Friday FUSION will be back next week, but because we are celebrating Resurrection Day this Sunday, I felt it apropos to re-post this blog on Good Friday. If you live in the Jacksonville area and you are looking for a church to attend on Sunday, check out New Friendship in Atlantic Beach. If you are not in Jacksonville, a house of worship is only a Google search or a browse through Facebook away. So, read this and then, make plans to Celebrate Jesus!!!

Good Friday is a celebration of hope and expectancy. That may sound weird considering that it is when Jesus was crucified, but if we understand that this was all by God's design, we can have peace and joy about that Friday. Can you imagine what it was like on that fateful day? Just a week earlier people were praising Jesus. And, those same people that cried, “Hosanna,” were now yelling, “Crucify Him!” One of His own disciples sold Him of thirty pieces of silver. Can you fathom knowing that one of your best friends would betray you and still showing him or her love? Jesus even asked the Father to take the burden of our sins away from Him if possible, but was willing to do the will of God no matter what. Peter, my boy Peter, cut off the ear of the soldier that grabbed Jesus, and then, denied him three times before daybreak. And, as the sky turned dark, Jesus cried out, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?” Then, He took His last breath and died…for me.

Can you imagine the despair? Because after He died, and the earth shook and the tombs were open, some finally realized that Jesus was who He said He was and that they had killed the Son of God. Can you picture the grief of those who believed all along? The Savior, their Savior, was dead. He was to be buried in a borrowed tomb. He was their hope, their peace, their joy. And though, He spoke of rising from the dead, if these humans were anything like me, in that moment they felt a deep despair. They probably felt that all hope was lost. And then, they rolled the stone away on Sunday morning and He was not there. At first, they thought someone had stolen Jesus’ body, but the angel reminded them that Jesus had foretold this miracle of Resurrection.

In our lives, our Friday nights are those times when everything goes dark. Friday nights are those times when we think that God has forgotten about us. Friday nights are those times when we need our faith the most because it seems like everything we believe is being tested. But, if we can hold on until Sunday morning, then our miracle can happen. If we can trust God, then our healing can happen. If we can be patient and faithful, then our deliverance can happen. It may not be literally three days. It could be weeks or months or years, but if we can just wait until our Sunday comes, everything will be as He planned. And, no matter how dark it looks right now, Sunday’s on the way! Ms. EV

On Friday night, they crucified the Lord at Calvary, but He said, “Don’t fret because in three days, I’m gonna raise again. You’re gonna see…So, when problems try to bury you (six feet deep) and make it hard for you to pray, they may seem like that Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way. - Take 6

I know that there is no possible way for me to fully know what Jesus went through in the week leading up to His death, burial, ad resurrection. Yet, this week, while I really have time to focus, I want to try to my best to understand His sacrifice. The basis of my faith is Jesus’ salvation of me through His death and resurrection. I know and believe that I will meet Him one day face to face because He cared enough for this sinful world to lay down His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Yet, I still cannot fathom what it must have been like to know everything that was going to happen and still go through with it.

In years past, we used to sing a song in our church devotions that said:

This may be the last time
This may be the last time
This may be the last time
It may be the last time I don’t know

This may be the last time we all sing together
It may be the last time I don’t know

This may be the last time we all pray together
It may be the last time I don’t know

That is the difference between us and Jesus. When we gather together with friends, family and fellow worshippers, we have no idea if it is the last time we will see them, sing with them, pray with them, or eat with them. But, Jesus knew that when He entered Jerusalem and was celebrated, honored, and heralded as a king and savior, that it would be the same people who cried, “Hosanna,” that would later cry, “Crucify Him!”

Jesus knew when He sat to eat with His disciples that it would be the Last Supper. Jesus didn’t waste time lamenting over what He could have done or should have been. He prepared His dear friends for the battle that they would face. He made sure that they knew how to remember Him. He confronted the issue of betrayal without callousness or cruelty. He gave the example of how to be a servant leader when He could have demanded that every one of them bow down to Him. He remained calm, even though He knew what would happen.

As I read this account of what Jesus experienced in those last days, I had to examine my own heart. Would I be able to dine with a dear friend who I knew would stab me in the back for some money? Would I be able to let that person know that I knew without calling him out and confronting him in front of others? Would I be able to comfort and console others knowing what I was about to face? Would I be able to continue to be a leader and not totally fall apart? I can absolutely say that as much as I want to answer, “Yes,” I could not imagine facing death as Jesus did.

I realized yesterday that I am still hurt by betrayals that happened in my adolescence and my early adulthood. I nearly came to tears recounting one particular episode that happened in high school. And, when I see the people who hurt me, love is not the first feeling that I feel. Yet, nothing that any person has ever done to me has lead to me being unjustly killed. I simply do not know how Jesus did it. Nevertheless, I am so glad that He did. I can never repay the debt I owe for the sacrifice that He gave; and, God is so loving that He does not request reimbursement. He only asks that we trust Him and obey Him; that is how we show our love to Him. What if you knew what would happen? Could you go through with trading your blameless life for people who did not deserve your sacrifice? Ms. EV

I am not really a girly girl. I do not wear makeup, unless I am going to be in a show. I do not really wear or like to buy jewelry. And, because of my above average height, and back and knee issues, I am not a big fan of wearing high heels, but I know how to look good when I walk out of the door. I do have a couple of beauty rituals that show my girly side, like the occasional mani/pedi and facial. I think every girl has her own individual beauty regimen (and some guys do too, but that’s a conversation for another day). I remember, back in the day, when my BFF and I would get ready to go out, there would always be some part of our beauty ritual or some part of our outfit that was uncomfortable, and maybe even, a little painful. But, her mantra, that I adopted, was, “Beauty knows no pain.”

I am not a big fan of pain, let’s just get that straight. I am not advocating that people physically hurt themselves for beauty’s sake, but to each her own. We all have our own beauty rituals. However, this mantra is more about sacrifice. Back then, it was dealing with the prospects of pinning up hair tightly to get it to look perfect, or wearing a shoe that was going to hurt after five minutes, but makes the calves look phenomenal. It is about pushing past the pain to let the beauty shine through.

Yesterday, as I was getting a facial, I thought about this old mantra. If you have never had a facial, I find them to be the most underrated beauty treatment available. It starts with a steaming and cleansing of the face and neck area. Then, gentle exfoliation with a light brush. Then, your eyes are covered and out comes the large magnifying glass, bright light and little silver tools. The process is called extraction, and it consists of removing all of the stuff under your skin that you cannot see with the naked eye and removing dead skin that is still on your face. As I was lying there yesterday, during this process, I momentarily wondered why I was voluntarily putting myself through the pain, even paying for it. I subsequently remembered what my face looks and feels like after each facial. It feels clean, light and fresh, maybe even a little unburdened. And, after the extraction comes a relaxing massage.

There is a point to all of this. I have sometimes heard people say that there is no pain in love. I find love to be the ultimate expression of beauty in this world. While I do not believe that one should take abuse, physical, mental or emotional, from someone who claims to love them, I do believe that in love, the ultimate expression of beauty, there will be pain. When a person truly loves, it oftentimes starts out as refreshing and relaxing, but when it comes time to get past the surface, there are some sacrifices that need to be made. And, many times, those sacrifices are painful. Sometimes it means putting those who you love before your own desires. Sometimes it means giving up things and people that you feel you need. Sometimes, the person you love does something that would never bother you if another person did it, but because you love them, it hurts. I am not speaking of casual love; I am talking about real, deep relationships with God, family, spouses and true friends.

Sacrifice and pain are not pleasant or fun. And, again, I am not talking about a person who maliciously tries to harm you. I mean those times in love when you have to make a choice that is uncomfortable, but is what is best for the relationship. If you can push past the discomfort, you can reveal true beauty; something even more satisfying than what you had before. For anyone who is still doubting that there is pain in love, look only to our Savior. His sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, was beautiful. Jesus had to push past the pain to reconnect us with God. None of us will ever feel the type of pain He felt or give as much as He gave. Still, I am grateful that the beauty of His love knew no pain that day. It is not that it was not painful, but that He endured the pain for you and for me. That is true love and beauty and because of His sacrifice, we can enjoy more beautiful, fresh, new, unburdened relationships with God and others. Ms. EV