Yesterday was Easter, or Resurrection Sunday (pronounced Sun'-dee, depending on where you're from), and I'm still reeling from the celebration. God's gifts are boundless and endless and his sacrifice is my saving grace. It's something to be excited about daily, not just one day out of the year. [Don't worry. This post isn't about eradicating the holiday because "we should be able to celebrate every day." Pssh. Give me a break. I don't think there's anything wrong with designating a day to especially celebrate something great.]
I was most excited Saturday nights because I'd prayed and studied all week long. I read the gospels and really communed with God. I wanted this Easter to mean more than just pretty dress and suits and hats, egg hunts and speeches and reenactments. And boy, did God deliver!
I wonder what Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection meant to people who had only heard of him and his teaching. Then, I consider the magnitude of sorrow, joy and excitement that must have flooded his followers. Imagine this: you spend countless days, months or years getting to know someone, loving them, offering much of yourself to them to see them mocked, ridiculed, beaten and whipped, crucified. Then, they are raised from the dead for you just for you. Consider how much greater salvation is to you after fostering an intimate relationship with he who offers it.
When Sunday morning came, I was so excited. I woke up about an hour earlier than planned. I get especially cute and dressed up for service. I let my aunt take my picture on my way out the door. There was a different kind of peace over me. I was excited, but not anxious. I was expecting some rousing singing and preaching in celebration. That's the norm, right?
Instead, most of the service was pretty calm. [I love it when God twists things up, does the unexpected. It reminds me that he is in control and not my expectations or wants.] Sometimes, God just wants us to bask in his presence. He wants our focus and the make us think about him and his love. Meditation, something the bible speaks of highly, is something I love to do. I'm a thinker, I think, and I know it's something that can play a major role in my relationship with God. I set aside time for solitude, just me and God. And he speaks and listens and I learn so much and receive so much and I try to give but... I'll talk about that later. Promise*
I love the way Rick Warren puts in The Purpose-Driven Life: "Meditation is focused thinking... If you know how to worry, you already know how to mediate..." !!! That really spoke to me. I definitely know how to worry. I'm also learning to meditate for God. Until I read that passage, I had never considered a connection between the two.
I'm so glad I didn't wait until Sunday to celebrate God and get into his presence. Studying and praying beforehand opened up my heart and mind to his presence, his wisdom and love, not-to-mention the sweet nothings he whispers to me. The man of God delivered a powerful soft-spoken message about following through, 'Breaking From the Past.' I'll include some notes below. In the midst of hundreds of people, he said 'listen to me. I'm here. Just remember me right now. Bask in my love and grace and sacrifice for you.'
Perspective: How great is it to pray and study and worship every day? Our God's totally worth it. There are so many things like meditation, rooted in the Bible, that the world has convinced us are worldly. But use solitude and meditation as tools for fellowship with God. He wants time with you. Private, best-friend, father-daughter, father-son time.
I was most excited Saturday nights because I'd prayed and studied all week long. I read the gospels and really communed with God. I wanted this Easter to mean more than just pretty dress and suits and hats, egg hunts and speeches and reenactments. And boy, did God deliver!
I wonder what Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection meant to people who had only heard of him and his teaching. Then, I consider the magnitude of sorrow, joy and excitement that must have flooded his followers. Imagine this: you spend countless days, months or years getting to know someone, loving them, offering much of yourself to them to see them mocked, ridiculed, beaten and whipped, crucified. Then, they are raised from the dead for you just for you. Consider how much greater salvation is to you after fostering an intimate relationship with he who offers it.
When Sunday morning came, I was so excited. I woke up about an hour earlier than planned. I get especially cute and dressed up for service. I let my aunt take my picture on my way out the door. There was a different kind of peace over me. I was excited, but not anxious. I was expecting some rousing singing and preaching in celebration. That's the norm, right?
Instead, most of the service was pretty calm. [I love it when God twists things up, does the unexpected. It reminds me that he is in control and not my expectations or wants.] Sometimes, God just wants us to bask in his presence. He wants our focus and the make us think about him and his love. Meditation, something the bible speaks of highly, is something I love to do. I'm a thinker, I think, and I know it's something that can play a major role in my relationship with God. I set aside time for solitude, just me and God. And he speaks and listens and I learn so much and receive so much and I try to give but... I'll talk about that later. Promise*
I love the way Rick Warren puts in The Purpose-Driven Life: "Meditation is focused thinking... If you know how to worry, you already know how to mediate..." !!! That really spoke to me. I definitely know how to worry. I'm also learning to meditate for God. Until I read that passage, I had never considered a connection between the two.
I'm so glad I didn't wait until Sunday to celebrate God and get into his presence. Studying and praying beforehand opened up my heart and mind to his presence, his wisdom and love, not-to-mention the sweet nothings he whispers to me. The man of God delivered a powerful soft-spoken message about following through, 'Breaking From the Past.' I'll include some notes below. In the midst of hundreds of people, he said 'listen to me. I'm here. Just remember me right now. Bask in my love and grace and sacrifice for you.'
Perspective: How great is it to pray and study and worship every day? Our God's totally worth it. There are so many things like meditation, rooted in the Bible, that the world has convinced us are worldly. But use solitude and meditation as tools for fellowship with God. He wants time with you. Private, best-friend, father-daughter, father-son time.
"A Break From the Past'
Romans 6:1-14
1. Grace is getting what we need, not always what we want.
2. Being born-again, we must break from the habits of our past.
3. In verse 4, Paul uses the baptism to symbolize being born again. We are 'buried' in the water, breaking from the air or our past. We are lifted from the water, starting life anew by God's grace.
4. God's grace is not to enable us to continue in sin. It is to give you another opportunity to live right.
5. Renounce your past.
6. Yes, growth is difficult and any change is rough, we can't do it on our own. So, it's a good thing that God doesn't expect us to. He wants to carry you the whole way through. With his help, we will be changed. He will grow in us the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will dwell in us and lead us in the ways of God.
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