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salvation

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How do we draw closer to God during Holy Week?

It is Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, to fulfill a prophecy in the Old Testament in Zechariah 9:9. (Matthew 21:2-7) It proceeds with Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples, His betrayal by Judas, His conviction  by Pontius Pilate, His being beaten and crucified to death, and ends with Resurrection Sunday (or Easter), symbolizing Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into Heaven.

It is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. It is the sixth and last week of Lent, the 40 day period of reflection, prayer and fasting, and repentance before Easter. I make it a habit to watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ movie every year at Easter. It’s amazing because each time, I get a new revelation from God out of it. It’s such a powerful movie that will touch your heart (you’ll probably cry like I do!).

There is supposed to be a sequel to this movie called The Passion of the Christ 2: Resurrection, released in 2024. I look forward to seeing it! The actor portraying Jesus, Jim Caviezel, is amazing and is a Christian believer. 

Jesus on the cross

Jesus on the cross

The original movie is called “The Passion” because it is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four Gospels. It comes from the Latin word patior, “to suffer, fear, endure.” 

The Price of SalvationJesus being beaten kenduncan.com

The Price of Salvation
Jesus being beaten
kenduncan.com

Holy Week is an important time to examine our hearts before God and to ask Him to reveal any sins that we have done and are doing and ask for His forgiveness.

It’s vital for us as believers to repent, which means “to turn from evil and turn to God,” “sincere regret or remorse,” and “turn around and change one’s mind.” This repentance will help us to draw closer to God and help us to become conformed more into the image of Jesus.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

The Crying of Rachel book cover

I wrote about repentance in my most recent book, The Crying of Rachel:  A Call to Repentance, which is available as a Kindle eBook at Amazon. You can find out more here.

I pray that you have a blessed Holy Week and Easter with your family and friends. 

March 27, 2024 by
Blog, Faith, prayer

The rains of life

rain

rain. Image source: Google

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” (John Updike)

Today has been another rainy day in Butler, Missouri (a suburb of Kansas City).

As I got my hair cut and highlighted at my hairdresser Yvette’s salon, The Y Factor Hair and Nail Salon, I looked out her store’s big, front window with the twinkling, colored lights at the rain pouring down. It’s been raining a lot lately here in Missouri. 

In the Bible, rain is often associated with God’s blessing. A few verses about rain are:

“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.” (Isaiah 45:8)

“He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.” (Job 5:10)

“Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.” (Joel 2:23)

Too much rain can be a curse, though, such as when the great flood came, killing everyone and everything on earth, except for faithful Noah and his family.

 “For forty days the roaring floods prevailed, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. As the water rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely upon it;  until finally the water covered all the high mountains under the whole heaven, standing twenty-two feet and more above the highest peaks.  And all living things upon the earth perished—birds, domestic and wild animals, and reptiles and all mankind— everything that breathed and lived upon dry land.  All existence on the earth was blotted out—man and animals alike, and reptiles and birds. God destroyed them all, leaving only Noah alive, and those with him in the boat.  And the water covered the earth 150 days. God didn’t forget about Noah and all the animals in the boat.” (Genesis 7:17-24 – 8:1, TLB)

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Into each life some rain must fall.”

In this life we face troubles.

  • Marriage problems;
  • Relationship conflicts;
  • Disobedient children;
  • Financial crises;
  • Problems at work;
  • Health issues;
  • Ministry struggles;
  • and much more. 

But through it all, the “rains of life,” God never leaves us or forsakes us. The sun (the SON) will shine again. 

Jesus Christ oil painting

Jesus Christ oil painting

 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, NASB)

 

August 23, 2018 by
Blog, Ebooks, Faith, Marriage, Parenting, prayer, Writing

Stay awake and be ready

Me in "Stay Strong" T-shirt

Me in “Stay Strong” T-shirt

 

messy mom bun

messy mom bun

It’s Saturday night and as I sit here writing in my messy mom bun, grey “Stay Strong” T-shirt, and black yoga pants, waiting on my pepperoni pizza to be delivered (special $10 coupon), the world seems a little too quiet and uncertain tonight.

My office window at dusk

My office window at dusk

My husband Ray is at work, one of his ambulance calls today being a child getting into a toxic substance. (I prayed for the child’s healing.) Although they are saved, our own grown children are God knows where, doing God knows what. I pray daily for them and our grandchildren. Too many temptations are out there in the world, and Satan is way too subtle and evil. He goes about like a lion seeking to destroy our lives. 

Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too.” (1 Peter 5:8-9, TLB)

When you read the terrifying, hopeless, and sad news headlines today, you can see Biblical prophecy coming to pass before your eyes. While we don’t know the exact date, Jesus said that we would know His return is near, just as we know summer is near when the fig tree’s twigs get tender and the leaves come out. (Matthew 24:32-50) He is coming back soon.

Jesus coming

Jesus coming
Image source: Google

Lots of people are having Rapture dreams. There’s so many videos on YouTube now about the Rapture.

We need to be ready for Jesus’ coming. If you are not already saved, I invite you to ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. All you need to do is pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins (no matter what sin you have committed), and receive Jesus as your Savior. You will then be filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit; your name will be written forever in the Lamb’s Book of Life and you will live and co-reign with God forever. 

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”–Romans 10:9-10, NIV

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”–Acts 2:38, ESV

“The one who conquers will thus be dressed in white garments and I will by no means blot out his name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.”–Revelation 3:5

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”–Matthew 24:42-44, ESV

The Hands of a Woman

Get it now at Amazon!

***My book, The Hands of a Woman: Everyday Women in Everyday Battles, shares about the spiritual battles that you and I are facing each day as Jesus’ return grows closer, and how we can overcome our trials through faith in Jesus Christ. You can find out more about this book of 8 women’s powerful stories here.

June 9, 2018 by