If any of you have driven by lately, you may have noticed that the poor old 1966 Mustang has been booted out of the garage. *GASP* I know.
What could have prompted such crazy behavior from my normally very protective of his Mustang husband?
A new toy.
A new BOAT!After taking an unproductive 10 hour drive to Oregon last Friday, Tyler and Dad drove down to Boat Country on Saturday to get Tyler his boat. He's been shopping and saving for 2 years, and the bad trip to Oregon was the last straw! I guy was selling a boat on Craigslist, and when they got there the guy didn't have all the titles in order. Unbelievable!
So on Saturday night around 6:30pm, Dad and Tyler pulled into the yard. To say that the boys were excited is a MAJOR understatement! When was jumping up and down, beside himself with joy. There was lots to check out...
And congratulatory hugs to give. And pictures to pose for! Boys and their toys... young or old, they love 'em just the same! How long until the Mustang moves back in?
Wednesday we would wake up to the second of the feast days known as the "Lord's Passover." This feast was first observed by the Jewish people in Egypt the night the plague killed all of the Egyptian firstborn sons, while death "passed over" the Jewish firstborn because they were saved by the "covenant blood" placed above the doors of their houses Exodus 12:1-36. This feast is also prescribed by God in Leviticus 23.
We will follow Jesus to Jerusalem to eat the Passover dinner and celebrate it with the disciples in an upper room made ready by some friends. As we come into the upper room in the early afternoon prior to the Lord's Passover feast which will be observed and eaten later "at evening". We will see that Jesus and the disciples have just finished eating a lunch/supper John 13:2. Jesus is telling the disciples that God the Father has given all authority in heaven and on earth to Him. We marvel that this Jesus standing before us is not just the King of Judah but is the King of the Universe, the King of heaven and of the earth, of the physical realm that is seen and also of the unseen spiritual realm. Jesus presides over all as King.
Before we can comprehend the enormity of the kingdom of Jesus, we see Jesus lay aside His
garments, pour water into a wash basin and begin to wash the disciples feet. Would you be in agreement with Peter when he says to Jesus "You shall never wash my feet"? After all, kings of the earth do not wash their followers feet, so much more the reason that the King of the universe should not wash our feet. Then Jesus explains to Peter that unless He washes our feet that Jesus will have nothing to do with us. We wonder, "why have Jesus wash our feet and only our feet"? Then we realize that Jesus is King and He is also the Holy God. Being Holy, Jesus requires that we be cleansed in order to approach Him. As creator, Jesus is happy to take all of His authority and use it to clean us and draw us near to Him. We now know that Jesus is really talking about cleansing our souls. We realize that one dirty item cannot make another dirty item clean. We gasp as we realize that ONLY Jesus can make us clean because only Jesus is clean and without Jesus washing us and cleansing us, we will remain dirty and He will "have nothing to do with us." We make a mental note to spend more quality cleansing time with Jesus in prayer and in reading the Bible.
It is now evening and time for the Lord's Passover Supper. All of the disciples are seated around Jesus Matthew 26:20. Jesus begins to explain how one of the disciples will betray Him. We join the other disciples wondering if we will be the one who betrays Him. After the events of the past week, we now know that we are not that familiar with the plans of God and that sin is deceitful.
Jesus tells the disciples that to identify the one who will betray Him, He will dip His bread in the sauce at the same time the betraying disciple dips his bread. As Judas dips his bread Jesus also dips His Matthew 26:23. We now know why, after the foot washing that Jesus said "not everyone is clean" John 13:10 because Judas is not clean, he is a betrayer. Judas asks Jesus if he is the betrayer. Jesus tells him "yes he is." We marvel that sin is so deceptive, that one can betray God and actually think that he is doing God's work.
Judas, after receiving a bread dipped in sauce by Jesus, then departs the room to proceed to betray Jesus. The disciples wonder were Judas has gone. Some think he is going to make arrangements for the next feast, the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" which begins tomorrow, John 12:29. At first we think it is unlawful for Judas to go out at night on a feast day but then a quick glance in our Bibles back to Leviticus 23 reveals that the Lord's Passover is not a "Sabbath Feast." We wonder at the thought that the Lord's Passover feast is not a "Sabbath - Rest" feast like all of the other feasts and therefore there is no evening curfew for the feast. Unfortunately, as Judas leaves the presence of Jesus, Satan then enters into Judas and demonically possesses Judas John 13:27. Again we realize the importance of staying in the presence of Jesus to keep ourselves safe from the demonic/Satanic realm.
