Easter

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 2571 He isn’t here …

/ DVH

Matthew 28:1-7 “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

I love that line uttered by the angel who was sitting in that empty tomb. “He is not here; …”   My first thought was – “then where is He??”… And the Lord smiled at me and said: “EVERYWHERE!!”  My second thought was that God left that angel there to talk to those women ... he waited for them. Makes you think doesn’t it? Nothing happens to us that is outside of His gaze – the Lord is prepared for any circumstance.  

Man those things are mind boggling. And what Jesus said to me made me think. We want to advertise Him as being at our church Sunday by Sunday but He’s not limited by time and space anymore … HE goes where the Wind blows. Let’s pray: ‘Please Holy Spirit, blow on me!’  Amen. With that end in mind, perhaps we should start asking HIM where He is going to be today? … Instead of expecting Him to automatically turn up where we are. Maybe we need to be more sensitive to His desires? Couldn’t hurt!! Moving on …

These two ordinary little women may have been scared, but they were still able to talk to, and listen to the angel without falling over.  All they cared about was finding the Lord! Unlike those big burly guards installed by Pilate’s order, together with the religious oversight. Those soldiers were scared spit-less by the same angel and promptly fell down as if dead. Knowing Jesus personally makes all the difference. We may be awed sometimes, but we will not be totally overwhelmed. Supernatural stuff should be praiseworthy but normal to you and I. We know HIM. 

Here’s another fun thought:  the disciples, who followed Jesus day after day, promptly forgot everything He said when He died. They were so overcome by grief and fear, they were not expecting His resurrection.  But Pilate, who handed the Lord over to the religious leaders, made a point to put guards on the tomb – because he remembered that Jesus said He would rise again! So they installed guards to make sure nobody could pinch the body and tell everyone He was resurrected. Now there’s the rocks crying out! The non-believers remembered!

Once you and I know for sure for ourselves, that He is risen – then our next job is to go and tell others. I remember the day when the Lord impacted my life, the first thing I was told to do was to tell somebody. So I rang the pastor’s wife and she about came right through the phone at me she was so excited. After that I told everybody! I wasn’t trying to be a smartie pants – I was just so excited because I knew that I knew, that God loved me. I had encountered something real, something worth talking about.

I dunno why many people think that telling other people about what happened to each one of us is hard, I really don’t. It seems to me that most of the time we do our best to avoid it. But it is the most natural thing in the world to talk to others, when something incredible happens to us. Especially when we discover what we thought was a theory turns out to be a reality! If we are asked to tell others about what is going on with our spouse, our friends, our kids, our parents, even our teachers, our fav past-time … we can easily say something! But when it comes to our faith – it seems we instantly get shtum. Why is that so?

Maybe somewhere over the years, other people have made a great big thing about what you are supposed to say or do when passing on the good news that that tomb was empty, and Jesus is alive, today. The further we walk away from our initial encounter with Him – whether we believed the book, or saw Him in Person –  the harder it seems to get. You know, those two women did not have a speech prepared. They were so joyful they simply related what they saw. That’s all our job is! Not to preach at others, or bash them with our church’s theological thoughts … we just need to tell them what happened to us. Nobody else has a testimony like yours.

We all have a story and Father God will pick the people who need to hear it. Not everybody will yell: ‘yippee can I do that too?’ It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to save them – and it’s our job to tell them what we know… I think the simpler we keep our explanation of what happened to us, the better! Something like: “Believe it or not, Christ isn’t dead, He’s alive and I’ve met Him.”  We are meant to be salt – not the whole stew! We are here to make them thirsty… the rest is up to the Lord. 👋

P 2570 Easter down-under. ⛺️

/ DVH

In our part of the world Easter heralds the end of summer time. Enjoying the Easter holidays in this country rivals our enjoyment and obsession with eating Easter Eggs! It is a last flash of summer brightness to be savoured at all cost. In days gone by, Aussies used to try to do an obligatory drop-in to say “Hi” to God. Today, most don’t go to church anymore … because they are just plain too busy, and probably gave up church-going for Lent.

Let’s peek into one family home cos they are about to leave soon for the beach. Everybody helps to pack the car – some less willingly than others – and then we join in the rush …  … So we can go sit in a traffic jam – which happens in both directions – coming and going! At the same time, we indulge in our fav pastime – complaining about the Main Roads department and their distinct lack of competence regarding our road system. 

