ANDREW'S AFFIRMATION

  EXPLORING HOLY SATURDAY Where is God when heaven is silent? On Holy Saturday, it is not Jesus but we who must ask the “Where?” question: “Where on earth are You, God, when Your Son lies dead in the grave?” On Holy Saturday, the hopes and prayers of every disciple lay dashed and broken in the grave. But God did nothing. Said nothing. No sound but the buzzing of flies around the corpse of the Son. Day 32: God’s Presence in God’s People Pause “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” - Psalm 80:3 Reflect Bible: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Book: “The University of Wisconsin's Center for the Study of Pain conducted an experiment in which researchers timed how long volunteers could ...

  EXPLORING HOLY SATURDAY Where is God when heaven is silent? On Holy Saturday, it is not Jesus but we who must ask the “Where?” question: “Where on earth are You, God, when Your Son lies dead in the grave?” On Holy Saturday, the hopes and prayers of every disciple lay dashed and broken in the grave. But God did nothing. Said nothing. No sound but the buzzing of flies around the corpse of the Son. Day 31: God’s Presence in God’s Word Pause “Answer me, lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me.” - Psalm 69:16-18 Reflect Bible: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? … A pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cost lots for my garment.” - Psalm 22:1,16-18 Bo...

  EXPLORING HOLY SATURDAY Where is God when heaven is silent? On Holy Saturday, it is not Jesus but we who must ask the “Where?” question: “Where on earth are You, God, when Your Son lies dead in the grave?” On Holy Saturday, the hopes and prayers of every disciple lay dashed and broken in the grave. But God did nothing. Said nothing. No sound but the buzzing of flies around the corpse of the Son. Day 30: God on the Gallows Pause “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest in the storm.” - Psalm 55:6-8 Reflect Bible: “Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’” - Mark 15:37-39 Book: A recount of the devastating story of the hanging of a boy in Auschw...

  EXPLORING HOLY SATURDAY Where is God when heaven is silent? On Holy Saturday, it is not Jesus but we who must ask the “Where?” question: “Where on earth are You, God, when Your Son lies dead in the grave?” On Holy Saturday, the hopes and prayers of every disciple lay dashed and broken in the grave. But God did nothing. Said nothing. No sound but the buzzing of flies around the corpse of the Son. Day 29: Resurrection Pause “But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help, and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.” - Psalm 40:17 Reflect Bible: “The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” - Luke 23:55-56 Book: I describe attending a funeral, where everyone seemed a bit too keen to "solve” the unfathomable tragedy of our friends death: “I drove away later, thinking, how very...

  EXPLORING GOOD FRIDAY Why aren’t my prayers being answered? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Matthew 27:46 On Good Friday, we witness a third unanswered prayer - perhaps the most agonizing of them all. Nail to a cross and slowly suffocating, the Son cried out to the Father: "Why have you forsaken me?"And there was no response from heaven. No dove descending. No booming voice. No answer to prove the question wrong. Day 26: Naked Trust Pause “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish in my ears by groaning; my strength fails, because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”  - Psalm 31:9-10 Reflect Bible:   “So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we...

  EXPLORING GOOD FRIDAY Why aren’t my prayers being answered? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Matthew 27:46 On Good Friday, we witness a third unanswered prayer - perhaps the most agonizing of them all. Nail to a cross and slowly suffocating, the Son cried out to the Father: "Why have you forsaken me?"And there was no response from heaven. No dove descending. No booming voice. No answer to prove the question wrong. Day 25: Chariots of Fire Pause “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  - Psalm 27:13-14 Reflect Bible:   “When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, ‘Alas, master! What shall we do?’ He replied, ‘Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that ...