This is it! It has come down to one more day! There is no second guessing. There is no “What If’s?” All of the should of’s, could of’s, would of’s are a thing of the past.
There is no time for regrets, no more time for “to do lists” or plans, the dreams you had wished have either one true, or they never will. It is only TODAY! You have 24 hours left to live! How will you live it?

This sobering thought has had me wrestling with a myriad of possibilities. Would I be noble and use my time to bless others? Would I be frantic and run from person to person making sure I had my final encounter with my loved ones? Or would I be so distraught that I would find myself begging my God for more time?

This question may remain unanswered for me at this time in my lif, but not in the life of my Savior a bit more than 2000 years ago.

What did Jesus do when faced with His final 24 hours here on earth?

He bowed His knees!
Jesus sought refuge, a quiet place to pray and seek His Father’s face.

After washing His disciples feet and eating the last supper with them, Jesus left the upstairs room where they were eating and went to pray.

Luke puts it this way…

“Then accompanied by His disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went AS USUAL to the Mount of Olives.” Luke 22:39

The first thought that grabs my attention is that Jesus had one day left to live and He went to pray.
The second thought is that “He went as usual!” Wow! Did you catch that? It was His normal routine. Not just when He was, in trouble, panicked, or sad, but “as usual,” something He was used to doing!

That challenges me to make prayer my normal routine and not just my “genie in a bottle” when I need something.

After He bowed His knees He prayed and asked His Father to take away His suffering, only if it was The Father’s will.

He did not ask selfishly for His pain and trial to be taken away. He willingly submitted His will to the Father’s Will.

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  Luke 22:42

Jesus willingly accepted the Father’s will for His life, even though He knew it meant that this day was indeed His last.

In case you have the thought or tendency to dismiss the reality and difficulty of His decision compared to yours or mine faced with the same set of circumstances, read this next verse with me…

“….He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” Luke 22:44

Medial doctors tell us that under horrific amounts of stress our bodies actually produce drops of blood in our sweat. Jesus was feeling intense stress and suffering as He lived out His final day of life here on earth.

But faced with His final 24 hours of life He bowed His knees, prayed to His Father for strength and guidance, and He walked toward the cross on my behalf and yours.

Jesus was found innocent by the Roman Governor Pontus Pilate. Even though He had been falsely accused, NO SIN WAS FOUND IN HIM! Jesus was perfect. Jesus never sinned, but He willingly took my cross and yours.

I had the privilege of sharing this story, the greatest story in all of history, at my church this past weekend…

TRUTH BOMB

YOU AND I HAVE MISSED OUR CROSS BECAUSE JESUS TOOK IT FOR US.

The powerful Truth of the last day of Jesus’ life here on earth, is that He did what no one else could do for us. HE TOOK MY CROSS FOR ME AND HE TOOK YOUR CROSS FOR YOU!

I have not lived a sinless life, have you? I sin every day, even when I am trying to do the right thing. I think or say something mean or thoughtless, and chose my way over blessing or helping someone else.

I deserved that cross, Jesus did not. But He willingly suffered and died and took that cross in my place.

The conclusion of this series on ‘If We Had One Week Left To Live,’ is that we live on!
Jesus took our place. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and went to the cross on our behalf so that we do not have to.

We have missed our cross Friends. Jesus died in our place. Through Him we LIVE!!!

The question is, ‘How will we live the life Jesus has given us?’

Now that’s the topic for another series!

See you back here next week as we begin a new series on, How to Live!

Happy Easter!!!
Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!
The best news of the whole story is that the story did not end at the cross, Jesus lives, and so do we if we know Him!

Speak Truth Love

 

 

MODEL IT!

‘America’s Next Top Model’ aired for many seasons and attracted a global audience.

If you google “runway models”, the greatest of all times will pop up and you can view them.

If you look up “how to model” you will be given tip after tip of how to walk, pose and stand.

The one thing they all have in common is, “look straight ahead with a blank stare and expressionless look on your face.”

We have one week left to live and I’m talking about modeling!

Yes, as a matter of fact I am, but not the kind of modeling described up above. Not the kind of modeling that probably pops into our head the minute we hear the word, “MODEL.”