Jesus then takes the unleavened bread of the "Lord's Passover Feast" Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22 and giving thanks, Jesus breaks the bread explaining that this is His body broken for us, speaking of the cross that is to come tomorrow. He then passes the bread for the disciples to eat.
Much earlier while following Jesus the disciples had dealt with this very issue of Jesus' body. In John 6:47-58, Jesus told a large group of disciples that He, "is the true bread of life that came down from heaven and any man who would eat of it that man would not die but would live forever." Many disciples were disturbed at that saying of Jesus, John 6:66 "and some walked with Jesus no more." But Jesus had also explained to the disciples John 6:63 that it is the Spirit that aids a man not the physical. Jesus said that His words are Spirit.
So here this night of the Passover the disciples readily enjoy the bread knowing that it is the Spirit of Jesus that gives Spiritual life.
Next Jesus takes a cup of wine. It is the third cup of the four prescribed cups of the feast. The third cup is known as the cup of redemption. The first cup is the cup of sanctification, meaning to be set apart to God for the feast. The second cup is the cup of instruction, instructing that there were many plagues on the land of Egypt, yet the children of God could not go free from slavery until there was a death of the firstborn. Now this night Jesus is proclaiming that He is the Firstborn of God and that His death will set us free from the slavery of sin and the cruelty of Satan just like the death of the firstborn did so many years ago back in Egypt.
Then Jesus taking the cup Mark 14:23 of redemption and like the bread, giving thanks, Jesus passed the cup to the disciples and said "take drink all of it," Matthew 26:27 this cup is the New Testament in His blood: this do, that as often as we drink of it, to do it in remembrance of Jesus. The disciples are fully aware that Jesus is speaking of a better blood than man has, of His Spiritual life blood.
Jesus then mentions that He will not drink again of the wine until He drinks it anew with us in His Father's Kingdom. The fourth cup of wine that Jesus is postponing to drink is called the "cup of Rejoicing." After the feast, the cup of rejoicing is to be drunk as we rejoice in all that God has done in our lives in setting us free and reuniting us with Him in the promise land of Heaven. Jesus says that He will drink that next cup with all of us for real in the real heaven. Jesus and the disciples then sing a Psalm in the closing of the "Lord's Passover Feast."
Jesus now reminds us again that He is about to be betrayed. He tells us in advance so that we will know that He does indeed know all things. Jesus then reveals to us that this dark moment is Satan's time. Judas has already left to betray Jesus. Jesus instructs us saying that "Satan has nothing in Him", but that Jesus will show His love for the Father by giving His life as a sacrifice to reunite us back to God, as this is the will of the Father and it is also the will of the Son Jesus.
Arising they depart the room Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26, John 14:31. We marvel that this feast is not a Sabbath feast so they are able to walk in the night and not break the law of the feast. Now during a short walk, Jesus talks to the disciples about Himself being the vine, the source of life and that the disciples are the branches and that the disciples are to abide in Jesus for life. He also teaches about the persecution that will come to all of His followers.
Then Jesus instructs them some more about the Holy Spirit who the Father will send.
Jesus then prays His "Priestly High Prayer" to the Father John 17:1-26, asking the Father to receive all of His followers including us, His future followers and to unite us all with Himself in Heaven with the Father. As Jesus prays to God the Father we conclude that we know that Jesus' prayers are heard by the Father and answered! After His priestly prayer of intercession for us to the Father, Jesus commits to His crucifixion and then proceeds on to the garden of Gethsemane, the Garden of destiny. Matthew 26:36, Mark14:32. We now know why God has not made the Lord's Passover to be a "Rest - Sabbath Feast" because Jesus and the disciples would have to remain at home or inside after the feast and could not have legally walked to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden of destiny. Had this been a "Sabbath - Rest Feast", it is also very unlikely that the Temple guards would have broken the Sabbath themselves to journey to the Garden to arrest Jesus who, after all was only peaceably praying to the Father. This is another powerful demonstration that these events are events orchestrated and allowed by God Himself and not man just as these events are foreseen in the prophetic writings by the prophets of the Old Testament.
