The ransom for a life is costly. (Psalm 49:8)
 

Make time this Holy Week to sit still in the Lord’s presence and ponder the high price Jesus paid to redeem you.  He left the glories of heaven and humbled himself by taking on flesh, making himself nothing.  (Philippians 2:6-11)  He lived among us in our fallen world for 30-odd years, constantly exposed to every variety of human sin.  How grieved his heart must have been to witness what his “very good” creation had become!  He was rejected by his chosen people, the Jews, by the people of his hometown, and even by his earthly family.  (Matthew 23:37, Mark 6:1-3, John 7:3-5)  He endured the emotional distress and extreme physical pain of scourging and crucifixion.  (Luke 22:42-44)  The sinless one bore in his body every sin of every human in every age.  Scripture says God made Jesus to be sin on the cross.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Worst of all, the Father turned His back on Jesus as sin consumed him.  My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?  Ponder, weep, and thank.
 
Here are more prayer ingredients for this week:
 

As you reflect on your own sin – the spike you drove through Christ’s flesh – pray for people around you whodo not acknowledge their sin before God. There is no dread of God before his eyes, for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to discover and hate his sin. (Psalm 36:2)
 

Ask the Lord to animate and direct Calvary’s Good Friday and Easter services.

Jim and Lynette Hatcher leave this week to return to Vienna, stopping to spend Easter in Maryland with their son and daughter-in-law.  They return to a full schedule in Vienna that must be held lightly given the impending passing of Jim’s mom.  Ask the Lord to help the Hatchers navigate this challenging time.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert, Prayer Chair
Calvary Community Church of Brea