Sunday, April 8, 2007

Say What??

I am sitting at my keyboard, and I am wanting to say something important, something that will help change people's lives or at least make people laugh...and I got nothing. So I decided to type a few Chrisisms for you so that you will know them for later on use. At one point in time they were called Hollisms, but that is no more. So, here are some things that only I Chris will say...feel free to wait for next post if you need to...

"I got nothing"
"Oh my Dad"- From Will Ferrell on SNL
"Good ooglie mooglie"
"That girl is a Whoa Danger"
"Chris' rule # 2: Never dress in drag."
"I am so dead, they are going to have to bury me twice." -from movie License to Drive
Almost anything from Ghostbusters, or Caddyshack
"Woo-hoo cookies!"
"Oh really fool...yes really fool"-from Billy Madison

That is what I could think of so far. Please in the comment section, feel free to add more.

Also, a plea to Flaglerites who read this, please pass this site to anyone I know...there are some people out there that I would like to get back in touch with...so please help...Dana DiLisi, and the Allmans most come to mind...also, post comments about that.

Until we meet again...

Your Eternal Bud,

Chris

Six Hours One Sunday

Six Hours One Friday

Happy Easter to all! The Lord has risen, the Lord has risen indeed! Hallelujah! Without Easter, without the resurrection, what would be the reason to call Him Savior? Easter, Resurrection Sunday is the reason why we follow Christ; it is why He is special. But that was Jesus as part of the Trinity, all God, and the one who destroyed Hell. I think something just as amazing happened two days prior. What we call “Good” Friday…but it happened six hours on Friday.

But let me talk about Thursday first. I often wonder about that night before, and what Jesus was thinking before hand. He had just had an amazing supper with all of His best friends in the world. All the disciples were there. I am sure that Matthew was there worried about the bill. That James was telling stories of when he and Jesus were younger. I often wonder if maybe Peter was telling jokes. Do you think Peter told jokes? I know the disciples had no clue what was to come upon them in the next 24 hours, but Jesus knew. As He was hearing the laughing and the talking, knowing what would come in the next 24 hours, what was running through His mind? Was it disbelief? Was it fear? Did He feel like running away? Did He feel like telling everyone, “Hey Judas is about to betray me…kick him out of here”? Was that going through Jesus’ mind? I know it would have gone through mine!

Then we turn to that night, when Jesus asked His closest friends to stay up and pray with Him. Prayer, the most intimate thing you can do with someone, and he wanted His friends to pray with Him. His last night, was not spent partying, or trying to figure out how to get out of this most important thing. No, it was spent in prayer…preparing for what was to come. And what of His friends? They fell asleep on Him not once, but twice! He asked a simple favor, and they could not come through. The disappointment must have been great.

Then before the same evening ended and before morning broke: the kiss. As Judas was walking up to Him, was Jesus thinking, “Can I make a break for it”? No, He stood His ground. He knew what was coming, and He knew He had to stay firm. There was a whole lot riding on the next day…salvation of God’s people was riding on this one man (but Jesus was no ordinary man), and Jesus knew it, and accepted Judas’ kiss. And that horrid day began.

By the time the walk to Golgotha began, Jesus had been beaten, spit on, had His clothes torn off and stolen from Him, had a crown of thorns placed on His head, and then beaten some more. That is not including, His best friend Peter say he did not know Him, not once but three times! And that was before the walk.

Let us not forget the ridicule that Jesus also had to face with the Sadducee and Pharisee priests. He was mocked, and thrown in front of a weak ruler, two of them to be exact, that kept passing the buck on whether Jesus should live or not. And finally, the ruler still did not make a decision…Pontius Pilate wussed out and made the people decide. Did Jesus look at all of them and go, “My Father told me to do this, and if I did not have to, I would go over there and show you what real power is!” All Jesus had to do was call on one angel, and this whole debacle would end. But Jesus knew He had a mission to complete. He knew it was His time to save the world, and like a true hero, Jesus knocked it out of the ballpark. Superman got nothing on Jesus!

So then we come to the walk, and I am sure you remember the detailed images from the movie, The Passion of the Christ”. The cross was heavy, heavier than anything we could image. Blood was running from just about every part of His body. Pain coursing through His body with every step. But Jesus took every step with dignity, and honor, and knowing He had to. Again, if Jesus wanted to, he had every out in the world at His disposal. He had to tell His Father to take it all away. He looked in the crows, and saw so many mocking Him…He was going to save these people? I would have been angry. Jesus was not, and looked at each with compassion and love. That is why Jesus saved the world, and not Chris. I would have choked. We all would have.

Then there was Golgotha. The place meant Hill of Skulls. This is a place where bad men died. Killers, thieves, abusers of the law died here, not Saviors. And yet, here was the Savior being placed on that cross. Remember all the bleeding, and pain He had gotten through…and now to be pinned to a cross, had two to three feet nails hammered through the wrist (or palm), and both feet one on tope of the other.

You would think that is how people died were hanging on that cross long enough, you would die. But that is not the case. You died on the cross by suffocating to death. People being crucified would use what little strength they had left to use there feet from time to time to lift up enough to get a few breaths. That is why eventually, they broke the person’s legs…to prevent them from lifting themselves up. Prevent them from breathing.

But Jesus took it…He did call to His Father with all the pain coursing through His body, and asked “Why have you forsaken Me?” But Jesus never complained, not once. Even when the soldiers gave Him vinegar and not water…HE DID NOT COMPLAIN! I am still in awe of all that…He did not say one word. Jesus knew it was time to complete the mission. So after six hours of ridicule, pain, sadness, agony, looking for friends, and not finding any, He died alone on the cross. For the whole world…He placed our sins on Himself and took them on, and then died with our sins on Him. The one with out sin…died with a multitude of sins on Him, because He loved us that much. At that moment of time, and through out the rest of our feeble lives, when we ask for forgiveness, we are without sin because Jesus took them all on. The greatest heroic act known to man accord…Jesus saved us all from Hell. He saved us all!

People were actually happy with Jesus’ death. And guess what, they were sucker punched in the end. Jesus raised from the dead, and took His rightful place on the thrown. His super heroic act completed. And because of His death, Hell was beaten back, and now the Father when seeing us sees the clean in us, and that was because of His Son…our Savior Jesus Christ. Our Lord has risen, He has risen indeed! Hallelujah!