I am referring to the kind of modeling Jesus Himself did for us.

As the days of Jesus’s life here on earth were quickly drawing to a close, He loved others!

He spent precious final moments of His last week on earth, teaching any and all who would listen, how we should live.
He summed up the basis of all the lessons He taught in two powerful verses that leave us with what is most important in our lives here on earth:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important, Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31

Jesus uses bold, direct language here to clearly state that loving God and loving others is the most important purpose of our lives.

…and then He models it!
Not down a “runway” at a fashion  show, but on the stage of life!

As His final week of life on earth draws to a close, He gathers together with His disciples for the Passover Supper.  There He models the scripture to
“…love your neighbor as yourself…”
in it’s truest, most humble sense.  Being sent from God and having been given all authority from God over everything, (John 13:3), He assumed the lowest position of all, and washed His disciples feet.

“So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around him.”                                        John 13:4-5

Jesus did not simply “tell” His disciples what to do, He modeled it! He modeled it for them and He modeled it for us!

To model something, is to set an example.

It is defined as “taken to show the character of the whole.”
I love that definition. It brings such depth to it’s meaning. When you model the action and do not simply state it, you are demonstrating character and making it whole!

When we model the behavior of loving others, we set a pattern to be imitated!

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN WE MODEL THE BEHAVIOR OF LOVING OTHERS, WE SET A PATTERN TO BE IMITATED.

That is what Jesus was doing!

It was not until 8 verses later, after He spoke about loving others in greater detail, that He instructed His followers to “model the same behavior.”

“And since I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to was each other’s feet.”                                                                          John 13:14

Jesus was exemplifying His message through His actions. He clearly lead by example and illustrated His message through action.

We should do the same. With one week left to live, I pray I would model the greatest commandment to love my God and to love others in action.

JESUS IS GETTING AWFULLY CLOSE TO THE CROSS. MEET ME BACK HERE NEXT WEEK AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HE DOES BEFORE HIS GREATEST CHALLENGE YET!

Much love my friends,

Speak Truth Love

 

 

With one week left to live on this earth, and one day behind Him, Jesus steps into DAY TWO!

“The next morning…”                                       Mark 11:12

Friends, HE GOT UP!

If you and I were facing the last week of our lives, would we “Get Up?”

I have faced days where, like my Vlog from last week, the sun was shining the day before, and today the rain has come!  It feels cold, dark, damp and wet! I feel sad and alone. I had taken my first step, just as Jesus had, and I “JUST DID IT!” And today I am faced with weakness and discouragement.

On these days, more than any other, I must lean into Jesus harder than ever, and pull from His super-natural strength!  I must set my face to follow His example and “GET UP!”

Jesus faced the next day with RESOLUTE commitment and walked in it with INTEGRITY!

God knows our hearts. God knows our lives. He understands that some days are bright and sunny and easy to face, and some days are dark and rainy and difficult to face. He has walked in our shoes. He knows what it is like to “DO THE HARD THING” when we would rather stay in bed, and pull the covers over our head.

During those times, when we face those darker days, we must look to Jesus and follow His example and face the next morning with INTEGRITY!

“The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.”
Mark 11:12

Friends, Jesus, like us, felt hunger pains. Would He not have felt the pain and struggle to get up and face the day? Especially when He only had 6 more days left to live! Of course He would have, but instead of giving in to His feelings, He set His face resolute to accomplishing His Father’s Will!

Jesus walked in INTEGRITY!

He purposed Himself to face His last week here on earth accomplishing His Father’s Will. With solid INTEGRITY He taught God’s Truth, He set God’s example, and He demonstrated God’s compassion.

Jesus went to the Temple.
Jesus went to church!
If it was our last week to live, would we go to church?
We find it difficult to get to church when the sun is out and we have a tickle in our throat.
We find it hard to get to church if someone there has offended us, hurt our feelings!
We find it hard to get to church if an activity conflicts with the schedule.
Etc…Etc…Etc…You fill in the blank.

Jesus was faced with one week left to live and He went to church!

He first, set them straight!

