Mercy, Lord! Lord, Have Mercy!

We’re one week into the 40 days of Easter through to Jesus' ascension to heaven. It’s been an unusual time of “incubation” – I like that word better than “isolation” – because I believe God is doing a sovereign work in our lives during this time and we are going to emerge out of this season as the mature “chicks” that He planned for us all along.

That’s the visual I get about “incubation”. Last summer, as a Volunteer at Children’s Hospital, I was in charge of the baby chicks in their incubation at their Ranch Days Fair. I had to keep little children from reaching into the incubator to pick them up. They weren’t big enough to handle yet and stayed under a warm light so they could absorb what they needed to develop and grow stronger.

That’s a choice we can make too. We can continue to think we’re being punished by a Daddy Who carries a big stick or we can realize our Daddy doesn’t carry a stick at all. Well, maybe He does carry a couple of sticks that remind us what we received from Christ on the cross at Calvary.

Oh, the mercy of our Father Who loves us so much that He gave us His beloved one and only Son to take on our sins – the sins of all humanity – so that we can live with him forever and ever. Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Saint Faustina wrote some beautiful words in her Diary about God’s mercy: “All grace flows from mercy . . . even if a person’s sins were as dark as night, God’s mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary: that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God’s merciful grace, and then God will do the rest.” (Diary of Saint Faustina)

If we open our hearts, just a little, even a tiny crack, God’s light (like those little chicks’ light in the incubator) can shine in and He can work marvels of transformation within us.

“Stay at Home” orders are no match for Jesus. Remember how afraid Jesus’ disciples were of the Jewish leaders and were huddled in fear behind locked doors? But….then Jesus came in. He could have had an agenda that included setting them straight. He could have started in a rant about their weaknesses and failures. He could have displayed His disappointment in their betrayal and denial of Him. His first words could have been, “Thanks…. for NOTHING! What were you thinking? Where were you when I needed you?” He had every right to unload His righteous indignation on them. But, no, His first words to them were “Peace be with you”. Isn’t that the way He continues to speak to us – in spite of our mistakes & failures? He loves us unconditionally and speaks “Peace be with you.” Yes, He is our "Divine Mercy" Jesus!

None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. Whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your past. Believe it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. So, shouldn’t His example cause us to be His people of mercy, too — forgiving and loving others with mercy? Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy!

He's the Answer to Everything

Maybe you're thinking "Donna sure loves Easter because she keeps talking about it". If you thought that, then you’re right! I can’t leave Easter alone – it’s the reason for everything we hold dear in our lives. And, besides, Easter isn’t over anyway. We're not done yet! The Easter season (the resurrection of our Lord and His time on earth before ascending to heaven) continues for 40 days AFTER Christ’s resurrection. That’s why I’ll keep all my Easter décor up until we celebrate His ascension to heaven on Thursday, May 21st!

That was 40 days He was "in and out" of places and people's lives. He was showing up when they least expected Him. Can you imagine being one of those who were eye witnesses of the "alive and well" Jesus? They are those who documented and verified Jesus lives. Thank goodness for the Chronicles of Jesus in the Bible. True story. Without a doubt, He lives!

Among those who witnessed Him alive, the first was a woman, Mary Magdalene. He even spoke His first words as our resurrected Lord to her. Then there was Peter and the disciples behind closed doors, and even to "doubting" Thomas who touched the nail prints in His hands and His pierced side. I love the story of Jesus joining the two disciples on the Emmaus road as a stranger. He went to their home, broke bread with them and they recognized their Lord.

For 40 days, Jesus was able to prove to His followers that He really had been raised from the dead. In 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul records that Jesus "appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time". He needed to teach His disciples the kind of King He really was. What a seminar on biblical teaching and resurrection life that must have been! Imagine being taught about new life, resurrection life, and never-ending life by the One Who had said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25). And at the end of the 40 days, He ascended to heaven. But, even that wasn't enough for Him. He couldn't be everywhere at one time, so He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us to comfort, guide, and lead us. He lives in our hearts.

What does the Life of Christ -- His birth, His resurrection and these forty days to His ascension mean to us? First of all, because He lives, we can face whatever this day and what our tomorrows hold. Only He knows if we’ll be able to be back home in our churches, our places of business, dining in at restaurants and shopping at our favorite stores any time soon. I watch the news very little – only for an occasional update. I don’t want to live in the gloom and despair – not to be oblivious of it, but I, rather, want to be a member of the choir that sings songs of hope, joy, peace and LIFE that Christ gave us.

The Life of Christ is the ANSWER TO EVERYTHING -- past, present AND future. Our God reigns supreme -- overall and that should change our perspective about EVERYTHING.

