Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

I never thought about this before.
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over
The face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.
The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly
Folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.
 
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the
Tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.
She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I
Don't know where they have put him!'
 
Peter and the  other disciple ran to the tomb to see..
The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw

the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside..
He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
 
Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant?
Yes!
 
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to
Understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded
Napkin had to do with the Master and Servant; every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
 
 
When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it
Was exactly the way the master wanted it..
 
 
The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight,

until the master had finished eating. The  servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
 
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his
Fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and
Toss it onto the table.
 
The servant would then know to clear the table.
For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
 
But if the master got up from the table,
And folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate,
The servant would not dare touch the table,
 
Because..........
 
The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'
 
He is Coming Back!
 

MY PASSION – Writing For The Lord

In Palms 119 the person who wrote this Psalm talks about an affliction. What the affliction was I do not know. We all have or have had afflictions in our life. Mine was not from sinning but straying from what God wanted me to do in my life. This caused many of things in my life, divorce, financial loss, heath problems, as well as other things. All this because I served my own interest and did what I wanted to do. Without actually sinning I strayed from God and His perfect will for me. It is sort of like sowing and reaping.

When a person gets to this point in their life they must realize they have two choices, two ways to go. A person can either continue doing what we want to do, which we can see real fast is not working or you can do as I did take stock in what is wrong and then fix it. I choose to fix my problem.

We might not sin, we can go to church every time the door is open, but we can still be taking the wrong path. For years and I mean years I knew that there was a calling on my life and I would not listen I preferred the other road because I felt that no one would listen to me because of being divorced. I once taught Sunday school, taught Bible study, and I loved it. I was doing the Lord’s work but after divorce some Christians look at you a different way. They see you in a different light. And that light can be devastating.

Paul wrote many letters to the church (The Epistles’’) and they had (and still do) a great effect on man’s life today. He had a thorn in the flesh, an affliction, but he still kept writing, expressing himself and sharing God’s love to a lost world of sinners. He was a great man of God. There are all sorts of afflictions in this world. They can be hardships, suffering, pain, misfortune, burdens, difficulties, and many other things. We can allow those afflictions to either break us or to lift us up. The choice is ours to make. If we let it our afflictions can bring us closer to God. My prayer is; Draw me nearer to thee oh Lord.

Since I have stopped teaching Sunday school and Bible study I decided to start a blog and write for the Lord. Writing for me is a way to express and show my love for God and to share with others the road that I walk with the Lord. It can be a lonesome road at times when there are no comments to my post just like they are ignored. I just have to realize that I’m doing what I can for the Lord and it is His will that counts.

One Day At A Time Sweet Jesus

As I was lying in my hospital bed, after having a heart attack, I started to take stock in myself, what was happening to me, and what direction I was headed to in this life. Sometimes we as Christians must take stock in our lives and see where we are at in our daily walk. We must put God in control and not ourselves.

The most important thing I had face up to in my spiritual life is thanking God for this day and rejoicing in the fact that God has given me another day to live for Him and Do His blessed will. We all have human frailties. I do, you do, and so does everyone else. I have come to realize after my last hospital and being coded (dying three times) I or no one else on this earth has a guarantee that tomorrow will ever come. Emotionally, however, because I’m human I have fears and anxieties that arise within me and I am tempted to look for tomorrow to be a better day. Relief will come tomorrow. But does it? Our only help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and earth. We are sustained by the Lord.

I have come to the conclusion when I think that help comes tomorrow I am yielding to an unhealthy way spiritually speaking. When a person fails to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and they forfeit the peace they have in Christ and the joy that always comes from abiding in Christ one day at a time. As Christians we cannot rightly think that tomorrow or the next day will take care of our needs. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy our needs for He is the one whole holds our hand and knows the future for we know who holds our hand.

When I turn everything over to God at the beginning of everyday, immersing myself in God’s love I have the strength to enjoy the day because the Lord’s love is hidden in my heart. He gives me strength. Only a Christian can understand that. Every day is a new opportunity to experience fullness of life, to draw ourselves closer to our maker and the one who cares for us. We must fix our eyes not on what we can see, but what we cannot see what we cannot see. For what we see is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18) When we look past our visible circumstances, we See God's Eternal Kingdom for we know who holds tomorrow.

He Touched Me!

After the events of the past week there is no doubt in my mind who holds my future in the palms of His hand. I say that because truly this week God has had me in the palm of his hand. I went to the hospital for a breathing treatment (I have Asthma) and was not there but a few minutes when I had a heart attack and coded three times (Died three times in a row) and was brought back. When I awoke from my sleep the doctor was standing over me and said welcome back. The doctor said it was a miracle that you are here with us because you have coded three times. The doctor said it right, it was a miracle. A miracle that I was in the right place at the right time and with the right people, but behind all this was the fact that the Lord I serve was in the room with me and he also guided me to the hospital. He guided the doctors and nurses as they tried to keep me alive.

While I was at the hospital one of my many visitors was a man who was filled with the Holy Ghost and I could feel his presents as he entered the room and as he prayed for me I felt a healing touch go through my body and I instantly felt better and they let me go home the next day. I’m not saying that the nurses and doctors did not help because if I said that I would be lying. What I am saying is this. The Lord sent this man and when he prayed for me the Lord touched me and did a work in my body. Praise be to His wonderful name! I feel wonderful in my body.

For some time now (many years) I have felt like the devil and his demons has done everything in their power to come against me. My children, grand children, my dad, and other members of my family he has attacked because he knows they are close to my heart. I have faced financial loss, been through more than one divorce, and just about everything else the devil could through up against me. As I was in the hospital they took my dad to the hospital with heart failure, but my dear friends I want you know the anchor holds! I once new a black pastor who was in a nursing home and I would see him walking down the hall and when I asked him how he was doing his answer was always the same. “Brother Patchett I’m going to keep on keeping on” and by God’s grace, my friends, that is exactly what I’m going to do; KEEP ON KEEPIMG ON!