The people in the back seat also like to complain, loudly, about the people in the front seat’s choice of music, and a good time is not had by all. Fights can eventually break out in the back seat, because it’s hot in the car sitting in the sun, not actually going anywhere. Some people anticipate this angst and have a few cold ones while they are waiting for the traffic to move. One guy this Easter fished out his electric guitar and cheered up the cars at a stand still. Dunno how he plugged that in!

Eventually, tired and weary, this family arrive at their chosen destination and put up the tent — which is no mean feat. Tent construction is advertised as great fun by Dad – possibly because he isn’t keen to do all the work alone! The kids meanwhile, are hopping from one foot to another longing to be told they can go and stick their toes in the ocean. Our ocean is still warm at this time of the year … 

… That’s when their holiday really starts. It’s sun, sea, salt, surf and sand … Sand in your togs, sand on your towel, sand in your eyes, sand on the tent floor, sand in your sleeping bag, and in your sandwich. Who cares? This is our last chance to enjoy summer for four days, and we are going to do it!! If it kills us.

Meanwhile mum works hard to make sure everybody is fed. As well trying to keep the mayonnaise for the prawns COLD so that nobody ends up with a case of salmonella … and that’s not easy with no fridge! Most of the time her job is to sit on a towel on the sand, watching the kids, and counting their heads bobbing about in the ocean. At the same time she is expected to stay there on duty in the sun, while her spouse enjoys chucking back a cold one with the other liberated spouses in the camping ground. It is always time for a beer in Australia!

It was not ever meant to be so at our house – light years ago. My mum used to say: “If I can’t plug in my electric frypan then I’m not going.” Later on she married a truckie, an ex-soldier, whose idea of camping comfort was a tarpaulin over some trees and a ground sheet for sleeping … Like …on the ground! Grass was a bonus that was not even remotely equal to today’s memory foam mattresses. But you were allowed to have a hip hole dug in the ground for your hip, and supposed comfort. True story.

My step-father’s idea of a toilet was another tarpaulin wound around some gum trees and hole called the long drop! If you weren’t careful, or you went to the loo in the dark, that’s exactly what could happen to you!! He loved camping in the bush. I still shudder when sand gets in my shoes. But I’ve had prayer for healing lots of times!! OK I’m joking – again. Traumatised … there’s a word!! The idea of intentionally sitting by the ocean and getting sandy and salty and calling that fun …Nah! Not happening Jan.

Easter in Oz is not thought of as a Holy time. Or even a time for reflection. The smells and bells have faded into the background, replaced by the smell of the ocean, fresh fish, and boozy, sweaty bods. And yet everybody who is in that camp ground will probably turn up again when the sun begins to get warm. Why? There is a great camaraderie that all us Aussies really enjoy when we get together. They want to go back to that place and see those people they have come to know over the years. 

The need for fellowship is deeply engrained in the heart of mankind. It’s the ‘where it happens’ that is killing us, in the church.  Many people honestly think that Jesus is great but they don’t want to sit in a church staring at stained glass windows, wondering when the service will be over! THEY DON’T KNOW HIM – WHY WOULD THEY COME? Church is monumentally boring in their eyes. So Australians are now officially, His lost sheep. Here’s a news flash, Jesus wants those precious lost sheep back – what are you going to do about it? 👋

P 2566 JESUS is the reason for this season – TOO!

/ DVH

Easter is well advertised where I live. Chocolate bunnies, chickens and eggs, pop up like daisies all over the place, weeks and weeks before this season comes along. These things clog the supermarket aisles and sell like we’ve never seen chocolate before. At the same time, the hot cross buns with all sorts of weird ingredients started appearing right after Christmas! After all we mustn’t miss an opportunity to sell SELL SELL!

The local fishermen love Easter time, loads of people eat all kinds of fish this weekend and they count on selling tons of it! I saw a snippet from a news story the other day where it was suggested that the crosses on top of these buns were old-fashioned, so one bakery has started putting a Nike tick on the top instead!  True story!

Recently, a trusty news crew went out to interview people on the street and asked them what they thought about this new development of hot cross buns without the crosses. One young lady said: “Well, we are a secular society so I don’t think it matters.” My first thought was, ‘She’s right!’  And my next one was: ‘Whose fault is it that she thinks that way?’ Sadly the more I thought about what that young lady said, the more it made sense. Isn’t that tragic? Easter has become the reason for all kinds of gluttony.

