Buried with Christ, Living Alive

You've all heard it before, "buried with Christ, so I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..." right? SO what does that mean exactly? I'm learning, and let me share friends because packed in that phrase/verse is many many promises for you, and for me, and it's so delightful.

In my past, not so long ago, when Christ revealed Himself to me, removed my blinders, took of my shackles and I was free there but these was still this image of a former me that was left. The image was left in others minds, and in the back of my mind, sort of like a walking dead shadow that followed me wherever I went. And it was prohiiting me from really dancing in the joy of my new found freedom in Christ. It had to be done away with...

And that is exactly what Christ did for me on the cross... there is such significance in the burial of Christ, you see in the those times after a person was crucified, their bodies were simply tossed in a pile, or at most, thrown into a shallow grave. (in other words, the dead was still present)

Not so with Jesus, He had some secrete followers, who did not follow Him so boldly in life, but did follow Him boldly in His death, for they went to Pilate, and asked him for Jesus's body with the intention of burying it in a proper way. The reason this is so significant is because what was dead, was buried. The old, was gone, and the new was coming and that is what the part that we too get to grab hold of. And it also fulfilled scripture, another proof that God was in complete control..So even in death, He was in control. What does that say to you about your present trial or hopeless situation? You see to His followers who buried Him that day, it felt as though all was lost. Interestingly enough, His enemies ordered a stone to be placed in front of His tomb so that "just in case" His words spoken in life regarding being raised from the dead were true, they were covered. TO THINK! They thought a simple stone would hold our Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth in His tomb. What fools. As a side note, have you ever felt yourself placing "stones" in front of the Lord to try and keep Him out? Remembering He is complete control, now gives me comfort, but there was a time where that though made me almost mad. Don't let the same be said of you my friend.

So continuing on with the story of the men who came to bury Jesus who were too frightened to follow Him in life, I say this, it doesn't matter when you say, "I follow you.." Its just that you do.

And then the healing begins..

Have you ever felt like you are just continually digging up something that is dead? A past life of sin that haunts you and makes you feel as though your walking around with some deadness on your shoulders all the time? I have felt this way, and the shadow was so dark, and so heavy that I finally recognized that it was not mine to carry...there is great significance in this understanding because when we give those past hauntings over to the Lord we are able to rejoice in the death! And live in the new life we are being offered. You see, Christ did not die for us to live miserable lives, stuck in the past (even though we've already repented) and not really grabbing hold of the true life, the true living water that He has offered to us. So ask yourselves this my friends...the sins that were crucified on that cross so long ago, are they still laying in open graves for all to see? Do you where them on your face and show them in your countenance every time you leave the house, or are FREE? Are you dancing out your front door because Christ did away with the former you? Are you skipping down the halls of work or school because you have the LIFE of Christ, not the death of past? These are things that we need to deal with in order to grow, don't let dead things stand in the way of your life with Christ.

So, how do you do this? Go to the Lord, walk into His beautiful thrown room...kneel at His lovely pierced feet and say, "This, This thing of mine I'm holding onto, it's yours." And then hand it over to Him. He will take it from you, and you my friend can once and for all feel His life, and His forgiveness. That is why He went to the cross for you! So that you could have life, and have it abundantly! He didn't say..."Sure I'll die for you but you still have to bear the weight of your sins every day!!" No. He said, "GO! Sin not more! You are forgiven." SO friends...If you have repented, you have died to the former you, you have offered up your life to be pleasing and holy to Him, then you friend, should live this life that way.

Take any forgiven soul in the Bible, and you will see, they were set free by Christ, and just as He lifted Mary Magdalene from the ground and told her to leave her life of sin, so can we. We can dust off our feet, and He wipes those tears of past sins away from our eyes, we can know and have perfect assurance that our sins have been forgotten.

Makes no difference what the sin is. You fill in the blank...but it's forgotten. Anyone encouraged?

I am. Now, lets live as though we are alive. That is our gift, and we need to accept it, and live.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior!!!!

When Trees Bloom

I had this thought as I was reading my friends blog and she commented on how "suddenly, her tree bloomed out her bedroom window.." And of course, it prompted thoughts on a spiritual level for me. (thanks Alesha for the inspiration, and God.)

