It Changes Everything

This Easter I had no children or grandchildren with me for the annual family egg hunt. We are scattered around, but I was blessed to enjoy my extended family including precious great nieces and nephews. The egg hunt was the same as every year, with a bounty of candies and plastic eggs. I am grateful to be a part of a faith-filled family. As I visited from circle to circle, I joined in conversations of Jesus and this marvelous life that we have because of Him.

This Monday morning I am very happy that I have no left over chocolate to hide from myself nor plastic grass and eggs peeking from underneath the sofa. But one thing still lingers and for this I am praising God. The Easter truth that “Jesus is Alive” inserted into Monday morning (and every other morning) changes everything. My scripture reading today reminds me of what I received from the reality of this past weekend’s celebrations.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Eph. 1:19-20

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, Who lives in you.” Rom. 8 11

If you really got the truth behind those words you are doing a happy dance right now. We, plain ordinary Monday morning people, who have received Christ’s work on the cross, have His resurrection power within us. There is no difficulty or need greater than Resurrection power. There is no pit so deep that Resurrection power does not reach. There is no mountain too high for Resurrection power to tear down. There is no relationship too far gone that is too much for Resurrection power.

Oh, God, give us faith to believe this same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us.

People….let’s believe what we declare and what we celebrate. The cross is enough. The cross changes everything….even a Monday morning.

Waiting for Spring

"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4 NKJV

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 1Peter 1:3-4

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I walked across the hard, dry crusted ground. Rain had long been withheld and now the earth was cracking open begging for a few drops of water. Yet from the crack in the earth, the tiny green plant with the most delicate purple flower held its head high toward the sun. It was fresh and tender, full of life.

New life can burst forth from the most remote places and desperate conditions. I am always amazed that my yard can be bare with very few patches of grass, but between the tiny cracks in the sidewalk, grass grows strong. It is surprising but it seems that the toughest conditions force life to abound.

Spring is bursting with new life. The trees that looked totally dead last week now have little green buds declaring, “I am alive!” The cold, dark days of winter were necessary to produce new life. Hidden within the dark, cold, dry ground, were the nutrients and conditions necessary to produce new life once again.

Why is it that we do everything we can to avoid the winter of life?

As horrible as it was, the crucifixion was necessary. There in the grave He lay, hidden in the dark, yet producing life. Death gave way to life and Jesus burst forth like the budding growth on the sticks of a tree, declaring, “I am alive”.

Because He is alive, we too have newness of life.

Life can burst forth in surprising ways if we will allow the dark soil to produce new life. Life often feels like death. The winter storms blow hard and cold. Situations can go from bad to worse. This is not the time to give up, but to press into His promises.

Spring is on the way! Wait for it. There is new birth and a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ There may be no green buds bursting forth in your life right now, but know that in secret, God is working life in the midst of it all.

Let’s celebrate Easter….His death, His burial, and His resurrection.

Jesus is alive and His life brings new life to me.

Hallelujah Jesus is alive!

True Disciple of Jesus

There are many moments in my life that I have actually said, “I wish I could go back and do school over.” In our youth we are often so focused on getting done with school and being adult, that we scurry through the study. We use our young sharp minds to memorize just enough to pass the test. I actually remember telling my parents they were so lucky that all they had to do was work. I had to go to school all day and then come home and do homework. I don’t know what kind of rose- colored glasses I wore, but their lives looked much more desirable than mine.

I can’t believe I just admitted that. I really said it and I think I can still recall my parent’s laughter. I think I even hear you joining in on the laughter, but before you get carried away, it is my guess that you had some of the same youthful thinking. It seems that this foolish thinking wasn’t left in the past, because we continue to be driven to a life of hurry through the tough stuff and get on to the good life. The role of teacher seems to be more desirable than student. We search for the eraser tying to the delete words like difficult, discomfort, suffer, pain, and sacrifice.

But Jesus spoke of a different life than what our fleshy selves crave. Modern Christianity has dismissed it, but it is still there in Luke 9:23:

Jesus said to them all,

“If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

If anyone wishes to follow Me as My disciple…(It is a choice!)

Deny Self!

Take up cross daily!

Follow Me!

In today’s culture, “take up your cross” looks nothing like what Jesus communicated. We take it to mean clasping a shiny cross around our neck, hanging a cross over the fireplace, or even having one tattooed somewhere on our body. We want no real understanding of “take up your cross”. Those that heard Jesus speak this word knew that the cross represented the cruelest form of death. Yes, Death.

No Cliff notes are needed here. He clearly told us what was expected. We just continue to follow, deny, die, follow, deny, die, follow, deny, and die.

My heart is encouraged because I believe His word teaches that everything that He commands of us, He accomplishes for us. So each new day, I surrender to Him and His plan. I answer as a surrendered disciple following my Lord. I embrace the difficult, the painful, the suffering, because I know that in this place, He brings His life.

I am coming to understand that this is truly the most wonderful life. Every time I embrace the pain, the hard, the dying, I am more like Christ and I share in His suffering. I am becoming an empty vessel, a dead shell, for Him to live His life through. This requires daily emptying of me and my ways to embrace Him and His ways. I am being prepared to live all eternity with Him. Until I graduate to Heaven, I want to get the schooling here in this life. I don’t want to resent the hard. I don’t want to hurry past the difficult. I want to pass the test for being a true follower of Jesus Christ.

“Lord, please use all the pain and struggle in life for your glory. I can’t do on my own what you require, so I relinquish toYour control to do it through me. “