PASSION WEEK- WEDNESDAY

08APR

DAY OF SILENCE

There is nothing written about what Jesus did on Wednesday. It is interesting that Christ knowing His death was in few days, took this day off from public ministry and confronting the religious people. I personally assume, He spent time with God, the father, to renew His strength. He knew the suffering, humiliation, torture, pain etc. that was coming His way. He was preparing for His death on the cross for the sins of the world. In his last week, Jesus takes a DAY OF SILENCE to set focus on His Mission- TO DIE.

We tend to be impatient or get more chaotic in trials. Even if we pray, we bombard God with our agenda and need. I am guilty of praying that way sometimes. We want God to speak in loudness, lightning, sign, etc. but we forget that He is the most loudest in the stillness and quietness. In our culture, being still or quiet is forgotten. Everywhere we see, its loudness, noise to keep us busy. The Psalmist says ” Be still and Know that He is God.” Do we take time out of our busyness to be still in God’s presence? If not, do it this week and experience God speaking to you in stillness.

PASSION WEEK- TUESDAY

08APR

DAY OF CHALLENGE

-Jesus returned to Jerusalem and was challenged by the authorities (Matt. 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8). After Jesus’ triumphant entry, the attention from the crowd, the incident at the temple, the authorities were surprised by His actions. They were wondering whose name Jesus was doing all these claims.

-The authorities tried to seize Jesus (Matt. 21:46; Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19) but they were scared if the people would be against it or if it would cause an uproar in the city. So they were doubleminded in what they were planning to do.

-Jesus pronounced seven “woes” against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:1-36). He did not back up because there were plans for his arrest. He was being more aggresive and direct in pointing the mistake by the pharisees or the religious leaders.

-Jesus lamented over Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37-39).

-Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21). His final sermon to the people before His death.

-Judas planned to betray Jesus (Matt. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6). Judas was giving in to the temptation. He was money minded and it paved path for his betrayal.

It was a day of challenge for Jesus. His day was filled with confronting people with the truth of God and the purpose of God. Many times, we as followers of Christ are confronted with sin around us. We are called to stand for what is right. Many times, we tend to be quiet when we are called to voice our stand. One of my favorite quote is, “Evil triumphs when godly people are silent.” Are we silent when people around us are sinning? Are we comfortable being around sin?

PASSION WEEK- MONDAY

08APR

DAY OF AUTHORITY

-Jesus returned to Jerusalem and cursed the fig tree (Matt. 21:18-19; Mark 11:12-14)

Jesus enters Jerusalem on sunday on the donkey, with his disciples following him and the crowd hailing Him as “KING OF KINGS” ( the crowd would want him dead in few days). The text says Jesus was hungry, and He sees this fig tree in a distance and decides to go and get something to eat. As he approches the fig tree, he realizes that there is no fruit in the tree. Jesus gets angry and curses the fig tree. One may wonder why would Jesus curse the fig tree. It was not an act of thoughtless anger. It was an parable acted out using the fig tree. The temple in Jerusalem looked really impressive at the first glance but inside it was hollow and worship was not sincere. A commentator says, ” If you only appear to have faith without putting it to work in your life, you are like the fig tree that withered and died because it bore no fruit. Genuine faith means bearing fruit for God’s kingdom. Jesus was not telling he was a magic portion to mountain moving acts. The point he was making of the lack of faith. What mountains are you facing today? Have you talked to God about it? How strong is your faith in God in going through it?

-Jesus cleansed the Temple (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48)

This is the second time, Jesus cleanses the temple. The temple became a place of business, status and injustice. Worship was not the primary purpose of the worshipers. Jesus became clear in making a point why the temple was for. Any practice that interferes with worshiping God should be stopped. What is interfering your worship with God? work? friends? TV? Internet? Texting? It is between you and God to destroy those practices and keep God as the priority.

FASTING ON LENT

For centuries, Christians have observed the season of Lent by fasting from food and observing other self-denying acts.

These acts help us become more aware of our true needs. When we deny ourselves the comforts we are used to—whether a full plate of food, or some other part of our daily routine (TV, coffee, alcohol, Internet, etc.)— we are more mindful of our great need for God. Also, when we deny our sinful desires, we become more acutely aware of them, for when they are not fed, they tend to surface in more noticeable ways. Most importantly, these practices make us mindful of our need for salvation by Jesus' death on the cross.