There are times in our lives when we are surrounded by darkness. It's a hard place to be, and sometimes we question as to why God might be allowing us to be there? But as I personally have experienced, when it's dark out, I am desperately reaching in the dark for the Lord and as opposed to when it's sunny and perfect out, I'm not so prone to desperation for His hands, for I can see just fine! As I just came out of a dark place this winter, and as I searched moment by moment for glimpses of light or of "trees in bloom..." suddenly I began to find them. Little pockets of joy in each day that allowed me the strength to continue on my journey.

Is there anyone with me here today who feels as though the sun is hiding? Well, your not alone, it's crazy to believe that the sun can be bright as day outside, and yet feels so rainy in a certain individuals heart....and I am hear to speak to those who's heart is not just in the rain, it's in a thunder storm. That's whom God loves to speak to as well...those who are broken, tired and weary, and He longs to gather you up, as chicks under a mother hens wings in the rain...this is what He does in fact do for us. So the only rain you feel, is the rain that is gently allowed through the mother hens feathers...( a fraction of you would feel if those feathers were not there)

And His feathers of course is His love, His peace, His comfort and His still, calm, quiet voice that pierces the darkness, and quiets the storm.

I absolutely love the image of Jesus quieting the storm...

"One day Jesus said to His disciples, "Lets go over to the other of the lake.." So they got in their boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep...A squall came down on the lake so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke hi, saying, "Master! Master! were going to drown!"

He Got up, and rebuked the wind and raging waters; the storm subsided and all was calm.." Luke 8:22-24

Don't you love that last phrase? and all was calm..

Have you ever begged the Lord for calm? I have, and when I first asked Him in the midst of my storm, I asked for a life preserver. Then, I asked for a flashlight. Then, I asked for some company so I wouldn't have drowned alone...but when I finally asked for calm, He responded..

He didn't want me to be comfortable in the darkness with anything but Him. He wanted me to want Him, and hence my darkness. And when I asked for calm...that is exactly what I got...

I'm not stating that this is the secret recipe to solving pain in our lives, but what I am saying is that asking for the Lord to give us peace in the midst of the storm is one of the ways we begin to see tree's blossoming in the midst of painful circumstances.

This is a promise to the broken hearted, the beaten down and bruised, to the faint of heart and the sick and lonely..

He not only hears you, He longs to give you peace and calm your storm, so run to His name, call to Him as His disciples did! Master! Master! Save us! We are going to drown!!!

And then seek Him....spend time every day seeking Him and just watch my friends as trees begin to bloom in places you never though imaginable....and then we can say...to God be the glory!

Always Hearing But Never Understanding

"I got it, I got it..." the voice trails off as the child walks out the door, car keys in hand. "Trust me, I heard you..." This comes on the wings of a conversation about the importance of wearing a seat belt, and you the parent has just made it very clear in "sermon on the mount" type way that this seat belt issue is of utmost of importance..

You, stand and watch as your child backs out of the driveway and in horror you see him/her drive away with out buckling their seat belt.

I have to think that this is a little bit the way that Jesus felt about those He tried to share His good news with. News that would have saved their lives. And, some being polite, others just curious, listened, but went on their way as soon as the sermon ceased.

Jesus once had a similar conversation with a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was an influential man, and if others saw him speaking to Jesus or even worse, following Jesus, his social identity would be ruined. (sound familiar?) So Nic creeps off in the night and finds Jesus, so that no-one will see him..and they have this conversation..

Nic says to Jesus, " Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him."

(hearing it, but totally missing the truth..)

In reply, Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless He is born again." John 3: 2,3

I find it so interesting that Jesus did not start out by making small talk that would pertain to Nic, He just gets right to the heart of the issue, knowing the Nic has already heard the whole story, He cuts to the core and states the main point right up front.

Of course, Nic having a mind much like mine, is confused! He replies the Lord, "How can man be born when he is old? Surly he cannot enter a second time into his mothers womb and be born?"vs. 4

Jesus goes onto to explain all these things in further depth, (vs.'s 5-8) and then after clearly speaking the Biblical truth that those with open hearts can accept, Nic follows up with one more stupefied question.."How can this be?"vs 9

Friends, I am trying to make a valid point here: this is where a lot of us are at today...in the world, we know the words, we hear the words..but they never sink in. And this issue is of course close to my heart because this is where I myself lived for many years. For when you know the truth, hear the truth and understand the truth...there will be change.

So much of who I was before Christ changed me was wrapped up in Nic's story...I was afraid of what others might think..I was afraid of my reputation..I was afraid of what sorrow would enter my life if I sold out to Christ..

