Sorry...

So I had a personal goal to write up the rest of the blogs before Good friday (tomorrow) well, I will tell you that I didnt get a chance to. I do apologize i really wanted them to be done so that as we went through this Passion week, we'd be able to understand what Christ went throught, but in reality I didnt have enough time this week do do that. So my plan is to write about it next week. even though its a few days "late" it is still applicable to us.
Thank you very much.

The Drama in the Upper Room

Most of this I learned from Dawson McAllisters book, "A walk with Christ to the Cross"-- A fabulous book and I highly reccommend.

The Last supper...  Thursday of Passion week.
Jesus and his dicples were celebrating the passover feast in Jerussulum in the Upper Room. This was Jesus' last meal. Jesus washed their feet and taught them many things during this supper.

The Last Supper

¹⁷ On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
¹⁸ He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
²⁰ When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
²² They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
²³ Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
²⁵ Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
³⁰ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

So They all were there, eating and listening to Jesus, when Jesus became  deeply troubled... everything probably changed dramatically. Something changed Christ's spirit and shook him up very deep within.  He announced that one of his own disciples would be betraying Him, it is later revealed that Judas Iscariot would be the one to  hand Jesus over to the enemies...
The disciples started looking around the room.. "is it me?" is it me?'  "who is the Betrayer?" - they couldn't figure out the answer. Then one by one they approached Christ and asked "Is it I?"

Judas (knowing he was the one that Jesus was talking about)   leaned over and asked "Rabbi, am I the One" - and Jesus said "you have said it yourself..."...

Judas Iscariot has been called the darkest mystery in the Bible, Scriptures dont reveal much about him. Judas spend 3 years with Christ and knew him, walked with him, heard most of what he taught, trained, served on witnessing tours, was a leader among the disciples, outstanding business leader, treasurer of the group. and he was warned of sins consequences by Christ.... But he fell to the depths of evil.  Judas has selfish ambition. He joined up with Christ for the wrong reasons, he thought Christ was going to go set up a kingdom on earth.. not a heavenly kingdom... he thought that he would become Jesus' Prime minister... but that wasnt Christ's intention. Jesus made it clear that his kingdom was not of this world.... things were not going the way that Judas had wanted to... and he becaome very bitter...
So when did everything started going down hill? 
- Probably about a year before the Crucifixion, Jesus had fed 5000 men with 5 small loaves of bread and 2  fish, the following day Jesus crossed to the other side of Sea of Galilee to rest. when the crowd realized that he was gone, they got into boats to find him... all these boats going to find Jesus... Perhaps Judas saw this and thought this was to be the moment when He would announce the establishment of His earlthy kingdom... instead Jesus offended the crowds and made them mad by his words and actions, even scolded them for their fleshly motives... they wanted a messiah who would lead them to overthrow Rome,  but Jesus refused.  Thats not what He was about... this must have made Judas mad.
Judas also desired money. Greedy... Judas cared only about himself, as evidenced in his selfish ambition and  lust for personal gain. Judas decided to make a deal with Jesus' enemies... who were the Jewish leaders. Judas' anger had reached  a boiling point. He wanted to help those who wanted him destroyed. The leaders needed Judas's help in itentifying Jesus. they could recognize Christ during the day but  were afraid to arrest him in daylight, in fear it would cause a riot.  Judas, with his knowledge of Christ's wherabouts became valuable to religious leaders.
Matt 26:14-16 -

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

So back to the "Last Supper"...  there judas was eating and  simmering  in bitterness and greed, then John asked Jesus to reveal the betrayer, and He did so by a familiar cusom. He took a cracker o piece of bread and ddipped it into the sauce that was on the table. he then offered it to Judas. - It was a Jewish cusotm, a means of offering friedship, but it appears Christ was offering Judas one mre chance to repent of his evil plan. ...
Judas stayed with his decision to rurn against Jesus, and rejected His offer of love. Immediately, Satan himself entered into Judas. Knowing this jesus commandad Judas, "what you are about to do, do it quickly (John 13:27)
The drma reached its conclusion, and Judas left  to perform his horrendous crime... the other disciples were confused about what whas going on, and never suspecting what Judas has in mind, but Jesus knew that His steps to the cross were quickening.


Peter:
Peter was one of Jesus disciples... Jesus told Peter that he would deny that Him three times (Luke 22::31-34)  " I tell you Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me"
But Peter said "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." and all the other disciples said the same.  (Matt. 26:35)
and sure enough Peter did...
Satan was at great work during this time. he was setting a trap for Peter and the others. Jesus was very concerned. He knew that there was alot more going on in the spiritual realm that they would ever be able to see. Jesus tried to help them realize that there was alot more going on than what they had thought...

