2007-04-06 - Holy Week

John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved (insert your name here) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Many Christian churches (including the one where I'm a member) have special services during this week preceding Easter. For the last 11 years, I have attended four services during this week - and participated in many ways: table hostess at Seder meal; singing; playing piano and organ; acting in dramas etc.

These services can be very important instruments to humble us, and to lead us to focus on Christ's sacrifice for us - and to better appreciate that sacrifice. Maundy Thursday Seder Meals can remind us of the history of our faith, and the Passover meals that were a preview of Christ's all-sufficent sacrifice for us. Good Friday / Tenebrae commemorations can impress upon us how much spiritual, emotional and physical pain that Christ our Lord went through for each one of us - bearing the guilt of all the sin of the world upon Himself - which makes anything we go through pale by comparison. And Easter Services, whether at Sunrise or later in the morning, are poignant reminders of the victory Christ gained over sin and death on our behalf.

But of course, every week should be a "holy week" for those of us who are Christians. Every day should be both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as we live lives that reflect our appreciation for the sacrifice Christ made for us (Hebrews 10:9-10). Every word we utter, everything we do should serve the One who loved us enough to give His very life in our place on the Cross, in the humiliating and crushing death of a crucifixion. And when a criminal is crucified, he or she is only bearing his own sin, but Christ was carrying the sins of the entire world. When you hear the story of the Passion of Christ - whether this week or any other time - insert your name into the passages, as in the verse preceding this devotional.

May this hymn by Isaac Watts be the anthem of our lives:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Jan

cfdevjan@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org