This Sunday, we will take some time to explore any bad choices we might have made that pushed us off course in our walk with Jesus and how we can get back on track. We find encouragement in the Scriptures when we face the battle between our sinful nature and our desire to live for God.
There are some steps you and I can take right now to bounce back from our failures or poor choices. It takes a deliberate effort, but it is well worth it. Consider the following steps.

1. Be honest with yourself and God about your bad choice and where you find yourself today. That’s where healing starts. (1 John 1:9)
2. Repentance is changing our direction, leaving sin behind, and walking with God. (Proverbs 26:11)
3. We have to accept God’s grace. Do you know that Jesus took all of your sins to the cross? He now offers you forgiveness and a fresh start. (1 Peter 2:24)
4. Learn from your mistakes; they can teach you. Don’t stay stuck. Keep moving forward with God. (Philippians 3:13–14)

Even strong believers struggle. The Christian life isn’t about being perfect. It’s about trusting Jesus and growing, even when we mess up. Paul cried out, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” Then he gave the answer: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24–25). Jesus came to forgive us and to help us live differently. You can bounce back!

Spring has a way of waking things up. Trees bud, birds return, and the cold grip of winter fades. But spring is not just about nature—it is also a reminder of what God can do in our hearts.
In Psalm 19:1, David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Every blooming flower and warm breeze points to a Creator who brings life out of what looked dead. That same God wants to bring new life to you.
Maybe your walk with Christ has felt dry lately. Maybe prayer has become routine, or sin has crept back in. Spring reminds us that it is not too late to grow again. God is ready to refresh your heart, revive your joy, and renew your purpose.
Now is a great time to start fresh. Pray with openness. Read God’s Word with a new hunger. Ask the Holy Spirit to stir your soul and help you bear “summer fruit”—things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8). Let the season outside reflect what God is doing inside. Don’t just admire spring. Step into it—spiritually. Let God grow something new in you.
After all, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is at work in every believer. 

Scripture: 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. (ESV, Is 53:5).  
Good Friday isn’t “good” because it was painless—it’s good because grace flowed to us through Jesus’ agony. He took our place. He carried our sin. He absorbed our punishment to give us peace. Jesus didn’t just die—He died for you. Let that truth soak into your soul today.

Scripture: Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (ESV, Jn 13:3–5).  

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus—knowing He held all authority—chose to stoop low and wash His disciples’ feet. The King became a servant. In that moment, He redefined greatness as humble, self-giving love. He didn’t just teach it—He lived it. And He calls us to do the same. At home, at work, in church—how can we follow His lead and serve like Jesus today?

Scripture: Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (ESV, Mt 26:14–16).  

Wednesday of Holy Week seems quiet—but in the shadows, Judas was making a deal to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. While the world heard silence, God’s plan was still unfolding. Even betrayal couldn’t stop it. If you’re in a season where God feels silent, don’t confuse it with absence. He’s still at work—behind the scenes, in the stillness, and even through the pain. Trust Him.

Scripture: ​And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (ESV, Mt 21:23–27).  

On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus was confronted by religious leaders who questioned His authority—but He turned the tables and exposed their hypocrisy. They feared people more than they feared God. Jesus didn’t back down or soften the truth—He spoke with authority because He is the Truth. This moment calls us to examine our own hearts: Are we truly obeying God or just going through the motions? This week, let’s welcome His Word—even the hard parts—because His truth brings freedom, not guilt.

​Scripture: Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (NLT, Mt 21:12–13).  

​On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus entered the temple and drove out the money changers—not out of rage, but out of love for what is holy. He wasn’t just clearing out corruption but calling God’s people back to true worship. The temple was meant to be a house of prayer, not a place for profit. Today, Jesus still wants to cleanse anything in our hearts that distracts us from worship. Will we let Him?

It is time for me to post another blog. It becomes easy to neglect reflective communication, yet it is so important. I’d like to catch up by reflecting on a book that I recently finished: “Jayber Crow” by Wendall Berry. The book explores the themes of changing times, greed, and recklessness, offering thought-provoking wisdom despite not being explicitly categorized as a “Christian” book.

