Five Things We Do Not Have to Bear

Jesus accomplished innumerable things for us through His suffering on the Cross of Calvary…so many that we could never list them all! But for today, we will focus on a few that grab me to the very core of my soul…

He bore our rejection so that we would never be forsaken.

It was on the cross that Jesus, for the very first time, addressed His Father as God rather than Father. At that moment, He knew He had no right, no access to the face and presence of His Father because He bore the sin of the whole world. He knew His Holy Father could not, would not look on sin. His question, “Why have you forsaken me?” has always puzzled me because surely He knew the answer. I have to wonder if just maybe it was for us. When we sin, don’t we often feel alone and forsaken? And it is when we sincerely ask God “why” that He reveals our sin to us. It is through our confession, admitting that we are wrong and changing our direction (repenting), that our fellowship with our Heavenly Father is restored.

“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?)” —Matthew 27:46 NIV

He bore our sin so that we could share in His righteousness.

Jesus took our sin upon His body, so that we do not have to bear it. If we knew the true depth of our own sin, we would crumble under the weight, but Jesus knew because He did bear it. And the price was high. It cost Him everything. His beard was plucked out, He was persecuted, deceived, stripped, mocked, slapped, beaten, spit upon, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, bled and died the cruelest death ever for our sin. He took our beating, our humiliation, our punishment in every possible way. In retrospect, we could say that we were lying down, ready to be nailed to that cross, and Jesus held His hand out to us, pulled us up and willingly laid Himself down in our place…because, dear friends, that is what He did! He exchanged our cross for His robe, He bore our whooping so that we could share in His righteousness!

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” —2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

He bore our weakness so that we could have His strength.

Have you ever noticed that the Lord Jesus takes us further and higher, expands our avenues, or leads us to new ventures…or adventures? We don’t grow in strength or character without a challenge and He, it seems to me, is in the growth business…mostly growing our character. I, for one, never thought I would be a Christian Women’s Speaker… never! I avoided speeches and speech classes at all cost! I loved drama because of the simple fact that I could hide behind a costume and a character. The day the Lord called me to a speaking ministry is the day He called me to my knees in full dependence on Him. After nine years and many tears, He gave me the idea for my first character. Thus, He combined my fear and my love, but that did not happen until I found His strength in and through my weakness.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” —Philippians 4:13 NKJV

He bore our sickness so that we could die to our sin, live for righteousness and be healed.

I’m not going to promise that every illness we ever have will be healed because of the simple fact that “it is appointed unto man once to die.” (Hebrews 9:27 KJV). We know that at some point in time, each of us will be taken into glory where we will, once and for all, find perfect healing. In the meantime, it is important to recognize that our own thoughts, words and actions can condemn us and make us physically ill. Sickness is a part of this fallen world we live in, and most of us deal with the common cold, flu, etc. And God allows sickness to cross our paths for different reasons…to humble us, force us to rest, soften our hearts, only He knows. Sin sickness is also a part of us as fallen man, and Jesus bore that on the cross. When our sin makes us sick, spiritually and/or physically, we can take it to Him, and trust that by HIS wounds we ARE healed, from the sin itself and its affects.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” —1 Peter 2:24 NIV

He bore our loneliness so that we could know He was with us always.

We live in a time when Social Media is on the rise, but so is loneliness. We are talking more and connecting less. We can post what we want others to see and hear but we are not face-to-face where they can actually perceive the real us, the issues of our lives. God sees it all and He knows our hearts, our thoughts, our weaknesses, our feelings, our everything. He founded the first FaceBook…He sees our ‘face’ and our names are written in His ‘Book.’ And lo and behold, He sees us through the eyes of mercy and grace…eyes of deep, everlasting love that stays with us to the very end of the age. So whether we are in a crowd feeling all alone, or at home all by ourselves, we can know that HE is with us.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” —Matthew 28:20 NIV

Bottom line, Jesus paid it all and carried it all to the cross for you and me…. And to this day, His Living Word still encourages us to cast our cares upon Him, the One who bore it all for us. And why? Because my dear blogging friend, He truly cares for you!

NIV – The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by BIBLICA Inc.® All rights reserved.
NKJV – The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
KJV – King James Version (KJV) © Crown Copyright in UK.
All other © Celebrate His Love, 2018.

Forever

Apr10

Palm Sunday, the subtle reminder that Easter Sunday – better referred to as Resurrection Day – is next week. Yesterday a lot of Christians commemorated Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Some handed out palm leaves…I even saw one little guy on his way home from church toying with some palms formed into the shape of an elaborately woven cross. Elaborate, a good word to describe what happened that day…

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” ~John‬ ‭12:12-13‬

It was an elaborate display of passion and worship, and yet, less than a week later the same crowd passionately yelled “Crucify Him!” So what changed? We know it was not Jesus. So it had to be the hearts of the people. Jesus brought change, a new way of thinking…a ministry of love, compassion, grace and mercy that the keepers of the law did not exercise, nor understand.

