Grace Walk
Walk with Me and work with Me--watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won't try to lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
-Matthew 11:29-30 The Message

Hidden Treasures
One of the most satisfying aspects of writing
is that it can open in us deep wells of hidden treasures
that are beautiful for us as well as for others to see.
-Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey

A Modern Day Psaltery
David wrote psalms to express
what was in his heart.
Seeing no need to hide what he felt,
he wrote with sincerity, and with no hidden agenda.
What he felt was never taken against him.
Pray, dear reader, discern my heart between the lines.
Dinah Maria Craik couldn't have said it better:
"Oh the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person --
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out, just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and then, with the breath of kindness
blow the rest away."

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Walkway Reflections 5: The Whip




For many of us, the bloody events surrounding the death of our Lord Jesus are better just read in books and historical accounts.

The truth is, no one can accurately describe what happened.

And again, most of us would rather not hear them, much less, see them elaborated upon.

How the Bible says it is enough for us.

This is how I have always felt, even though I live in a nation that goes through the Passion of Christ every year in graphic and elaborate portrayals of the long uphill climb to Calvary that Jesus endured.

I never went to see the movie The Passion.

I can imagine the pain, the agony of Jesus...but I'd rather not see it with my own eyes.

When I came upon this fifth station, I wanted to run away. But something inside of me told me I needed to go through this.

At 57 years of age, I must admit that this was my first real encounter with the whip that tore the flesh of Jesus to shreds.



A replica of the stone pillar where Jesus was tied before the scourging


A real whip, probably the kind that was used on Jesus,
put together by someone who researched extensively on it.











I stood there unable to hold back my tears.

The words of Isaiah 53:5, one of my most favorite passages in the Bible, kept rising in my heart. This time, as I repeated it, and I saw a real whip in front of me, I had a clearer picture of what the words really mean.

But He was wounded for our transgressions
He was bruised for our iniquities
The chastisement for our peace
was upon Him
And by His stripes we are healed.



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1 comment:

Heart2Heart said...

Lidj,

I have seen the passion of the Christ and cried through the intensity of the graphic scenes portrayed in the movie. After being raised a Catholic in my earlier years and spending Christmas' and Easter's watching King of Kings and The Greatest Story Ever Told, none were more life like than the Passion.

I too, would have cried and dropped to my knees after seeing this and knowing what my Lord and Savior had to endure for my sinfulness not only today but in the future. I personally don't feel worthy but I understand just how much He really does love us all.

I can only hope the work I do from today on, provides Glory to God in all I do, say or write.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

April 11, 2010 at 8:00 AM

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