It's Sunday...

Last night I could barely let myself fall asleep from the excitement of resurrection Sunday coming! Jesus is alive! The tomb is empty! Those words ring so true for me because of the value of their meaning. As I sit amongst the silence in my house & enjoy my morning cup of coffee, I savor the blessings all around me. The ability to have a quite time, to enjoy coffee, to be able to walk into a house of praise this morning to share in the celebration of the resurrection of our Savior. Frankly, I'm overwhelmed with God's love and mercy. You see death couldn't hold Him down. He fulfilled the ultimate sacrifice & because of it our sin is covered. Covered in the blood of Jesus!

"14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." 1 Corinthians 15:14-20

Because of the obedience of Jesus Christ "it is finished". Death has lost it's sting. Now to live is Christ & die is gain. We are free! We are free! We are free! Take part in the goodness of God and what He has to offer. Today I am full of joy & I celebrate. It's because I know Jesus loved me so much and He took on all my ugly sin and now I walk with Him in freedom. Won't you come with me?

"Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!" Psalm 66:5

"How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!" Psalm 47:2



He is risen! He is risen! The tomb is empty!



Easter blessings to you…


Katie

Giving your all to Him...

"The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you - your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything - then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it! ... True Godliness leaves the world convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only explanation for you, is Jesus Christ." - Ian Thomas


In life, we can get so caught up in our accomplishments, that we all too soon we become stuck in an exhausting cycle. It may even seem like there is no end in sight, no relief from the stress. But I am here to tell you there is a solution & it's a breath away…His name is Jesus! Jesus offers us hope in Matthew 11:28-29 when He says "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." This is an offer directly from our Savior. He longs to fill every fiber of our being if we would simply let go of all of our own control and allow His presence to guide us. He desires to "carry" our load giving our soul relief. He's so good like that, hence the description "God is love" He loves us more than we can imagine & that's great news!!

And His ultimate act of love brings me to today, Good Friday.I thought about all He endured and it broke my heart. As the tears streamed I realized that every bit of the torture He endured was for me & for you. He did it to give us the opportunity to be reconciled to Him, taking on the entire world's sin. Today make the decision to break free from "life" as you know it & walk boldly with Jesus by your side! Allow holiness to be your ultimate goal knowing that even when you slip you can get back up & keep going. Let the only explanation for your life be Jesus Christ! Death didn't win that day 2,000 years ago. God had the upper hand & because of that you have the opportunity to find yourself in Him & live in victory!!! Praise the Lord!

Your sister in Christ!

Katie

the more you seek Him the more you will find Him...

Today I'm tossing around the idea of closeness with God. There seems to be days where I don't feel Him as closely as I want to. I'm quickly reminded that God doesn't move…I do! You see many times I've been told "I love God but I'm not as close to Him as I want to be" I can say with a bold confidence that I've been there too! I can also tell you that you get as much of God as you pursue..seriously. The scripture in Jeremiah 29:13 goes like this "you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart" Take note that it doesn't say with some of your heart but it says search for God with ALL of your heart. You see God isn't someone who desires to be sought for blessings only, although He does indeed bless. He is to me my Redeemer, the lifter of my head, the One who loves me for me, who loves me with an everlasting love & with lovingkindness draws me unto Him (Jer. 31:3). He is whatever you need Him to be. He is the lover of your soul & He is aware of everything you are going through. Today God desires to be the One who consumes every part of your being. He longs for you to give up the fight for control over your life. Relinquish every part of your mind to Him and let Him lead you. This can be done…I promise. I speak from experience. There isn't a day that goes by that a choice does not have to be made to follow the Lord in faith or follow my flesh in worry. It truly is a battle of the mind…the scripture says that we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) & that even though our outer man is decaying our inner man is being renewed day by day.(2 Cor. 4:16) Being renewed is a daily choice. The Greek translation for renewed is to renew, to renovate, in the sense of change from a carnal to a Christian life, to increase in faith, hope, virtue, etc. Wow! I love the word renovate. Everyday we must renovate our minds to rid it of the sinful nature that is always waiting to rise back up. Think of it like this. There is a home that you love from the outside but there are some things on the inside that need to be renovated to make it beautiful & lovely. That's how we must consider the inside of our hearts & minds. To be all together lovely as the Lord sees us! Today I encourage you with Isaiah 55:6 " Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on him while He is near"


Your sister in Christ,

Katie