Removing Distractions
What follows is some suggestions for ways to fast. None of these are compulsory. Remember that the important thing is to take away distractions, to focus instead on the mercy, salvation, and comforting provision of God. Make time and space for God, and God will meet you.


What can I give up?

[First, some important considerations: if you have any concerns about whether dietary fasting (fasting from food) is safe for you, ask your physician, especially if you have a health concern (heart, diabetes). ... Don't fast from food if your are pregnant or nursing; make sure you always get plenty of fluids; and finally, don't make decisions for others (for example, don't modify a child's diet except to help them decide to cut nonessentials like sodas or desserts, etc.).]

You know yourself best: which of the following might you do without?


SUGGESTED FAST ITEMS:


Food: Meats, poultry (eggs too), fats and oils, soft drinks, 2nd helpings, Alcohol, Coffee (try tea or some other low-caffeine drink if you get headaches), dairy (milk and cheese), solid foods (only drink water or juices), Junk foods (chips, snacks, salty food), candy (plus refined sugar in general), and dessert (great for kids—very meaningful!).


Media: TV, movies, computer, email (set an autoresponder), Internet, magazines, radio, the phone (leave your cell phone off when appropriate), handhelds, video games, and other technology ....


Other Things: You may want to fast from certain relationships, or people in general, choosing instead to walk only with God for a period. You may also fast from social events, parties, or clubs, if you regularly go out of your way for that kind of gathering.


Days: Leave it all behind: leave junk food, TV, cars, noise, and all the media and messages of the culture. Pack the very minimum (water, warm clothes, etc.) and find a trail, a mountain, or a beach, and feast on God.


Imitate Jesus, who took whole days to walk alone in the wilderness fasting and praying .... Give God the time and the room that he wants. God wants to fill you up, wants to bless you. If we are constantly pouring other stuff into our heads or stomachs, there will be little room for God.


On what days should I fast?
Fast on any day but Sunday--the day of the resurrection--which is a feast day even in Lent. On Friday (the day of the crucifixion), many world Christians will fast, and it can be meaningful to join them. Try fasting from something on each day, Monday-Saturday. You may choose one day to fast from all foods or other comforts for as much of the day that you can (remembering to drink plenty of fluids). End your weekly fast on Sunday: on this day, enjoy your food and your freedom!


Fasting Etiquette
When you fast, you will occasionally be faced with a dilemma: someone offers you food that you have eliminated from your diet. Not everyone knows that you are fasting (nor should they--see below). Just about the time that you are beginning to feel good about going without your daily dose of chocolate—or whatever—somebody comes along to offer it to you with all good intentions. What is the proper response?
Let humility be your guide. Resist the temptation to explain that you are fasting and so refuse. If you can politely refuse without hurting the person's feelings, then do so. But if someone has prepared something for you to bless you (a special desert at the end of a meal, cookies for a visit, or a big steak dinner right after you gave up meat), then perhaps the more humble response is to accept gratefully. After all, the point of Lent is not the elimination of a specific food, it is sacrifice. Sometimes the greater sacrifice is to give up the idea of a perfect day of fasting for the sake of another.


Matthew 6.16-18

16 ... When you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 17 When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, 18 so that others cannot know that you are fasting, only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. 

5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR KIDS HATE CHURCH

1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public

Go to church... at least most of the time. Make sure you agree with what you hear the preacher say, and affirm on the way home what was said especially when it has to do with your kids obeying, but let it stop there. Don’t read your Bible at home. The pastor will say everything you need to hear on Sundays. Don’t engage your children in questions they have concerning Jesus and God. Live like you want to live during the week so that your kids can see that duplicity is ok.

2. Pray only in front of people

The only times you need to pray are when your family is over, holiday meals, when someone is sick, and when you want something. Besides that, don’t bother. Your kids will see you pray when other people are watching, no need to do it with them in private.

3. Focus on your morals

Make sure you insist your kids be honest with you. Let them know it is the right thing for them to do, but then feel free to lie in your own life and disregard the need to tell them and others the truth. Get very angry with your children when they say words that are “naughty” and “bad”, but post, read, watch, and say whatever you want on TV, Facebook, and Twitter. Make sure you focus on being a good person. Be ambiguous about what this means.