Too many years ago, somebody somewhere at sometime or other, thought putting crosses on top of a spiced bun was a great way to celebrate and remind everyone about what Christ did for them. But now the true meaning has been LOST over time. However, after I prayed about it, I began to be glad that people today are actually rejecting the whole thing. This is happening because nobody has told them about the reality. The reality would definitely blow them away – IF somebody who knows the Saviour, took the time to tell them!

It is sad to me that the average person in our society thinks that Easter is all about what we eat, as well as a couple of nice public holidays. Speaking for myself, I have never actually been a fan of the symbolic – whether it is a rabbit, a bun or a chocolate egg. And, right here and now, I simply must mention my distinct aversion to that jolly red fat guy who pops up at Christmas – I don’t like HIM much either.  At the same time, I am also not crazy about those baby in the manger pictures as well. Do people bring out your baby photos when they are celebrating your birthday? I think not! 

HOWEVER, if ALL Christianity has to offer is a cross on a BUN, or rampant rabbits, exorbitant gifts and chocolate eggs or a tiny baby born under adverse circumstances – no wonder they could care less! That got me thinking about what really matters. It is so easy to get stuck on how far down the plug hole our society has gone, and gloss over the fact that this world’s apathy toward God, has been caused by the church’s silence …. plus a lack of obedience by ordinary people like me.

Fortunately, the reality is Jesus Christ doesn’t need advertising gimmicks, or pretty foil covered chocolate, to gain popularity and fame be-cau-se … even though He was exactly like us, humanly speaking, and we probably would have passed Him in the street, dismissed as just another middle Eastern man. This MAN changed this world FOREVER. How? Not by clever sales marketing or other 21st century tricks, but by Who He is and what He chose to do for people He has never met. 

Yet we avoid telling His story, the reality of what He did, because we find that truth somehow distasteful. Hmmm. It is odd how we can cheerfully watch all kinds of people shoot one another apart, or blow-up, slice, dice, plus punch and kick each other to bits … for entertainment… yet it seems that the sight of an innocent pure man hanging, dying on a cross, is not palatable or marketable! He has been described perfectly in Isaiah 53:1-6, long before He was born … like this: 

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Maybe this seemingly ordinary man is far more challenging than anyone thinks, when He is authentically and passionately presented to others by people who actually know Him. It would be good to clear the market place of rampant commercialism and present something real for a change! I seem to recall writing about that yesterday? Something about Jesus clearing God’s temple out of money lenders and sellers??

The Lord Jesus IS the reason for this season, and we need to take our responsibility to walk with Him seriously, and use this opportunity to shine His light into other people’s lives. There are no secret agents in His kingdom … whether they supposedly look like rabbits, chicks, buns, or way too much chocolate! Perhaps then people will believe our message is authentic. It all depends on how seriously we take our faith. Bye. 👋

P 2209 Easter is an invitation to transformation.

/ DVH

Like I said yesterday, rest and faith are essential parts of a Christian’s walk with the Lord. The Israelites missed their opportunity to live that way – because they preferred to complain about, and critique His provisions, plus they demanded their own way. Bad move. My advice is this:  when the food falls out of the sky, and your clothes and shoes don’t wear out, plus nobody gets sick for 40 years – give thanks, and follow the Leader!  (Read Deuteronomy.)

The bible talks about resting in what Jesus has done for us in Hebrews chapters 3&4. Our rest in what He did begins the very moment we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. His active Presence in our lives guarantees change. We can now rely upon the fact that our sins have been washed away by His life’s blood. Now we’ve started to live a new life, using our faith that what Christ said He did at Calvary – He did. And that door flew open for everyone. Knowing Him personally, and walking with Him, is the door into peace, rest and a brand new way to live this life we have right here and now. Christ gave us the ability – the power –  but He also gives us a choice whether to follow Him… or not.

Now we live our lives believing that what He did on the cross was utterly comprehensive. It covered our past sins, present sins and even those stupid things we haven’t done yet! Why would the Lord Jesus do such a thing? … It sounds like we have carte blanche to be able to do whatever we like – and indulge our base natures? (Paul talks about this extensively in Romans.) The thing is: sin is dangerous. It is like quick sand, it sucks you in and drags you down. When I look after myself, and I don’t care about you, and how much living like this hurts you – that’s sin. When I live by the rules and I don’t use my faith, every day, to obey Him – that’s sin!

