Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

My dear brother in Yeshua sent this to me in an email and I was so touched and blessed by it, I had to share it.  Thank you Daniel!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?
This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the emails so;
if it touches you, you may want to forward it. 

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
I never noticed this….
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, and 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, and 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!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else–the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your  spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Urgent Prayer Request – Victoria Tucker – Update

Update – Dear prayer warriors, I have just learned that Victoria has gone to be with our Lord as of Friday.  Please continue to pray for her family and friends as they mourn the loss of their loved one.  Thank you all for your prayers, may God bless each of you, and may His Peace be upon the friends and family of Victoria.

 

I just received the request posted below from Ms. Fuller – Please lift Victoria up in prayer.  May God place His hands upon her and her family, and may His Perfect Will be done in the name of Jesus, amen.

URGENT PRAYER

16 YR OLD VICTORIA TUCKER INVOLVED IN A CAR ACCIDENT- BRAIN TRAUMA – IS IN A COMA – IN NEED OF A MIRACLE

Urgent Prayer Request – Marv

Dear prayer warriors, I have been asked to place Marv on our prayer request list.  He has just been diagnosed with a tumor on his spine and will be going into the hospital this week to have it removed.  Please pray that God, in His mercy, wisdom and love places His hands upon Marv, and guides the doctors and nurses that will be caring for him.  Pray that His peace be upon Marv, his family and friends.  We give God the glory and thank Him for His grace and mercy.

Prayer Update – Neil Picillo

Dear friends and prayer warriors, it is with both sadness and joy that I write to say the Neil has gone to be with His Lord and Savior.  He left this earth in peace, no pain, knew his loved ones who were with him, and was ready to leave his earthly body.

I thank each and everyone of you that prayed for him and his family and for the loving and kind prayers left on my blog.  His family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and prayer for him.  May God richly bless each of you for your faithfulness.  

A spiritual desert

I cannot say how long I have been in the desert (spiritually speaking) but it’s been a very long time – of that I am quite sure. There are those who are in a valley (as referred to in Psalm 23) but I wandered past the valley, past the shadow of death and somehow ended up in a barren dry land.

I believe in God. His Son. The Comfortor. I have faith the He is in control. I believe He speaks and works through others when we don’t hear or won’t hear Him speaking to us. But something has just dried up inside of me. I didn’t fully realize this, or allow myself to admit to it until tonight.

My husband has been in ICU since Thursday. He was sick for a week before that. I have been running on auto pilot and while I remember to pray for others, take care of the house, the family, the job, I forgot to pray for my husband. Can you believe that? The one thing that should be a knee jerk response – to go to the Lord in prayer and ask for healing for my husband – to post a prayer request for him – to call on friends and ask for prayer – the thought NEVER entered my mind.

It was not until I was driving to the hospital tonight and speaking to a friend (on my bluetooth) did I ask for prayer for my husband. I humbled myself before God and asked for forgiveness for only coming to Him asking for His favor and healing and forsaking Him in all other areas of my life.

I know the power of prayer – I know the healing power of prayer, so why did I wait so long? I will never know the answer to that question while still on this earth, but I do know that God works all things for good and His timing is perfect. He turns things meant for evil and wrong to things for good when you let Him. I know this because He has always been there.

While at the hospital this evening I noticed that he developed a bad sore and was so upset that I gave the nurse an earful along with her supervisor and they called the ICU doctor on staff. I had to wait for a few hours for the doctor to come in as she was busy with several very ill patients in the ER, and I like to believe that God had a hand in the delay because it allowed time for emotions to be under control.

Would it surprise you to find out that the doctor is a Christian? Would it surprise you to find out that she believes in spiritual healing, leadings of the Spirit, loves praise and worship music, prayer, believes in annointing with oil and laying on of hands and is not afraid to share her faith? Well don’t be surprised – it’s all true. She even gave us the name of a church to visit and after looking it up, it sounds like just what we’ve been looking for. So God used this doctor to help lift my husband up spiritually. She even told me about an awesome app for my IPhone – K Love. If you don’t have it – get it! It’s free and it’s awesome. Praise and worship music 24/7.

I know it’s late and need to be sleeping, but I had to post this. I haven’t wanted to post anything for a long time, aside from prayer requests, and something inside me would not let me just hop into bed without posting this.

Are you in a dry place? Do you feel like you can’t pray? Have you lost the desire to speak with Him? Ask someone to pray for you. Put on praise and worship music. Talk to the Lord and tell Him how you are feeling, what you are going through, and ask Him for help. He will hear you. He will answer you. He is your answer.

And if you don’t think the enemy is real and behind our wanderings in and out of the desert, know this – I tried posting this 5 times with no success but was determined not to rest until it posted.  Something told me to highlight and copy my post before I clicked “post”.  When I clicked “post” it just kept spinning like it was trying to post, but nothing happened.  I could not figure out what the problem was, then I realized I was using Internet Explorer so I switched over to Google Chrome, started a new post, pasted what I had originally written and clicked post – voila – it posted!  Now, had I not listened to that inner voice, and not copied it, I would have lost it and given up.  Now I know the reason why I had to post this – someone is going to be blessed by reading this – even if it’s just me, that’s okay with me.  Praise the Lord!!!

Urgent Prayer Request – Neil Picillo

I am asking that everyone please put Neil Picillo on their prayer lists and circulate to as many as possible.  We recently learned that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer.  The doctors say he has 3 months without chemo, maybe a year with chemo.  He opted for the chemo with a positive outlook.  He has developed pneumonia, was severely dehydrated and he is having surgery tomorrow to remove a blockage in his intestines.  Please lift Neil and his family up before the Lord.  Doctors don’t know everything, we don’t know what tomorrow holds but we do know Who holds tomorrow and is All Knowing.  I pray that whatever God’s plan for Neil is, that he and his family have peace, and are able to enjoy the time they do have together.  I have never met Neil, but I do know his nephew and his family, and they are a very loving, giving, tight knit family, and they are standing in faith and believing that God is in control.  Pray for the doctors and nurses that will be taking care of him that they allow God to guide their hands during the surgery.  May He place His angels around Neil and his family to protect them.  May the Holy Spirit comfort them and give them peace and strength, and may He bless those who pray and lift Neil up before the Lord, in Jesus name, amen.