4. Give financially as long as it doesn’t impede your needs

Make a big deal out of giving at church. Stress the need to your children the value of tithing, while not giving sacrificially yourself. Allow them to see you spend a ton of money on what you want, while negating your command from Scripture to give sacrificially.

5. Make church community a priority... as long as there is nothing else you want to do

Hey, you are a church going family, right? I mean, that’s what you tell your friends and family anyways. Make sure you attend on Sundays. As long as you didn’t stay up too late Saturday night. Or your family isn’t having a big barbeque. Or the big game isn’t on. Or this week you just don’t feel like it. Or... I mean, you're a church-going family, so what’s the big deal?

WHAT IS LENT SEASON?

Lent is a period of fasting and repentance traditionally observed by Catholics and some Protestant denominations in preparation for Easter. The length of the Lenten fast was established in the 4th century as 40 days. During this time, participants eat sparingly or simply give up a particular food or habit. Ash Wednesday and Lent began as a way for Catholics to remind themselves to repent of their sins in a manner similar to how people in the Old Testament repented in sackcloth, ashes, and fasting (Esther 4:1-3; Jeremiah 6:26; Daniel 9:3; Matthew 11:21).

However, over the centuries it has developed a much more "sacramental" value. Many Catholics understand giving something up for Lent as a way to gain blessing from God. The Bible does not teach that such acts have any merit with God in terms of salvation (Isaiah 64:6). In fact, the New Testament teaches us that our acts of fasting and repentance should be done in a manner that does not attract attention to ourselves: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18).

Fasting is a good thing when it is done with a biblical perspective. It is good and pleasing to God when we give up sinful habits and practices. There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting aside a time when we focus on Jesus' death and resurrection. However, these practices are things we should be doing every day of the year, not just for 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. If a Christian wishes to observe Lent, we are free to do so. The key is to focus the time on repenting from our sins and consecrating ourselves to God, not on trying to earn God's favor or increase His love for us.

NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU KNOW TILL THEY KNOW THAT YOU CARE!

"This is my commandment; Love each other in the same way I have loved you." John 15:12


Of the people you have worked for, how many can you honestly say cared about you as a person and not just as another cog in the corporate machine? My guess is that if you've had a boss or a manager who was truly interested in you and your goals in the work environment and cared about you personally, you will never forget his or her kindness. The wonderful thing about showing genuine concern for other people is that the giver gains as much as the receiver, if not more. There is a by-product of love for both giver and receiver that cant be quantified on a spreadsheet. Loving others is not easy. You have to make time for it in your busy schedule. It has to be an intentional part of your plan, one that you put in writing. and love's schedule is not always convenient. It's easy to say you want to show love, but its something else to truly commit yourself to doing it.

"When you help someone up a hill, you get that much closer to the top yourself."

A FRUITFUL LIFE

The goal of Spiritual life is to bear fruits. What happens internally with our relationship with Jesus Christ, will be seen externally by our life. Most of us do the oppsite by focsuing on the external and neglecting the internal- our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

In the Bible Jesus talks about people who did lot of things on the outside but internally, they were far off from God. ). He spoke of those who "honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Mark 7:6). He declared, "What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God" (Mark 7:20-23). Again he said, "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit...You cannot pick figs or grapes from thorn bushes. Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your hearts" (Luke 6:43-45).

Most of us are pretty good at putting on a reasonable show on the outside. But what we really are is determined by what is on the inside! It is obvious that if our morality is going to be acceptable to God it must begin on the inside. God comes in the person of his Spirit for this very purpose - to begin a radical make-over job, beginning on the inside. This means that as I begin to grow in my relationship with God through Bible reading, prayer, learning to trust and obey him, and fellowship with others on the same journey, I will become conscious of changes. New desires will replace old - a new love for God and desire to please him, a new concern for others. Old habits will begin to drop off and new ones form. The Bible says, "God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled" (Galatians 5:22, 23). These are qualities that Jesus exhibited perfectly in his own flawless character. 

