Hello Everyone!

If you ask me, I would tell you ??Ǩ?it??Ǩ?Ѣs been a rough week.??Ǩ If you ask me ??Ǩ?why?,??Ǩ I would tell you it??Ǩ?Ѣs not what you might think.

My adversary (I am more convinced he is me) has done everything imaginable to keep me from thinking about the events that transpired this week in Jesus Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs life. Most of the diversion came through the rapidly changing circumstances in the Terri Schiavo controversy. I was captivated, primarily because of the similarities I observed between her horrible tragedy and the ??Ǩ?coincidental??Ǩ timing of major national attention with this Holy Week when we remember the awful events of Jesus Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs final days.

Our adversaries, intent on destruction, will do everything imaginable to keep us from ever turning our attention toward the Saviour. I needed to rise above these ceaseless distractions and be reminded of Jesus Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs magnificence. To help in overcoming the deception, I searched for (and found) the old cassette tape that has a 7 minute segment of a sermon where Pastor S. M. Lockridge preached exclusively on Jesus Christ, describing His character, attributes, and work??Ǩ???Ǩ?That??Ǩ?Ѣs My King!??Ǩ

This week does not end (or begin, actually) in heartbreak, but with victorious triumph! Jesus Christ rising from the grave is our guarantee that His sacrifice, as our substitute, in exchange for our sin, has been accepted. Now that is good news!

It occurred to me that you might also enjoy and benefit from this little ??Ǩ?peace??Ǩ in praise of our Lord and Saviour (although, reading this portion doesn??Ǩ?Ѣt capture all the enthusiasm of hearing it from that good old preacher??Ǩ?Ѣs energetic style).

He??Ǩ?Ѣs the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He??Ǩ?Ѣs available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleansed the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He purifies the meek. Do you know Him?

Well, His office is manifold; His promise is sure; His light is matchless; His goodness is limitless; His mercy is everlasting; His love never changes; His Word is enough; His grace is sufficient; His reign is righteous; His yoke is easy; and His burden is light.

I wish I could describe Him to you! But He??Ǩ?Ѣs indescribable! He??Ǩ?Ѣs incomprehensible??Ǩ?Ѣ He??Ǩ?Ѣs invincible, He??Ǩ?Ѣs irresistible. I??Ǩ?Ѣm trying to tell you the heavens of heaven cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You can??Ǩ?Ѣt get Him out of your mind. You can??Ǩ?Ѣt get Him off of your hand. You can??Ǩ?Ѣt outlive Him and you can??Ǩ?Ѣt live without Him. The Pharisees couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt stand Him, but they found out they couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt stop Him. Pilate couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt find any fault in Him; the witnesses couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt kill Him; death couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt handle Him and the grave couldn??Ǩ?Ѣt hold Him! That??Ǩ?Ѣs my King!

Yes! He always has been and He always will be. I??Ǩ?Ѣm talking about??Ǩ?He had no predecessor, and He??Ǩ?Ѣll have no successor. There was nobody before Him and there??Ǩ?Ѣll be nobody after Him. You can??Ǩ?Ѣt impeach Him and He??Ǩ?Ѣs not going to resign! That??Ǩ?Ѣs my King! Praise the Lord! That??Ǩ?Ѣs my King!

That??Ǩ?Ѣs my King, too! What a difference in my perspective! Now I??Ǩ?Ѣm ready to say, as did the early Christians, greeting one another on Resurrection mornings, ??Ǩ?He is risen??ǨHe is risen, indeed!??Ǩ

Or, if you prefer, as Pastor Rigsby says his daddy sang to him, ??Ǩ?Ain??Ǩ?Ѣt no flies on Jesus??Ǩ (that must be one of those sayings from way down deep in the South).

Hello Everyone!

