Day 40--God saves and GOD LIVES!!

“He. Saved. Me.” –Jordan H.

I thought we’d closed our 40 days together with this one.  A perfect reminder of God’s perfect sacrifice, His perfect love.    

If you’ve ever watched a fire fighter in action then you have an idea about the way God’s love works for us.  It doesn’t matter how high or dangerous the flames are.  It doesn’t matter if the house is ugly and the people inside are not perfect.  Without question and without hesitation God sends his love to save us over and over and over again.  We sin, we fall short, but God’s love never does. 

Give Him a thousand crosses.  A thousand Easter mornings will follow.    

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from you yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

There’s nothing we can do to make God love us more and there’s nothing we can do to make God love us less.  His gift to us is unending love, unending mercy, unending grace.  And you are worth it, friends.  You are worth it.

Happy Easter, everyone!!!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Day 39--God is everywhere.

“Today I had a professor tell me, "Kylie, I know you know this but sometimes a reminder never hurts. No matter how stressed and overwhelmed you may feel right now, always remember that you are being held in Jesus' unfailing and never changing hands."  I may not go to a "Christian University" per say, but I am thankful for professors here who speak truth into their stressed out students’ lives.” –Kylie S.

We’ve come to Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross.  We started this blog on Ash Wednesday with “God is here”.  Don’t think for a minute that His death means He is not.  As Kylie’s professor so perfectly reminds us….no amount of nails could keep Jesus’ unfailing and never changing hands from our lives.  There might be darkness today, but Sunday is coming!

“The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” Mark 15:38-39.

I hope you have been as blessed as I have been with the testimony shared over the last 39 days.  I hope it’s not just gone to prove our “here” God is, but how EVERYWHERE He is!  What else could make such a dark day in history so good? 

Your life is a testimony, friends.  It is a gift.  God wants to fill it in every way, everywhere.  Let His Son’s sacrifice fill your heart this weekend.  There may be darkness today, friends, but Sunday is coming.  Sunday is coming….

Day 38--God is the difference.

“This is why Christianity is different. This is why true Christians are free. Being holy in the eyes of God isn’t about doing enough goods to counter the bads, because we can’t. Being holy is focusing on, running to, and loving the one who was, is, and forever will be. Then we get to watch Jesus radically change our lives and work mighty works through us.”  --Kevin L.

Christianity is different because God is the difference.  He is the difference between peace and unrest.  Hope and despair.  Eternal life and death.  So many other people and things can make you very tempting offers.

They all fall short.     

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17

Allow God to make a difference in your life today.  Don’t worry about the past.  Don’t worry about the future.  Focus on the One whose love defeats even the grave, and watch it make all the difference…

Is there something in your life right now that could use the difference only God can make?  Maybe it’s a friendship, a class at school, a situation at work.  Ask God to be a part of that, to take away the old questions, fears and doubts, and replace it with new hope and life. 

Day 37--God wants your gifts.

“I’ve been working at The River, which is an organization that gives children with special needs a chance to participate in the fine arts.  Watching them perform and seeing how excited they are by sharing their gifts with others has been incredible, and I am so blessed that God has given me the opportunity to watch them bring joy to others.”  --Abby W.

For with great power comes great responsibility….. 

(hmmmm…..I appear to be on a super hero kick this week J)

Each one of us is gifted in some way.  Can you imagine the world if people used their gifts to God’s glory all the time?  Think about how encouraging that would be!  How peaceful! 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world indeed!!  Use what you’ve got and do some good with it.  If you’re a dancer, a singer, a painter, good with numbers, good with tools.  Find a way to use the gifts God gave you to encourage others and pass on His love.      

Make a list today of all the gifts you think God has blessed you with.  Pray over these gifts.  Ask God for guidance and opportunity to use the gifts to bless and encourage others.  Ask God’s light to shine through you to others today.

Day 36--God is Love.

"In February, I got to go to the wedding of my big sister, Emily, and see her begin a new life with her husband, and now my new brother-in-law, Robert. Just by looking at them, and the family and friends they had with them, you could tell that God was a very central part of this event. I've always known that having Christianity and God are very important parts in a marriage, but just being able to see it first hand, it was just so inspiring to see two people join together, before God, and start a new life together with Him at the center of it."  --Noah S.

