What is it About Him?

It is His kindness;

His completed work on the cross;

His victory over death by resurrection;

His great and undying Love

Which draw us unto Himself.

The beauty of who He is;

His mercy and

His grace

Are what compel us to repentance.

His tender touch, 

His loving gaze,

His infinite patience;

All of which He freely gives,

Are what motivate us to love Him back.

Jesus

Savior

He is risen.

Hallelujah!

He IS risen.

Resurrection Freedom

Christ’s death was payment for our sins.

His resurrection IS our Freedom.

Dare to live an unhindered life ~

Walk in Freedom

It’s what He has always intended.

What's So Good About Friday?

What’s so amazing about a man’s death on a cross?

Nothing really.

Hundreds died upon the Roman cross.

It was the execution method of the time.

It is amazing to me, however, that Jesus went to the cross willingly.

Some might say, “Big deal. People willingly die for others all of the time.”

And that is true. 

People do.

It has become trendy to say that one is willing to give their life for another.

And though we may admire the people who do, 

the impact and importance of their sacrifice is lost on many.

It is viewed as a noble or heroic act by most,

but the only people it truly impacts 

are those who were closest to them.

So the fact that Jesus willingly gave His life for us

 isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be.

The thing that makes Jesus’ death so amazing is that

while He hung upon that cross, 

there was that period of darkness, 

over all the earth, 

where the sins of every person who has ever drawn breath,

passed through Him.

He chose to take upon Himself

 the guilt, shame and wretchedness 

of every human being in existence,

since the beginning of time.

Jesus didn’t “just” die for our sins, 

but He became sin; 

He experienced and embodied all of our sins

 as if He were the one guilty of them all.

And He chose obedience to the Father in this

 so that we ARE all forgiven.

What is so amazing about Jesus’ death is that 

 ~ His death IS our forgiveness.

Because the spotless Lamb, 

the sinless One was slain, 

we are perfect and sinless in the sight of God.

The impact and importance of His death is that

He has reconciled every one of us to God.

We, who would continually crucify Him 

with our rotten behavior,

have been redeemed and made perfect

by the only One who is truly worthy of heaven.

This is what makes Jesus’ death so amazing.

This is the true meaning of Good Friday.

Why Worry?

Through years of trial and a

continuous barrage of “one-thing-after-another”,

I have learned the importance

of living one-day-at-a-time.

While the world teaches that

we have to plan, fret and worry about the future,

I have learned the wisdom of Jesus’ teaching

on the contrary

(see Matthew 6).

Worrying or dwelling

on tomorrow doesn’t change it.

And imagining the worst

only adds unnecessary stress

to one’s life.

Very seldom does the worst we imagine

even come true;

and seldom are

the things we worry about the most

as important as we think they are.

Jesus tells us

that worry is

the opposite of faith.

You can disguise it however you want

by calling it a different name,

but worry, concern, etc.

cancels out faith

and robs us of the joy

of living in the beauty

of today.

The human capacity to

survive adversity

is an amazing gift from God.

When we understand the depth

of who God is,

we come to understand

how ridiculous worry really is.

Absolutely nothing

takes Him by surprise or

catches Him off guard.

“He’s got the whole world in His hands”;

we like to sing it,

but do we believe it?

Having lived through (and survived) much

(not as much as some, but more than others),

I have learned to trust every word of Jesus.

And when He says,

“Your heavenly Father knows all your needs

and He will give you all you need

from day to day

if you love Him and

make the Kingdom of God

your primary concern,”

I believe Him.

And though things may not

always look the way I had imagined,

I am thankful for the knowledge that

“Father knows best”,

that His plan is good and perfect,

and that the best IS yet to come.

Another Love Lesson

I am beyond tired of 

rude, thoughtless, self-centered people!

There.

 I said it.

When someone else’s ill behavior is 

directed toward me,

 I could honestly care less.

I have learned to 

choose not to allow it to affect me.

After all, 

people misjudge and misperceive 

me all of the time.

But when ill behavior is 

directed at my children (or husband), 

that’s a different story.

Then,

 the hairs bristle,

 muscles tense, 

veins on the neck bulge, 

claws come out…

Well, you get the picture.

I love my family

 implicitly and unconditionally.

I choose to overlook and/or deal with 

their short comings 

and to see

 their value and their worth. 

I know how 

wonderful and precious 

they are 

and I treasure each one of them.

And as their mom (and wife) 

I guess I figure

 everyone else should too.

This morning, 

as I was thinking about this, 

I wondered if,

when God’s children behave

 as rude, thoughtless, self-centered imps,

 He gets tired of it too.

Jesus has told us 

that the most important thing

 we have to do in life is to 

Love.

Love –  Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Love – one another as we love ourselves.

Love – one another, just as our Father in heaven loves us.

He has told us that Love 

does not

 behave rudely 

and is not

 thoughtless or self-centered.

 And, that in Loving others,

 even better than we love ourselves, 

we have fulfilled His wishes.

And though I may be justified in 

my frustration with people’s ill behavior, 

I still live by the standard of Love.

And because of  Love;

 the Father’s unending, 

unconditional, 

all-consuming 

 Love 

which I have been saturated in;

 I  choose, 

once again,

 to let my frustration go,

 to not behave rudely back, 

and to walk and live out the 

Love 

which has been so graciously

 bestowed upon me…

...and you.

Peace.