Please accept my apologies for the lateness of the bulletin. Adjusting to this new system of distributing the bulletin twice a month has not been as easy as I thought it would be. For me, there is something about a weekly routine that I seemed to manage better. Maybe I haven??Ǩ?Ѣt yet fit into exactly what God wants. It is now Saturday (amend that to Monday afternoon) already and I am just now beginning to compose a few thoughts ??Ǩ?on the fly??Ǩ??Ǩ?not the way I usually write, nor like to work. Where did the last two weeks go?

We may immediately think about ??Ǩ?interruptions??Ǩ as the reason for the times we get behind. But people are never an ??Ǩ?interruption??Ǩ and are always a priority over plans and ??Ǩ?to do??Ǩ lists. Maybe there is a nudge from God here not to so overfill my days, I don??Ǩ?Ѣt know. Time from what I thought were ??Ǩ?my plans??Ǩ was exchanged for ??Ǩ?God??Ǩ?Ѣs plans??Ǩ in appointments and phone calls concerning Elizabeth Enciu??Ǩ?Ѣs care (she is from Romania and has no family in this country), and, since I last wrote, an additional funeral, this one for Margaret Haase. Solomon knew what we are experiencing, ??Ǩ?There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: the grave??Ǩsaith not, It is enough.??Ǩ

Is it coincidental that in this season before the day we traditionally remember the execution of our Saviour, our thoughts have been occupied with dying and death because of those with whom we grieve? I am not sure it is coincidence, however, because of these recent losses, I have a fresh appreciation for those who were bereaved when Jesus died.

Little did the warmed and filled disciples know, as they sang their hymn and went out, that their leader was only moments away from arrest. A false arrest, at that, negotiated in secret, and incited by a vigilante-like mob. The element of surprise demanded an immediate impromptu response. It was time for self-defense, ??Ǩ?live free or die!,??Ǩ kill or be killed. With a single swipe of the sword, blood was drawn from one who might have only been there because of the coercion of his authority.

Do you ever wonder why the biographers didn??Ǩ?Ѣt report that at that moment ??Ǩ?all hell broke loose in gang warfare, as uncontrollable rioting spread throughout the surrounding vicinity??Ǩ? No embellishing here. Instead, they identify no fatalities and only one casualty is briefly noted, which was promptly treated (and unverifiable since no follow-up procedure was required). What a story he would tell at home that night and in the market place the next day.

The next day the headlines would not mention police brutality, excessive cruelty, or inhumane viciousness. The prevailing government would not admit to cover-up, illegal night court arraignment, conviction, or sentencing. Nor would the religious confess imposing sanctions instead of providing sanctuary. Independently they all worked in concert to bring this rebel to justice, believing that just this once, the end really did justify the means.

Each rallied to position themselves for the lion??Ǩ?Ѣs share of glory. Some would excuse their involvement symbolically, as if washing their hands of the whole thing. Before daybreak, a prophecy for one of His followers would be fulfilled. His shame and guilt being so great, he could never forgive himself. Another (really, an impostor), filled with extreme remorse, would take the ??Ǩ?easy way??Ǩ out, just as he had done all his life. The others, fearing what might happen, escaped, even leaving the clothes off their back, if necessary. What disappointment! Their dream of wresting control of their land from ??Ǩ?those??Ǩ foreigners was substituted with a new credo: ??Ǩ?every man for himself.??Ǩ

By mid-morning, exhilarated foes, now that this insurgent was incarcerated, would ponder and relive the previous night??Ǩ?Ѣs victory. ??Ǩ?We got him!??Ǩ ??Ǩ?He??Ǩ?Ѣs sure to get his due!??Ǩ

Then come late afternoon, exhausted friends might have trembled at the uncertainty of the days ahead, now that their leader had ??Ǩ?passed.??Ǩ But they neither had the strength, nor the will, let alone time for worry or for fear. The regulations of the Sabbath loomed overhead, like the dark clouds earlier that day. There was more to do than was humanly possible. Beside, what did it matter now? Their lives, their hopes, had been ??Ǩ?interrupted.??Ǩ

Unalterably. Irrevocably. Eternally.