Easter Sunday

P 3304 Thank God for EASTER SUNDAY!

/ DVH

“We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and Who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews 12:2 TPT.

Isn’t that a lovely version of this beautiful scripture? The hard bit can be looking away from the natural realm —  mainly because it surrounds us, and jumps out at us at every turn! For example, the news of the moment is all about war, and petrol, plus the effect of this war on all of us. We have been almost battered into submission by journalistic or expert opinions to think a certain way. 

Unfortunately, their particular stream of thought seems to include picking bad people and good people. Whereas the Lord simply sees people He loves.← That’s a full stop right there! It is incredibly sad to think God is on OUR nation’s side. Our daily efforts are best expended by permanently living on HIS SIDE. Let’s look for love to guide us, not popular opinion, or even a lack of oil or diesel. We live because of Easter Sunday. The tomb that contained His body was meant to crush Christianity, but instead it ushered in eternity. It is so like Jesus to take what satan meant for evil and turn it to everyone’s good!

I thank God I was born on this side of the cross. That tomb is still empty! Never forget on Good Friday to throw off your burdens at the cross and then… walk past the cross to that empty tomb. It’s a place of thanksgiving and remembrance. Our reality on this day, is far greater than any monument. Today is the day we remember that Jesus didn’t just SAY He conquered sin and death – today is the day He proved it! His Presence in our daily lives defies death, this world, and our enemy. The wolves of this world can ‘huff and puff” and try to tear down our house, but we’ve been built on the Rock that is Christ Jesus.  

We can look through our daily trials and tribulations, and see Jesus Christ and His resurrection through a glorious vista of living faith. I love what Paul writes in the bible. He stays focussed on what Christ has already done, not on what we lack. I pray we too will continually focus on the joy of that long ago Easter day and what it means to us in our own lives, here and now. Because of that day, the blind and deaf, still see and hear, (physically and spiritually). Because of that day we are no longer afraid of Almighty God. He is cherished by us, He is knowable and close to us, always. Now there will always be more than enough love for all!  

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 2:13,14. We don’t have to be important in this world’s eyes to be a part of what Jesus is doing on the earth today. We simply need to stay close to Him. He’s our Friend that sticks closer than a brother, and He knows what is happening in our lives. He has won every victory, despite how it looks.

Take Paul’s advice, remember Jesus’ victory at Easter. And forget what is behind you, press forward toward the goal God has set for you. When we could not possibly reach Him, God reached down and lifted us up — and now we stand with the Lord Jesus, shoulder to shoulder — we are called His brothers and sisters and covered in His Love. Easter is our proof that we do not hope in vain. 

Let’s look at Psalm 27:13,14. “I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.” Psalm 27 reminds us how good God is. That cross is His goodness in the land of the living! Paul in Philippians 4:13 clearly tells us where we get the strength to continue. Christ’s overcoming strength burst out of that tomb, and He has never been contained since. Men and women over the centuries have lived their entire lives based on the One Who did not stay dead! I can have confidence, strength and courage, because He didn’t do what He did for Himself … He did it for all of US.

So, we can face any unpleasant relatives with love, even the ones who have behaved horrendously toward us. They can’t reach us to hurt us, anymore. We are now spectators, no longer participants in their sin. Drop that junk off at the cross and let your heart be permanently hidden in Christ the Risen One. Now it is easy to be forgiving, loving and kind to that friend who stabbed us in the back. We can live this life, the only one we have, differently. 

Even if you are facing the threat of death today, Jesus’ death and resurrection shows us that He trusted the Holy Spirit to bring Him out of that gloomy grave – so we can too. Because of Easter Sunday, we now live in the ever-expanding Grace and Love of God. May He Bless you to be strong and courageous! Happy Easter! Bye. 👋

P 2569 Praise God for Easter SUNDAY …

/ DVH

“For since we are permanently grafted into Him to experience a death like His, then we are permanently grafted into Him to experience a resurrection like His and the new life that it imparts.” Romans 6:5 TPT.

Easter Sunday released a new way to live … for all mankind. And the more we choose to yield to Him, the more of the Lord and His ways, we will begin to embrace. The church doesn’t just need revival – we need New Life! New life came into that tomb long, long ago – it swallowed up death. Our Saviour IS alive with eternal life and that is far greater than we can ever imagine. Our Jesus cannot be stopped. He is the source of our new life. ‘He is the way, the truth and … the life!‘

Just pause and let that sink in. The One you believe in is endless! He lives in eternity, and because of Him forever is our portion. We joyfully raise our sights above the battles of here and now, and live in the reality of His kingdom coming, now -TODAY.  Now we can watch “on earth as it is in heaven” happen … in front of our own eyes – in our own lives. We don’t have to be afraid of anything, because our source of life is not like the grabby spiteful kind of life that is in this world around us. The life in this world, decays and dies … because it is easily be corrupted.

Death can’t touch Christ. His sacrificial act on Calvary is where eternal life comes from. Death cannot touch Him, anymore than darkness can extinguish light!  Darkness cannot intimidate us because it cannot win. Praise God Jesus died to release us from sin…AND … He died to give US the power to conquer sin. So that sin can’t grab at us anymore. Sin is a place of temporary pleasure, but giving in to it means I lose sight of Him and what He is doing. What He does and is doing, right now, is so fantastic that I wanna know about it!  No brainer.

Now, He is a part of us, and we are a part of Him. We are His chosen bride. We are becoming one flesh with Him — because we are becoming united in our purpose. Dying to self is not a hopeless chore that is doomed to fail – it is the way to be united with the Lord. He died and now WE die! Our choosing to die for His sake … or even for someone else’s sake … unites us with His purposes. Just like that disciple that was constantly rattling on that he was Jesus favourite, now WE can hear His heartbeat. As we die to self, we  tune our hearts into His heartbeat by obeying and trusting Him … despite the cost … which is tiny in comparison to knowing the Lord! 

Here’s another great Easter Sunday present for you! “So now we draw near freely and boldly to where grace is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.” Hebrews 4:16 TPT. We are not alone, tossed about by needs, wants and the desires of this world. The winds of turmoil can blow … but they can no longer touch the heart in us. We’ve made His heart, His priorities, His goals, His aims … ours. This is how we follow Jesus. Living this life, the only one we have down here, the way He would do it. We have become His hands and feet, right here, right now. 

Everything we need as we follow Him, is available to us. I think we’ve been asking/praying for the wrong things. This world says if we get in trouble then we must pray to get out! What would happen if we pray to endureand GO THROUGH? Jesus prayed to get out 3 times, and God said NO.. go through. I’m not saying that our precious Father God and His mercy’s kiss won’t ever release us from harm. However, I am saying we will grow impervious to satan’s wiles, when we go through holding onto His promise that He will never leave us and He knows what is best FOR US.  That is how we grow and mature and gain His clarity. When we trust God, obey what He says, and go through trouble believing nothing happens to us that He does not know about – even if we die.

There are rarely shortcuts – or easy exits. To grow IN Him, we simply stand on what Christ already did. His death and resurrection are now our proof that death cannot conquer us. We may be pitiful and weak, but that’s OK, our Saviour has already given us His strength for our weaknesses.  Now our faith helps us to stand up! Or even to humbly kneel down, in the middle of trouble and strife. We have faith that says: “Trouble, you may not take away what I believe. My faith is not in answers —- it is in the Person of Jesus Christ!”  Praise God for Easter Sunday …👋