CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!! Have a glorious Easter Sunday today. My own will begin in practice in less than an hour. I love this day as I imagine all believers do for there is no other day like it. Christ literally destroyed for us the doom of death from our sins and gave us the freedom of eternity because of His Resurrection.
How can I keep from singing Your praise, how can I ever say enough how AMAZING IS YOUR LOVE…! These words have a tune to them which sing in my spirit as I write this. Rejoice today and each day forthcoming for Jesus Christ is not only RIsen from the grave, He is waiting to spend eternity with you and me where we can continuously sing His praise!
This morning, in a few hours, our quartet is singing the old cantata, No Greater Love (in an abbreviated form), for a 7th Day Adventist Church in our neighboring city. We have done this a few times but never have we done it on Easter weekend. It just brings to new life the significance of Christ’s work on the Cross. Yes, I’m somewhat in knots as I write this. I tend to get a swarm of butterflies in my gut whenever I sing. In my old age it shows while I sing through tears I just can’t seem to control. My heart is so full of thanksgiving for what God, His Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit did for you and me!
I know that today represents the grave, the tomb. But, I already am living in tomorrow for I know, as well as you, that Christ isn’t in the grave even today. Only His flesh lies there. He is busy creating the pathway He and God planned for us freeing us from the bondage of our sin. There is no song, no action, no praise from the mouth of man that would be sufficient to THANK Christ for this freedom. Yet, He did it for you and me!
The cruel reality of Easter begins as Christ is crucified on the cross. By mid-afternoon He will be dead. (I choke up just writing this). I know what happens, but good grief, what a price to pay! And, it was done for you and me. How does one wrap their minds around such astounding truth?!
Yesterday I had written about letting people know their value to God as the reason for Christ’s death and resurrection. This did take place during the day, but the one time it stood out the most was last night at Celebrate Recovery. There were two young men who were first-timers. I was the one who met with them during the small group time to acquaint them with the full ministry of CR. In so doing, the opportunity was there to express God’s love for them regardless of their past and very recent present. Christ’s sacrifice displaying His astounding love is what He wants them to now know. The one young man just teared up and said, “This is just what I’ve needed!” Both men are just now breaking free from bondages that they never want to return to. They have young relationships too which they want to honor God in.
There is nothing like seeing the tender work of Jesus first hand. His redeeming love always displays a humble gratitude that only takes place when Jesus is present and His Holy Spirit is doing His cleansing. How grateful I am to get to be a witness of this Glorious Work Christ did on the Cross for each one of us!
Forty-three years ago today I met Kathy and we had our first date. It was a blind date set up by a teacher who taught for me and her husband. This started my journaling this morning as I began to thank God for His wonderful blessing having placed Kathy in my life for all of these past 43 years. She has been the voice of God so often to me helping me see steps I needed to take and to also have the trust and courage to take them. How grateful I am for this gift of God to me.
I had intended for this above message to be my focus of the morning’s journaling. However, God had something else He wanted me to also focus on. Today is Christ’s last day to be with his disciples. It was the Last Supper and His time in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was the day when he was taken away never to return for the following day he would be crucified. Believers know this and many non-believers know this message. However, what God was pointing out to me was something He wanted me to know and do this day. He wanted me to emphasize the truth that for everyone I meet with today needs to know He did all of this for them. Each one of us is worthy of this price in spite of what we have believed about ourselves.
I brought this up to a man I was meeting with yesterday and he cried saying he really needed to hear this. The immensity of what Christ did for all of us is so critical for us to know and believe. What we so often miss is the intimacy Christ wants to have with each one of us as we accept this Gift of sacrifice He paid. The Power of the Resurrection is ours if we only believe. This Power will raise us out of the pits of our sinfulness and bondage if we will only believe as we receive. This Power is best seen and known once we open ourselves fully to Christ spending intimate time with Him and listening to His Holy Spirit speak to us through God’s Word and our prayers. This message is what God wanted me to hear this morning and to give to those I’m with this day both in counseling and in Celebrate Recovery tonight. All I can say is Thank You God for not so long ago I was one who wished all of this could be true for me.
As I began my journaling today I was hit with some temptations I don’t typically contend with as I’m having my devotions. I knew the source of them and brought it out in my journaling. I asked Jesus what He wanted me to know regarding this? His response was immediate. He simply said in that “still small voice”, “Flesh feeds flesh, so if you want to gratify your selfishness then feed it flesh. If you want to feed spirit, feed it spiritual food for spirit feeds spirit and flesh feeds flesh.” It was then I surrendered all of that temptation to Jesus and it dissipated–just like that. Later in my journaling I asked Jesus as I do each day, what He wanted me to know for today? This is when I heard Him say that when the day ends we can be given a plate of guilt if we feed flesh to flesh or we can be given a plate of JOY if we choose to feed spirit with spiritual food. I choose JOY for today.