Monday and Tuesday of Passion Week

Jesus was a busy guy those few days before he was crucified. That Saturday after Jesus was greeted by the crowd waving palm branches, he went and looked around the temple, and then headed back to Bethany. Bethany was a couple of miles from Jeruselum.

During this time Jesus shared many parables to give his “last minute teachings…”

These can be found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  J

I decided to put the text in this blog, rather than just the references. I know personally i'd rather to read it than having to flip through everything... So here it all is, Im sorry that it is long. But I wanted the Word to tell the story...

Monday:

Mark 11

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts

¹² The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

Jesus Cleansed the Temple

Mark 11

¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’^[c]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^[d]”

¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples^[e] went out of the city.

Tuesday:

Disciples see withered tree….

Mark 11

²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly^[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” ^{[26] [g]}

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Jesus Gave quite a bit of Parables:

The Parable of the Two Sons 

Matthew 21

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered

esus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Mark 12

The Parable of the Tenants

¹ Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ² At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

⁶ “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’^[a]?”

¹² Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Matthew 22

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

¹³ Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. ¹⁴ They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax^[b] to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” ¹⁶ They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

¹⁸ Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ¹⁹ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. ²¹ The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. ²² In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³ At the resurrection^[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵ When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ²⁶ Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[d]? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[e] 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[f] 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’^[h]

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

³⁸ As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Mark 13
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
¹ As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

² “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵ Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ¹¹ Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’^[a] standing where it^[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. ¹⁶ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁷ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ¹⁸ Pray that this will not take place in winter, ¹⁹ because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.

²⁰ “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. ²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

²⁴ “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’<sup>[c]

26</sup> “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it^[d] is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert^[e]! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Matthew 25

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Mark 14

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

¹ Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ² “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages^[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you,^[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas went to the chief priests…

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

There was no record of anything on Wednesday.

Passion Week- Palm Sunday

As we are entering into this passion week, I will be writing to inform you about all that we know as Jesus walked throughout this week primarily for that Maundy Thursday and Good friday, and then of course Easter. (due to my schedule I will probably  be writing everything all before friday... but I have felt this on my heart the past few weeks that we really need to pause our lives and remember what Christ went through during this time. Even amongst our busy lives, and even if it is an "old" story, we can still feel the "passion" during this time and we can try to understand what Jesus went through, all for us. I want us to really embrace what all happened during that week, not go straight from Palm Sunday to Easter Morning....  they are significant aspects of the week, but I really feel that there is so much more there, that we really should understand.

So, Im starting from the "beginning" of that passion week... Palm Sunday...


Mark 11:1-11
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.3If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.' "4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!^a " "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"^b10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!"11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.


Yesterday at my church the church service was filled with everyone waving palm branches and we began to sing a hymn "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" It was much like what the people of Jeruselum were doing, except that they had the real deal - Jesus on a colt walking down the street... as they were placing palm branches and coats and such in the street...
The crowd has no other way to pave the path, so they threw down clothes and branches, saving some of the palms to wave in the air. They shout words which are both praise and prayer: Hosanna! Save us now! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!Blessed is the King Who comes to save us!

They had heard the stories about Jesus, how he gave sight to the blind,  healed the sick, fed thousands with very little food, and of course a recent miracle just a few days before he came, when he was in Bethany, where he raised a man, Lazarous, from the dead and they were so excited because they thought that Jesus would be performing miracles to save them from the corrupt.... But He is not saving by performing more miracles... He is the King who saves us all...


I read a sermon that could not have described it better : (" A Royal Welcome" by T. Micheal Crews, sermoncentral.com)

He is the King Who saves us all, but He will not save by performing more miracles. He will not save them by seizing Herod’s crown of gold, but by wearing a bloody crown of thorns. He will not save them by building an army to fight for their freedom—He will save them by allowing evil men to bind Him and nail Him to a Cross. He will not save them by shedding the blood of His enemies, but by allowing His enemies to shed His blood. He will not save them by demanding acceptancefrom others, but by being abandoned by His Father. They do not understand His secret ambition is not to take over the world by force, but to win the world by love.
They welcome Him as Savior, but they do not really understand what kind of Savior He is. The same city that welcomes Him now will soon hear cries of crucify Him! This royal welcome will be short-lived.

Jeremiah 29:13

I am still working on researching and getting stuff together in preparation for my postings coming up about the last hours of Christ's life. I will probably be writing about that that week of Good Friday. - So in a few weeks, but I cannot express the excitement I have for it. I truly believe that we really should know the hours before Christ died and what he went through, after all he was human...

