Author Archives: Nannette

About Nannette

Wife to The Sweetheart, Mom to the Fantastic Six, Nana to six of the cutest littles on the planet, Author, The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. UPCI ministers.

No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s!

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No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s! Still tip-toeing up to Easter morning…you can read our other postings on Holy Week here and here.

Jesus has left the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed “great drops of blood”…asking the Father to remove the “cup” from Him.

“Not my will, but thine be done.” Prayed Jesus.

The disciples slept on…and on…and on. Jesus could not keep them awake. Yet this was a battle He had to fight on His own.

“Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” Matthew 26:46.

The current battle is at hand. Jesus has wrestled all night with His fate, knowing the great task before Him. Yet He gives in to the will of the Father.

“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.”

When I was younger, I always felt a little sorry for Peter. He thought he was doing his Lord a favor by intervening on His behalf and chopping off the ear of a soldier! “Impetuous Peter”, we call him. Jesus responds to his hasty overreaction in this fashion,

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’” Matthew 26:52-54 NKJV.

Put your sword in its place, Peter! Put your sword in its place ___________ (insert YOUR name here).

How many times have we been like Peter? We think we have it all figured out. We know the ending (or so, we assume). We do not understand why God has not intervened in the situation and just with His spoken Word, sentenced everyone involved to the Lake of Fire. That might be a little dramatic but we are that impulsive at times.

Friends, it isn’t our battle.

The cross belonged to Jesus. He had to give, He had to suffer, He had to endure to the very end. All of this so we would not have to! Yes, He did it for YOU.

Every battle you have faced since you embraced the cross, the CHRIST, has been handled by Jesus.

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He fights.

You rest in confidence.

He wins.

See, He didn’t stay on the cross. Please do not keep Him there! He had to go to Calvary, He had to give His very life as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb so there would be no more need for a sacrifice!

The veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing the perishing of the Law and instituting of Grace. No more need for a sacrifice or a mediator. No need to confess your sins to a priest or live in rules and rituals.

He paid the price. He fought the battle. He continues to fight for YOU and ME. On our behalf, He can move mountains, crush the enemy, and send the answer in a moment.

We face anxiousness in this Uncertain Season we find ourselves in right now. But none of it is a surprise to our God! Call on Him, give Him your fears and doubts and flood your days with worship and The Word. He doesn’t intend for you to fight this battle alone either. Be encouraged, Sunday is coming!

Until the last rose fades

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Until the last rose fades

It’s either that happy day we look forward to in February or the most dreaded day of the year. Whether we love it or hate it, it shows up regardless.

Valentine’s Day is many things to many people. Some have terrific memories of elementary school and spending several nights in a row around the kitchen table, filling out little paper Valentines. Don’t forget to add a few candy hearts inside the little envelope! That was always the most difficult. You had to choose wisely or Tommy, Joey or Michael might think you actually liked them. EEEWWWWW!

I happen to love Valentine’s Day. I was engaged on February 14, 1979 and have great memories of dinners, flowers and chocolates. When My Three Sons were of school age, once again I found myself helping them fill out their Valentine’s. Not much had changed in the way things were done since I had been in school. They still worried over what to give to the opposite sex. So much fun with the school parties and cupcakes and games.

Since I don’t have a hilarious true story to share of a disastrous Valentine’s Day in the Elkins household, I thought I would share some senseless facts. There was that Valentine’s Day that The Sweetheart sent me this in a text message:

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, lived a wife that never nagged, whined or complained.

But it was a long, long time ago. And it was just that one day.

Yeah. But I love him anyway. This one day a year.

Valentine’s Day’s most popular theory originates with Emperor Claudius II. Supposedly, he didn’t want Roman men to marry during times of war but Bishop Valentine didn’t honor his wishes and performed secret weddings for those who were in love. Unfortunately, Valentine was jailed and then executed. But before he died he wrote a note to the jailor’s daughter and signed it “from your Valentine”.

Some believe that the X symbol became associated with the KISS way back in medieval times. If you couldn’t write your name you would sign in front of a witness with just an X which was then kissed to show commitment and sincerity!

Another one from the Middle Ages tells us that young men and women would draw names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. Yeah, that would happen today. They would wear the name pinned to their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. From this comes the expression, “To wear your heart on your sleeve”!

Did you know that 15% of women in the United States send themselves flowers on February 14?

Approximately 8 billion (that’s with a B) candy hearts are made each year for Valentine’s Day. That is enough candy to be stretched 20 times from Italy to Arizona back and forth!

I will leave you with this true story from someone I met this week. One year he gave his wife a dozen of the most beautiful roses that looked as normal as any other bouquet. But tucked in the middle was a single, artificial rose that blended in with the rest. His note?

I will love you til the last rose in the bouquet fades completely away and dies.

Which reminds me of the year that The Sweetheart left me with a forever memory. Our wedding colors were yellow so every single year for 37 years he has never failed to send me a dozen yellow roses, even when we were overseas! One year we were ministering in Chattanooga over the Valentine weekend and he left our hotel early that morning to “go get breakfast”. He was gone over an hour and finally came back looking quite sad. He had been all over town looking for yellow roses and couldn’t find any. As a last resort, he went to Wal Mart where he bought an artificial bouquet of yellow roses. Yeah. Teary eyed, I have treasured those more than any I ever received and of course they are the only ones I still have that look as good as the day I received them.

However you celebrate today, tell someone you love them, hug your kids, your pets, your parents and your sweethearts. Everyone can benefit from sharing love!