When Christ died, He paid the ultimate price for every human being’s forgiveness. And after He returned to heaven, He sent back the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Person Who helped Christ to walk out His earthly life in purity, holiness, and passionate devotion to His Father. He will help us to live that way too, in exactly the same way He helped Jesus. Now, we do what is Godly by following Him and using our faith. Second by second, minute by minute. We simply need to be obedient to what He asks us to do, in our hearts – and in the book. The power to overcome anything, including our own sinful habits and attitudes, was released that day long ago, at the cross. Now, we can participate in that power in the same way we received salvation – using our faith.

Sadly, many Christians want Jesus to save them, but they reject His daily government, and consequently their lives are now devoted to keeping rules. Rules are easier to follow – you can write them down or look them up! But the bible is not a set of rules, it is a personal invitation to know God and live this life, right here and now, His way. It is an invitation into a relationship. You cannot regulate a real loving relationship, instead you have to live it out, by making hard choices, and you do that … day by day. FEAR keeps more people out of that freedom than anything else.

As Easter draws near, we celebrate the fact that Jesus not only died in our place – He came out of that grave and personally illustrated that a new life walking in His Ways is available to us. That new life transforms His people  from the inside OUT. You can’t kill human beings. Our bodies die, but the real person, inside, lives forever. We choose where we will live after we die by the way we live this life, here and now. Christ made an exchange, His life for ours. Every day we live out that exchange by making the sort of choices Jesus would make … living this life for Him, here and now. 

Father God has asked us to be obedient and pay attention to what He wrote in the bible. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we have a choice. We can do things His way – or continue to walk round and round going nowhere – wasting the time He has given us. As we walk with Him – His way, we will be transformed. Now we can join in with whatever He is doing, because Jesus is working all over this earth, today – through us.

None of us can claim that we are powerless to change any longer – because the power to change came into this world when the Holy Spirit came into this world at Pentecost. He’s here … and He’s here to help us overcome!  Transformation is the only way ahead. 👋🏻 

P 2204 We all need our brains scrubbed sometimes.

/ DVH

Sometimes reading another version of the bible just kind of blows your mind. Here’s something fantastic that will, hopefully, make your day – from verse 4 of the 23rd Psalm TPT. “Even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near.”

Oh! The clarity of what this translation says. It makes me fall in love with Jesus all over again! It’s like all my Christian life I’ve seen Him through this gorgeous multicoloured rainbow, and suddenly another new colour flashes into view. Wow! 🤯 Sometimes I just wanna sit down and make camp around a new concept like: 

“…fear will never conquer me, for YOU already have…” When I read that verse I realise how much more I need to be conquered by His love. Please do it Lord! Amen.

That’s what I mean when I go on and on about asking Him to help us read the bible. Otherwise we can easily go into the whole – ‘yeah yeah, I got that part – what’s next?’ … and miss the blessing and the food from our daily bread. Praise the Lord for people who have taken the time to unwrap the Word for us in so many great bible versions. Because some days unwrapping what He is saying to me, personally, can be hard work!

For a little while, just imagine living in a place where fear does not grab you by the throat. The awful fear of losing loved-ones. Fear of illness. Fear of losing our home, job, or even our own lives. Man, I SO want and need to live in the place where Christ has conquered me with His love, so perfectly, that fear can’t touch me. Knowing Christ, is our invitation into places we’ve never even dreamed about – so let’s not just settle for the promises – let’s go after HIM. 

The fact that Jesus Christ came to earth to save us, is a fantastic thing to think about, every single day. And of course, as we approach Easter, our thoughts turn to Calvary and that incredible sacrifice that was made there. Plus the Lord personally proved – Himself – once and for all, that death is never to be feared. What Christ did then opened the flood-gates of heaven. It would be an incredible shame if we rushed in to just grab the diamonds, gold and pearls … and missed Him!  I’ve met so many people whose focus is on gaining this world’s riches – health, happiness, praying troubles away, the sort of fairy-tale stuff that kids read when they were little. Happy. Ever. After.

