(Back after a few days away! Just in time for the Easter weekend!)

Maundy Thursday, we tend to think about the Last Supper and communion. But the event kicked off with Jesus washing His disciples' feet:

"Jesus knew on the evening of Passover Day
that it would be His last night on earth
before returning to His Father.

"And how He loved His disciples!
So He got up from the supper table,
took off his robe,
wrapped a towel around His loins,
poured water into a basin,
and began to wash the disciples' feet
and wipe them with the towel
He had around Him.”
~ John 13:1, 4  & 5 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "Jesus was the model servant and He showed this attitude to His disciples. Washing guests' feet was a job for a household servant when guests arrived. But Jesus wrapped a towel around Him, as the lowliest servant would do, and washed His disciples' feet. If even He, God in the flesh, is willing to serve, we His followers must also be servants, willing to serve in any way in order to glorify God. Are we willing to follow Christ’s example of serving? Whom can we serve today?

:"Jesus did not wash His disciples feet just to get them to be nice to each other. His far greater goal was to extend His mission on earth after He was gone. They were to move into the world, serving God, serving each other, and serving all people to whom they took the message of salvation."

****

(The next Karen's Korner will be sent to your computer on Thursday, April 2, as I will be away from my computer!)

Jesus kept telling his disciples what was going to happen to him. But they just couldn't wrap their minds around what He was saying.

Jesus Predicts His Death the Third Time

"Now they were on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking along ahead, and as the disciples were following they were filled with terror and dread.

"Taking them aside, Jesus once more began describing all that was going to happen to him when they arrived at Jerusalem.

"'When we get there,' he told them, 'I, the Messiah, will be arrested and taken before the chief priests and the Jewish leaders, who will sentence me to die and hand me over to the Romans to be killed. They will mock me and spit on me and flog me with their whips and kill me; but after three days I will come back to life again.'"

~ Mark 10:32 - 34 LAB
(can also be found in Matthew 20:17 - 19;
Luke 18:31 - 34)

*

Bible Commentary:   "Jesus' death and resurrection should have come as no surprise to the disciples. Here he clearly explained to them what would happen to him. Unfortunately, they didn't really hear what he was saying. Jesus said he was the Messiah, but they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king. He spoke to them of resurrection, they wondered how a person could come back to life after being dead. Because Jesus often spoke in parables, the disciples may have thought his words on death and resurrection were another parable they didn't understand. The Gospels include Jesus' predictions of his death and resurrection to show that they were God's plan from the beginning, not an accident."

***

"There are 'friends'
who pretend to be friends,
but there is a friend
who sticks closer than a brother."
~ Proverbs 18:24 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "Loneliness is rampant. Many people today feel cut off and alienated from others. Being in a crowd just makes people more aware of their isolation. Lonely people don't need to hear, 'Have a nice day.' They need friends who will stick close, listen, care, and offer help when it is needed---in good times and bad. It is better to have one such friend than dozens of superficial acquaintances. Instead of wishing we could find a true friend, we need to seek to become one ourselves. There are people who need our friendship. We need to ask God to reveal them to us, and then we need to take on the challenge of being a true friend."

**
We praise You,
God,
that we have such a 'good friend'!
Will You help us to look
and see others who could use
a good friend in our future?
Thank You for being such a Good Friend 
and allowing us to share
that Love and Care with others.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

Today's email from Anne Graham Lotz in my computer's inbox:

The Antidote to Fear

"Trust in God; trust also in me."
~ John 14:1 NIV

"Jesus commanded His disciples to 'trust in God; trust also in me." The antidote to fear is faith.

"When I toss and turn in the middle of the night, worried and fearful over something that is impending in my life or the life of someone I love, I am comforted and calmed as I meditate on Who God is. It helps me plant my faith in Someone Who is bigger than my fears. I just fall back on Who God is and rest in Him. He cannot be less than Himself! And my God is God!

"Next time you feel afraid, make up a list -- not of your fears but of the characteristics of God. Find a Scripture verse or passage to substantiate each one as you reconsider your situation in light of Who God is. Then, if you feel it would be helpful to list your fears, make sure beside each one you write down the attribute of God that applies. The secret to peace lies in your focus."

****

A couple of paragraphs from an article in this month's copy of DECISION magazine; written by Franklin Graham. The article is titled "Standing on God's Promises To Israel".

It talks about, among other things, our new bodies. As we get older, our friends and I look forward to new bodies.


"Because of the reality of Christ's resurrection, we can be sure that He will return one day soon, and His believers will have glorified bodies to go along with their redeemed souls.