There’s a lot of ways to feel love for someone.  You love your family.  You love your friends.  You love your boyfriend or girlfriend.  You love Captain America.

 

Love is a good thing--God commands us to it—though it’s not always an easy thing.  Especially when people irritates you.  But love--God’s kind of love--calls for action more than it calls for emotion.  He makes it possible to love even when you think you don’t feel it. 

 

"…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."  1 John 4:16-19

God showed His love for us with the ultimate sacrifice of His Son.  He loves us beyond fear and beyond imperfection.  His love for us is not conditional.  Our love for others has to be the same way.  We have to stop thinking of love as a romantic or affectionate way to feel about someone, and start thinking about love as a way to live for the whole world.    

Read 1 Corinthians 13.  Pay attention to how Paul describes the act of loving.  He’s not just talking about the love you might feel for a significant other here.  He’s talking about how to BE loving to others in Jesus’ name.  Pray about how you can put Paul’s words to action today.    

Day 35--God wants you.

“I grew up in a Christian home. I went to Bible studies and church with my family on Sundays. I went with the flow of things. I never really understood what my purpose was until God spoke to my heart. I was baptized when I was little, but that wasn't my choice, it was my parents. I decided to get baptized again and make the choice of having a personal relationship with Jesus. I made this choice when I finally understood what having a relationship with Christ is like.  Having a personal relationship with God has taught me that you can get through anything as long as you have two important keys. These keys are hope and faith. Be sure to always put your faith in him where ever you may turn. Always put your hope into your obstacles that may come your way. If you allow god to live through he can and will change your life for the better.”  --Kathryn J.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week in the church.  It’s a time where we follow Jesus’ journey to the cross, from His triumphant entry into Jerusalem to Judas’ betrayal.  From praying in the garden to being beaten by the soldiers.  From an unfair trial to death on the cross.

There’s a lot to take away from the week ahead of us.  If you’ve never been to a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service I encourage you to find one and try it out.  You can come with me!  But if you do, hear or learn nothing else this week please listen to this…

God. Wants. You.

He wants a personal relationship with YOU.  Your parents, your friends, your pastors…these are all wonderful people He’s put in your life.  But none of the gifts they can share with you will be more precious than the relationship He will have directly with you.  Otherwise everything ahead of us this Holy Week will be for naught. 

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:38

God knew that the same people that hailed Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday would betray him, hurl insults at him and mock him just a few short days later.  He sent Him anyway.  Jesus comes in the name of God, who created this world, who created you, who loves you, who seeks to have a relationship with you.  We are blessed indeed.

Dear God, it’s Monday and you know what that means.  Back to the grind at school, at work, at home.  But Lord let this week ahead of me be different.  Let me hear the message you have for me in Jesus’ story.  Let me hear your voice like never before.  Lead me to the cross, God.  Lead me to You.  Amen.       

Day 34--God is light.

“I felt God's presence the most this year because at school one of the most godly men I knew committed suicide.  This past February my English teacher got in a really bad wreck and lost her 8 year old daughter in the accident. When all these hardships came down on me I turned to God and, yes, I was mad at Him. But I also knew that it was all a part of his plan and I had to trust that everything would be OK. When Frankie committed suicide I just had to know that whatever was bothering him was gone, even though I wish he wouldn't have done what he did. I still have to accept it and that he is happy living in heaven.”  –Robert J.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Through Him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:1-5

The darkness has not overcome it.  The darkness will not overcome it.  The darkness cannot overcome it.

Have you ever opened the door to a dark hallway?  Light spills from the lighted room behind you into the darkness.  The darkness never goes the other way.  It doesn’t creep back into the lighted room.  This is God’s power in the world.  Where there is darkness and sadness, death and despair, God’s light takes over.  It cannot be defeated.

We might not always understand the chaos happening around us, but we must trust God’s power.  We must trust His love.  We must trust His light.

The darkness has not overcome it.  The darkness will not overcome it.  The darkness cannot overcome it. 

Father, we stand before you today saddened and angry by the things we cannot control, cannot understand.  There is so much beyond our control.  So much that seems cruel and unfair.  But your light is with us, God.  You that created this world will not be overcome by it.  We ask for your comfort, God, and give you praise that the darkness will not have the last word.  Amen.