Sunday’s Blessing – 04/13/2025 – Palm Sunday – I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/13/2025 – Palm Sunday – I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

This Sixth Week of Lent, also known as Palm Sunday, brings us to I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So far, Jesus has revealed Himself to be the Bread, the Light, the Door, the Good Shepherd, and the Vine. Some might say that “the Door” and “the Way” are basically the same thing. I disagree. The Door is simply an ingress/egress; a means of getting into or out of something. In some sense of the word, “the Way” could also indicate a means of entry or exit. However, I believe Jesus was speaking of something much more broad and deep. The other words coupled with “the Way” give us insight as to what Jesus was trying to communicate. “The Way” speaks our entire life. Christianity has been referred to as “The Way” throughout history. Jesus was saying that He was the pattern by which we are to order our life. When you add “the Truth” and “the Life”, you see the quality of that life.

Truth is liberating. When you are operating in Truth, you are exhibiting the ultimate freedom. There is no guilt or regret. There is no need for remorse. Truth needs no excuse. With “the Life”, Jesus was explaining that the zoe (God kind of life) is what He brings to everyone who will believe.

The sixth I AM to consider is found in John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)

In order to get to God the Father you have to be “in” Christ. We become a part of Him when we are saved, born again, or whatever you call the process of regeneration. It’s the moment the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. As Paul described in Ephesians 1 and 2, we are identified with the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating of Jesus. This was a great demonstration of love and power shown by the Father when the Son was given as a sacrificial lamb to pay the debt for our sin, then raised Him up again, defeating death, hell, and the grave. The Father literally moved heaven and earth to make a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself.

Palm Sunday was the beginning of the end for Jesus. He entered Jerusalem that day and would not leave again until He was resurrected!  

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you experience the joy of welcoming Messiah with shouts of Hosanna

Which means, “Save now”, knowing that He hears and responds

So that you may walk out your destiny with assurance that God is with you

Just as He was with Jesus

May you rejoice as Jesus enters your life, bringing hope and peace

So you may live each day in fellowship with the Father

Living in unfettered relationship with Him

As you walk with Him, and commune face to face as friend with friend

May you keep the reality of God’s presence in your consciousness

Always aware that He’s closer than the air you breathe

And more real than the ground upon which you stand

And your future is sealed in Him

May you find ways to include others in your journey

Sharing with them the hope you have found in Christ

Allowing them to see the Kingdom of God in you

And bringing them into the Kingdom with you

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/06/2025 – 5th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Vine

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/06/2025 – 5th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Vine

This Fifth Week of Lent brings us to I AM the Vine. A predominant theme in the teachings of Jesus is that of “sabbath”. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. If you remember the Ten Commandments, you recall one said, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8 ESV) In giving Moses the Law, God commanded His people to set aside one day a week and do no work. It was for the purpose of remembering that God provides everything for them. The Sabbath (the 7th day, or Saturday) was to be considered holy (sacred, set apart).

Jesus came along in the New Testament with a totally new look at this very old tradition.

“And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2:27-28 ESV)

This shocked the religious leaders of the day. It was considered blasphemy. But what was Jesus trying to communicate? Was He going against the Law of God? No. Keep in mind Jesus was “The Word made flesh.” (John 1) He WAS the Law of God. Jesus was presenting Himself as not only the incarnate Word, but the fulfillment of all God was, is, and will be. God created the sabbath for man so he could learn to rest. Jesus declared that He IS the sabbath.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11 ESV

The only “work” we are to do is to find the way into the Rest provided by God, which is in Jesus Christ. So, why are we spending time looking at “rest” when the topic of the day is “vine”? Let’s look at this now.

The fifth I AM to consider is found in John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (ESV)

Picture a grape vine. If you’ve never seen one in person, Google it. The vine is the part planted in the ground, which is the source of nourishment and life for the whole vine. The branches are where the fruit is grown. The cluster of grapes do not labor draw nourishment from the soil. They simply rest, firmly attached to the vine, receiving all they have need of to produce their fruit.

This is the image Jesus uses to describe more fully the relationship He desires to have with us. “I AM the Vine. You are the branch.” Our complete identity is found in being part of The Vine. Apart from the Vine, we are nothing. Attached to the Vine, we are fruit-yielding parts of God’s Kingdom in the earth. The more fully we receive what Jesus has to offer us, the more fruitful we will be, allowing others to feast on our fruit so they may live. Simply stated, the Vine is Rest.

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you find complete rest, wholy relying on Jesus to sustain you

As He brings life from the Father through Himself, the Vine

To provide water (the Word) and nutrients (the Spirit)

While basking in the Sonlight of God’s love

May you allow the Master Vinedresser, the Holy Spirit

To prune you of anything which will prevent a bounteous harvest

Making you bear much fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth

A blessing to all those you encounter

May the sweetness of the fruit of your life draw others

And the fragrant aroma of Jesus’ reflection in your life

Be a living testimony of the Rest of God

As you remain content in The Vine