I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lordis your keeper; The Lordis your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yoursis the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all. In Your handispower and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.
“Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name.
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering,
bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
Jesus Christ, the Savor of the world, was betrayed. He was spit on. He was bruised and beaten. He was whipped over and over and over again. Can you imagine the blood and bruises all over His body as He carried the weight of a cross to Calvary? He wore a crown of thorns on his head, and He hung on a cross after being nailed to it.
The same crowds who shouted, “All hail King of the Jews,” later shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
May we never forget and always remember this horrific, yet holy event in history. This one tragic yet hopeful and necessary event, is why you and I have the opportunity to live forever. May we always remember Jesus and His journey to the cross. May we never forget that He died and rose again so we could have everlasting life.
May we never forget the words of Jesus as he is hung on a cross in complete pain, exhaustion, and anguish… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” I can just picture him thinking… “They just don’t get it God. They don’t realize who I am or who you are, Father. They haven’t reached understanding…yet. But now, there is HOPE!
He went through so much and yet still freely forgave those who just didn’t understand…YET.
If you don’t know Jesus, There is hope. I invite you to ask Him in your heart. He died for you. He lives now. Accept Him today. Understanding will come when you take this first step.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not parish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
