Palm Branches


Prayer: Dear Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have ordained praise from the lips of all creation. I want to join in that praise and lift up Your name with my whole heart. I worship You and honor You today and every day as my Lord and my King. Please let my expressions as praise ring in Your ears and bring You glory. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Read: John 12:12-36
http://www.esvbible.org/John 12:12-36

Think about It: One of America’s truly unique expressions of celebration is the ticker-tape parade. The first such event to take place was in 1886    during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and apparently happened spontaneously. Today, as ticker tape is a thing of the past, confetti is used for these parades instead of the long strips of paper that came from the  brokerage firms in days gone by. But we still like to celebrate a great event together and the parade is a perfect outlet for those joyful emotions. The same was true during the days Jesus walked the earth.

By the time Jesus heads into Jerusalem for the last time, His fame has spread far and wide. Thousands have been fed when there was no food. Hundreds have been healed by a mere word from His mouth. Storms have been squashed and demons have been dispatched. He’s famous. And news of His arrival in the city has covered the countryside. Jerusalem was teeming with people, as it was the time of the annual Feast of the Passover and His name was probably on everyone’s lips. News that He would be arriving in town caused a group to gather and a spontaneous parade breaks out! Branches are pulled from palm trees and strewn before the King. Those who didn’t have a palm branch used their coats. These were both expressions of honor during this time, and these people knew Jesus was someone to be honored. But why? Was it simply because He was able to provide a meal and heal their sicknesses? Perhaps that was their motivation, but it was not the sole reason He deserved the honor accorded to Him that day.

As always, we too need to examine our motivations. Do you love Jesus because He’s powerful and can take care of your need for bread? Or do you honor Him because He is God, Lord and Master of the universe? Your answer to that question will color your entire relationship with Him. Is He your bread King or your God? While the people of Jerusalem were looking for provision and rescue from the Roman government, He came to bring what they needed even more – forgiveness of sins. The same is true for us. While He can, and does provide all that we need, of even greater importance is our need for a Savior. Recognition of this will change your entire outlook on the faith and your experience of a relationship with Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, please help me to see You as You are – the Lord and lords and King of kings. Help me to go beyond the “please give me” prayers and enter into a genuine loving relationship with You. Instead of waving palms before You, please help me to lay down my broken and contrite heart instead, allowing You full access to my entire life. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more