“When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out the people who were buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers,and the chairs of those selling doves.”  Mark 11:15

These were the people taking advantage of God’s people. The people who were making money off of those committed to God and the sacrifices He had asked them to make to Him. Jesus was calling them into accountability.

Now, we are not Jesus, but we can walk upright in His INTEGRITY and model Christ-like behavior for others to follow. While I do not recommend turning over tables at church, I do suggest going to church! We set the best example for others when we attend church regularly.

Just like Jesus, we can demonstrate to others where our heart lies. We can go to church when we feel like it and when we don’t. We can go to church when others are nice to us and when they are not. We can go to church first when we have another commitment and when we do not. We walk with the upmost of INTEGRITY when we go to church because we love God, and for no other reason!

“People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.”
Proverbs 10:9 NLT

Friends, I will be the first to admit to you that NO CHURCH IS PERFECT! I have dedicated the majority of my life here on earth to working in God’s church. But, I will also be the first to admit to you that God chooses to work through His church!

While the church is not perfect, GOD IS! If we are to walk like Jesus did, with INTEGRITY, then we must follow His example and go to church!

TRUTH BOMB

When we walk in Christ-like INTEGRITY, we walk securely.

“Whoever walks in INTEGRITY walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”                             Proverbs 10:9

The most secure path I have ever followed is to church! If I had only one week to live, I hope I would follow in the steps of Jesus and walk with INTEGRITY. I would go to church just like He did! I would use my God-given gifts, just like He did!

There is no perfect church! I have been in big churches and I have been in small churches. I have been in churches every size in-between. I have been in churches in America and I have been in churches around the world. No one church does it the same way and no one inside of those churches is ever perfect! But that’s not why we should go!

Do we go because they offer the sermons we prefer? Do we go because they play the kind of music we like? Do we go because their programs fit our needs? If these are the reasons we go to church, then we have missed the reason Jesus went to church!

He went to worship His God, His perfect God! He went to bless others and to use His God-given gifts to worship His God and to love others. And I believe Jesus went to church His last week of life here on earth, because that’s where He felt encouragement and support from God to complete His God-given task at hand.

Jesus went to church His last week of life here on earth to be in fellowship with God and others!

Some of the people loved Him and some of the people hated Him. The service may or may not have been to His liking. The instruments played may or may not have hit a sweet, harmonious chord that day. But He went to commune with His God and others.

Jesus got up, walked with integrity and went to church!

So, if I have only one week left to live on this earth, or if I have many, I’m going to church! I hope you do too!

Speak Truth Love

 

New, everything around us is beginning to look new!

The rains have come and have left behind fresh, new, green grass. Blossoms of every tint, shade and hue are popping up wherever we look. The sun itself is popping through the clouds more frequently and leaving us with a glow as it soaks us with warmth. Maybe you too feel a “spring in your step,” or at least in your heart as your eyes rest on the new sights of the coming Spring. After all, we are all about to “SPRING FORWARD” with Daylight Savings Time this weekend!

It’s in the air, the season of NEW is coming! But imagine this year, that you are facing this season of newness with a unique awareness that you have only one week to live! What would you do?

I invite you to pause a moment…

…and ponder this question with me. Before reading on, think about it! What would you do? What would I do?

Like I shared in the Vlog, I’ve been pondering this for several weeks now.

I have written down too many items to count! I have thought of every person I would reach out to! I have thought of trips I have not taken. I have been reminded of goals I have not completed or even attempted! But more than anything, I have thought about the mark I would leave when I was gone. What would others say about me? What difference would I have made? Most importantly, what would my God say to me when I finally would see Him face to face?

Would I hear those words I long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant?”

Like I said, I’ve had more time to ponder this thought. Like you, I’m sure, my first thoughts ran wildly to who would I see, what would I say, what have I not done, I, I, I!
Then as I had more time to think about it, the truth that I would soon be with my Savior, and I only had one week left to live, hit me hard. Would I have the character to set my face RESOLUTE, firm in my conviction to live a life that points others to God, even with the truth that I had only one more week to live on this earth?

My honest answer must be, only with the strength and filling of God’s Spirit!

So as I see all things becoming “NEW” again in God’s creation, I focus my mind and heart toward the most significant event in history, as we celebrate Easter.

