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Crossroads Community Church


Worship on Sunday April 20th beamed with excitement, Holy week was such a blessed time for all of us as we praised our Risen Savior! Prayers of thanks were lifted and we prayed for God's richest blessings to come to the community. Pastor Don covered the service in prayer;” Heavenly Father please search our hearts and mind, teach us to follow you in Jesus name, Amen.” This week we observed Good Friday to help us remember the Lord's death on a cross. Such a gloomy end to a week when just a few days earlier crowds of Jews and Gentiles were praising and cheering Jesus proclaiming Him King, people shouted “Hosanna!”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”( John 12:12-13). However, why did the cheering soon stop? Over the course of history this phenomenon of success and defeat seems to be a common pattern, one day someone is successful and people cheer and the minute something goes wrong insults are hurled back. Why do you suppose that is? Expectations! Jesus was not what they expected; He wasn't what they wanted him to be, although scripture did prophesy how Jesus would come,( Zechariah 9:9). This just didn't fit into their preconceived ideas, in other words they had false expectations. Jesus knew the exact condition of peoples' hearts, He was well aware of the Roman oppression and he knew they desired a King. Jesus was quite the charismatic man too, He helped the cripple, healed the lepers and returned sight to the Blind, He walked on water, raised people from the dead and fed the hungry by the thousands, if you heard of someone who could do all that today that would heal cancer, aids and return hearing and sight and end hunger, would you not believe Him to be special, would you not be cheering too? (John 11:43-44) I am afraid that we too have the tendency to cheer for God when things go as we want them too and too quickly forget Him when things don't go as well as expected. On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem, He was the long awaited deliverer, the promise of God, and the people showed their love and support up until He went against all they thought He should be. He entered the Temple and overturned tables, He taught to bless the poor, He rebuked the teachers of the Law and He even taught to honor Caesar by paying due taxes. Since He didn't fulfill their assumed expectations, the cheering dimmed until it stopped. When expectations aren't met, trust wavers, this is what happened then and it still does today. Jesus knew what they wanted but more importantly He knew that they really needed was a renewed heart for God, deliverance from the guilt and shame of sin but they missed the point. Even His disciples had their moments of despair, confusion and doubt, many things Jesus taught them were not understood until Jesus died and resurrected, (John 12:16, Luke 19:41-44). Our present Culture may be different but the state of our hearts is the same and we fail to see the true relief Jesus brings. We pray for God to deliver us from our circumstance thinking we will be happier but we seem to forget to ask for a changed heart which is what truly changes lives. When we recognize Jesus as Savior and our peace we can face life's challenges. “33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” John 16:33. The world has not changed much, Beloved, Jesus came to offer us His salvation on His terms not our own, some people of the day refused His terms and there are still some who refuse today because of false expectations. That is why the cheering stopped, but we can reignite the cheering by sharing His love and His intent to save us all,(Luke 13:34) We cannot afford to keep the Good News locked up, we need to share it so that we along with many will receive the blessings of God, obtain forgiveness through Jesus, and eternal Life, this is the peaceful life everyone desires and we have the answer, It is Jesus, He is the way the Truth and the life! Let us roll the stone away from our dornat lips and Proclaim that He is Risen! Have a Blessed Week, Asherey Shalom. To learn more visit www.shelburnecrossroadschurch.ca
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