There is a hope that burns within my heart,
That gives me strength for ev'ry passing day; A glimpse of glory now revealed in meager part, Yet drives all doubt away: I stand in Christ, with sins forgiv'n; And Christ in me, the hope of heav'n! My highest calling and my deepest joy, To make His will my home. There is a hope that lifts my weary head, A consolation strong against despair, That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit, I find the Savior there! Through present sufferings, future's fear, He whispers, "Courage!" in my ear. For I am safe in everlasting arms, And they will lead me home. There is a hope that stands the test of time, That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave, To see the matchless beauty of a day divine When I behold His face! When sufferings cease and sorrows die, And every longing satisfied, Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul, For I am truly home. |
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid Ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone! - who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain: Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. |
Good Friday Devotional
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Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:38-43 |
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:23-30 |
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:33-39 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:46 |
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And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
Mark 15:16-20 |
Were you there when
they crucified my Lord? Oh were you there when they crucified my Lord? Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? |
And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour[d] when they crucified him.
Mark 15:21-25 |
Isaiah 53
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. |
Wounded for me,
Wounded for me, There on the cross He was wounded for me; Gone my transgressions, And now I am free, All because Jesus was Wounded for me. Dying for me, Dying for me, There on the cross He was dying for me; Now in His death My redemption I see, All because Jesus was Dying for me. |
Man of sorrows Lamb of God
By His own betrayed The sin of man and wrath of God Has been on Jesus laid Silent as He stood accused Beaten mocked and scorned Bowing to the Father's will He took a crown of thorns Oh that rugged cross My salvation Where Your love poured out over me Now my soul cries out Hallelujah Praise and honor unto Thee Sent of heaven God's own Son To purchase and redeem And reconcile the very ones Who nailed Him to that tree Oh that rugged cross My salvation Where Your love poured out over me Now my soul cries out Hallelujah Praise and honor unto Thee Now my debt is paid It is paid in full By the precious blood That my Jesus spilled Now the curse of sin Has no hold on me Whom the Son sets free Oh is free indeed Now my debt is paid It is paid in full By the precious blood That my Jesus spilled Now the curse of sin Has no hold on me Whom the Son sets free Oh is free indeed Oh that rugged cross My salvation Where Your love poured out over me Now my soul cries out Hallelujah Praise and honor unto Thee |
Twilight in Gethsemane
Shadows shroud the olive trees Twisting branches, dark'ning paths, On the mountain night falls fast. Jesus, with treasured friends Comes to pray 'mid changing winds Good and gladsome memories Fade with the press of treachery Awake, alone in Gethsemane His friends are heavy-eyed Resting from sorrow, they lie. Strong pleas He makes Not one stays awake See, now an angel gives Him aid Strength for bearing all the world's shame: Anguished, His prayers ascend to God, While from His brow come sweat like blood. "Father, let this cup pass by!" "Not My will, but Yours, He cries. Willing to drink its bitterness, Rising to face the traitor's kiss. Awake, alone in Gethsemane |
Matthew 26:36-56
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled. |
When you prayed beneath the trees,
it was for me, O Lord; when you cried upon your knees, how could it be, O Lord? When in blood and sweat and tears you dismissed your final fears, when you faced the soldiers' spears, you stood for me, O Lord. When their triumph looked complete, it was for me, O Lord, when it seemed like your defeat, they could not see, O Lord! When you faced the mob alone you were silent as a stone, and a tree became your throne; you came for me, O Lord. When you stumbled up the road, you walked for me, O Lord, when you took your deadly load, that heavy tree, O Lord; When they lifted you on high, and they nailed you up to die, and when darkness filled the sky, it was for me, O Lord. |