God, in Your goodness give me Yourself, for You are enough for me. And only in You do I have everything. Amen. – Julian of Norwich

[You know, when you think about it, there’s more truth than poetry here. Think about it…. Is He “showing through” in your life? – Rick]

One day on the way home from church a little girl turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.”

The mother said, “Oh! Why is that?

The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.

“He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?”

Again the mother replied, “Yes.”

“Well,” said the girl. “If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”

Received from GCFL

Simon Carries Jesus’ Cross

      by Max Lucado • March 26
       
       
 
           

Four soldiers. One criminal. One cross. Simon, a
farmer, stands among the crowd and can’t see the man’s face, only a head
wreathed with thorny branches. Jesus stops in front of Simon and heaves
for air, the beam rubbing against an already-raw back.

“His name is Jesus,” someone speaks. “Move on!” commands the
executioner. But Jesus can’t. The beam begins to sway. Simon
instinctively extends his strong hands and catches the cross. “You! Take
the cross.” Simon dares to object. “I don’t care,” the soldier says,
“Take up the cross!” And Simon did literally what God calls us to do
figuratively: take up the cross and follow Jesus. Luke 9:23
says, “If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget yourself.
You must take up your cross each day and follow me.”

From On Calvary’s Hill

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“It is
finished.” Jesus cried! Stop and listen. Can you imagine the cry from the
cross? What was finished? The history-long plan of redeeming man. The
message of God to man. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished.

Had Jesus’ hands not been fastened down, I dare say that a
triumphant fist would have punched the dark sky. This is no cry of despair. It
is a cry of completion. A cry of victory. A cry of fulfillment. Yes, even
a cry of relief. “Take me home.” Come, ten thousand angels! Come and
take this wounded one to the cradle of his Father’s arms.

Farewell, manger’s infant. Yes, take him home. Take this Son
to his Father. He deserves a rest. Bless you, holy
ambassador. Go home, rest well. The battle is over! It is finished.

From On Calvary’s Hill