Science was never my favorite class in school, so I was eternally grateful when I passed that class. Done and done! Whew! So, although I'm not a stellar scientific know-it-all, I know this. When I look up at the night sky and I see the stars and planets, I know He lives. When I walk outside in the daytime and see the beauty all around me, when I hear birds chirping, feel the wind against my skin and as I live in peace that passes understanding, I know it's because my Savior, my King of Kings and Lord of Lords LIVES. Let's keep celebrating this miraculous, life-changing Savior Who is the answer to EVERYTHING!

Passion Week -- Holy Monday

At this time in March, last year, I was inquiring about a Holy Lands trip. The "inquiring" became a PASSIONATE “YES, I'm going!" and soon I made my full payment for the trip. That full payment changed my life forever. I was THERE where my Lord walked, taught, healed and most importantly became my Savior. He made full payment for me by sacrificing His life on Calvary. I believed that with all my heart, and I gave Him my heart when I was 8 years ago. He paid my debt that He did not even owe.

Passion: strong and barely controllable emotion; the suffering and death of Jesus.The focus of Passion Week is the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus and the events that led up to it.

The first day of my arrival to Israel, I posted this: "I walked today where Jesus walked and felt Him close to me". That trip created a real, live and in color “YOU ARE THERE” moments to that song “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” I believe I was there, because Jesus had you AND me in mind as He hung on the cross. From the moment I sat foot in Israel, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and awe that I was treading on the land of my Lord. My PASSION for Jesus was so enriched as I witnessed, through many tears, the awe-inspiring scenery and landscapes, breathtaking seas, opulent churches and holy sites where He had been. I know I didn’t have to go to Israel to know He lives in me, but there I felt a tangible connection with those women at His tomb -- "I know He lives!" My spiritual eyes saw Him there, but even better, I see Him every day, right here in Frisco, TX or wherever I am – in His creation, in His Word, in YOU. Holy Week, also known as Passion Week will never be the same for me.

Today is Holy Monday of Holy Week. At the heart of our faith is the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. This week, I'll be purposely posting to remind us of what this week looked like. We’ve read those stories in the Bible and. we’ve heard many sermons and messages about the events, but have we sincerely pondered and noticed ALL that Jesus accomplished in this one week? He was on purpose with every act, healing, and teaching. If we knew it was our final week of life, wouldn’t we be taking care of “loose ends”, giving family and friends some of our wisdom from life, encouraging and giving clear thought-out messages to encourage them to carry on? If He knew He would soon lay down His life for us, then wouldn’t He make sure that everything He did was for our good to be used as visual references for us to follow?

Holy Week began yesterday, Palm Sunday, when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, with crowds cheering for Him, but He already knew it would be the toughest week of His 33 years of life -- when the cheering crowds became jeering crowds.

According to Matthew 21, Mark 11 and Luke 19, Jesus had gone to Bethany and returned to Jerusalem today. Imagine his thoughts about what He was about to face and then, casually coming upon the shameful practices at the Temple. Greed had altered the character of the Temple. He was so passionate about His Father’s House of Prayer being abused. Cleansing the Temple was a scene of chaos, but those who had needs knew what the Temple was for. First, the blind and lame came when they heard Jesus was in the Temple. As the children saw Jesus standing there and teaching, they began to shout again, “Hosanna, to the Son of David.”

I mentioned about my Holy Lands trip and the full payment I made to ensure my trip was “locked and loaded”. I think about the full payment Christ made for you and me. “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away. Now I sing a brand new song “Amazing Grace”. Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”

I pray that my words awaken you with the desire to consider Christ’s journey to Calvary throughout this week and mostly, I pray you open your heart and mind to THE ONE – who loved you enough to give His all for you. On this Holy Monday, He cleansed the temple. I pray that He cleanses and purifies our hearts and minds so that we are more like Him – in our thoughts, our words and our actions.

I'm Still Here, So I'm Not Done (This is long today -- so much to tell you about!)

Our first stop yesterday was the Mount of Olives where our Lord ascended into heaven. Before I left home in Texas, I sensed I needed to get all my documents together and in order should something happen to me while I was in Israel -- specifically, if God wanted to ascend me directly to heaven from the Mount of Olives, I was ready to go. LOL! But, I'm still here, so I'm not done. God has work for me to do and this pilgrimage has inspired me so much, I'm chomping at the bit to spread the good news of our Lord's life and all He did for our salvation.

This first photo is Rimon, our amazing tour guide. Yesterday he was sporting a Texas A&M ball cap and today it was Texas Longhorns. He aims to please his Texas pilgrims -- LOL! Those from New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas are still waiting to see what he has for them!