So I came to Jesus in the dark, asked Him questions that proved that I did not understand, and in daylight, lived as if I did. What a lie. And in doing so, I missed out big time. I missed out on experiencing this Savior in all of His beauty, gifts and glory and played it safe. I'm not living like that anymore. I recognized finally my life of sin and as He removed the blinders from my eyes, I saw things like I never had before. This year, I have been on a journey that has caused me to fall so deeply in love my Savior. This story that I had heard all my life now has left me weeping and praising His name in ways that I never even thought possible, much less for me!

I have fallen in love with the person of Jesus, who He was, what He stood for, and the price He paid for you and for me, on the cross.

It's hard for me now to have a conversation without saying His name...I feel His name is always on my lips, because I owe Him everything. Everything.

"As water reflects a face, so a mans heart reflects the man.." Prov 27:19

That verse was true for Nicodemus and it's true for you and I as well, when we creep in the dark to talk to a Savior we supposedly follow with all our "hearts" it proves that the man does not live what He claims. We are always hearing, but never understanding. Let that not be true of you and I anymore. How can we make the shift?

"So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9

That is how. We seek! And we Knock at the door, He will answer and you will see as you never seen before, and you will hear and understand as you never have before. It's His light that brings us our purpose for existence. Have you ever felt like your life held no purpose? Perhaps you should consider what you are chasing after, and what gives you life in this life...if the answer is not Jesus, that may be why...

I say this friends from personal experience and it comes from a very honest place of not wanting to see one of His children, lost.

Because there will be a day, when it is too late. And that is a very sobering thought...so today, while it's light out, knock at the door of salvation and know this friend..it will be opened for you.

"In Romans 1, God's charge against a false and godless world is that although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him (Romans 1:21a). They did not recognize the basis upon which their life depended. Though they would not hesitate to thank someone who so much as picked up a handkerchief for them, they could find no time to stop and give thanks to the God upon whom their life depended. " -Ray Stedman.

May this remind you that on the other side of that door is this: Joy! Peace! Contentment! Life!

Nothing else is more important that knocking on that door. So go, knock and for those of you who have not yet seen His face know this, it's the most lovely thing you will ever lay your eyes on. Eyes so gentle, hands and feet with holes in them, and a voice that beckons you in with love that you've never before experienced. You are in for a treat.

The Faces of God

Do you my friends know that we get glimpses of God and what His being looks like? Maybe not a physical picture of His "body" but of who he is. That blows my mind. God lets us see Him. It's an honor to serve Him and He tell us so in Hebrews 9:14b saying, "so that we MAY serve the living God." So we know this, He is living, (alive and active) and we may serve Him. Something else I learned of was His great powerful righteous anger. This was an attribute or characteristic of God that I never wanted to spend much time on, mostly because in my past I knew that I was doing things that did in fact anger the Lord. But didn't care enough to change. Now, I care, and I also find myself marveling at His power. Listen to this..

"The earth trembled and quaked and the foundations of the mountains shook, they trembled because He was angry, smoke rose from His nostrils, consuming fire came from His mouth..." Psalm 18: 18:7,8

That verse there is a description of God's anger at the time of Jesus's death. I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of such anger, but one must marvel at the power behind those words..I know I am..

You also hear in stark contrast and beautiful perfection the perfect of love God. Listen to what David says here.."I will praise you O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples, For great is your love, reaching to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies." Psalm 57:9,10

Isn't that a beautiful depiction of the love of God? Reaches to the heavens? When was the last time anything human reached to the heavens? No. never.

He is our sustainer as well...
"Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous fall.." Psalm 56:22

And then, more on His love and that He is also our strength...(it's beginning to paint a beautiful, strong and faithful picture of the God we serve is it not?)

"I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of you love. For you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble, O my strength, I sing praise to you, you O God are my fortress, my loving God."

Psalm 59:16,17

Also, I recognize after studying Jesus in the gospels this year, I have been painted a picture of most loving God, but also of a God who is trustworthy. A God who sent us His best, for our worst. Isn't that a picture? To the point of using Jesus (through His complete obedience and yet still being completely part of the God trinity) to die for us, His love was shown on the deepest of levels, because now all He sees of those who have repented and follow Him, is blamelessness. He sees His perfect son. And to me, that equates to a just and fair God as well. Someone had to pay the price for our sins, and He of course accepted Christ as the perfect sacrifice and the rest is history, but we know we are following a just God.

