It’s Only Friday

~ It’s Friday.  But Sunday’s Comin’ ~

It’s Friday. 

Jesus is praying. 

Peter is asleep. 

Judas is betraying. 

But Sunday's comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

Pilate is struggling. 

The council conspiring. 

The crowd vilifying. 

They don’t even know that Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. 

The disciples are running like sheep without a shepherd. 

Mary’s crying. 

Peter is denying. 

But they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin’.

It’s Friday. 

The Romans beat my Jesus. 

They robe Him in scarlet. 

They crown Him with thorns. 

But they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

See Jesus walking to Calvary. 

His blood dripping. 

His body stumbling. 

And His spirit’s burdened. 

But you see, it’s only Friday. 

Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. 

The world is winning. 

People are sinning. 

And evil is grinning. 

But Sunday's comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the Cross. 

They nail my Savior’s feet to the Cross. 

And then they raise Him up next to criminals.

But Sunday's comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

But let me tell you something:

Sunday’s coming’.

It’s Friday. 

The disciples are questioning:

What has happened to their King? 

And the Pharisees are celebrating that their scheming has been achieved. 

But they don’t know it’s only Friday. 

Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. 

He’s hanging on the Cross. 

Feeling forsaken by His Father. 

Left alone and dying. 

Can nobody save Him? 

Oh, it’s Friday. 

But Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. 

The earth trembles. 

The sky grows dark. 

My King yield’s His spirit.

But Sunday's comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

Hope is lost. 

Death has won. 

Sin as conquered. 

And Satan’s just a laughing. 

But Sunday's comin’. 

It’s Friday. 

Jesus is buried. 

A soldier stands guard, and a rock rolled into place.

But it’s Friday. 

It is only Friday. 

Sunday is a comin’.

~ S.M. Lockridge (1913-2000).  Mr. Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego, CA for many years.  (In the last couple of decades Tony Compolo has frequently delivered his own message based on the topic “It’s Friday—But Sunday’s Coming.”)   

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Families, 3of3

~ God & Families ~

God Is The Ideal Parent  ~  Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:11-12). 

Jesus’ Teaching  ~  “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:2-5).  “Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it’” (Luke 18:15-17). 

Jesus’ Example  ~  “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’  And He laid His hands on them [Jesus blessed the children] and departed from there” (Matthew 19:13-15).  “Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me’” (Mark 9:36-37). 

Jesus Recognizes Limits To What Parents Can Do  ~  Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:37-39). 

The Bottom Line  ~  “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Families, 2of3

~ The Bible & Children ~

God Is Interested In Children  ~  “And God heard the voice of the lad.  Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, ‘What ails you, Hagar?  Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.  Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation’” (Genesis 21:17-18).  “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!  Praise your God, O Zion!  For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.  He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat” (Psalm 147:12-14).

God’s Care for Children  ~  “They will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly” (Deuteronomy 7:4).  “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).  Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11). 

Children Can Know God & Serve God  ~  “The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli.  And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation  …  So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:1, 19).  “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.  They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.  He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.  And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.  When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). 

The Bottom Line  ~  “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .