Each and every person on the planet has a father. That's a fact we all know.
Want to know another crazy fact? (I am sure you know this too but its too exciting not to mention!)
We each have the same Father...
Its the truth.
God is our Father. He has reached out to every single person. But He doesn't force us to be His children.
Its as if we are orphans at an orphanage and you are instantly drawn to Him and Him to you. Last time I was in Africa we got to visit a baby orphanage. The beautiful children were all under the age of around 5. It was the highlight of the trip but the hardest. There was one child who stole my heart there at the orphanage. We had that instant connection and I didn't know how I would part from this baby. I knew the baby felt the same way because he clung to me with his dear life. He did not leave my side. In fact he wouldn't let me put him down. Every time I went to put him down, he would cry and would hold on even tighter. But once he was in my arms he had that peace and joy about him... I knew this would be a problem when I left. I was dreading that moment. I love this child. The time came closer and quiet streams rolled down my face as I whispered to the Lord that I couldn't do it. How could I possible leave? I wouldn't put him down. I was the last one in there and knew it was time. I tried 3 times to put him down and distract him with food or anything else. But he wouldn't let me leave. My tears were no longer silent and the sniffles came on stronger. I put this precious child a little further than me when I put him down and tried to swiftly walk away. Didn't work. So I picked him up and held him tighter... I couldn't stand the lost and lonely cry he cried. I had to comfort him and wished that I could take him with me. Finally, someone had to take him away.
The point of my story, is that God has come in and is waiting for us to come to Him. He wants to adopt us. He is not forcing us into His arms... He is welcoming us into His arms. We can chose to be His forever or we can find something else to be attached to. Just like I wanted so desperately to take that child home, God wants to take you as His own. Just as it broke my heart to see this child hurting, it breaks the Fathers heart to see you hurting. He knows how to stop the hurt. He wants to hold you and take you home. If you don't want Him to be your Father he lets you go but not with out feeling that deep pain and sorrow for losing you. His love is deep for you.
He wants to be your Daddy.
Will you let Him be your Father? Will you let Him adopt you into the family? God hand picked YOU to be His own.
"having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." -Ephesians 1:5,6
His perfect will is that you would accept Him. He went through the long suffering, costly adoption process to redeem you. There was no way we could get close to God because of the law. We are not perfect people and we cannot keep the law. So what He did is He sent His perfect Son to live a sinless life, to die on the cross for our sins... taking our punishment. Then He conquered death not only for Himself but He did it so that we can have victory over death too... if we would simply chose to believe Him.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
John 3:16,17
He did what we never could do and all He wants from us is to accept it. To believe it. He is not asking you to join some crazy religion. To do all these crazy rituals. That is not what He wants. He hates religion. Religion is icky and imprisons you to expectations that are beyond us. Jesus wants a relationship with you. That's it.
He gives you so many changes to chose Him. The more you know about Him, the more responsible you are. Don't leave with out being His child. He does everything He can to stop you from going to hell. But is never forceful. He is a gracious God. In my devotion I have been reading about the Israelites. How and they were constantly going back and forth... serving/loving God and then turning away from Him, yet God was gracious to them (Deuteronomy 28-32). He let them go off and do their own thing, but that came with consequences. Just like when we go off and do our own thing that we know isn't right, there are consequences to our actions. When we are introduced to the truth and chose to not listen to it there are consequences to our actions because we chose to ignore the truth and listen to the lie. But God is constantly shedding the light on us. He is so good to us. (If you are having a hard time believing that this is the trust, then ask Him. He is more than happy to show you that it is truth. He can handle any and all your questions. Search for it in the Bible.) He knows we are human and that we mess up. He looks at our heart and knows our intentions.
"But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again. " Psalms 78: 38,39
When you see the wrath of God it is a justice wrath. You don't let you children go undisciplined when you strictly asked them not to do something. But when we ask for forgiveness He is gracious to give it to us. Listen to His voice now and don't let that punishment come upon you. He wants to show you mercy. You are never too far or have done anything so bad that He won't hear you or accept you. He is giving you another chance. There will be a time when He comes back that you cannot make this choice any longer. He is giving you chance after chance to chose Him over hell. Don't ignore it. Be filled with His mercy. Be His child. He is waiting.
To be saved, to be His child, to escape eternal death you just need to believe. The verses below explain a little more.
"As it is written: There is none righteous no, not one;"
Romans 3:10
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Romans 3:23
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- "
Romans 5:12
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
"But God demonstrated His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:13
"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mount confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:9,10
If you believe in Him or want to believe in Him and are having a hard time... pray to Him about it. If you are ready to be His child all you have to do is believe and pray for Him to come into your heart....
Lord,
I recognize that I am a sinner and I ask for forgiveness of my sins. Thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for my sins. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That You have raised Jesus from the Dead. I ask that you would come into my heart today and change me.
In Jesus name, Amen.
If you prayed this, :) Welcome to the family. Know that I have been praying for you to see the truth. It would be good to get to know your Father... So here are some helpful things:
Get a Bible and start reading it. God reveals Himself through His Word. And it is so powerful!
Tell someone who is a believer. You need support around you because the enemy will come on strong, trying to lie to you. We do not need to fear the enemy because Jesus has authority over the enemy. Telling and surrounding yourself with others who have the same passion about Jesus is a great thing and you will learn so much about Him. You will also have lots of questions that will need to be answered and others around you will be able to point you in the right direction.
Find a BIBLE teaching church.
If you have any questions or criticism about anything please feel free to email me or ask me.
tinkatie@me.com
Don't just brush this moment off... go tell someone :) Spend some time getting to know Jesus. If you don't have any idea on what to do next... ask someone who has been walking with Jesus for a while who can help you out. If you are furious right now.... and have questions please ask.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
He is my Strength
He might not change the circumstance, but He will change your heart towards it.
I am ready to accept that my circumstances will not change, at least for this season in my life.
He has helped me to chose that no matter how many migraines I get, no matter how weak I feel, no matter how tired I am or how emotional I am... I WILL PRAISE HIM.
He is a gracious God. Every time I have had a migraine (while here in Israel) it has been at a time where it is OK to miss out on what ever is going on. He will not allow me to miss anything important or exciting. :) He has been teaching me to spend more time in prayer as I try to fall asleep to let my migraine settle down. It hasn't been easy though. I go through moments of wishing I was "normal" that I didn't have to eat a special way or that I could just have energy all the time. Wishing I could keep up with everyone else.
Lately in class we have been going over all the miracles Jesus performed. It is like a knife to my chest sometimes. I get upset when I see that Jesus healed so many people but He isn't healing me. I get stuck thinking that I don't have enough faith to be healed. That I am going through all of these health issues because I did something wrong. LIES LIES LIES. We must stop ourselves. We must recognize the lies when they come. We must test them against scripture. I have to stop myself. Think Katie, think! Remember what He has already done... Jesus healed me from CANCER! Not just any cancer but a rare incurable cancer. Of course He can heal me from all my other health issues. Now just might not be that time. And since I cannot change my circumstances I must change my heart towards them. I must lean in closer to HIM. I must keep charging.
This week has been especially hard. Monday-Wednesday I had no energy at all. It was hard for me to stay awake. I barely had any energy to walk anywhere. I tried as much as I could to carry on and do the things I needed to do. But often had to withdraw from museum trips and other things to go sleep. This was a very frustrating week and a little bit scary. Why did I have no energy? Why can't I keep my eyes open? I couldn't even get my Bible out. Where is my strength?! I went through a whole list of guessing what could be wrong with me. ENOUGH analyzing what is wrong with me.
ALL I need is prayer.
That is all I am going to do and ask for. No more analyzing the situation. No more trying more of this, less of that. I thank the Lord for my mom who is always there to cheer me on. To give me scripture and pray for me over and over and over again. To ask others to pray for me as well. (Thank you for all the prayers.)
After the prayers were being sent out, I knew the Lord was strengthening me. I don't remember exactly how I got to this verse but God spoke to me through Isaiah 27:5 which says,
"Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me."
He gave me His strength when I had none. I didn't even have strength to get in His word. To journal and talk to Him. He restored my strength so that our time together could be restored.
God is so good to us. He is so loving and caring. When we have no strength to run to Him, or even crawl to Him... He comes to us. Even the faintest "help" and He is there.
And once He gives us that little strength we MUST run to the Word. The Word revives us. It gives us life. Check out these verses from Psalms 119
"My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word." -Psalm 119:25
When we feel like we cannot get up off the floor, go to His word. It is what picks us up. Even just a scripture to repeat over and over again... the Word is living and breathing. Let it breath life into you.
"My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to your word." -Psalm 119:28
When we cannot handle the heaviness of the situation. When the news it too much to bare. When we cannot take life anymore... GO TO HIS WORD. It strengthens us. It gets us moving. It pushes us through the tough patches of life.
"This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has given me life." -Psalm 119:50
I have found that the Word is truly the only thing that can bring me comfort. No matter how many times someone tells me "it will be alright" "you are not crazy" or what ever, it just doesn't comfort me like my Abba Father can comfort me. Why is this? It is because His words are truth. I can trust Him. You can trust Him too. And you wanna know a secret? He lets you get everything off your chest, He doesn't try to convince you of this or that. He simply lets you talk it out or yell if that's what you need to do. Then when you are ready He just holds you. He brings words of comfort. And He brings your mind back to the truth. He always leads you to the truth. No human has enough patience to listen to us pour out what we really think with out trying to stop us and get us to see things their way. Its nothing against us, its just humanness... That's why we need to go to Jesus to find comfort. To let it all out. His words bring us back to the truth and bring us back to life.
We must understand that we need to be absolutely honest with the Lord. If we are not, we allow the enemy to continue lying to us and the truth cannot be revealed.
This verse is one I have applied personally. It is talking of God being in the midst of Israel, that Israel will not be moved and He will help Israel. But the same goes for us too...
"God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her." -Psalm 46:5
So what I have learned is to accept my health for what it is and to praise God through it all. To look at the positive in it all. (You can always find a positive in any situation.) To run to Him constantly. He is my strength. Let Him be your strength too. Run to Him before you run to anything else. We are all on this journey together and need to encourage each other to run to Him.
I am ready to accept that my circumstances will not change, at least for this season in my life.
He has helped me to chose that no matter how many migraines I get, no matter how weak I feel, no matter how tired I am or how emotional I am... I WILL PRAISE HIM.
He is a gracious God. Every time I have had a migraine (while here in Israel) it has been at a time where it is OK to miss out on what ever is going on. He will not allow me to miss anything important or exciting. :) He has been teaching me to spend more time in prayer as I try to fall asleep to let my migraine settle down. It hasn't been easy though. I go through moments of wishing I was "normal" that I didn't have to eat a special way or that I could just have energy all the time. Wishing I could keep up with everyone else.
Lately in class we have been going over all the miracles Jesus performed. It is like a knife to my chest sometimes. I get upset when I see that Jesus healed so many people but He isn't healing me. I get stuck thinking that I don't have enough faith to be healed. That I am going through all of these health issues because I did something wrong. LIES LIES LIES. We must stop ourselves. We must recognize the lies when they come. We must test them against scripture. I have to stop myself. Think Katie, think! Remember what He has already done... Jesus healed me from CANCER! Not just any cancer but a rare incurable cancer. Of course He can heal me from all my other health issues. Now just might not be that time. And since I cannot change my circumstances I must change my heart towards them. I must lean in closer to HIM. I must keep charging.
This week has been especially hard. Monday-Wednesday I had no energy at all. It was hard for me to stay awake. I barely had any energy to walk anywhere. I tried as much as I could to carry on and do the things I needed to do. But often had to withdraw from museum trips and other things to go sleep. This was a very frustrating week and a little bit scary. Why did I have no energy? Why can't I keep my eyes open? I couldn't even get my Bible out. Where is my strength?! I went through a whole list of guessing what could be wrong with me. ENOUGH analyzing what is wrong with me.
ALL I need is prayer.
That is all I am going to do and ask for. No more analyzing the situation. No more trying more of this, less of that. I thank the Lord for my mom who is always there to cheer me on. To give me scripture and pray for me over and over and over again. To ask others to pray for me as well. (Thank you for all the prayers.)
After the prayers were being sent out, I knew the Lord was strengthening me. I don't remember exactly how I got to this verse but God spoke to me through Isaiah 27:5 which says,
"Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me."
He gave me His strength when I had none. I didn't even have strength to get in His word. To journal and talk to Him. He restored my strength so that our time together could be restored.
God is so good to us. He is so loving and caring. When we have no strength to run to Him, or even crawl to Him... He comes to us. Even the faintest "help" and He is there.
And once He gives us that little strength we MUST run to the Word. The Word revives us. It gives us life. Check out these verses from Psalms 119
"My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word." -Psalm 119:25
When we feel like we cannot get up off the floor, go to His word. It is what picks us up. Even just a scripture to repeat over and over again... the Word is living and breathing. Let it breath life into you.
"My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to your word." -Psalm 119:28
When we cannot handle the heaviness of the situation. When the news it too much to bare. When we cannot take life anymore... GO TO HIS WORD. It strengthens us. It gets us moving. It pushes us through the tough patches of life.
"This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has given me life." -Psalm 119:50
I have found that the Word is truly the only thing that can bring me comfort. No matter how many times someone tells me "it will be alright" "you are not crazy" or what ever, it just doesn't comfort me like my Abba Father can comfort me. Why is this? It is because His words are truth. I can trust Him. You can trust Him too. And you wanna know a secret? He lets you get everything off your chest, He doesn't try to convince you of this or that. He simply lets you talk it out or yell if that's what you need to do. Then when you are ready He just holds you. He brings words of comfort. And He brings your mind back to the truth. He always leads you to the truth. No human has enough patience to listen to us pour out what we really think with out trying to stop us and get us to see things their way. Its nothing against us, its just humanness... That's why we need to go to Jesus to find comfort. To let it all out. His words bring us back to the truth and bring us back to life.
We must understand that we need to be absolutely honest with the Lord. If we are not, we allow the enemy to continue lying to us and the truth cannot be revealed.
This verse is one I have applied personally. It is talking of God being in the midst of Israel, that Israel will not be moved and He will help Israel. But the same goes for us too...
"God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her." -Psalm 46:5
So what I have learned is to accept my health for what it is and to praise God through it all. To look at the positive in it all. (You can always find a positive in any situation.) To run to Him constantly. He is my strength. Let Him be your strength too. Run to Him before you run to anything else. We are all on this journey together and need to encourage each other to run to Him.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
HE IS RISEN!!!
HE IS RISEN!!!
So blessed to be able to celebrate Easter this morning at the Garden Tomb. Words can not describe... would have never imagined having Easter in Israel... at the Garden Tomb. Even being here for 3 months is hard to wrap my mind around. Thank you Jesus! My prayer is that you are able to come out here someday. But I am so glad that it doesn't matter where we are, God is working and moving everywhere. He can speak to us, meet with us, be close to us where ever we are. Thank you Jesus!
Song: "Did you feel the Mountains Tremble?" From the Easter SONrise service at the Garden Tomb in Israel!
Praying for you guys back at home! So excited to hear all the stories of lives being saved and how He moved in your hearts/lives today! (Please comment and let me know how the Lord moves/whats been going on with you guys. I miss hearing from you.)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Israel: Passover week!
So Ryan and I have been here in Israel for over a month now. We have learned a lot about the history of God's people, the history leading up to His birth, Jesus' life and ministry, and learned a lot of other things as well. We have been amazed at all the places we have been to:
Golgotha: Where Jesus was crucified. John 19:17
On top of the Mount of Olives:
Western Wall:
Golden Gate/Eastern Gate:
Jericho:
Jordan River: Where the Israelites crossed into the promise land, where Jesus got baptized by John. Matthew 3:13-17
Dead Sea: So much salt you just float!
En Gedi: Where David fled from Saul. 1 Samuel 23:29- Chapter 24. Where David wrote a lot of his Psalms. Psalm 57 and 63.
Qumran: where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered.
Southern Steps: The original steps Jesus would have walked on up to the temple.
and so much more!
This week we are celebrating Passover. It has been interesting to watch and observe all that is going on around us.
Every grocery store, restaurant and bakery replaces their baked goods/ bread with unleavened bread or other non bread treats. It was interesting walking by our favorite pastery place to see our favorite chocolate triangle crosaunts replaced with chocolate date balls. Then to go to the grocery store to see a lot of the shelves of food covered with tarps to turn the grocery store kosher for Passover week.
At the same time is was really neat because it puts my mind to question why they do this. The passover for them is a reminder that God took them out of Egypt and brought them to the promise land. Its awesome to be able to have a visual reminder as you walk down the streets. For us believers it goes even deeper. This is the week that Christ revealed Himself as the King as He rode down into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21). He was beaten, mocked, and put to death on the cross for our sins (27). But on the third day He rose from the dead, conquering death (Matthew 28)! He died so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. That we could be free from death and our sins (John 3:16). It is such a blessing to be able to be here in Jerusalem during this time. I cant help but be amazed. Jesus was here in Jerusalem during Passover week. He celebrated Passover. How weird that must have been for Him knowing that He was the Lamb to be sacrificed. He was here watching His people bring their sacrifices. He even physically walked over the river of blood from the sacrifices. Imagine what He was thinking... all this blood was worthless unless He died on the cross. He was all that blood.... all that sacrifice. I can't believe I am here in Israel, to see the Mount of Olives, Palm Sunday road and the Garden of Gethsemane and read my Bible about what Jesus did/was going through as I look out at those spots. Read up on Matthew 26. He celebrates the Passover in verses 17-35 and verses 36-56 is when Jesus went to pray in the garden and got arrested.
I wish every believer could be here right now. Seriously, if you don't already have a trip planned to Israel... BOOK ONE! :) Pray for finances, nothing is impossible for God. You must come see all of this! It brings your Bible to life. You can see all the places you read about with your own two eyes.
The two verses that the Lord showed to me in my devotions this morning is perfect for this week as we celebrate what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us...
"Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death" Psalm 68:20
God allowed His son to come down on earth, to live a sinless life, to die on the cross and rise again to be the ONE sacrifice that would take away ALL our sins away. You guys, we are free from death because of what Jesus Christ did. All we need to do is believe in Him. I pray that if you don't know Jesus personally that He would become so real to you this week. Let Him show you who He is. I pray you realize what He is offering to you. Its a free gift that saves you from death, from hell. I pray you chose to believe in Him. There is no one who can satisfy that longing/ that emptiness in your heart but Him.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" Proverbs 11:30
I am so convicted of this one. The Lord has shown me so much of Himself. He has given us all a free gift and we need to tell others about it. So many people have the wrong idea of who Jesus is. It should be our heart to tell them about Jesus. We should have a love for God and a love for people.... and a love to bring the two together. So lets encourage each other to share what Christ had done for us and what He can do for those we are sharing with. Invite someone to an Easter service! :) Lets get motivated to spread the good news!
Before this blog post gets too long (well longer...) I want to share with you about the Seder Passover dinner we got to have!
Each food item you see in the picture stands for something that reminds the Jews of what had happened. How God saved them from Egypt. For example, the green parsley is dipped into the salted water to remind them of their ancestors tears they shed during slavery. The purple stuff is horse radish: the bitter herb which is a reminder of the harsh conditions of slavery. The stuff on the orange plate is a mix of apples, cinnamon, grape juice and nuts as a reminder of the mud the Israelite made bricks out of for Pharaoh. The lambs bone represents the Lamb that was offered up as a sacrifice. These are just a few examples.
As a believer it was awesome to be a part of and see how Jesus is in and through it all. I'll share one of my high lights of the night. I wish I got a picture of this pouch looking thing (you can see it a little on the top left of the picture above, white fabric with gold on it). There are three compartments and in each they put some Matzah (unleavened bread) in there. But they only take out the center one... They break it in half, putting half of it back in the pouch and the other part they hide. Later on during the dinner the kids have to go find it. Who ever finds it first brings it to the "Man of the House" and they don't give it back unless they make a good deal with the Man of the House. This in my mind, and as our messianic friend explained, is an example of Jesus. The three pouches represent the trinity. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. The center one being Jesus. To us as believers it resembles Christ who died and rose again on the third day. And how Jesus was sold by Judas. I encourage you to google Passover Seder that will explain more of this dinner in depth. Another cool thing that stood out to me was that the "Man of the House" wears a white rob... our Messianic friend explained that this was like the robe of righteousness... Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Many cool things about this dinner. I personally think it would be cool to add this to our Easter week and kick the bunny out. :)
Praying for you guys back at home! And for the Easter services that will be happening. Praying for hearts to be opened and for you guys to be bold to share Jesus! Love you all.
Golgotha: Where Jesus was crucified. John 19:17
and so much more!
This week we are celebrating Passover. It has been interesting to watch and observe all that is going on around us.
Every grocery store, restaurant and bakery replaces their baked goods/ bread with unleavened bread or other non bread treats. It was interesting walking by our favorite pastery place to see our favorite chocolate triangle crosaunts replaced with chocolate date balls. Then to go to the grocery store to see a lot of the shelves of food covered with tarps to turn the grocery store kosher for Passover week.
At the same time is was really neat because it puts my mind to question why they do this. The passover for them is a reminder that God took them out of Egypt and brought them to the promise land. Its awesome to be able to have a visual reminder as you walk down the streets. For us believers it goes even deeper. This is the week that Christ revealed Himself as the King as He rode down into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21). He was beaten, mocked, and put to death on the cross for our sins (27). But on the third day He rose from the dead, conquering death (Matthew 28)! He died so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. That we could be free from death and our sins (John 3:16). It is such a blessing to be able to be here in Jerusalem during this time. I cant help but be amazed. Jesus was here in Jerusalem during Passover week. He celebrated Passover. How weird that must have been for Him knowing that He was the Lamb to be sacrificed. He was here watching His people bring their sacrifices. He even physically walked over the river of blood from the sacrifices. Imagine what He was thinking... all this blood was worthless unless He died on the cross. He was all that blood.... all that sacrifice. I can't believe I am here in Israel, to see the Mount of Olives, Palm Sunday road and the Garden of Gethsemane and read my Bible about what Jesus did/was going through as I look out at those spots. Read up on Matthew 26. He celebrates the Passover in verses 17-35 and verses 36-56 is when Jesus went to pray in the garden and got arrested.
I wish every believer could be here right now. Seriously, if you don't already have a trip planned to Israel... BOOK ONE! :) Pray for finances, nothing is impossible for God. You must come see all of this! It brings your Bible to life. You can see all the places you read about with your own two eyes.
The two verses that the Lord showed to me in my devotions this morning is perfect for this week as we celebrate what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us...
"Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death" Psalm 68:20
God allowed His son to come down on earth, to live a sinless life, to die on the cross and rise again to be the ONE sacrifice that would take away ALL our sins away. You guys, we are free from death because of what Jesus Christ did. All we need to do is believe in Him. I pray that if you don't know Jesus personally that He would become so real to you this week. Let Him show you who He is. I pray you realize what He is offering to you. Its a free gift that saves you from death, from hell. I pray you chose to believe in Him. There is no one who can satisfy that longing/ that emptiness in your heart but Him.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" Proverbs 11:30
I am so convicted of this one. The Lord has shown me so much of Himself. He has given us all a free gift and we need to tell others about it. So many people have the wrong idea of who Jesus is. It should be our heart to tell them about Jesus. We should have a love for God and a love for people.... and a love to bring the two together. So lets encourage each other to share what Christ had done for us and what He can do for those we are sharing with. Invite someone to an Easter service! :) Lets get motivated to spread the good news!
Before this blog post gets too long (well longer...) I want to share with you about the Seder Passover dinner we got to have!
As a believer it was awesome to be a part of and see how Jesus is in and through it all. I'll share one of my high lights of the night. I wish I got a picture of this pouch looking thing (you can see it a little on the top left of the picture above, white fabric with gold on it). There are three compartments and in each they put some Matzah (unleavened bread) in there. But they only take out the center one... They break it in half, putting half of it back in the pouch and the other part they hide. Later on during the dinner the kids have to go find it. Who ever finds it first brings it to the "Man of the House" and they don't give it back unless they make a good deal with the Man of the House. This in my mind, and as our messianic friend explained, is an example of Jesus. The three pouches represent the trinity. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. The center one being Jesus. To us as believers it resembles Christ who died and rose again on the third day. And how Jesus was sold by Judas. I encourage you to google Passover Seder that will explain more of this dinner in depth. Another cool thing that stood out to me was that the "Man of the House" wears a white rob... our Messianic friend explained that this was like the robe of righteousness... Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Many cool things about this dinner. I personally think it would be cool to add this to our Easter week and kick the bunny out. :)
Praying for you guys back at home! And for the Easter services that will be happening. Praying for hearts to be opened and for you guys to be bold to share Jesus! Love you all.
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