Sabbath Keeping ~ a little donkey

Legend has it the little Jerusalem donkey, marked by a cross on the back, was ridden by Mary, on her way to Bethlehem, and by Jesus, on His way to the cross.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.” ~ Zechariah 9:9 ~

“When fishes flew and forests walked / And figs grew upon horn, Some moment when the moon was blood / Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry/~ And ears like errant wings, / The devil’s walking parody / On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth, / Of ancient crooked will: / Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, / I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour; / One far fierce hour and sweet: / There was a shout about my ears, / And palms before my feet.” ~ G K Chesterton ~

“I can prove Christ was a cowboy. What did he ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday? An unbroken colt. If that’s not a cowboy, I don’t know what is.” ~ Skip Carlson, Cowboy Church ~

“A unicorn is a donkey from the future.” Joe Rogan ~

“There were only a few shepherds at the first Bethlehem. The ox and the donkey understood more of the first Christmas than the high priests in Jerusalem. And so it is today.” ~ Thomas Merton ~

“The spirit and the body carry different loads and require different attentions. Too often we put the saddlebags on Jesus and let the donkey run loose in the pasture.” ~ Rumi ~

“What man, if he were God, would humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang upon a cross?” ~ Martin Luther ~

“Prostitutes, homeless, liars, thieves, murderers, pagans in Christ’s lineage. At one point, God used a donkey to speak.”

“In the ancient Biblical world, a leader rode on a horse if he was coming in war and on a donkey to signify peace.” ~ Amazing Bible Timeline ~

“And when they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sends forth two of His disciples, and says to them, “Go to the village before you. And immediately while proceeding into it, you will find a colt having been tied, on which none of mankind yet sat. Untie it, and bring it. And if someone says to you, “Why are you doing this?’, say, “The Lord has need of it…”. ~ Mark 11:1-3 ~

It’s been a difficult week…one young man murdered (not sure but rumor is it was drug related); this morning, a deputy sheriff injured in a crash and earlier in the week, two young men killed in an vehicular crash. One of those two is related to my nephew on his Dad’s side and made all the more horrid due to a previous death of an Uncle in a similar crash some years back. Hunter, the cousin, was beloved by all and both deaths reach many families, several counties. Prayers requested for all three of the families as they make their way through uncharted depths.

A. W. Tozer speaks volumes to me, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man (woman) greatly until He has hurt him (her) deeply.” If you’re going through a season of almost unbearable hurt, know this: God does loves you and, if you let Him, He’ll walk beside you, even carry you, and not a tear will be wasted or fall He doesn’t see. God has blessings you can’t begin to imagine; don’t lose heart, don’t give up and if you can’t pray, simply whisper the name Jesus, over and over. He will hear, the Holy Spirit will comfort as God holds you in the palm of His hand.