Garden Seeds Community Care

Good Friday Cross Journey UMTV

The Second Coming!

You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know.. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds and what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.

As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None.

From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet of angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.

 North. South. East. West.

Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy.. The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship..

Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and there He is.... Jesus.

Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by his declaration: I am the Alpha and the Omega.

 The angels bow their heads... The elders remove their crowns.... And before you is a Figure so consuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters.. forget stock markets and school reports.... sales meetings and football games. Nothing is newsworthy... . All that mattered, matters no more... For Christ has come This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, he saw me, and he asked: My child, what is your greatest wish for today?

I responded: 'Lord please; take care of my family, my friends, the person who is reading this message, their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love them very much'.

The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end.  

ANGELS EXIST, but sometimes, since they don't all have wings we call them FRIENDS, SUCH AS YOU.

THE SCIENTIFIC DEATH OF JESUS

At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death.

Only the worst criminals condemned were crucified.

Yet it was even  more dreadful for Jesus,

unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion

Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet.

Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.

Both of His feet were nailed together. 

Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that

impaled His feet to the cross. 

Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of

the pain so He was forced to alternate between arching

His back then using his legs just to continue to breath. 

Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours.

Yes, over 3 hours!

Can you imagine this kind of suffering? 

A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding.

He was simply pouring water from his wounds.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even

the spear wound to His side... 

But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body. 

A hammer driving large nails through the wrist,

the feet overlapped and an even larger nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. 

But before the nails and the spear Jesus was whipped and beaten. 

The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. 

The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face.  The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. 

Most men would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds.Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood;

He had three nails hammered into His members;

a crown of  thorns on His head and, beyond that,

a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest..

 All these without mentioning the humiliation He passed after carrying

His own cross for almost 2 kilometers,  while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight,

only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed).

 Jesus had to endure this experience,

so that we can have free access to God.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU AND ME!

AMEN.

 BUT, ALWAYS REMEMBER, HE ALSO DEFEATED DEATH AND ROSE FROM THE GRAVE AND IS ALIVE TODAY, WAITING ON YOU.

Blind Faith?

I have always disliked the phrase "Blind Faith".  It conjures up ideas of believing with no proof or evidence.  I find that it takes effort to not see God.  I see him in Creation, in the human spirit, in honor, and moral truths. Moses saw God in a burning bush.  The disciples walked with Jesus. Over 500 people witnessed the Resurrected Christ.  Mary Magdalene was the recipient of one of the many miracles our Lord performed.  The closest historical figure I can think of displaying blind faith was Saul/Paul. He had faith after Jesus blinded him.  I believe people do not see God because of his law and the way it causes us to see ourselves.  It reveals us as helpless sinners, in need of a Savior and incapable of saving ourselves.  If you don't see God, you can do whatever you want. If you don't see God, then you can be right even when you are wrong. If you don't see God, you can be selfish and fear no judgement. If you take the blinders off, then you are forced to see your sin and God's righteousness which is scary. If you take the blinders off and realize your salvation is in God's hands then you are no longer in control. If you take the blinders off, then you must be all in, not half way, because eternity is at stake.  I think It takes a lot of faith to go through life blind........Those who see the light are filled with faith.



Witness God's Promise!



HELP!

HOW TO HELP

The  2011 Holston Annual Conference is collecting items for Care Kits. This year the Mission is helping Liberia and Zimbabwe. Our Church's donations are going to help the people of Liberia.These are items we generally take for granted. These items are packaged in ziploc bags with $5 shipping. Below is a list of the items the Knoxville District is to collect. The goal for the District, is for the Knoxville Methodist Churches to collect  400 kits. If you can bring one thing on the list, or all of them, anything is appreciated. As always, we  will also accept monetary donations. If you don't have time to shop, we will shop for you. I will provide the Ziploc bags and package the items donated. Please donate to this very worthy cause.

1 bath towel                                                                    
1 bottle of roll-on deodorant
1 bottle of cologne or perfume
2 tubes of toothpaste (6 oz)
1 bottle of shampoo (12 oz or less)
1 wash cloth
1 tube of antibacterial ointment
1 bottle aspirin or Tylenol (24ct)
2 toothbrushes
1 bottle of lotion (11oz or less)

All kits are to be dropped off June 10, 2011  at a designated District drop-off site and I will take care of the arrangements for that. Together we can make a big difference, in bringing supplies, where they are very much needed. 
Thanks Susan Geissberger Outreach Committee

Heart Surgery

"Tomorrow morning," the Surgeon began, "I'll open up your Heart..."

"You'll find Jesus there," The boy Interrupted..

The surgeon Looked up, annoyed "I'll Cut your heart Open," he continued, To see how much damage Has been Done..." "but when you Open up my heart, you'll Find Jesus in There," said the boy.

The surgeon Looked to the parents, who Sat quietly. "When I see how much Damage has been done, I'll sew Your Heart and chest back up, and I'll Plan What to do next."

"But you'll Find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He Lives there. The Hymns all say He lives There. You'll Find Him in my Heart."

The surgeon had had enough. "I'll Tell You what I'll find in your Heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low Blood Supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you Well." "You'll find Jesus there too. He Lives There." The surgeon Left.

The surgeon sat in his office, Recording his notes from the Surgery,"....damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary Vein, widespread muscle Degeneration. No Hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: Painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis: Here he paused, "death within one Year."

He stopped the recorder, but There was More to be said. "Why?" he asked Aloud. "Why did You do this? You've Put Him here; You've put him in this pain; And You've cursed him to an Early death.  Why?"

The Lord answered and said, "The Boy, My lamb was not meant for your Flock For long, for he is a part of my Flock, and will forever be.  Here, in my flock, he will Feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will One day join him here, they will know Peace, and my flock will continue to grow...”

The surgeon's tears were hot, but His Anger was hotter. "You created That Boy, and you created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"

The Lord answered, "The boy, my lamb, Shall Return to My flock, for He has done his duty: I did not put my lamb with your flock to lose Him, but to retrieve another lost lamb." The Surgeon wept...

The Surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the Boy's' Parents sat across from him. The boy Awoke and whispered, "Did you cut Open My Heart?" "Yes," said the surgeon. "What did you find?" asked the boy. "I found Jesus there," said the Surgeon..