Easter, Resurrection Day

Easter, what does it mean to you? I am sure you've heard that question before. And I think every year any follower of Christ Jesus will ask yourself that question. But let me ask you, when you think about Easter, and what it means to you, does it reach deep down in your heart? Do you truly feel something deep inside?
For me Easter, or Resurrection Day as so many will say, is the most important holiday we celebrate as Christians. It all starts on Good Friday. As I read Scripture and remember the road Jesus took for us, the love He has for us, and what He endured for us, I cannot imagine what His followers must have felt. They watched as the King of Kings was arrested, beaten, and hung on that cross to die. Yet Jesus still spoke of forgiveness and love while dying. He knew this was what He had to do to give each and every person the chance of forgiveness and redemption. He wanted every single person to have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in heaven. His love is so strong and so massive that He was willing to die so that we could live. And yet even after He hung on that cross, many still refused to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus would not leave His people without hope and disappointment.
Then came Sunday, Resurrection Day. Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. Jesus appeared to His disciples once again, He conquered death, and no longer will His followers be without hope. When Jesus ascended into heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit down to be our helper, our comforter, and to be with us always.
Matthew 28:19-20
 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 
teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
For me Easter is my hope. It is the ultimate example of love. And it reminds me that I will have eternity with Jesus. My heart is filled with His Holy Spirit. Therefore I am never alone, I have my helper, my comforter always. And I always have hope. No matter what trials life brings, we always have that hope. We always have the unconditional love of Jesus. Jesus tells us He is ALWAYS with us. That is something I never want to take for granted. Jesus wants that for you also. 

Power Tools!

Let's talk power tools. Face it, we are always looking for the next newest, better power tool.  If we need a screw driver we want a nice powerful drill. If something needs sawing we look for a nice power saw or table saw that zips right through the wood with ease.  And the list can go on and on. I know my husband could list many power tools he'd like to have.
So what does that have to do with this blog? Let me explain.
So often we run to God when we are facing a crisis. We plead with Him in an urgent way, please God, help me through this ordeal. Everything else around us stops. Only our urgent need is on our mind. Then when all is okay again we go about our daily lives until next time.
But is that how God really wants us to pray? He has given us the "ultimate power tool". Prayer!
That's right, prayer. It is more powerful than any tool we have on this earth. It is much less expensive, it actually is free for us because Jesus already paid the ultimate price for our gift of prayer.
It is the tool above all tools, and ours. We can call out to God and ask for Him to move in our lives, to move in the crisis we are facing, and He will gladly do so because He loves us.
You may be asking "how is this thing called prayer so powerful"?
When we pray with our hearts, and all that is within us, our prayers turn from just words to fervent, passionate prayer. The study I am doing right now calls this type of prayer "EXTRA-ORDINARY" prayer. And this type of prayer touches God's heart.
God loves when we have a passion for something. He loves when we are persistent and earnest about our prayers. And most of all He loves us! Therefore He wants to move those mountains, show those miracles, and get us through those crisis.
And you know what, we do not have to wait until our need gets urgent. We can pray at anytime, day or night. He is always listening.
So faithful readers, I truly pray that you can find the passion, the fervency, the persistence to push through and pray. Use that powerful tool that God has given you through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. There truly is power in the words we pray. We just need to do it.

What is Your Breaking Point?

What is your breaking point? By breaking point I mean the point at which we let go and give it all to God. When we finally realize we cannot do this by ourselves. That we realize we are just like everyone else and we are needy. We all are in need of Jesus Christ being in our lives. Remember the older hymn “There is power in the blood of Jesus”.  There are many hymns and current worship songs that speak of the blood of Jesus. There are many that speak of the power of the cross.
Think about it, when things are piling up against us, when we’ve reached our breaking point, we call out to Jesus to help us. Why do we do that?  Because we know the power that Jesus has, and through that power He rescues us, saves us, brings out of that overwhelming place and into His presence, full of peace and comfort. We all go through difficult times.  I certainly do. But it is what we do to be victorious that counts.
I am certainly not exempt from difficult times. This winter has been long for me. I have had to stay “quarantined “ because of the severity of the flu this year. I have experienced great pain this winter with difficulty in walking, which I blame on the weather.  But mostly it is because of the medical problems in my body that I experience these hard times. So what do you do about it? I refuse to sit and feel sorry for myself.  There are days that I am stronger. But I have days when I get very frustrated. And those are the days I must remind myself, Jesus hung on that cross, His blood ran down, and He conquered the powers of darkness for ME.  For my victory. For your victory.
There is power in His blood. There is power in His name.
When you find yourself having a bad day, call out to Jesus. Stand firm, plead His blood over you, grasp ahold of your victory.
Remember, you are not alone in your hardships. We all have our share.  But let’s be stronger than those hardships and not allow them to define who we are.