God is so amazingly kind, yet thorough as He works with us and guides us each and every day. There is simply no joy like that which comes from obedience to Him, trusting Him and living life’s journey with Him. How I love Him!
Yesterday’s post was a start and not an end. As I had written it I thought that seeing myself compared to Jesus rather than dad was where God wanted me. That was the end of comparing. Well, it was the end of comparing myself with dad. Being very conscious of my own self yesterday in comparison to Jesus was an abrupt reality. The day had a lot of catch up in it for the yard and me and I did all of it with thanksgiving for the time to get it done. My counseling appointment late in the afternoon didn’t show so I came home for dinner ahead of choir practice. Kathy had it ready but was thinking I wouldn’t be home until after choir–original plan. She hurriedly was getting it heated for me so I could eat before going to choir, but not as quickly as I saw it could be done. My tone of voice let me see me in my selfishness and not Christ in His thankfulness. As I went to bed I had the joy of the Lord for most of the day. I needed to confess the selfishness pointed out to me by His nudge. No more dad comparing. Christ wants me living for Him alone with Him as my one and only Idol–Jesus Himself.
It is so humbling, yet worthwhile, living for Jesus. I have wanted to be a worthwhile servant for Him all of my life. But, in order to do so, I need to keep seeing and obeying what he points out about my flesh. He wants all of me–my flesh included to be surrendered so His Light can be fully visible. This journey with Him continues!
This probably sounds silly, but have you ever tried to live fully surrendered in a day to Jesus in the power of The Holy Spirit? I ask this because each morning I make this commitment to do so and by the end of the day I can almost always confess where I failed. As I was journaling this morning I was writing to Jesus about this. When I asked Him what He wanted me to know for today, I head him say: “The Joy of the Lord is found in obedience. In order to find obedience one needs to recognize his selfishness in the day. Selfishness is the great blocker for obedience.”
I lived so very long to never be like my dad who I saw as one of the most selfish men I’ve ever known. Selfish in how he wanted things not wanting to see how someone else might want it. My mom was a victim to this and all of us kids felt it severely. I gauged my own selfishness on dad’s. Now, all these years later, I see my own selfishness as my own. I can no longer compare it to dad’s, for Jesus wants me to compare it to Him. It was easy for Satan to keep my eyes on dad for his ways loomed in front of me. I could feel good in this light. However, today, that comparison is behind me. Today I see my selfishness as mine.
Today my commitment is to be obedient to The Holy Spirit within me surrendering my mind, my sprit, my body, my soul so that Jesus will be seen. At the end of today I can know the Joy of the Lord with no guilt or shame, only JOY!
Today, 48 years ago, was a Wednesday and I was teaching 5th grade at an elementary school. The principal walked into my classroom and said I needed to head home because my wife was in labor. It was 10:00 am when this took place. I quickly headed home and we headed to the hospital where our daughter Amber was born just a few hours later. What a blessing she has always been! Happy Birthday Amber!
It is good to be home now. I enjoyed working in the yard getting the watering caught up for the garden and flower beds. As I began my devotions this morning I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed with all that God has supplied and blessed. I use to have such bondage I kept undisclosed and today I get to use all of it for purposes I never thought God would even want to use due to its ugliness. Yet, God in all of His miraculous ways, uses them to help others with their own bondage. Only God can do this!
Today I get to be part of our worship team praising Jesus as we celebrate the start of His last week as man on earth. Oh how unworthy we are, yet how worthy we get to be because of Christ’s Work on the Cross! No thanks can ever be enough. Yet, we can try and that we will do! THANK YOU JESUS!!
We are on the plane getting ready to fly back home. It’s been a wonderful week to be with our Oklahoma kids and refresh. More news tomorrow! God is so good!
All good things must come to an end and today that will happen for our trip to OKC. Last night was our granddaughter’s recital. It was far more magnificent than I could have imagined. Not only does she have this beautiful soprano voice, but her stage presence is equally attractive. God has richly blessed her! Today my daughter and I get to buy plants she wants in her flower beds and we will plant them before the day is ended. That’s the second best thing about our trip next to the recital last night!
My nephew who is struggling with a malignant brain tumor got word yesterday with options. He will wait until he hears from all three sites where he could find treatment to make his decision as to where and what to pursue. God has provided a level of hope for the family and we are most grateful for that. God is always good in what He does if we will just be patient to see what He has in store. This might be the more difficult part but it is always worth the wait! Thank you God!
Earnie Lewis 