We are also following a God who knows all. All of the story of the death and life of Jesus was written by the fingers of God. Right down to the way they divided up His clothes at the foot of the cross while Jesus was hanging there for us, that was a detail God wrote into the plan to fulfill prophesy...why? To show us, (not that He had to) that He was in control. So He is also in complete control.

"Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to day." Exodus 4:11

That is what the Lord told Moses when he was so afraid to go and speak to Pharaoh. God is in control...so much so that He even is the one who gives us our words.

And I doubt Him? How is this possible my friends? But I have, and I do. Every time I fear the unknown, or tremble at my thoughts of doubt...I tell the Lord, He is not who He claims to be. God. All knowing. All powerful. Loving. Above all else. Trustworthy. Creator. King. Perfect.

Those are the things we know about God, and today, let us all ask Him to give us the faith to believe it. To really really believe it. Because what was true of God at the cross, is true of God today.

"The Lord is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation, He is my God! And I will praise Him. My Fathers God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is His name."

Exodus 15:2,3

May this knowledge of God encourage you, inspire you to trust Him more, and find more and more reason to praise Him. He is so worthy of our praise, and bring glory to God is our privilege. Lets do that today, because He has never failed me or you friend, nor will He ever.

All about the Cross

I have spent a lot of time at the foot of the cross these past few weeks..

And in the past months I was there as well with a slightly different spirit but still there, at the cross. I have seen the scene of His death in such a different way lately, and in light of all He did for me there, and in light of all of my sin, what I used to read without much thought, now it genuinely hurts me. I recognized that it was my sin that held Him there in all of His intense pain and suffering, and that knowledge has done this for me: it has made me realize that He is in fact the most trustworthy being that I could ever place my trust in, and He proved it by hanging there in all of his misery but yet maintain His faith and obedience to the Father and with a peaceful, kind, gracious and loving attitude. That my friends, is beyond my comprehension, and frankly, I think it's meant to be beyond our comprehension because the act of what He did for me and for you at that cross was things that had kingdom purpose.

This of course gives light to our present day sufferings, and although I personally do not like to focus on sufferings, it is something that is so prevalent in our lives, it was then in Jesus's time and is now, only today as people we look at our sufferings so differently than Jesus did, and I'm humbled greatly by that.

The battle with suffering is in the mind for many of us..physical suffering is hard, but emotional and suffering in our thoughts, who can fix that? It was Jesus's steadfast focus and belief on the promises of His Father that kept Him on that cross, had He even for one moment doubted, all the suffering would have been considered void because God needed a complete and stainless sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. Had Jesus doubted, it would've been sin, and of course we know, Jesus never sinned. He was blameless and spotless, even in His most intense suffering of all. It's those feelings of doubt and despair that can absolutely flatten us during our times of trials and sufferings, when we begin to not be able to see or "feel" the peace of Christ because we become so wrapped up in the suffering itself and lie that comes with the suffering. The lies of the enemy. Jesus heard lies from the enemy when He was on the cross through the taunts of all the people around the cross, ridiculing Him and actually making fun of all He claimed to be on earth.

Have you ever heard those taunts in your heads my friends? What do they sound like to you? Maybe like this..."Your never going to amount to anything..." or " your work for the kingdom is so small, just stop wasting your time.." or "See, God's not listening to your cry for help, if He was, He would answer you!" Oh friends...those lies are just that, lies. And they are Satans plan on trying to get you to doubt the trust you know you should have and can have in your Heavenly Father. He is bigger than all of your suffering and the plan He had for Jesus on the cross should be testimony to us of this exact truth. What was true about God back then, is oh so true about God today.

Let me take this to a place that encourages any of you in suffering today, or even if your close to someone who is suffering these words will bring light to your heart...

When we are down and out and asking ourselves, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me..." we need to surround ourselves with the Means of Grace. What is the means of grace? It is this: Going to the People of God for comfort, focusing our hearts and minds of the Works of God, we need to Worship God and most importantly we need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God.

Those four avenues when used together are our greatest gifts from the Father. It's the unity of the body of Christ that can bring hands and feet to offer us physical help. You know how this looks, it's that day. The day that all of this came crashing in on you. You might be slumped on the floor, or unable to lift your heard off your pillow because the suffering your in has taken it's toll on you and a lie was believed, and doubt crept it. You see your phone and you know the person you could call...