If we think that living a moral life, doing what is right by our own standards, and loving people every day is going to earn us peace in this life and a place in heaven, we will be sorely disappointed… Not because there is anything wrong with any of that – believe me, those are all GREAT things – but we are fallible, we will never do it right 100% of the time. We (yes I!) mess up! And sometimes, to be frankly honest, I can do it BIG…a slip of the tongue, or should I say attitude? Insecurity? The old self? Oh my! 😱

Bottom line, we need a Savior, a Perfect, Flawless Sacrifice to take our place. We need someone who was successful at living the perfect life when our lives fail. We need mercy! We need grace! We need Jesus!

He came to take our place on the cross of suffering, the suffering we so deserved, knowing we could never ever accomplish perfection in ourselves. No matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we work, salvation always has been and always will be a free gift offered from the hand of the Father…the ultimate sacrifice of His One and Only Son.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans‬ ‭6:23‬

As we get closer to the day we most commonly refer to as Easter Sunday, AND as we ponder the cross and the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, AND as we contemplate all Jesus came to do for us, I plan to post a few songs that minister to my heart. Music has always had a powerful affect on my Christian walk and worship, and I sincerely hope these song choices will bless you as well.

Forever, sung by Kari Jobe, stood in the forefront today as I was pondering not only the short-lived worship the people of Jerusalem offered our Savior, but also my own weakness, and often short-lived spurts of righteousness. How thankful I am today that the love, faithfulness and righteousness of Jesus stands in deep and powerful contrast to our sin. And it was for this reason He came and overcame…for you and me…FOREVER!

KARI JOBE
Forever Lyrics
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The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse upon him

One final breath He gave
As Heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated

Forever, He is glorified
Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated

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Forever, He is glorified
Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive
Forever, forever

You have overcome
Your resurrected King
You have overcome the grave
You have overcome

We sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah
The Lamb has overcome

Forever, He is glorified
Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive (Forever)

Forever, He is glorified
Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive

SONGWRITERS
ORLANDO JOHNSON, WRITER(S) UNKNOWN

PUBLISHED BY
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP

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©Celebrate His Love, 2017

For the Joy of Kelsie

Feb28

I was five years old when my paternal grandmother passed away…my parents did not tell me. Years later they said she’d been sick from the day I was born… Hopefully, the two situations are unrelated! My thought is, my parents just wanted to protect me from the reality of death at such an early age. Of course, not long after that our dog ate our hamster so I was pretty sure we would never see him again. Hamsters are easily replaced, not so with grandmas.

My dad didn’t let on that he was sad, at least not to me. I never noticed a tear or a change in his daily pattern… up early and off to work, home at 5:30, dinner with the family, and an evening in his overstuffed easy chair. At five, I was fully into entertaining him with a silly dance, front and center. I would sing him little songs I knew or made up, then sit on his lap where we’d make silly faces, chat, or just sit quietly. More than anything, I just wanted to be where he was. Truth be known, I worshiped Him.

At the time, I had no idea that not only did I fully desire to be with my dad, but he also wanted to be fully with me!

I didn’t know this until I felt this way with my own two boys, and even moreso with my grandchildren. (Sorry, Sons!) I distinctly remember Christmas 2009 and how I was particularly encouraged by our little seven-year-old granddaughter, Kelsie. My dad had passed away the year prior and, due to illness, my mom could not be with us for our annual family gathering… for the first time in my entire life. I know now how blessed I was and am to have had her so long. So back to 2009 (I get sidetracked, in case you hadn’t noticed)… just as I began to feel quite melancholy and close to outright tearyeyed, along came Kelsie in her bubbly, carefree fashion…

Grandma, you want to come play with me in my room?

Did I? You better believe I did! Her love and inclusion snapped me out of my not-so-mini pity party faster than the smell of chocolate chip cookies! As we walked up the stairs to her room, my tears were replaced with her joyful childlike chatter and afternoon plans for us to dress up and play with all of her dolls! When Kelsie played, her entire room became a City of Barbies, American Girl dolls, Cabbage Patch dolls, Teddy Bears, puppets, Disney Princesses, My Little Ponies and then some! After all, it takes all kinds to make a City! And Kelsie… well, she just wanted someone to be fully there and I love her so much that I couldn’t help myself. The fact remained, I needed her to be fully there too, and she was…just at the right time. What joy she brought me then…and still does to this day!

Is that how my dad felt about me when he lost his mom? Did my silly dances, songs and faces keep him laughing, living and loving through the loss of his beautiful mother? Though I can’t speak for him, it sure rings true in my life with Kelsie, and her two siblings and three cousins!

