and Gentiles alike do not give Jesus the credit He is due. But in a day not to far away, He will get His glory from EVERY man! This chapter was so powerful to me even though I've read and heard these verses a million times. Read and think of our Risen Savior who is alive and well today! He has His scars to prove His love for us!

John 10:

1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

(HOW AWESOME! THIS PRECIOUS DOOR HOLDS THE KEY TO A SHEPHERD WHO IS CALLING US BY NAME, GOING BEFORE US IN OUR LIVES, AND LETTING US BE SO INTIMATE WITH HIM, THAT WE KNOW HIS VOICE BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT!)

6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

(WE CAN GO IN TO LEARN AND GROW AND WE CAN GO OUT AND SPREAD THE GOSPEL TO OTHERS SO THAT THEY CAN EXPERIENCE THE SAME THING!)

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

(HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US! HE TOOK ALL THE PUNISHMENT THAT WE DESERVE!)

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

(THAT SAME POWER IS THE POWER GOD IS USING TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS! GOD IS SO MIGHTY!)

19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

30 I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

41 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.

42 And many believed on him there.

Happy Birthday Lea Bea!

My niece's birthday was on Easter Sunday this year. Michael got off work a bit early and we left for Louisville to get to her birthday party. She looked soo cute and we had a good time (despite me being sick)! Here's some pics from the event!

Dogwood Legend: Jesus Died For Our Sins! Praise God HE Arose From the Dead!

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A LEGEND....... BUT I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD WITNESSING TOOL EVEN IF IT IS JUST A REMINDER OF JESUS DYING ON THE CROSS TO PAY FOR OUR SIN DEBT. HAVE A WONDERFUL, BLESSED EASTER. AND REMEMBER..... EASTER ISN'T ABOUT BUNNIES AND EGGS ITS ABOUT JESUS AND WHAT HE DID FOR US! HE AROSE FROM THE DEAD VICTORIOUSLY! PRAISE GOD, HE LIVES!

As legend has it, the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made from a dogwood tree. God decreed that the dogwood tree would from that day forth never grow large enough to be used to make a cross. Thus, the dogwood tree is a small, under story tree. The flower of the dogwood has four petals which makes the shape of a cross. The center of the flower resembles the crown of thorns with bright red, clustered fruit in the center representing the blood of Christ. The dogwood blooms in April when Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of Christ after the Crucifixion.

The Old, Old, Legend Of The Dogwood
Two thousand years ago, few trees in the Middle East were not big enough to construct anything. However, one tree was valued above the others for its thick trunk and fine, strong wood.When the Romans came to rule over Jerusalem, their government used this same timber to build the crosses for executing criminals. A group of workers were assigned to gather wood for the crosses. Before long, every Roman official knew the best wood came from these gatherers of execution wood, so those workers became popular.
One day, the wood gatherers received a special request. An officer of the Roman court came and said, "The King of Jews is to be put to death. Deliver an extra-large cross made from your finest wood." So, a fresh tree was cut from the forest of the trees with thick trunks and fine, strong wood. An extra-tall (and extra-heavy) cross was quickly made and delivered. Three days after the death of Jesus of Nazereth, the chief wood gatherer got alarming news. "All of our finest trees are withering!" the messenger whispered. The wood gatherer hurried to the forest and saw that it was true.
Several years later, the chief wood gatherer heard that, every spring, many people visited the old forest that had once made his job so easy. Despite his advancing years, he set out to discover why. He saw the remains of forest, now like a salty bottoms, with only a few trees still standing tall,baked, lifeless and rotting.
But what was this? As he drew closer, his feeble eyes could make out the people walking among thousands of beautiful, flowering bushes. Seeing one of his own workers there, the old man said, "No one could ever make a cross out of this twisted wood. Our finest tree has gone to the dogs!" He noticed the beautiful white flowers, each blossom looking as if it had been burned from the touch of a miniature cross. So...an old and beautiful legend has it that, at the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: "Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints -- brown with rust and stained with red -- and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.
Legend of the Dogwood in a Flash movie . . . here.

FROM .... JAVAFORJESUS.COM