ANYWAYS---
A verse has crossed my mind and I feel like I need to maybe share and bring it to attention...

Jeremiah 29:13:
¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God has great plans for us.... all of us, not just some of us, not just the rich, not just the nice, no certain people... everyone. He wants to bless us in everything and lift us up in this world. -- BUT... He wants us to SEEK HIM... not only SEEK HIS BLESSINGS...
I feel like so many people seek out the blessings... and not seek out God.They want to be blessed, but they dont want to be close to the one who does the blessings...
We are to draw CLOSE to God... The One who blesses us! When we seek Him with all of our heart he will promise to reveal himself to us, and he will bless us.

We are to seek him with our WHOLE heart, not just part of it.
Many people are hesitant on drawing close to God because they dont know what to expect, or maybe out of fear, but we should not fear to draw close to him, but instead just jump in, get close with him, after all, He is the one that is ALWAYS there for you no matter what. He is the one that holds your plans in his hands... why not get close with him?


Seek Him with your whole heart... and you will find him.

Jeremiah 29:13:
¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Coming Soon....

I wanted to prepare you - In the coming weeks as we are approaching Good friday - I will be taking a deeper look into the last hours of Christ's life. Some of the stuff that I will be writing about will be intense. Its not your average childrens sunday school lesson - this will be an in depth look at what Christ went through, physically, mentally and emotionally. Most of my information will be coming from Dawson McAllister. Some information will be coming from a Planet Wisdom conference that I went to. I will be breaking it up so that way its not so much information at a time. I'll also be putting it up prior to Good Friday for two reasons, one being that way we can focus our time on Good Friday for the pain and suffering that Christ sacrificed for us. and I will also be out of town, and will be difficult for me to post that weekend.
please stay posted for it, I havent decided when I will start it or anything like that, just know that it will be coming, and wanted to let you know, that it will be deep. (when i have taught this in the past, it can be difficult to listen to, especially if you have a weak stomach.) but this is very real. I think as Christians it is important for us to realize of the extent that Christ suffered for us.
Thank you very much, and stay tuned in the coming weeks.

Romans 12:2

As I was reading through Romans a tad, I think I'll eventually do like a little "Romans Series." But for right now, I am just going to focus on one verse...

Romans 12:2
² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

This verse has stuck with me for many years, in high school we went to a youth conference with my church youth group,( Planet Wisdom) and this verse was the theme of the conference.( i wish i could remember what exactly they said to us / or had the booklet they handed out.

Remember how in my first post I told you I'd be telling you different words that have come to me over the years?- This post is about "Renew" (your mind)

Many people start out with such a passion for Christ and just a heart for God, then something happens, it fades away, why?
Why not keep up the passion?
What happened to your faith?

Let me guess... being sucked in to the ways of the world?... in some way or another?

We ALL are sinners. yep, even Miss Goody-Two-Shoes... Shes a sinner. But we ALL are saved by HIS Grace.. Yes, of course Miss Goody-Two Shoes, but everyone is. Even if you think "i've sinned so much that I don't think God will accept me...".. yep, He sure will... he accepts all sinners, just gotta tell him that you've messed up, but that you believe in Jesus, and that Jesus died for your sins...."

Back to renewing  your mind...
We've got 2 choices...
We can either live according to the Spirit, or live according to this world...

Looking at the first part of the verse "Do not conform to the pattern of this world"-- Which way SHOULD we live?

As I type that, "DO NOT conform to the pattern of this world..."--- yep, its saying to NOT do it... people do it though. Its not saying, eh, you can conform to the world on occassion, or anything, nope, not at all.

There must be a conscious decison made to renew your mind which will transform your life. There may be some sacrifices to be made to live a Holy Pleasing life for God.

You may need to ask yourself "what is the difference between the patterns of this world and a living sacrifice..."
you may need to evaluate your life to determine what you need to get rid of in your life that is hindering you to renew your mind and have a life according to God.

Why do people want to be consumed by this world, when our destination  is not here on Earth. All this stuff and just worthless stuff is just temporary... it wont go with you when you leave earth,( some of the stuff is a lot more temporary than other stuff...)

Sure people who are Christians have tough times. Just because you believe in God, doesn't mean that tough times wont come... and Satan will tempt you to things of this world. Satan knows how to lure people in, and to get sucked back into worldly things...
Its up to you to just say "no" and make that decision that you are going to live your life for Christ.

