He is risen

Hallelujah!

Isaiah 53 says

"He was despised and rejected by men, 

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows...

But he was pierced for our transgressions, 

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed."

He was crushed and died a horrible death, taking our sins upon himself, even though he was without sin.  He was dead and buried.  But on the third day, he rose, defying death!

We serve a living God!

precious

How precious is the very name of Jesus.  

Does it give you chills?

I certainly don't put any store by emotions ruling our relationship with Christ, please understand -- but something curious has begun to happen to me in the last few years that I really like. It has gotten to the point in my life that when I hear the name of Jesus, I feel jarred.  My heart skips a beat.  It's like a bolt of righteous lightning comes into my sinful world and shines bright for just a second and leaves me breathless.  It surprises me every time.

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

 and gave him the name that is above every name,

 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:9-11

confirmation

You know when God whispers in your mind?  Those thoughts that just won't go away . . . you know you should do something, say something to someone, and even when you try to put it out of your mind, it just won't go away.  That's probably God whispering, "I want you to do this."

Well, he started whispering to me yesterday.  He told me to give a message to one of my friends: stay away from a certain person who was causing turmoil and strife.  I didn't see my friend yesterday, so I tried to blow it off -- it was probably just my overactive imagination.

I should have known better.  God is persistent.  Especially when it involves his beloved children.

The message was loud and clear this morning.  In fact, it kind of freaked me out.  I prayed for my friend's safety as I drove to work, and I felt such urgency to speak with her that the moment I saw her I stopped in my path and asked if we could talk privately.  When I told her that God wanted me to tell her to stay away from this person, she wasn't surprised.  She nodded and said, "Wow.  That's just confirmation.  You're the third person to tell me that very same thing."

God used me to assure her that it was most certainly his will for her to avoid this harmful person.  What would have happened if I had not obeyed the Lord's prompting?  Maybe nothing, but maybe something catastrophic.  Thankfully I'll never wonder.

Or worse, hate myself for not delivering a very important message.

when I pray

I like to visualize myself in beautiful places.

If I have time, that is.

Sometimes I'm doing good just to get a quick, "Lord, help me through this day," or "God protect my family" -- so the visualization just doesn't happen.

But when I have the time . . . how wonderful it would be to sit at the feet of God in the green, lush mountains somewhere (where it's about 70 degrees) and tell him my struggles.  Have him stroke my hair as if I were a small child, and tell me everything's going to be ok.


But -- I can't just leave it at that.  The very mention of God, feet and hair -- who comes to mind?  For me it's Mary, the woman who used really expensive perfume to pour on Jesus.  Using her locks of hair, she wiped her tears from where they had dropped on his feet.  She adored him.  She worshiped him.

What a beautiful place that is, the feet of Jesus.

When we pray, we are there, at his feet.  Whether we know it or not.