Only a few days separated Jesus from being hailed as King...people showering him with praise and then being hailed as heretic…deserving of nothing but death.
It makes me think of the difference between most any Sunday...where thousands join to praise Him...and then by Friday night...for some...He is no longer hailed as the hope of the world but instead...He simply becomes....inconvienent...His words forgotten…forgive…do good to those that hurt you…give to receive…serve to lead…die to live…take up your cross…daily...His words...uncomfortable...unwanted...a choice is made...His words are silenced...put to death...anything to stop those words.

On Palm Sunday we remember when Jesus road a donkey into the city of Jerusalem. The people laid palm leaves in front of Him and shouted hosanna. The stories of His miracles were being told and retold. Many thought that He was going to be their earthly king…they thought He would use His amazing powers to take over Jerusalem…to free them from Roman rule.

As what He was really about began to be realized...the excitement wore off...the party died down. He had not taken over the city but instead had been taken prisoner. He was not bringing down the Roman government…He was submitting to them…His words began to ring in their ears…forgive…do good to those that hurt you…give to receive…serve to lead…die to live…take up our cross…daily…this was not the kind of king they wanted…so they chose...silence those words…death.

While we celebrate this Holy week…His grand entrance…His ultimate death and resurrection…it’s a good time to rethink this...because …in a strange, powerful, relentless, and yet humble way....He is still arriving everyday...you will not see Him on a donkey...riding into your city...you will...instead...hear His footsteps as they approach the door of your heart...you will...remember the things He has said...forgive...do good to those that hurt you...give to receive...serve to lead...die to live...you will…make a choice...to take up your cross...or...to pick up some nails.

God at Mardigras

I attended my first Mardigras last night. It defies a definitive description. It is the most complete party you have ever attended…with 300,000 to 400,000 people.
I have always seen little snapshots of the parades….but the number of days, the number of parades, the number of people involve to make it happen and the number attending…all escaped me.
I doubt seriously I could write anything about Mardigras that has not been written many times over. So I am not going to go there. Instead I want you to visit a few scenes that stuck with me.

Scene One
I was struck by a group of people that thought a good way to tell the world about the love of Jesus would be to show up on Bourbon Street and scream unintelligibly into a microphone. I can say that the tone was angry…not loving. The comments just did not seem like anything Jesus would say…as a matter of fact there is no record of him ever yelling into a crowd of people in the city. The only time, the one time ,that is recorded where he appeared to be genuinely angry was not at the people in the city…but at people in the church who had turned the temple into a market place instead of a house of prayer. That day was a defining moment for those that knew the truth and attended the temple but had severely missed the point of being there.

Scene Two
I saw another group that was gathered in huddles. They sang a song….then stretched out their hands toward everyone as they walked by and simply prayed. They prayed that the people passing by would get to know who Jesus could really be in their lives. Better… much better… but it was soon backing to speaking very ineffectively into a very loud and boisterous crowd.

Scene Three
A very pleasant and smiling young lady walking with her friends…she says a cheerful “Hi” to everyone. She congratulates the very cold and very tired faced people that had stayed along the parade line, in lawn chairs, for the entire freezing cold day and night. They had done this just so they could save a place for their families to get a great view of the next parade. When she greeted them, each cold face would break into a smile and they felt, if just for a moment, a sense of pride…someone had noticed their effort… then I watched as she stopped to speak to a man who was scrubbing the sidewalk in front of a business…she told him that he was doing a very good job…her smile breaks through the drudgery of his work day... although very brief…it was a moment of peace…you could feel it…my guess is that her words landed right in his heart and they stayed with him through his entire day.

I thought of a verse of scripture that perfectly fit what I was witnessing with this young lady “Where sin abounds…grace much more abounds”. No screaming, no judgment, no sarcasm, no criticisms…just a genuinely sweet spirit… smiles…encouraging words…love in action…grace in action…that’s the Jesus I know.

Final Scene
Next year…a Call to Action for those that want to change the world by sharing the love of God.

Show up in full force at Mardigras. ..And instead of using a microphone as a weapon…come bearing the fruits of the spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness gentleness, and self control…
And instead of misunderstood prayer huddles…come having already spent time in prayer for the safety and peace of all those attending…and try this:

If it’s cold…hand out hot chocolate and encouraging words…
The cups should say something like;

A Warm Welcome to Mardigras…You are loved more than chocolate!
John3:16

If it’s hot...hand out bottles of water and encouraging words…
The bottles could say something like;

Welcome to Mardigras…A free drink on us!
John7:37

“I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink…”
“Whenever you did one of these things to someone…
You did it to me”
Jesus

Wise Words...Firmly Embedded Nails

I read today in Ecclesiastes where King Solomon said...

"The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails given by one shepherd". 12:11 (Italics and emphasis mine)

I read this several times...."firmly embedded nails". The weight of these words struck me powerfully..."The words of the wise are like....firmly embedded nails...". I thought of how when you'r reading the Bible and you see a truth...it leaps off the page...and for the rest of your life some things will occur to you as filtered through that truth. I thought of how those words affect my view of life....my decision making.

Sometimes I get wisdom from friends, inspiration from a good book or a revelation in a song writers lyrics. Some of these things have stuck like "firmly embedded nails".

It matters where I go to get my truths.