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that is may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself'. (Philippians 3:20 - 21)

"And when our resurrected Lord does return, He will not come as the suffering Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 53, but as King of kings; not as a lamb, but as the Lion of Judah, to pour out His wrath on those who have rejected and scorned Him, and to welcome all whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life. There will be a new Heaven and a new Earth, with no death, no tears, no pain, no sin.

"But until the day of King Jesus' return, we have our Risen Lord's mighty presence minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. He is with us always (Matthew 28:20). He is interceding for us when we don't even know how to pray (Hebrews 7:25). He is our Advocate before the Heavenly Father when we sin (1 John 2:1)."

There are 16 chapters in the book of Mark. It takes off pretty fast telling about the life of Jesus and His Ministry. Here we are at the end of chapter 8 and the story starts to tell about Jesus and His death and resurrection.

This is the sub-heading in my Bible:

JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH THE FIRST TIME

~ Mark 8:31 & 32 LAB

"Then He (Jesus) began to tell them about the terrible things He would suffer, and that He would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders---and be killed, and that He would rise again three days afterwards. He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took Him aside and chided Him, 'You shouldn't say things like that,' he told Jesus."

Bible Commentary:  "From this point on, Jesus spoke plainly and directly to His disciples about His death and resurrection. He began to prepare them for what was going to happen to Him by telling them three times that He would soon die.

"In this moment, Peter was not considering God's purposes but only his natural human desires and feelings. He wanted Christ to be King, but not the suffering servant prophesied in Isaiah 53. He was ready to receive the glory of following the Messiah, but not the persecution. The Christian life is not a paved road to wealth and ease. It often involves hard work, persecution, privation, and deep suffering. Peter saw only part of the picture. We should not repeat his mistake---instead, we need to focus on the good that God can bring out of apparent evil, and the resurrection that follows crucifixion."

Remember the story of Ponce de Leon from your history lessons? The Spanish explorer who was looking for the "Fountain of Youth". He found Florida, among other discoveries!

Seems like we have been looking for such things since time began; and time passes. Something to consider from Proverbs:

"Wisdom is a fountain of life
to those possessing it,
but a fool's burden is his folly."

~ Proverbs 17:22

*

Bible Commentary:  "For centuries, people sought a fountain of youth; a spring which they thought would give eternal life and vitality. It was never found. But God's wisdom is a fountain of life that can make a person happy, healthy, and alive forever. How? When we live by God's Word he washes away the deadly effects of sin, and the hope of eternal life with Him gives us a joyful perspective on our present life. The fountain of youth was only a dream, but the fountain of life is reality. The choice is ours. We can be enlightened by God's wisdom, or we can be dragged down by the weight of our own foolishness."

***

"When we think of Saint Patrick, we usually think of parades, shamrocks, green drinks, and corned beef and cabbage. Everyone is “Irish” on Saint Patrick’s Day. 

"But Patrick wasn’t Irish. And he wasn’t Patrick. He was born Patricius, somewhere in Romanized Britain, to a wealthy family. And in his early years, he wasn’t particularly saintly either. His family was Christian, but he was indifferent to Christianity. 

:"But Patrick was humble, tenacious, and brave. When he was sixteen, Irish raiders kidnapped him from the family villa and sold him into slavery in Ireland. There he spent six bleak years as a herdsman. 

"Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop and evangelized Ireland in spite of opposition from local pagan druids and from Christians in Britain. His success in Christianizing Ireland was so great that the formerly pagan island sent missionaries to the continent and contributed to the spread of Christianity across Europe. 

"Patrick also expanded literacy throughout Ireland, and he influenced laws in favor of women, the poor, and slaves."

*
Thank You, God,
for using people like St. Patrick
to do Your Will and spread Your Words
to other generations, including ours!
You always use the most unlikely people!
Like him; and like us!!
Help us to remember!
Help us to continue to make Your Changes,
in each of our worlds!
Amen.

Today's entry from "365 Days of Prayer for Women" by Stephanie Sample:

TOO MUCH TO HOLD

"Give, and you will receive.
You will be given much.
Pressed down,
shaken together,
and running over,
it will spill into your lap.
The way you give to others
is the way God will give to you."
~ Luke 6:18 NEV

"You are so generous, Lord! Especially when I give generously, your blessings pour back to me. Not only does your joy fill my heart, but you always replace what I give away. Though I iknow this to be true, I confess I don't always want to give. I doubt that you'll come through again, though you always do, or sometimes I just want to keep what's mine. Don't let those selfish impulses win, Lord! Remind me what else is mine---your joyful presence---and that no thing, or any amount of money, is more valuable to me than that. Inspire me to care more for the comfort of others, God."

"What can we let go of so God can give us more?"

****