Trey Tuesday - April 19, 2011

Hang in there!

Holy Week is sad.
We feel the pain and agony of Jesus as He walks the road to Calvary.
We weep at the sounds of the jeering crowd hurling accusations at Him.
We cringe at the thought of His brutal treatment.
We mourn at the agonizing torture that Jesus' body and spirit endured as He died on Good Friday.

In our heads we know that from Genesis to Revelation God has been all about sending us a
Redeemer, bringing us back to a right relationship with Him!
But in our hearts, we get sad every time we imagine what Jesus went through, what God went through, sending His Son to the cross on our behalf.

"Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him.  They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it. When they had crucified Him, they divided up His clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. Above His head they placed the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up his spirit.

Matthew 27:27-50

As we gather today to pray for Trey, consider your thoughts and feelings when you first heard Trey's diagnosis.  What was your reaction?  How was your level of faith and trust in God's decision to allow this?
Throughout Scripture and throughout our lives, God has not acted always according to our expectations.
Can you still trust Him?  ABSOLUTELY?
DO you still trust Him?  Hmmmmm.....

But hang in there!  Remember the joyous miracle of Easter!
Remember every promise God ever makes is "Yes!"
We do not have to stay there at the foot of the cross mourning a fallen hero!
We stand triumphantly in our daily walk praising our Risen Savior and Lord!

"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”

Mark 16:1-7

And just as Jesus tells us in His Word, Trey never needs to be afraid!  Trey's family never needs to worry!

Trey's siblings never have to feel forsaken by the God of the Universe!

And Trey will ALWAYS be in God's safe keeping!

As Trey continues to recover from round 5 of chemo, please pray for our Almighty Healer to soothe the stomach pains and nausea that Trey fights.  Please pray for God's peace that passes understanding to fall on Trey and give him exceedingly abundantly more rest and health than we could ever imagine!

And as Christina so perfectly posted in Pray for Trey Tuesday:

Remember, that as much as you passionately love Trey and pray for him each week, there is one who loves you more passionately than you will probably ever comprehend this side of Heaven. Jesus loves you with a passion that took him to Calvary so that He could die on the cross for your sins. Know that we pray for each of you this week, that you would know the Savior, Jesus Christ, in a very real and personal way.

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:4-6