The Garden is the ideal place to reveal that God is in control. It was so many years ago that Adam and Eve lost mankind's relationship with God through their own disobedience in the original garden, the Garden of Eden. Jesus is now stepping into another garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. Through His desire and obedience Jesus will continue to restore back the lost relationship between God and mankind, this time for forever.
We follow and see that Jesus is separated from His disciples and engaged in prayer to the Father. Jesus asks for the third time for the Father to remove "this cup" Matthew 26:42 but there is no other "cup" of redemption available to mankind. Either Jesus gives His life for us or mankind will never be reunited to God.
Angels come and minister to Jesus. He arises. Judas can now be seen leading a group of Temple soldiers intent on arresting Jesus. Judas then betrays Jesus with a kiss Matthew 26:49. Jesus in turn calls Judas "friend" Matthew 26:50. Jesus is arrested, bound with ropes and led off as all of the disciples abandon Him and flee.
Wednesday Reflection: New Covenant Reflection
The New Covenant - God has agreed to take on the appearance of a Human, to come for us and to die in our place for our sins so that we can Live anew in a new Spiritual relationship with God. God in His Love for us has taken our penalty of death so that we can live in His life of love. With the New Covenant and our New Spiritual Life "All things have become New".
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
In no particular order, here are a few snippets of conversations we've had lately:
Wayne: On Easter will I get chocolate eggs and a chicken? Me: We'll see. Do you know what Easter is for? What happened? Wayne: Yeah. Me: What? Can you tell me? Wayne: God died. He just fell over and died. Me: Did he stay dead? Wayne: Yeah, for awhile. Me: Then what? Wayne: Then he got back up. He was fine again. Me: And what does that mean? Wayne: Hosanna! He saved the day!
Not too bad for a four year old! Here's the thing... His Sunday School teacher was telling me how at his age, they would be focusing on the Jesus living part, and not the cross/dieing part. I guess Wayne is a little beyond his years!
And the next conversation was from this afternoon. Wayne was playing outside, and I looked out the window and saw him squatting on the concrete, with his pants down around his ankles. I opened the door and...
Me: What are you doing? Wayne: (grunt) It's okay Mom, I gotta go stinky. Me: Then you need to come in the house! Wayne: No, it's okay, Sadie goes outside. Dad will pick it up! Me: Get in the house right now!
In this case, I was the one who saved the day! :-)
The TV shows and Movies that the boys like to watch are:
Veggie Tales Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Word World Bolt The Letter Factory Tinkerbell - the Lost Treasure Deadliest Catch - Wayne loves this show, he loves the crabs! Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends Chuggington
For the Silves boys, it's not so much about the quantity of what they watch, it's the VARIETY they need! Putting a show on for them gives me the much needed time to give Wyatt a bath, make dinner, or fold laundry without the piles getting dumped. And oh yes, to have a nice little chat with a friend without interruption!
As we awake Tuesday morning we will not go to Jerusalem and the temple as Jesus had departed the temple for the last time on Monday. Today we will go with Jesus to Bethany and enter the house of Simon, a leper whom Jesus has previously cured. A woman will
anoint Jesus with more oil. Judas will depart to meet with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus. Judas will receive the promise of thirty pieces of silver Zechariah 11:2, Matthew 26:15 for promising to deliver Jesus into the hands of the Jewish leaders.
Tuesday Reflection: Fellowship with the One who has cleansed us
Jesus has returned to spend time with Simon a Leper whom Jesus had previously cleansed. How is it that Jesus would want to visit someone that was previously unclean? How is it that Simon would trust Jesus? Usually when someone has knowledge of the unclean areas of our life we want to get away from him because we are vulnerable and do not want to be exposed for what we were or for what we truly are. Yet Simon welcomed Jesus into his own home and prepared for Him a meal. All throughout the Bible we read how hurting and longing and suffering people have turned to God and have found compassion and healing and like Simon, we too have the privilege of hosting Jesus, the one who has healed us.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
On Sunday, our church gave away booklets, titled "Passion Week in Real Time." Basically, using the scriptures, it walks me through each day leading up to the crucifixion. It talks about the events in real time, and offers lots of references so that you can read it in the Bible for yourself. I love to look at things in the Bible chronologically, rather than by chapter/one person's perspective. I am absolutely enjoying the format, and the snippets each day to keep me focused on the weekend ahead, and the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. And so I thought I'd post each day here on my blog. I'll post every morning by 6am, so grab a cup of coffee, and come be a citizen of Jerusalem with me!
