Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush as a foundational conversion experience and a model for how believers meet God in times of uncertainty and transition. God often calls us in moments of discouragement and obscurity, requiring us to "turn aside" from our distractions to notice his presence. The burning bush represents God's holy, purifying nature—dangerous yet life-giving—and reveals that true transformation comes when we slow down enough to encounter the real God rather than a deity of our own making. Through Moses' story, we learn that God equips the unlikely and ordinary for extraordinary missions, and that Jesus Christ serves as the mysterious mediator who allows us to stand in God's holy presence without being consumed. We are challenged to examine our own "wilderness" experiences and trust God's timing, even when it seems inexplicably slow.

"He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him."

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

" When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."

No horror surpasses what transpired on a hill outside Jerusalem almost two millennia ago. And yet we call it "Good" Friday.

"The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."

The hour has come. All history hinges on this hour. And it is utterly terrifying. Jesus must decide: will he turn to protect his own skin and soul, or will he stay the course and embrace his Father's perfect and painful will?

"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"

With the previous three days awash in drama—Sunday's triumphal entry, Monday's temple cleansing, and Tuesday's tense exchanges, with the silencing word from Psalm 110—now Wednesday comes like the calm before the storm. This is the day Judas made a deal with the religious officials to reveal to them Jesus’ whereabouts on the next day. Judas became a betraying spy within the inner circle of Christ’s disciples. 

"The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

With each passing hour, Jesus drew nearer to thelion's jays. In just three days, he would be shamed and humiliated, tortured and executed. How did he keep going? On the inside he was singing.