This transformation doesn't happen overnight. The process will continue till we die, and it depends on our co-operation. But it is God's doing - transformation from within. The day will one day come when God will "present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy" (Jude 24). In that tremendous day of resurrection the process will be complete and we will be seen to be the perfect handiwork of him who died and rose again for our salvation. "We will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is" (1 John 3:2). Claudio Taffarel is a Brazilian soccer player who made the finals of the 1994 and 1998 World Cup. Describing the effects of the realisation that Jesus had died for him, the confession of his sins and his efforts to follow Jesus' teaching, he said: 

The verse in the Bible: 'Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,' really spoke to me. My commitment to Jesus Christ didn't bring big changes at first, but as I looked at myself, I realized that I was gradually changing from the inside. 

Let us live a life focusing on our relationship with Jesus and the result of it would be a life that brightens Jesus!

 

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

A while back, I was planting some seeds. As I was putting them in the soil, I began thinking about my life. God has ordained each step and He knows the plans He has for me. But often I feel like I’m just stumbling along blindly, not sure where He is leading. I’m like the seeds. And sadly, there are times instead of trusting the Gardener’s plans for me, I think that I know better. I think I know the type of soil I need to be planted in, the amount of sun and shade I need to properly grow, the amount of rain that would be best for optimal growth, and the type of plant that I’ll grow to be.
But Jesus as my Master Gardener; however, lovingly shows me that I don’t know these things. I don’t know if I will grow to become a flower or a stalk of corn. I don’t know what I need to thrive because I can’t see the end result. But God knows the plans He has for my life. He provides that the care I need based on what type of plant I am. He planted me where I needed to be. He waters me with the exact amount of rain that I need. He places me in the sun because I need that heat to grow. He does all this because He loves me. He cares for me and weeds the garden of my life and at times prunes my little plant because He wants me to grow and bear Him fruit.
When the harvest time comes, because of His work, I pray that He will be glorified through the growth in me. He is the one who ordained my steps. I can trust in Him.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that you know the plans for my life. Thank you that I can trust you when I can’t see where you are leading. Thank you for the promise that You are leading. Give me grace to trust in You, whether you plant me, uproot me, bring the sun, rain or shade. Your ways are good and I look to You, the God who called me and planted me, to be the God who will continue to guide me every step of the way.

NEW YEAR 2011

I recently saw this quote, "No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending" (Unknown). I really began to think about that statement. The conclusion was that we don't start over; but we begin again right where we are, making things better in our lives.
As a believer in Christ, it is not about saying I will do this and I won't do that and then dropping the idea or falling short. It is more about asking the Lord to help us each day, to fall deeper and deeper in love with Him. This way our focus will be set on the things of heaven and not on all this earthly stuff.
If I were to make a New Year resolution, it would be to have a deeper commitment, a deeper love, and a deeper worship for the Lord. In the beginning of this past year, He spoke to me in that still small voice in prayer and said, "I am more than enough. I am more than enough in every area of your life." He also said to tell others the same thing.

This year I am determined to make Him my all and all. He wants our undivided attention in spite of the distractions and temptations that lie waiting around the corner. He has to be our main focus.
How we will end this year will be determined by how we started it. Did we want to get more "INTIMATE" with the lover of our soul? I looked up the word intimacy and the meaning is to be close, familiar, very personal and private.

Do you want a new ending this year? How do you want the ending of your life? If you're not a Christian, please know that this could be the best New Year of your life. Your life can be filled with hope and peace. To know what the ending will be is an extra bonus. Why should every year be the same as the one before with nothing really changing? After all, the New Year resolutions may or may not get accomplished.

If you are a Christian and you feel stagnate in your relationship with the Lord, then now is the time to rekindle the love affair with Him. He calls us to Himself and says, "Come away my beloved." Can you hear Him? He is tugging at your heart. The real ending in our life will be when Jesus says well done my good and faithful servant. That statement will be for someone who took the time to get to know Him, love Him, and that obediently followed Him.

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life. Discover how you can find peace with God. You can also send us your prayer requests or Contact us at www.uccgarland.com

WELCOME!!!

Hello everyone!

Thanks for stopping by at UCC blog. We are excited to start a blog and keep you updated on thoughts, writings, events, etc. from our very own church people. We are hoping this will be useful as we explore to reach everyone with the media resources available.

If you have any writings or thoughts that would encourage and strengthen the body of Christ, do send it at uccgarlandblog@gmail.com

Do give us your feedback.

Thank you! :)