Lord's Supper

During our Walk to Emmaus, the Lord's Supper took on a much greater meaning.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

The Lord's Supper (Matthew 26)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' "
19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
21 And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.
24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus took the Passover meal and revealed its' full meaning.

Jesus' body and His blood. Broken. Shed. For me, and for you.

The Passion

As Christmas approaches, I hear again; "Jesus is the reason for the season", and I'm reminded of His ultimate purpose.

Matthew 26 (NIV)

The Plot Against Jesus
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples,
2 "As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
4 and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him.
5 "But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

When Jesus had finished saying all these things. Things like;

25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Jesus knew the timing of his betrayal and crucifixion. The chief priests did not determine the timing.

We watched The Passion last night. We were suprised how long it had been since we watched it last. Somehow, I was afraid to watch again - like it would be too painful.
This was our third time. The first time, in the theater - I was deeply affected. Afterwards, I couldn't speak. The second time, at home - it was still hard to watch, and to keep from crying. Last night, we prayed before watching. I know that the movie is only an interpretation of the events. Somehow, even though it was hard to watch - I didn't cry. God has let me know that it's ok to accept His grace. I saw again the punishment I deserve, being paid for by Jesus. Tears, no. Not this time. A deep thankfulness, yes. Always.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew how hard it would be. He told his disciples - it's going to happen!

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests
15 and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Judas watched for an opportunity. Again, the timing was not up to Judas.

Thought Processes

I think, at some level - we all suffer from A.D.D. (at least I do).

I was going to add another blog, with a focus on what I'm learning. So it would have been something like "rvglearns". It was to be something to keep MY attention. Blogging still isn't a regular practice for me.

Now, here's where it gets to my funny thought processes - I thought to go along with "rvgspeaks", it should be "rvgsits" (and learns - by reading and listening), then I thought that I would round out the set with "rvgrollsover" (but - that's just not going to happen!), finishing off with "rvg_goodboy".

I'd say that one still applies - worded differently. I'm definitely looking for "good boy", but I'll use better words; "well done, good and faithful servant" (come and share your master's happiness!!)

I really do need to put "thoughts to paper" to know what I'm thinking.

J is on her walk

I was going to re-word this to post it, but I think it might be best to just use it word-for-word.

J is on her walk this weekend. I'll get to see her tonight at the candlelight service, and pick her up tomorrow. I can't wait for her to tell me how this weekend impacted her, and to re-experience it all with her as she tells me.

When I came back from my walk, I sent this email to a set of special friends. J won't see it until she gets back, so I can post it now;


Emmaus thoughts

I'm going to post these thoughts on my blog, but I don't want J to see it (yet). I know that there will be more to say after J's walk also, as we share our feelings with each other (I can't wait).

Growing up, I learned to suppress my feelings. I haven't un-learned that yet. So, while I might not manifest my feelings in a way that others can see, they are there.

There was so much I wanted to say during the close, but I couldn't collect all my thoughts. I wanted to say that I grew up feeling like I didn't deserve Gods' love, and that I pushed Him away. I knew that Jesus had given His life to save the world, but I don't know how much I let myself be a part of that. I still have trouble accepting gifts.

I think I might have been hiding behind the podium when I held up the agape gift from you all, but I wanted to say (now) how much it meant to me to have your names hanging with my name badge for the weekend.

I've kept most of the agape gifts hidden from J, we'll look at them together later. I was wearing the cross when I came home, and J noticed it. I let her believe that it was just one of the things I got this weekend (you know, no big deal) - but when we were told that our sponsors had held the crosses and prayed for us the night before, I actually gasped (wow, how demonstrative, eh?). I'm having trouble even now just typing this.

Your agape gift was the most meaningful to me for most of the weekend, but when I was given the cross .... I still don't know how to describe it. As others were being given their cross, I had my hand around mine. I don't know how to say how much I appreciate you all for how you demonstrated Gods' love to me.

I'm going to send this now, because my thoughts still are definitely not all collected. I just wanted you all to know how much I appreciate you guys for getting me there, and for being an active part of my walk.

God loves you, and so do I!

In Christ,

R

If you would like to be reminded of God's love for you, I can think of no better way than to go on a "Walk to Emmaus".

Leadership (recognized)

Check out the Business tab here.

It's great to know that number 1 is written by someone I've met!

Look at the company it's in;

Good to Great - Jim Collins (I still have to read that one!)
Who Moved My Cheese - Spencer Johnson
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
Alan Greenspan
Donald Trump

Personal Mission Statement

I haven't got it written completely the way I want it, but the fundamentals are here.

Found the old resume

I think it says a lot less about me than I've already said in this blog, but I did find my old resume, so I thought I would just post it.