It’s almost here – Easter, my favorite holiday! Without Easter there is no reason to get out of bed. No reason to celebrate a birthday. No reason to hope for anything good to come to this difficult life. No hope for eternal life with God.
The result will be something delicious and beautiful, and you won’t be exhausted!
But there IS Easter! Why? Jesus arose from the dead! He is alive! He conquered death and hell. That means my I can live, truly live in this life, and live eternally. I have trusted in Christ – that His death on the cross was the penalty for my sin. He has rescued me! Oh, what reason to celebrate not just this Sunday, but every day!!
Today on Good Friday, we remember that Jesus died on the cross. We remember His pain and suffering as He hung between the thieves, though He had never sinned. We hear Him cry out in the darkness, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,” and we know that the word, “them” includes you and me. We crucified Him. We were guilty. We remember that He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and three days later, He arose!
My heart is so thankful that He lives and He gives me purpose for every day! If you don’t have an assurance of eternal life, He loves you, and if you had been the only one born, He would have died just for you. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and put your faith in Him alone. He can rescue you from sin and eternal separation from Him in hell and fill your life with the joy of knowing Him now.
My church, Boones Creek Bible Church is having a Good Friday service today, April 15 at 4:00 in the afternoon. We would love to have you join us. It’s going to be a precious time of remembering His sacrifice on the cross.
Also, if you don’t have a church home, we’d love for you to come to our Easter service at 10:30 Sunday morning.
If you need a great object lesson to share with children about what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished, you can watch this demonstration I did here on You Tube.
Walking along the shoreline of the ocean begs for shell-seeking. As you walk along, you are blinded by glimmers of colors pressed into the sand. You hear the crunch of the buried bits under your feet and an inquisitive mind wonders what treasures could be revealed just under their sandalled foot.
We bend down and scour the sand. What are we looking for? The perfect shell. Not one that has been walked upon, like we just did moments before! No, we seek for one that is unbroken; one that is completely whole with nothing missing or cracked. Those finds are rare. They are discovered by the early morning seekers, donned in water boots, standing ankle deep in the ocean’s foam to make their find before the lazy beachcombers awaken.
As I surveyed the beach on a mid-morning walk last week, I saw a shell in all its beauty! It appeared perfect! I snapped a picture to document my perfect find!
As I bent down and inspected the shell, I was reminded of how we also seek perfection in the children that would enter our home. “As long as they’re healthy, that’s all that matters!” we say. And what do we do if we find that there is a problem – a crack, if you will?
What if a piece is missing, causing an illness or an unwanted diagnosis later on?
What if their make-up is strong-willed and stubborn?
What if there are special needs?
What happens if there is a learning disability?
What if rebellion comes with age and maturity?
What ever will we do with the brokenness that displays itself at the time when we are most embarrassed by it?
The truth is that every child is broken. It comes as a result of being born into a sinful, broken world that has put sin in their nature. That “crack” will be seen in each child in different ways and different times, but it’s there. The blessing isn’t from overlooking the imperfection, but acknowledging it, for then we can find the Hope needed to comfort and restore.
That hope is the grace of God that brings salvation. As sure as the ocean’s tide will cover that broken shell on the shoreline, God’s grace will cover our child as they hear the message of the Gospel. Their greatest need isn’t to be “fixed,” but to be saved. If their weakness, brokenness and imperfection will point them to Jesus as the Savior for their sins, would it not be a treasure for which we did not ask?
What about illnesses, weaknesses and deformities and struggles that put hardship on the parents? God’s grace is as deep as the ocean, and it is sufficient for each day’s burdens and struggles. As the grace of God is witnessed by His daily strength to help, His wisdom to know how to move forward, and His provision that supplies for needs, that weakness glorifies the God who made that child and formed them in the womb. Surely He also puts in our hearts that this is not forever. One Day wholeness will come.
As I watch the waves roll in, one at a time, the Lord reminds me that that is how grace is given to us – one need at a time – not before we need it, or less than we need, but when we need it, and in sufficient amounts.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. II Corinthians 12:9
After careful examination, it turned out that the “perfect shell” I found wasn’t perfect after all. Lovely as they are, I also saw early on that my girls were also broken, just like their parents! Praise God for the saving grace that has been applied to their lives and that is continually working in each of us as we look forward to that day in heaven when we will be like Jesus! That’s when we will see perfection!