There isn't a specific spot identified as the place of Jesus' ascension, except that it was from the Mount of Olives. Our tour guide, Rimon, gave us this scripture from Acts 1:10-11 "He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him. As they strained to see Him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” There are three religions that dominate this country: Muslim, Jew, Christians. And each of them are looking for the Messiah to come, but we know our Messiah died, was buried, arose and ascended into heaven. Our Lord is risen and He sits at the right hand of the Father. How reasuring it is, that He was one of us, understands us so well, and now, and one day will take us home to be with Him forever.

The Lord's Prayer was in tiles all around this church in 164 languages. We sang "The Lord's Prayer" from our hearts of thanksgiving. Then we walked to the area where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We were shown the Dome of the Rock, the Eastern Gate, the Russian Church, and the mosque that was built after the temple was destoryed. It was in that temple that Jesus, at age 12, amazed the priests with his knowledge of the Word. Ramone led us, then, in a walk to the Garden of Gethsemane. This was my favorite spot today. Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew Word for Olive Press.

Gethsemane is where Jesus took the same witnesses of His transfiguration on Mount Tabor, Peter, James and John, to the garden with Him to pray. Their spirits were willing but their flesh was weak, and couldn't stay awake. The gorgeous Sanctuary of Gethsemane (Church of the Nations) enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. (Mark 14:32-42). It was so humbling to kneel before that rock, place my hand on it and know this was the beginning of Christ's ultimate price for my salvation.

To say we were touched, puts it mildly -- that our Lord knew what was ahead for Himself and those He loved and served just couldn't stay awake for Him. You can see in the photo below how so emotionally taken these two men were with this experience. We were amazed that there are trees in Gethsemane that are still in the garden from when Jesus was here.

It was lunchtime and we loaded up in the bus, but we had a short and sweet stop before lunch. The owner, Moses, of the Inspiration Tours in Houston's 92-year old father, Gabriel, lives here in Jerusalem and every tour that comes here, he wants to meet and give gifts. He blessed the two priests with us with a Jerusalem stole and wooden Jerusalem cross and he had special medals made, that were unlike anything in any store, and gave one to each person in our group. The medal has 2 fish on it from Jesus' miracle of feeding the 5000+ and 5 crosses like the Jerusalem cross. He said, "Keep it close to your hearts to remember to pray for the Christians in the Holy Land."

He was precious and said: "Thank you for coming to this spot. This is where early pilgrims came and reached the top of this hill -- the city wall of old Jerusalem. Joy filled their hearts as they recited Psalm 122 "I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up—the tribes of the Lord to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel. There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you. ”For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity." He went on to say, "Thank you for having the courage to come to this spot of the world in spite of what you've been seeing in the news. Thank you for putting your trust in the Lord. Remember to pray. Prayer means PEACE. Receive a PIECE of the Lord and receive the PEACE of the Lord. Elohim (God) is in Jerusalem in all these holy places. An empty tomb is here to prove He is alive. Now, you say "The empty tomb and I have Him alive in me!" Gabriel certainly blessed us with his love and generosity.

We headed to the restaurant owned by our tour guide's uncle (his father's brother), Askadinya Restaurant. It was delicious -- lots of salads and chicken and rice! We have been fed so well!

After lunch we went to the chapel of the Franciscans for our Mass and communion. It wasn't the Upper Room, but we celebrated as though it were. The Upper Room is where Jesus and His disciples had their Last Supper together and that is when Jesus' instituted communion for us. How sweet was God's presence today. We were encouraged to renew our commitment to our Lord, and without hesitation, I'm quite sure we've been renewing our commitment every time we enter these holy places.

Then we went to the Dormition Abbey, a German Roman Catholic Church and Benedictine Abbey that is dedicated to the place where Mary, Mother of Jesus, passed away.

Then we went to The Upper Room, but in reality, no one really knows exactly where that is, but this is the agreed upon most acceptable location. We celebrated that the Upper Room is where Jesus showed Himself to be the greatest servant of all.

Our pilgrimage then took us to the Saint-Peter-in-Gallicantu Church which is built in the slopes of Mount Zion. According to tradition, this was the place of the palace of high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was brought to jail after his arrest. Its name (Gallicantu, means the cock's crow) is given after the story of Peter's triple denial of Christ and the cock crowing twice.

Here it was that Jesus was dragged and flogged 39 times from Gethsemane to here. Our tour guide showed us what that looked like in these photos, and lastly they dumped him into this pit and continued to flog and beat him. I scarce can take this all in as I have watched movies of Christ's torture and death, but to be here where it happened, is overwhelming. You'll see the steps here that Jesus had to take. How befitting that we sang, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

Tomorrow, we will arise at 4:15 am to go to the Via Delorosa -- the path to Calvary. My heart is full of love for my Lord and Savior. Indescribable, uncontainable love -- He put the stars in the sky and was willing to suffer and die for me.

Thank You Lord for my salvation.