So you do. You dial that Jesus with skin on friends number and all you do is say "hi" and you begin to weep. Oh my friends, I've been there. I made that call, and I wept. And do you know what my friend did for me? First she cried with me, and then she prayed. She prayed for the peace of God to transcend my heart and mind that day...she became strength for me and pointed me back to my ultimate source of strength, Christ.

And Jesus, my Jesus bore all the suffering imaginable for me, so that I could live free today, giving some light to all of our sufferings today. I pray that this word encourages you today as it did for me. Suffering is something that we are going to face on this earth, but it's how we conquer in suffering that we can bring glory to God. Every time we do not submit to the fear, the lies and the deceit of the enemy as he lies to us about our suffering, we win a victory for the Lord, and ultimately, we stomp Satan. So lets win this fight one little stomp at a time, and conquer the lies of the enemy. Suffering is hard. The Lord knows this, and He will provide you with the peace you need as you ask for it. God never leaves His children forsaken, or alone, look at the cross!! The moment the words " my God my God why have you forsaken me" left the lips of Jesus, the darkness ceased and He gave up His spirit. He was heard, He was rescued and He was never forsaken. Neither are you and I.

"These things I have spoken to unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

John 15:11 kjv

What Kind of Sacrafice?

I read something on the story of Cain and Able today and it sparked a few thoughts for me, (like "it" meaning God, does for me each time I read something challenging)
I had read over some verses from Psalms "ironically" on sacrifice prior to reading the other passage on Cain and Able and I began to think of it in regards to my own life, and what does it really mean to offer up sacrifices to God? I actually would really like to know the answer to this question, but I'm going to process it as best as I can.
God desires a pure heart. We know that because He tells us that, "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.." Prov. 21:3
The sacrifice of Cain and Able made a difference in the Lords eyes, but what was the difference of that situation than of what is stated in the above verse? Is it perhaps that at the root of Cain's sin was pride? Pride that his gift was more aesthetically beautiful than his brothers? And when the Lord told Cain NO to his gift, it was more because of the fact that in Cains heart was pride over his gifts to the Lord? And of course, I made it personal, because this is what I do whenever I read something challenging in scripture, and I thought to myself..."When I offer the Lord something, whether it be my time, or a gift of praise and worship, and am I prideful that I am praising Him oh so well?"
Lately, I have been thanking the Lord for more and more and as I see His hand so prevalent in my life, it's difficult to get through a few hours without being most thankful to my Lord and Savior. That is not a brag, it's my acknowledging my utter weakness without my Father. So this is why I find myself thanking Him so often. But I want to have my thanks be pure of heart, in other words, I want to mean what I say. Granted, He knows my heart, (both frightening and comforting) but when I pray thanks, or offer Him emotion of thanks, am I coming to Him with a honest heart? Or one that is led by earthly pride? Pride in the fact that I'm so close to the Father...
I confess I've had moments of just such pride in the past, and what happened was this: I went to the Father thinking I was going to offer His name such beautiful praise at church, but instead I found myself unable to focus, and unable to praise because I had gotten caught up in the idea of being able to offer Him this sacrifice in my own abilities. Which is perhaps the same state of Cain's heart as He looked at all his beautiful vegetables and fruits, as he hand picked them and arranged them beautifully in his basket that he planned on bring to the alter. Oh his brother would be so jealous when he saw Cain's beautiful spread! That dirty little lamb couldn't stand a chance against his lovely gift. What a good thing he was doing for God he must of thought.
Has anyone here ever had those same thoughts. I have. And I hate that I have but it's obviously something that humans have struggled with since the beginning of time.
Our Father is so patient with us is he not? He was not mad at Cain with his gift, He just asked Cain this..."Why is your face downcast? Why are you angry..." (this question came on the wings of the Lord being pleased with Able's gift and not Cains...)
So much for aesthetically beautiful. Pride was overwhelming Cain and it turned into anger and the Lord saw right through Cain's fasaud of his beautiful gift...it was about giving the gift, it was about the pride behind the gift that was displeasing, that is what I think...
So with the understanding, it makes me rethink all I do. God is not fooled when we come to Him and say, "Look God! Look what I did for you!! Isn't it beautiful??? I made this meal for that family and it was such a pretty spread...and of course God, I did it all for you!!"
Do you think God is fooled? I didn't make that meal for Him, I made that meal because I had great confidence in my cooking abilities and thought, why not stamp God's name on this meal? Oh yuck. YUCK!!!
I bet that meal tasted like dirt to Him. And so I have bared my heart before the Lord, asking Him to make my gifts beautiful to Him, and only Him. To let my sacrifices be just that, sacrifices and not have it be something that comes so easy to me.
It's in honesty of heart that approach the throne with confidence, and it's with a pure heart that we say, "Lord, I offer you this gift, because you are God and I am thankful."
And I am, thankful...
"Father, may my gifts be so honoring to you, and will it never be from a selfish place that I bring you gifts...Forgive me for the times my gifts are more about me, than about you. I offer you up my heart, my attitudes and I tell you from a pure heart, I am so thankful for all you've done for me, and I desire to give you the most adoration possible. Thank you my Jesus, Thank you my Savior, my heart falls before your throne. Amen"