Oh, how God’s heart rejoices at those that go looking for the broken! That refers to those that need the Gospel. With whom are we sharing the Good News of Christ? Are you pouring the Gospel message into your children every day, weaving its message into all of life? As parents, it’s your responsibility! If you don’t have children in your home, are you teaching the Gospel to your grandchildren or to your friends, neighbors and the people with whom you interact?
Let’s not be looking for what our hearts think we need (perfection) and instead, purposefully look for the brokenness around us that needs the tidal wave of God’s saving grace! There is no greater Treasure!
I think I’ve shaken my head out of confusion and disbelief more in the last few months than in my entire life.
The reason?
Inconsistency.
It’s centered around the Coronavirus, of course (because isn’t everything these days?).
You may not sit inside…Of course we serve inside but you may not sit outside!
Only half capacity in store…Only 7% in stadium!
Church may not meet…Half the building may be full.
Masks are required at all times by everyone…Most of the staff have masks pushed down below their nose.
No one may stay overnight at the hospital with a patient…We can make allowances for you to stay.
I could go on, but I think you get my drift. It’s not as much what we have to do, but how inconsistent all the rules are that make this a season of frustration and confusion.
This frustration made me sit recently and think about how thankful I am that my salvation is rock solid. It is all based on Christ Who never changes and on His Word that is forever true! I never have to wonder if He has changed His mind or if there have been new guidelines added as to how to get to heaven! It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Realize I’m a sinner on my way to hell.
Understand that Christ took my place on the cross to reconcile me to God.
Accept Christ as my personal Savior.
All that will never change. Why?
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8
What peace that truth gives! My daily life goes on with a grateful heart. Christ lifted the rules (the law) and saves us by grace!! How blessed we are!
So in reality, I can be thankful for the inconsistencies because it makes me realize once again what a wonderful gift my salvation truly is!
I’m done ranting about the Coronavirus…until I start ranting again. Just kidding. I really am asking the Lord to help me to remember the grace-filled life I get to enjoy for ETERNITY and be thankful instead!
Maybe this reminder will give each of us something to share with others when we start to shake our head again. The world needs to know of our Savior Who is ALWAYS full of grace, and that never changes!
It was a busy evening of decorating the church for our recent Vacation Bible School when one of the leaders picked up a “Conversation Beach Ball” and decided it was time for a break. She threw the ball to a worker and yelled, “Right hand!” They caught the ball and then read the question that was under the grasp of their right thumb and answered it. The ball was passed to me and the question I read was something like,
What Bible story do you love the most?
Not wanting to take too much time to answer, I thought of one I’d recently been reading in my morning devotions. I said, “The story of Joseph forgiving his brothers.” The group was satisfied with my answer because it allowed the game to continue.
The next day I got to thinking back on our game, and my question in particular, and I was shocked when I thought about how I had responded!
To continue with my theme of my 10th anniversary of blogging, I thought it would be fun to share highlights of my blog. Let’s start with food!
You don’t have to read my posts for long to know that I love to cook. We love good food made at home and it’s fun to find the best recipes to make for my friends and family. The recipe that has had the most hits on my blog is my recipe for Beef Enchiladas. That is for good reason, friends. This is probably my family’s favorite dish! You can find this recipe here.
Coming in as another sought after recipe is this one for Empanadas. Another beef recipe, this is a great do-ahead recipe that could be frozen prior to baking.
The blog post that has the highest readers was a post near and dear to my own heart. It dealt with how to know if your child is ready to be saved. Many parents struggle to know if their child is too young to trust Christ. Should they make them wait until they’re older? Do they need to know more before they pray? Here was my response to those questions.
Marriage posts are important to me because I know how the devil attacks the home and would love to destroy the union between husband and wife. Simple posts like this one on kindness in marriage shows that it’s really the little things that can make a big difference in a happy relationship.
This post on getting a toddler ready to sit in church must be a hot topic because it was another popular read. We all know that getting a 4 or 5 yea-old to sit quietly in church is like trying to corral kittens! I trust these ideas will help get those kittens to sit for a little while so Mommy and Daddy can hear God’s Word without having to leave the service (as often).
I trust that some of these most popular posts might help inspire you in your kitchen, your home and marriage, or your church service! Come back tomorrow where we’ll get a little more personal. =)
RefreshHer 