Draw near to God and he will draw near to you

In just a few short days, we will be celebrating Palm Sunday and a week later Easter.

For many people Palm Sunday is a day for attending church and receiving palm branches and then waving them in the worship service and then taking them home as memorabilia.

This Palm Sunday, I would ask you to take a moment and slow down to focus on the reason you worship.

In the scriptures, we read the account of the triumphal entry and Jesus riding in on the back of a donkey. We read the words that were shouted “Hosanna”. It becomes easy for us to read quickly past these passages and get to the crucifixion a few verses later. The question of why we worship needs to be etched into our minds.

The Jewish people were looking for a conquering king that would free them from the hands of the invading country. They were looking for the deliverer that would once and for all crush the armies of Rome.

The very circumstances of Jesus entry into the city of Jerusalem fulfilled prophecy not of the earthly coming king but rather the Messiah that the people had heard about each week in the synagogues.

Jesus came not to redeem the people but to redeem the entire world. The palms waved and the people shouted wanting a reprieve from the Romans, but Jesus was giving them a reprieve from the sin of the world that had separated the entirety of mankind from God . This was the Messiah.

Many try to figure out how this impacts us today. We live in the 21st century. Is this still something that impacts us today. The answer is an echoing yes!

We know that Easter is coming. We have heard the stories of Jesus death and his resurrection. Because of that, we can and should still praise him.

Why? Because the blood of Jesus was shed for our sins and because of that we can be forgiven and restored to God. He has risen.

Because of the resurrection, we now have an advocate with the father in heaven for us. Jesus has never turned his back on us or left us even though we have forsaken what he has done for us. For that one reason alone we can praise him this Palm Sunday.

Several years ago, my youngest son was born at 28 weeks and 2 days. Prior to that my wife’s water broke completely at 16 weeks.

We were told our child would die and we should have an abortion and try again. I remember my heart breaking and my wife and I sitting in our car wondering what we should do.

I opened my Bible as I often do in times of stress and trouble and the passage it opened to was the Triumphal Entry. I remember reading it and God placing a gentle question in my mind. “Will you still praise me in the hard times because I haven’t left you?”

I began to try to muster the words of a worship song. All I could do was let the tears stream down my face as I said “Yes Lord I will worship you.”

With every bit of bad news we received, we continued to praise the Lord. We traveled home that day calling people and asking them to pray and all the while trying to keep praising God.

We were not praising God for the issues with the birth of our child but praising him because he was walking with us through it. We have confidence.

What have you been through? Whether you believe it or not, God has been right there with you. He has never promised that nothing bad or troubling would happen but he promised I will never leave you or forsake you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. This Palm Sunday praise him for everything he has brought you through and everything he has done for you. Let his praise rest upon your lips and lift high a “Hosanna” and a Hallelujah.