This is Holy Week. It is the most important week in the Christian calendar. The week starited with celebration, where Jesus is hailed as the one who saves.  The crowds shouted "Hosanna" which means SAVE US. We can shout that today!  Hosanna - Jesus, Save Us! The week started with shouts of celebration, hailing the Lord. By the end of the week, there are shouts of "crucify Him"! The crowds were probably made of different groups of people but what a change! Jesus is dead by the end of the week.  He'd been beaten, ridiculed, slandered.  The wealthy, the educated, the "upper crust" feared Jesus so they wanted Him dead. But at the start of the next week, hope again rules the day. Jesus overcomes the harsh and unjust treatment He'd received. Jesus overcomes. He overcomes death, sin, unjust treatment. Jesus rose from the tomb. What is truly amazing is that this short ministry is still going on!  We are still celebrating Jesus and His ministry and teac...

A thought occurred to me during Holy Week.  What did the disciples think of Jesus when he was being taken for trial?  Did they wonder why he didn't try to defend himself?  What did they think when he was flogged?  How did they look at Him while he was hanging there, being chided by the mockers to come down from there? Do you think they still believed that He was the Messiah?  Or do you think they doubted that He was who He said He was?  Did they doubt their own conviction of who they'd been following for 3 years?  Did they feel betrayed?  Did they question why they'd left their families and professions?  What about when Jesus died?  Surely, they didn't expect that, not even after the flogging, and the nailing to the cross.  But He did die.  I just can't imagine what thoughts were going through their minds.  I wonder if they discussed it with each other or were they ashamed to admit their doubts.  Did they silently...

I've been listening and reading the Bible lessons for Holy Week.  I noticed John 13:27 (NIV) today. It made me wonder about the moment the Judas made the final decision about handing Jesus over to the religious authorities.  I wonder if Judas could have changed his mind all the way until the time that he took the bread from Jesus.  It almost appears so. "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him." I don't think that he could have changed his mind AFTER satan entered him.  So, could Judas have changed his mind all the way up until He took the bread?  My husband says no, under the theory that Judas had to betray Jesus for scripture to be fulfilled.  That is certainly one way to look at it. But I still wonder, which of course brings me to me.  How many times do I make "final" decisions that I cannot back out of, or cannot correct, or have to face the consequences?  Which decisions are actually "final"?  I don't think that s...