It didn’t take much thought or deliberation as to what I might feature for Worship Wednesday the week after Easter. The news of Carrie Underwood’s performance of How Great Thou Art going viral after it aired on Good Friday during CBS broadcast Girls Night Out – Superstars of Country Music made it the natural choice to cap off the celebration Easter truly is.
My prayer has been as much for me as it has for everyone who has visited Leveraging Life these last few weeks is that we all would take some time to reflect on what Jesus was called to do, then chose to do, and actually did for us to be NEW AGAIN!
So with Easter weekend upon us and today being Good Friday, I’ll share another video to set the stage. Yes, another featuring scenes from Passion of the Christ, but not to worry this one may be easier to take as it steers clear of the brutality of those final hours. For me this one is more moving because both the song and the video are from the perspective of what Mary witnessed as Jesus’ mother.
The song, New Again, is a duet by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans. Special thanks to my friend Jesse Whitfield, from OneThing, for recommending this video which for me captures the spirit of what Good Friday should represent to all of us.
My hope and my prayer through this series of posts is that Easter for you has gotten a little more personal and you’ve been impacted by what you’ve seen and listened to.
“Why is Good Friday called Good if it pertains to the day Jesus was crucified?”
This innocent question came my way recently and as I was about to give my answer, an answer that had more to do with fasting and sacrificial rituals, I paused and said it’s called “Good” because a great exchange that took place that Friday.
“Jesus exchanged His human life for my eternal life…and your eternal life as well.”
As I said in last week’s post Amazing Love, faith for me over the last five years has become very personal. By that I mean it has less to do about attendance because of an obligation and everything to do with God, His grace, His love, and a desire to know my Savior Jesus Christ. Subsequently the lens from which I view life and how my life is impacted by what is shared in the Bible results in new and different meanings for things I grew up taking for granted. And while I know I’m not alone in what I perceive to be my spiritual maturity, one of the biggest changes is how I view the cross. Specifically what took place that Good Friday which as the song title says leaves me Sweetly Broken.
To the cross I look, to the cross I cling Of it’s suffering I do drink Of it’s work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed Showed that God is love And God is just
At the cross You beckon me You draw me gently to my knees, and I am Lost for words, so lost in love, I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, undeserved life Have I been given Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death You’ve called me into life And I was under Your wrath Now through the cross I’m reconciled
At the cross You beckon me You draw me gently to my knees, and I am Lost for words, so lost in love, I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
In awe of the cross I must confess How wondrous Your redeeming love and How great is Your faithfulness
Definition: legal day off: a day set aside by law or statute as exempt from regular labor or business activities, usually to celebrate or commemorate something that happened on or near that date.
With Easter fast approaching I couldn’t help but think about how we as a nation have come to see holidays for the freedom they provide and not the significance they represent. Strategy comes into play as we blend vacation days with hol-i-days to achieve the maximize time away from our daily grind. And you know what, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and actually it’s something I highly encourage.
GUT CHECK TIME: Think back over the last few years, did you celebrate the day off or commemorate the holiday? Seriously, let’s exclude the religious holidays of Christmas and Easter for a minute, what about July 4th and Memorial Day…brats and beer or independence and sacrifice, what was your agenda?
Easter 2011
Easter is fast approaching and there are only a few weeks left to truly prepare for Easter as a Holy Day, not the holiday. But if I’m realistic I know there are plenty of things which can get in the way of my preparation if I’m not intentional with my time. So this post maybe more for me than anyone else, but I do know I need to recognize, acknowledge, and show gratitude for what Jesus was called to do on my behalf, chose to do for my sins, and did for my salvation.
