"O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams." Augustine of Hippo

Good Thursday morning and welcome to our little fireside chat time, here on this March 28, 2013. We have one gentleman working here that is older than I am, by about 5 years. In fact, he retired once and that left me as the oldest dude on the property, but after a couple of years he decided to come back for a spell. I always turn on his little heater on cold mornings and often he and I stand there by it and have our little start of the day exchange. Just seems to be something natural about hanging around the little glowing red heater while we settle issues far and wide. This is the week devoted to remembering our Lord and Savior's sacrifice so many years ago. We celebrate His life, His death, His burial, and His resurrection. It is appropriately referred to as Passion Week because this week commemorates the purpose of His coming and it's wonderful to know that His passion included you and it included me. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews put it this way in his inspired text, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Chapter 12, Verses 1-2) He endured it all for the joy set before Him. That joy reflects how that men, women, boys, and girls as a result of His provision are able to live with Him forever and ever. Amen.

Tomorrow is the day referred to as Good Friday. There are a number of scholarly discussions regarding the actual day of the week that our Lord was placed on the Cross, however, Friday is the one most widely recognized to honor His sacrifice. Of course we all know that while it is called Good, it certainly was not a pleasant experience for our Lord. (The Scriptures detail His suffering and anyone who saw Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of The Christ' can attest to the horrific suffering He endured.) It is Good because of what His sacrifice achieved in fulfilling God's redemptive plan. At one time most school districts observed this day as a holiday and called it Good Friday. It is not a federal holiday but some ten states do have it as a state holiday. Our local school district here calls it simply Holiday on their published calendar. I may travel over to see my mom and dad since our company does recognize this day as commemorating the day that Jesus died on the cross. I think the main thing is that we remember, not just this week, but every day, how that we were lost and undone and were it not for what Jesus did for us, we would be eternally separated from God. That deserves a whole lot more recognition and praise than just one day or one week or one year, or even one lifetime can offer.

Then on Sunday it's a time to gather as we do each week, because He lives. He died, He was buried, and on the third day He was resurrected. On this upcoming Lord's Day Sunday we actually will be remembering the day in history that this event occurred. But, may I remind us all that He established His called out assembly, that which we call Church, and when we gather together we do so in order to honor His resurrection each and every time we meet. Of course He did not establish His called out assembly that we might just have some formal ritual to attend to each week. We come together to essentially praise and worship God while building each other up that we might live out the living Christ in us, our hope of glory, not just when we are together as a local fellowship, but in our 24x7 lives. That's the essence of His passion shown when His people demonstrate the power of a changed life. That shows up in our love of God and our love of others. It's powerful stuff folks. It's life changing stuff. And, while we in our human frailty may weeble and wobble around at times, our remembering of what happened this week so many years ago can become an opportunity for us to seek Him, and with His help to get back up and get back going. And, I think we all know that we all could do more to demonstrate our devotion to Him. Right? Yes. Right! Have a great holiday and don't forget to remember to remember Him. Amen.   ....More later.