In “Jayber Crow,” the loss of the old ways is a significant theme that reflects the broader societal shift from traditional rural life to modernization and urbanization. The book portrays the changes in the fictional town of Port William, where the close-knit community and agricultural practices start to fade away as technology and urban influences take over.
Throughout the novel, Jayber Crow, the main character and narrator, witnesses the loss of the old ways firsthand. He reflects on the vanishing agricultural lifestyle with the younger generation’s pursuit of the promise of progress. Jayber portrays the shift as a loss of connectedness to the land, a deep-rooted sense of community, and a simpler, more meaningful way of life.

The book explores the impact of this loss on individuals, their relationships, and their sense of identity. Jayber’s character embodies the struggle to reconcile his nostalgia for the past with the inevitability of change, grappling with the feeling of being displaced in the modern world.

Overall, “Jayber Crow” offers an emotional commentary on the price of progress and the bittersweet consequences of leaving behind the old ways for the sake of the new. It invites readers to contemplate the value of tradition, community, and a more harmonious relationship with nature in the face of rapid societal transformations.

Putting it into context here in Blainsport, we see the vanishing agricultural landscape. The convenience of public sewer is coming, and more houses will spring up where corn and beans grew for decades. The familiarity with the Christian faith and the priority of church attendance continues to wain. Some days I feel like I was born in the wrong era since I mourn the loss of old-time connectedness and unity previous generations enjoyed.

Maybe my view of the past is sweeter than reality. Perhaps the simple life did not contain all the wonderful advantages I think it did. Could it be Solomon was on to something when he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun”? Perhaps I should stop lamenting the loss of the past and cultivate good things in this new era. It might be wise to thank God for what was and ask Him to show me how to live in what is.
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Oh Lord, I am grateful for your blessings in the past, and I pray for guidance to make positive and healthy contributions in the present and future. 

​After Christ’s death, if Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both Sanhedrin members, had not come out of the shadows as secret Jesus followers, his body probably would not have been properly buried.
 
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there (John 19:38-42, ESV).
 
By removing Jesus’ dead body from the cross, these religious men became unclean, rendering them unworthy to eat the Passover. Passover was an essential part of a devoted Jewish life. This one-act showed where they now placed their faith. They had found the Lamb of God!
 
On Saturday, we see the difference between Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus compared to the unbelieving religious leaders. The Jewish leaders went to Pilate and asked that a guard seal the tomb. Unlike the disciples, Jesus’ enemies remembered that he promised to rise on the third day!
 
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard (Matthew 27:62–66, ESV).
 
Pilate gave the leaders what they wanted. A guard placed the official Roman seal on the stone closing the entrance to the tomb. Nobody could break into the tomb to steal the body. God used the Jewish leaders and the Roman guard to help establish the legitimacy of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Even though his enemies tried to keep the Messiah down, he arose victoriously.

​Good Friday, the day the sinless savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, died as our substitute so that we might find atonement—the forgiveness of sins. The day itself was not good, nor was it good that Christ had to suffer and die on a cross. What makes Good Friday good is that God in Christ purchased our salvation. That is infinitely good!
 
On the cross, God judged the sins of all humanity, past, present, and future. Yes, even future sin. In fact, when Christ died on the cross, all of our sins were still in the future. He paid the penalty for our sins even before we committed the them.
 
God set up a system of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament to provide a way of dealing with sin. Despite all the sacrifices and attempts to handle sins, they were all insufficient. John the Baptist made it clear that sin could be forgiven only in Christ. “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29, ESV).
 
The perfect Christ was the only qualified sacrifice to bring full and lasting forgiveness for sin. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV). Jesus became our substitute on the cross, bearing our sins’ guilt, shame, and penalty to set us free.
 
On the cross, Jesus defeated Satan. Jesus announced before the day of his crucifixion, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31, ESV). How many times do you hear the condemning voice of Satan in your ears? If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, those are just empty words—lies that the devil hopes you will believe. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:13-15, ESV). Do you get it? Though Satan tries to bring up your past sins, in Christ, your entire debt was paid on Good Friday. Jesus dying on the cross settled everything, and Satan has no charges to bring against you anymore!
 
Knowing what Christ did on that first Good Friday should move all believers to great devotion to our savior. May we sing today the heartfelt words of Isaac Watts’ hymn.
‎Alas! and did my Saviour bleed, And did my Sovereign die! Would he devote that sacred head For such a worm as I!
‎Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree! Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
‎Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker, died For man the creature’s sin.
‎Thus might I hide my blushing face While his dear cross appears; Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt mine eyes in tears.
‎But drops of grief can ne'er repay The debt of love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away, 'Tis all that I can do.