What you feed your eyes, ears, mouth, mind with will be houw you live...
Some people live one way, act another.
At some point though, what you do/think behind the scenes will eventually come out... what you fill yourself with is what you will produce.. 
If you do fill your eyes, ears mouth, mind with filth, then thats all that will come out, filth.
If you fill your eyes, ears, mouth, mind with goodness, then all that will come out, goodness....

When you consciously renew your mind, its a constat process which will lead to a transformation, from being worldly to being Christlike.
We no longer think like one who doesnt believe, no longer feed on things of this worldthat we used to be, instead focus on things  that build you up, strenghtn your faith, encourage others  to do the same.
Once we clear out the "weeds" and we focus on God then we are able to see wht God has in store for our lives. You have to have a spiritual Mind to know, you must feed your mind and soul of spiritual feed....

While reading this you just may be just reading... Im going to give you some suggestions on actually how to follow through. and how to renew your mind.

Theres not an automatic fix... you'll have to train yourself...

1) you must consciously give your life to Christ... Every day. nope not just every few days or just when you think about it... when you wake up,  commit your life to him even say it out loud "Jesus, I'll live for you today."

2) Daily prayer and Bible reading. - To know the will of GOd and be transformed. - It will require a disclipline to sit down and pray and read the Bible. As I've told the Youth group before, you dont need 5 hours to do this, (unless if God's calling you to do this...) but seriously just take a few minutes, pray. (for people you know who need prayers, specifically, generally, whatever...) Spend some time in scripture... It takes time and requires determnation... all things take time, but make this a priority.

3) Have an "accountability partner"- someone where you trust and relate to and hold you to your prayer and bible reading.

4) Feed your mind with the things that are wholesome. Yep, you'll have to disciline yourself over what you watch, read, listen to and everything.


Romans 12:2
² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Awake My Soul!

Psalm 57:8
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

AWAKE!
This word came to mind to me several months ago (I actually think its been over a year..) among several others, that have been placed in my heart (and I most likely will be writing on those words in the coming weeks or months)
I feel like people as a whole need to have their souls awakened, I feel like many have placed their faith in the background, on a backburner, thinking "oh I'll be faithful later... I'll get to know God later...I'll talk to people about Christ later..."
my question is... what if "later" never comes?
Often times we are reminded by others dying, that it is not up to us for when we meet Jesus. It is up to God the Father.

I feel like sometimes when we do something it sometimes is infectious to others...
For example, say a co-worker or friend has lost some weight, and you can tell a difference, - you say "WOW, you look good, what have you been doing?"...
they tell you, and then you want to start doing whatever they're doing...
Same goes with spiritually too.
Sometimes your cup may be "overflowing" with Christs love and just are in "the spirit" you are happy and just joyful or whatnot, then people ask, "whats with you, why are you so happy?" or something.... then you can then say that you have been focusing on God, reading His word or whatnot...
I've been reading a devotional that a friend of mine at work gave me for Christmas, I love it... I read it everyday at work during my lunch break, one day, I lent it to another friend of mine, who has also been reading the same devotional, she had forgotten hers, well she had it on her desk, then another lady that we work with it, spotted it, picked it up, started reading, and got her inspired to buy herself that same book.( 2 days later. :) .. I find it really cool that we can inspire people to be closer to God by doing the simpliest things, of course some people are harder to actually get close to God for whatever reason, but if we just Start by AWAKENING our Spirits, and Getting closer with God, then eventually others will see it, and then will become a "Great awakening".....

One thing is I get very inspired by music... worship music in particular, I get inspired by lyrics and the way that artists convey their message.
I have a few songs that have really spoken to me that we really need to be inspired to WAKE UP!.. and share Christ's Love, and draw near to Him...


The first one is:"The Great Awakeing" By leeland

One man wakes, awakens another
Second one wakes his next door brother
Three awake can rouse a town
And turn the whole place upside down
Many awake will cause such a fuss
It finally awakes all of us
One man wakes with dawn in his eyes
Surely then it multiplies
Surely then it multiplies


The second is: "Awakening"- By Hillsong... that I get so inspired.... take a listen/ read the lyrics...

[Verse 1:]
In our hearts Lord
In this nation
Awakening

[Verse 2:]
Holy Spirit
We Desire
Awakening

[Chorus:]
For You and You alone
Awake my soul
Awake my soul and sing

For the world You love
Your will be done
Let Your will be done in me

[Verse 3:]
In Your presence
In Your power
Awakening

[Verse 4:]
For this moment
For this hour
Awakening

[Bridge:]
Like the rising sun that shines
From the darkness comes a light
I hear Your voice say
This is my awakening

Like the rising sun that shines
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing

From the darkness comes a light
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing

Only You can raise a life
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing