This short video says it all...
https://youtu.be/eh_cGc_D4Y4
This short video says it all...
https://youtu.be/eh_cGc_D4Y4
Easter Memories
Echoes of the mem’ries of that Easter fill my soul,
They take me to another age and time;
Though I was never there,
I’m not so unaware—
He climbed for me a hill I couldn’t climb.
Chroniclers, retelling those events of yesteryear
Recall the rough-hewn cross and empty tomb,
But sometimes fail to say
That Love had won the day,
And left as truth what we now just assume.
Oh, the memories! Blest memories!
That speak of sweet revival to my soul!
They opened up a way and brought a brand new day -
That cross and empty tomb have made me whole!
Promises fulfilled that Easter morning bring to me
This resurrected life I bask in now;
Ah, this I’ve come to know,
In grace—Love’s overflow—
I’ll meet all joys that Heaven will allow!
Overcoming death and hell, Christ rose that signal dawn
And left the grave in somewhat disarray;
His body wasn’t there,
His life He gave to share
Eternal life—His Father’s overlay.
Oh, the memories! Blest memories!
That speak of sweet revival to my soul!
They opened up a way and brought a brand new day -
That cross and empty tomb have made me whole!
Donald Penn Neal
11/08/2017
Copyright 2021
The Resurrection
On the morrow with despondency still in us,
Seen forsaken, we were shaken to our core;
As for Mary, her bewilderment was showing,
For the tomb did not hold Jesus anymore.
So she told us of the empty tomb she’d witnessed,
How the massive, heavy stone was rolled away;
And she wondered where somebody might have moved Him...
So we had to see that tomb without delay.
Thus I hastened to the tomb, and John ran with me.
He just peered inside but balked at going in;
So I pressed inside and found it as she told us:
Empty linens where the body should have been.
So we took this message back to His disciples;
Distraught Mary stayed outside the tomb and wept.
Stooping down and looking on this somber chamber,
She saw something that her eyes could not accept.
There were angels, both in white, serenely sitting
Where the body had been placed and tightly bound;
And they asked the weeping Mary, “Why this crying?”
“They have taken ‘way my Lord, He's nowhere found.”
When she said this, she half-turned, and she saw Jesus
And supposed that He was just a gard’ner there.
He then asked her who it was that she was seeking;
She responded in a tone of clear despair,
“If You carried Him away, pray, kindly tell me,
And I'll come and see He's spirited away.”
With one word Christ Jesus garnered her attention—
It was, “Mary,” and her night was turned to day.
With “Raboni!” she responded to His speaking,
For she could not quite believe her weary eyes!
“Go and tell My close disciples where they'll see Me.”
Mary went as she was told to so advise.
On the first day of the week, while they assembled,
The disciples heard a voice they recognized.
Jesus stood amidst them saying, “Peace be with you.”
They were glad with joy that could not be disguised.
“As the Father sent Me forth, you are to follow;
And receive the Holy Spirit—My command;
You have seen and you believe I am Messiah...
Blest are those who haven't seen yet understand.”
Donald Penn Neal
from Hosannas Led the Way
Copyright 2020
Good Friday...
The Crucifixion
The soldiers forced Him up that hill, Golgotha,
Where many others died in infamy;
They nailed Him to a cross, and there they raised it—
To take the place of man—sin’s casualty.
The scribes and Pharisees mocked with derision
“Come down from there, if You're the Son of God!
And save Yourself, for then we will believe You!”
(They cast aside religion’s foul façade.)
Two common thieves were crucified beside Him,
On right and left with Jesus in between;
They joined with those below as they reviled Him,
Attendants in this fiendish, loathsome scene.
But one of them repented with entreaty:
“Remember me when You Your kingdom see.”
Then Jesus in a measured speech responded,
“Today you'll be in Paradise with Me.”
Thick darkness clothed that vile, repulsive setting
From full on noon until the hour of three;
The earth was darkened (prophecy of Amos),
While Jesus hung and suffered on that tree.
Then Jesus cried out loudly in that darkness,
“My God, oh why You have forsaken Me?”
And then He cried out, saying, “It is finished!”
And yielded up His spirit willingly.
The soldiers overseeing this assignment—
They knew His death was diff’rent, even odd;
Their awestruck leader, with a knowing comment
Said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
Donald Penn Neal
from Hosannas Led the Way
Copyright 2020
Born-again, Spirit-filled, conservative, supporter of Israel, Bible student, poet