I must look to the example of Jesus as He faced the reaity, knowig He had only one more week to live on this earth.
What did Jesus do with those precious last 7 days?

I hope you’ll stay with me as we take a close up, microscopic look at the final week of Jesus’ life here on earth.

Jesus had a seven day week, just like we do. On the first day of the week, Sunday, He prepared and then He went.

“Jesus sent two of them on ahead…Go into that village over there and as soon as you enter it you will see a young donkey tied…untie it and bring it to me.”

Mark 11:2

Jesus prepared Himself first. He knew what it would take for Him to not only fulfill the scriptures, but to take that first, difficult step. He knew that He must set His face, resolutely toward Jerusalem, and that He must enter as the “Suffering Servant, not the Conquering King,”       Isaiah 53.
The Jews expected Him to ride in on a white stallion and take His kingdom by force, but that was not God’s plan. Jesus determined to fulfill God’s call on His life and He prepared Himself to do so.

Then, I believe He took the most difficult step of all. The step that most of us never take! The step that freezes us in fear and causes us to do NOTHING AT ALL!

Jesus entered Jerusalem. He took the first step toward the last week of His life on earth!

“Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and He sat on it.”
Mark 11:7

I have not heard a lot of sermons on this phrase, “and He sat on it,” if any, but God has spoken volumes to me through it!

In order for us to be found faithful, to accomplish His plans and will for our lives here on earth, we must not only think about it, pray on it, ask others for advice about it, contemplate the advantages and disadvantages, or think through the long term benefits.
WE NEED TO JUST DO IT!

Am I saying we don’t need to pray? NO, Jesus prayed hard and often, we need to do the same!
Am I saying we do not need to read God’s Word for understanding of His call? NO, Jesus knew the scriptures and quoted them consistently!
Am I saying that we do not need the wise council of trusted faith filled followers of Jesus who will help guide, direct and affirm our call? NO, godly wisdom and council is important!
BUT, what I am saying, is that after you have done these things, like Jesus Himself did, THEN JUST DO THE THING!

We spend so much time in our world, ACCESSING! What are the benefits long term and short term. What will the yield be? What outcomes will be produced, positive and negative? SERIOUSLY?
God’s economy is upside down compared to ours! He can do what no man, counselor, economist, business expert or loved one can do! HE IS GOD!

TRUST HIM, HE WILL NEVER FAIL YOU!

What Jesus was facing, His last week here on earth, looked like failure from every other point of view, EXCEPT GOD’S!

TRUTH BOMB

GOD’S POINT OF VIEW IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS!

God’s point of view is the only one that matters, so when you are faced with difficult decisions, and nothing seems crystal clear or obvious, except the fact that God has called you, JUST DO IT! Put yourself on that colt, and ride!

Jesus knew God had called Him to get on the colt and ride into Jerusalem. Unlike us, Jesus knew what lay ahead for Him. But, just like Jesus, we know we have a God who will never fail us and never let us go!

Jesus was praised on that first day of the week.

“Praise God!
Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Mark 11:9

You may be praised, you may not be praised. Others may understand your call and purpose, and yet others may not.

Jesus could have commanded the respect He was due. He could have called them all into accountability for the wrongs they had done. He could have called down legions of angels from heaven and taken the kingdom by force. But, faced with one week left on earth to live, He instead, demonstrated supreme HUMILITY, and kept His strength under control.

Would I be able to do that with one week left to live? Would you? Left to our own strength, the answer is surely, NO! But like Jesus, if we were to HUMBLE ourselves before God, ask for His strength and not our own, take Him at His Word and push aside all the noise around us, I believe we too, can prepare our colts, lay down our garments, take our seat, AND RIDE!

Oh Friend, we may not know what path God will take us down, but we do know HE WILL TAKE US, LEAD US, GUIDE US, AND IT WILL BE THE RIDE OF OUR LIVES!

One week left to live! Would you and I demonstrate the humility needed to live it well for Jesus?

I hope so!

See you back here next week as we look at the next day in Jesus’ last week on earth.

I love you Friend. We are in this quest together. May we live it well and to the glory of God!

Have a blessed week!

Speak Truth Love