Introduction:What would it be like to be with Jesus, as one of His disciples, during the days leading up to His death, burial and resurrection?The purpose of “Passion Week In Real Time” is to piece together the events of that incredible week using the four Gospels.The only difference this time is… you and I are there – walking, hearing and seeing Jesus as He prepares for the ultimate and perfect sacrifice.Set aside some time this week either personally or with the family to trace Jesus’ steps leading to the Upper Room, the Garden, Golgotha and the rolled away stone.
Read events as a disciple of Jesus on each corresponding day with the intent of putting your self in those events.See what the disciples saw, listen to what they heard and speculate as to what the disciples thought during this week.After each day’s events there is short time of reflection and a passage of scripture for you contemplate during your day’s events.May you draw near to the Savior of your soul in new and fresh ways as you follow Jesus in “real time.”
Monday
{Teaching Monday}
Arising early Monday, we know from Mark 14:1 and Matthew 26:2 that we have two days left until the Passover (Wednesday). We would again follow Jesus to Jerusalem and to the temple as Jesus spends another day preaching in the temple and having debate with the Scribes and Pharisees.
We would follow Jesus back into the temple where the Scribes, Pharisees and lawyers will make a final assault on the authority of Jesus Matthew 21:23-23:39, Mark 11:27-12:44. Jesus will end His discussion with the Scribes and Pharisees with the comments of "Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Jesus uses strong words for strong circumstances. The leaders of Judah are misrepresenting Jesus. They are misrepresenting the word of God in the Bible and all God stands for. Jesus refers to them as a "brood of vipers", referring to the words and actions of the leaders that their deeds are separating people from the true God and are therefore as poisonous as the poison of a snake.
Earlier, through the prophet Isaiah, Jesus said to the leaders of ancient Judah that when the circumstances of their lives pressed against them and caused them to be uncomfortable that they would respond from their heart. Jesus saw that the leaders were upset with circumstances that they didn't understand and that their actions really revealed their true heart towards God. Jesus was therefore quoting the prophet Isaiah in order to encourage the leaders to search the scriptures in a new light and gain new insight into the person of God and new insight into the kingdom of God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus the book of Acts tells us that many of the Priests came to believe in Jesus Acts 6:7. Jesus is showing us that although strong words were used, Jesus did it in a way of Reconciliation. There is only one ministry, it is the ministry of reconciliation, man to God and man to man.
After the discussion between the leaders and Jesus, Jesus walked out of the temple and the disciples followed Matthew 24:2, Mark 13:2. The disciples thought that this was the long awaited moment, the moment when King Jesus, would take control and according to scripture would reign and rule from Jerusalem. The disciples were now interested in the buildings of the temple. In effect, the disciples were saying these are great buildings to rule from and probably wondering where their office would be. As we stand there and eavesdrop, we would hear Jesus reply and give a prophecy that the temple would be destroyed, one stone block at a time, until there were no more stone blocks left stacked upon another. The disciples were stunned. They realized that they were not familiar with the current plan of Jesus.
That evening when they returned to the Mount of Olives, some of the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked "what is the time or sign of Jesus coming into power?" In other words, when is Jesus the King going to reign and rule on earth as the King? Jesus told them that it was not for them to know the times and gave a long informative discourse into the end time events. Jesus specifically warned the disciples not to fall for deception, that many will be deceived by the vast amount of lies and deceit being told in the world. He taught that only the Bible is the true word of God. The teaching is now called "Jesus' Mt. Olivet Discourse" Matthew 24:3-26:2, Mark 13:3-14:1.
Monday Reflection: Our Ministry of Reconciliation
What is our part in reconciliation? Jesus came to reconcile. The very ministry of Jesus is reconciliation, reconciling man back into a relationship with God and also reconciling us humans into a relationship with one another.
2 Corinthians 5:18,19 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
*GASP* I know.
After taking an unproductive 10 hour drive to Oregon last Friday, Tyler and Dad drove down to Boat Country on Saturday to get Tyler his boat. He's been shopping and saving for 2 years, and the bad trip to Oregon was the last straw! I guy was selling a boat on Craigslist, and when they got there the guy didn't have all the titles in order. Unbelievable!
When was jumping up and down, beside himself with joy.
There was lots to check out...
And congratulatory hugs to give.
And pictures to pose for!
Boys and their toys... young or old, they love 'em just the same!
How long until the Mustang moves back in?