There are also some well meaning, loving folks, who can’t wait to tell you you shouldn’t be sick, and so obviously your faith is too small! And they want to pray for you. If you stay sick, then it seems that you have some sin or other in your life and that’s not their fault. I call that kind of thinking shallow theology. My faith is big enough to make room for the stuff that makes no sense to me …yet. I totally believe in healing. I’ve laid these liver-spotted hands on other people and they got well. But I also know that the Lord Jesus said … “In this world you will have trouble…” And sometimes the greatest gift we can give Christ in return for all He did for us, is to love Him passionately, no matter what is going on in our lives.

Jesus Christ came to earth to conquer mankind with His love. Now there’s a headline! Just stop and think on that for a moment. 🧐 He came here and lived like us, to conquer you and I with the kind of love that we have only ever dreamt about. And it’s free. He lived His life as a human being to show us we can live this life we have here and now, and win. He was tired, cold, sad, had nowhere to sleep, skipped meals, and was reviled and rejected by the very people He came to reach. Maybe we need to remember that, the next time we try to tell Old Aunt Minnie the story of the greatest love of all … and she keeps interrupting you to talk about what she did when she was a girl! Please don’t give up on Aunt Minnie!!

This verse from the 23rd Psalm reminds me that I need to concentrate even more on being conquered by His love – daily. It’s a priority. “I will always need a fresh revelation of your love Lord.” Amen.  👋🏻

P 2161 God is devoted to mankind.

/ DVH

Isaiah 54:11-12: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.“Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.”

There are so many times when we personally need to read and hear statements from the Lord like the one above. When this world and its troubles and sorrows overcome us, we need this kind of reassurance of His steadfastness from the bible. We are His city. This whole chapter of Isaiah 54 is so encouraging, it literally drips with His intentions and affections for us. 

Years ago, I studied a little on the subject of gemstones. Gemstones are amongst the hardest substances on earth, as well as being the most beautiful. Father God is telling us, in a pictorial language, that we may be broken down, and feel totally destroyed –  but He already has a plan to rebuild each one of us with the strongest and loveliest of materials. These verses are not just about decorating us with pretty things – He is expressing how valuable all of mankind is to Him.

God’s covenant of peace is a Person. Once, long before these verses were written down in the book of Isaiah, Almighty God carved His covenant into tablets of stone and gave them to Moses.  Now, He has inscribed His New Covenant onto a PERSON – Jesus Christ. “Though she … ( a mother, may forget her child) … I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands;” (Isaiah 49:15&16) Father God’s amazing love for us has been carved into Christ’s flesh, His very Being. Our God will never forget us, no matter how this life looks, or how difficult it gets. Because when He looks at us, He sees His beloved SON, Jesus Christ – A MAN! He sees the most beautiful thing this world has ever seen – His agreement with us carved into human flesh.

Father God does not look at things like we do – that’s why we have to change and transform our minds! Christ’s death and resurrection are a physical and spiritual reminder of the power and depth of Father God’s love. Human beings who feel passionately about someone, sometimes have that name tattooed onto their bodies. The mystery/miracle of Easter is that our God did this to Christ – to remind us both of the New Covenant. Christ’s Body is a legal contract between God and MAN. He carved the first contract into stone – He carved the second one into His SON. Jesus Christ is the document of Covenant.

Through Jesus Christ, Almighty God decreed His intention to have peace and reconciliation with all mankind, forever. These carvings will remain visible – forever. You and I made those dreadful wounds on Christ’s Body just as surely as if we had crucified Him ourselves. What we might see as an ugly abhorrent thing, God sees as a beautiful reminder of how much His Son loves Him, and how much They love US. That’s how serious God is about us, and the power of His word! 

Finally, I also love that these verses in Isaiah 54 talk about God’s compassion. Jesus Christ explained what compassionate love looks like when He told the story of the good Samaritan. Compassion is not a feeling, it is the practicality of helping someone in need. This parable is not just about someone being kind to someone else – Samaritans and Jews hated each other. In this parable Jesus is illustrating that while we were His enemies His love came after us to restore and heal us. God is incredibly dedicated to our restoration.

This life is full of things that batter and bruise us, however, those things are not sent by God – sin did those awful deeds – our sin or someone else’s sin. Father God has clearly revealed His passionate, committed love toward mankind. All He asks of His Son’s intended Bride is that She be equally committed to Christ. Each one of us is so important to God, He has promised to rebuild each one of us – with a beauty that goes way beyond mere words. 👋🏻