Any of you are welcome to join me in my prayers to the Father...He loves any child who comes honestly before his throne with adoration and praise, and a sacrifice that reflects the heart of God. Reflecting the heart of God? Is that even possible? It is when we chase after the Father and His desires with all our hearts, souls and minds...and that is the journey I desire to be on all of my life.
It's with a shaking of my head in amazement that that is even and option for me, it's with that mindset I recognize my humanness and my inability to bring His name praise all on my own. It's because of God, In God, and For God. Sacrifice is about praising Him, worshiping Him, laying down of self, and finally, to bring His name Glory. Because what can be said on sacrifice without first acknowledging the one who sacrificed it all for us? For that, we should give Him our very best.

He is our silver lining

Friends, I come to you tonight with a little bit of a heavy spirit, I've had a few things today that I have heard of that have cause me to tremble. Things that make my soul a bit sorrowful...and I'm finding myself ever more thankful for the hands of the Father that hold this whole world in His hands. It's His pain on the cross that give me hope. He went through every imaginable emotional, and physical pain that any of us could dare to imagine, and He did it with poise, with dignity and He did it with love in His heart for us, and in complete obedience to His Father.

I stand in awe of Him like never before. There is such pain in the world today and I want to be encouraged. So where do I turn when I want to be encouraged, the Word of God.

He tells me..Not to be afraid, because He has overcome the word...(John 14:27)

He tells me...Fear not, It is I, I am here...(Isaiah 41:10)

He tells me.. though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil..(Psalms 23)

He tells me...Though the earth give way, and the oceans quake with their surging, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, there is streams who makes glad the city God, God is with her at the break of day, and she will not fall. (Psalm 46)

He tells me..Come to me, you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)

He tells me...I am your strong tower, your shelter when your weak (Psalm 61:3)

He tells me...Do not be afraid, it is I...and the seas were calm. (Peter walking on water)

He tells me....Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (Matt. 5: 3)

He tells me...Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted..(Matthew 5:5)

And Friends, I will be honest with you, it was those last two verses that always gave me trouble, I thought, how could He call me blessed as I mourn? How could He call me blessed and I'm down and out in spirit? How could He call me blessed as my world seems to be falling apart?

Because of this: When the world is the darkest, God's light can be seen the brightest. Why? Because when we are in pain...we run to Him. Not because He's some evil dictator who enjoys us crawling to Him, but because He holds the keys to our peace. He knows that in Him, no pain can touch us. It why you can see people with terminal diseases being joyful and praising the name of the Lord. Here is why you can take this quite literally...when Christ died, He died for our sins. But from the 6th to the 9th hours, there was complete darkness. Complete and utter darkness in the world and in that moment, those standing around the cross had the breath taken away, and they said..."surely...this must have been the son of God..."

Others can say that of us as we face darkness. As we experience trials. I was so encouraged by this, because Christ went through the ultimate darkness but my friends, He was more than held, He was saved my His Father. He was risen to life in a complete and whole way and He offers us just such eternal joy as well...

The difficult part is that on this side of heaven, there is pain, but that is why we have the Lord here on earth with us as His Holy Spirit and why we have His most precious words written in His book of love to us. Open it. Open up your heart to the possibility of joy...and watch as He unfolds His great great love for you. Watch as he picks you up, picks your child up, picks your sick Mother up and holds them with such tender care and love. The pain we feel, is understood by our most loving and holy Father. He is not an unreachable God. He is your gentle Father who longs to speak words of encouragement to your heart.

"He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot- come, let us rejoice in Him." Psalm 66:5

My heart goes out to all of you who have pain in your heart tonight, and I pray for His peace that which surpasses all, to fill your hearts and minds tonight.