I Will Lift My Eyes

I Will Lift My Eyes by Bebo Norman, an inspiring video:

The Light In The Window

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
Povey stained glass windows First Presbyterian Church Astoria, Or

I don’t know what it is about stained glass windows that stir joyful emotions within me. I find the colors and imagery inspiring. The spiritual messages of the church windows tell a story that cannot be paralleled for me. I visited Astoria Oregon, last month and had an opportunity to view the windows of the First Presbyterian Church while I was there. The windows were created by the Povey Brothers who crafted windows during the early 1900. These windows are celebrated today as great works of art throughout the Northwest. The rich colors glorify the life and words of Christ. In the center of one of the windows is written, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” These words were first spoken by Christ when he was teaching a crowd on a mountainside, as recorded in
Matthew 5:1-12.

Have you seen stained glass windows at night? Without the light the windows are dull, dark, drab, and the images are hard to make out. But add the sunlight and the windows spring to life shining with messages and inspiration for all to see and believe.

Without Christ in our lives, we are like the drab dark windows void of light. Jesus is the light that makes us come to life, to shine with his message of hope and love for all who accept his gift of salvation. We know this because John 8:12 tells us:


When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

And 1 John 1:7 states:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

This verse takes us back to the message in one of the Presbyterian Church windows, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Can we purify ourselves and make ourselves worthy enough to see God and to one day live with him? According 1 John 1:7, the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Nothing we can do makes us acceptable to God, other than accepting the gift of salvation Christ offers us. We have faith that Christ’s salvation purifies us and make us worthy to see God. We thank God for the salvation of his Son Jesus.

Early On The First Day Of The Week

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' " Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:1-18

Good Friday - The Crucifixion

Stations of the Cross St. Mary's Church Conwy, Wales

It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!"
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:25-39