And then of course there is our Heavenly Father… By now you are most likely expecting this part. 🙂 I have to think that since He planted these emotions in us as parents and grandparents, and since we are fashioned after His image, He feels the same way about us… only galaxies bigger, eons better and oceans purer!! And death is more of a reality to Him than we can ever imagine… How His heart must ache to see a soul He loves go into eternity without coming into relationship with Him. And then maybe at that very instant He catches a glimpse of you singing and dancing before Him in true worship, and His tears turn into a smile. Doesn’t that thought make you smile too?

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John‬ ‭4:23-24 NIV‬

“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.” Psalms‬ ‭84:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Come, let’s shout praises to GOD, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!” Psalm‬ ‭95:1-2‬ ‭MSG‬‬

The bottom line… Not only do we fully need to enter our Heavenly Father’s presence in joyful worship, but He wholeheartedly desires to be fully in our presence as well! Like Kelsie, we can ask Him… “Father, You want to come play with me in my room?” My guess… He wants to! For reals! 🙂

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Psalm 84:10 Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Bloggers and Apostrophes

Feb8

Today is a landmark day…my first ever blog now has twenty whole followers! That is so encouraging and yet SO scary! Yes, it is encouraging to think there are twenty people out there who just might actually read what I have to say, and it is extremely scary for the very same reason! Twenty people might actually read my stuff!?! Nonetheless, I am encouraged!

I’m a blogger. What’s your superpower? —Unknown

You see, I don’t want to be a good blogster (Is that a word? Let’s call it a Dori-ism), I want to be a great one…but a huge part of being either is the ability to combine passion, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, wisdom and understanding into written form in such a way that it makes sense to other people. This might be a good time to mention that my brain – where thoughts are all over the map – is a reeeeally scary place to live! Oh yeah, I’m talkin’ scary here! However, there are many times when thoughts are few, amounting to less than an apostrophe, or a comma, but I really like saying the word apostrophe so let’s stick with that. (See what I mean?)

Forget about someone’s resume or how they present themselves at a party. Can they blog or not? The blog doesn’t lie. —Nick Denton

So, here I sit day after day, sometimes with a full heart and empty screen…other times with an empty heart and a jumbled mess on the screen. And once in a while, sometimes twice in a while, something becomes blog-worthy…from my novice perspective, that is. I take the leap, post the blog and wonder if it will actually help anyone on their journey through life. You see, helping others matters to me. But even if no one else is affected, the process of moving ideas, feelings and thoughts to paper (or computer screen as it were) generally pushes me one step further on my journey as a writer…aka blogster. <sheepish grin> Eventually, it is just nice to know that someone else cares about something you pour your heart into.

I had a personal blog, but why does anyone care that I went shopping for hats? —Chris Hardwick

Reading other blogs, maybe yours, helps tremendously to see how other bloggers approach their thoughts and put them into story, and to glean from their expertise. And though I sincerely admire your knowledge, wisdom, wit and style, I also know the best lessons are those we walk, sometimes crawl, through ourselves. Just as physical growth doesn’t happen when one child watches his sibling eat and exercise, neither does practical growth. I need to feed my heart, soul and mind with information, then exercise the skill (Lord, help!) of writing firsthand in order to grow in writership. (Yes, I like to invent words.) Struggling through every blunder, along with celebrating each glorious victory, is what I believe is refining who I am and who you are as a blogger.

Everyone should have a blog. It’s the most dramatic thing ever. —Jessica Cutler

We’re all on this unpredictable journey called life together, walking side-by-side at times, walking alone at others. Either way, it is comforting to know that out there in Bloggerland, there are other wandering pilgrims…a-hem, bloggers…staring at empty computer screens or jumbled messes with puzzled looks on their faces wondering if any of it will ever make sense to anyone, even themselves, especially during run-on sentences! Growth can be painful, and though my stuff is definitely in the refining process, I truly thank you for not throwing the oil of discouragement into the fire. We generally do enough of that ourselves from what I can tell.

The bottom line…the likes, kudos, applause, even flattery at times, can lift the spirits of a novice (sometimes floundering) writer in a heartbeat! Yes, YOU have been such an encouragement to me…to like some of my stuff and to use some of your personal writing time to comment. I only hope that I can be as much of an encouragement to you on your journey, whatever that might be! So today I just want to say…Thank You! Gracias! Danke! Merci! Grazie! Toa chie! And hey, I like you too! —Dori 😊

P.S. I should also mention that I edit my own stuff…thus, the misplaced commas. But I really wanted to say apostrophe again, so I just did! 😀

~ Celebrate His Love ~ with Dori Drabek

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” ‭~‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭3‬

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