Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This week’s focus is looking for hidden headlines from the Holy week.

In today’s scripture, Matthew 16:15 (NLT), Jesus asked His disciples, and still asks us…
“But who do you say I am?”

Consider…
This week’s focus was inspired by an amazing 10 person monologue, titled ‘For Me It Was Different’, put on by my church yesterday. This theatrical masterpiece walked us from Palm Sunday to the final Revelation of Jesus. Accompanied by soul stirring praise and worship, Jesus’ journey from glory to glory was told from the perspectives of:

• A street vendor, who remembered the triumphant celebration of the famous Messiah who had come to his town
• Matthew, who remembered Jesus’ kind acceptance of him and enchanting words to ‘follow me’, and body broken and blood poured out for you.
• An annoyed Roman soldier, who remembered an angry mob calling for the crucifixion of Jesus at an unjust impromptu trial
• The guilty criminal representative for all sinners, Barabbas, who remembered Jesus taking his place and punishment on the cross between two of his fellow thieves.
• Peter, who was broken and contrite as he remembered denying Jesus three times as Jesus prophesied he would. It was a soul wrenching depiction of Godly remorse that leads to true repentance.
• Mary, mother of Jesus, who pondered the birth, life, and now unjust death of her baby. In her reflections, we saw both an appreciation of being favored by God with His baby boy, and the agony shared with God of the sacrificial death of their Son. What a great reminder that Jesus’ death should be mourned, more than celebrated. Sometimes we forget that Jesus had to die to defeat death and give us life. It’s this brokenhearted mother’s reflection, that demonstrates the somber tone of communion that we should have when remembering Jesus’ sacrifice.
• Next, was Mary Magdalene, who walked us through emotions of anger and anxiety in the loss of someone who found her. She took us through the emotions of: witnessing an unjust Jesus’ excruciating crucifixion; finding His contemptuous burial site (stone and soldiers guarding the tomb); Discovering the inept misplacement of the Messiah; and finally hearing the familiar reaffirming, reassuring voice of the risen Savior
• I appreciated that the monologue continued with James, the brother of John. He showed us Jesus once again filling their nets with fish, hearts with faith, and lives with fellowship. His was a beautiful reflection of Jesus’ graceful restoration. It just dawned on me, Jesus not only pursues the lost, he also goes after the one’s who left.
• Then there’s James, Jesus’ brother. He was cool, because he was like a typical annoying little brother, who looked up to his big brother but didn’t fully appreciate him until after he was gone.
• Finally, it ended with one of my favorite Bible authors, John, who is the self proclaimed most beloved disciple of Jesus. It’s hard to argue with John’s claim to fame based on his Spirit Illustrated writings of the eternal God who stepped out of eternity to dwell with us (John 1) and revealed the eternity He has prepared for us (Revelation). He shared the Essence of Jesus’ loving nature expressed in raising the dead, healing the sick and feeding the hungry multitude with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. *** Another thing just dawned on me, Jesus met the physical needs before streaming His Spiritual influencing feeds.

This collaboration of young and old, musical and spoken word, on stage thespians, and the producers, directors and contributors behind the scenes labor of love definitely inspired me to pause and further appreciate what Jesus means to me. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s inspiration for this week of unearthing hidden headlines about Jesus, the Holy One who makes this Holy week. In today’s slang it would be said of Jesus, that He’s Him! Meaning, Jesus is the man! He is the best person to have ever lived and died! He’s also the only person to live again, and still lives today!

Today the Holy Spirit wanted us to understand that the people and stories in the Bible were included on purpose, to help inspire us to see and seek Jesus for ourselves. He wants the testimonies of fellow flawed individuals to inspire us to fully comprehend and embrace God’s unfailing love and abounding grace.

I’ve said this before and this play inspires me to say it again, Jesus is God’s love story to man.

Lastly, the play also revealed the same God yesterday, today, and forever may look very different to you and me, which is okay, as long as it’s only Jesus that we see.

Which brings me to the final inspirational thought from the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible and Holy Spirit have been provided by God to inspire us to know Jesus for ourselves.

Hopefully my synopsis of ‘For Me It Was Different’, inspires you to reflect on what Jesus means to you too. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Today’s song is…
Know You

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)