Easter!!! A Time to Remember - A Time to Reflect - A Time to Be So Thankful

What do we think of when we let the words of 'Easter'gently roll off our lips?
Decorating eggs? Family reunions? The Easter bunny? Perhaps it's just another over-commercialized holiday like so many others.

What should it be?
A day to remember. The day Jesus rose from death after 3 days of a journey like no other man has ever or will ever experience.

A time to reflect. Jesus chose to take upon Himself your sin, my sin, and our children's sin's of the past, the present and the future.

A time to be so thankful. Had Jesus Christ, (the Son of almighty God and Creator of everything) decided not to be punished and whipped for our sins, wearing a crown of thorns and carrying our burdens amongst His entire body, being nailed to the cross and scorned, ridiculed and beaten, what hope would there would have been no hope for you, me, our children or our future generations to receive eternal life.

So what does this mean to you?
I don't know, but it means the world to me.

Today, take a moment to remember...to reflect...the be so thankful for the blood Jesus shed for YOU, to know that God loves YOU so much He gave up His one and only Son Jesus for YOU so that if you believe on Jesus Christ died for YOUR sins, you can be saved and have eternal life.

If you realize you are a sinful being in need of a Savior, pray these words from your heart.
"Lord Jesus, I confess my sins to you and ask for Your forgiveness. I repent, turn away from desiring the things in my life not pleasing to You. I believe You sent Your Son Jesus to die for me. I accept Your forgiveness and free gift of salvation. Come into my life and make me new. Give me the strength to let go of past sins, the wisdom to walk in Your path now, hope for a better future and change my heart as I grow closer to You each day. Thank You for saving me. I am now Yours and surrender my life to Your will. Guide me in Your ways and truth, from this day forward.In Jesus name, Amen."

Congratulations! You've just made the most decision of your life!

Wait! It doesn't doesn't stop there!
To help you learn about your new life in Jesus you need to begin reading the Bible. If you don't already have one, email me at created2blessothers@yahoo.com and I will send you one, FREE of charge.
To help you grow as a new believer, begin attending a church that supports your belief in Jesus Christ ans Lord and Savior. If you need help finding a church family in your area, email me and I can help get you connected with those on the same journey as you.
To get prayer, receive words of wisdom from those going through similar events as you perhaps, and to deepen your relationship with others in the faith look into home groups that may be offered through your church.

Most of all, enjoy your new found journey of purpose, hope and peace!
Some of my favorite scriptures in the Bible - John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, John 1:9, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Philippians 4:4, Psalms 150:6, Romans 8:28.

Choosing to Blossom Along the Journey

The other day I was thinking about how a seed is rooted in the ground, nurtured with water to sprout, emerges either strong or weak, is pumped full of vitamin D from the sun and grows useful or dies pitifully. Kind of like the human life, wouldn't you say?

From before we were born, God knew us (Psalm 139:13-16) and had plans for us; plans for good and not for harm, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He knew us as a seed yet formed, rooted, nurtured and growing. WOW! How awesome is that?!
But, because of His great love for us, He gave us a choice. A choice to choose Him, to choose life through His Son Jesus, or to choose the world and all it has to offer, to choose death and eternity in hell (John 3:16).

When we choose life, just as with the seed rooted firmly in the soil, we can choose to be rooted firmly in Christ. God is a gentlemen, He will not force us to choose to love Him and accept His Son Jesus Christ. It just isn't going to happen. God created us with our own wills, (remember Adam and eve in the garden of Eden?), ya. We become firmly rooted when we spend time with God, reading His words to us in the Bible, filling our minds with heavenly things and being obedient to all He says. Sure, we are human and make mistakes. That was the whole reason we needed Jesus to be our Savior, but what little effort it takes to confess our wrong doings and receive Jesus' forgiveness, go on and become better because of God's unconditional love for us.

Our nurturing takes place when we love Jesus will all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, are daily spending time in God's word, memorizing scripture so that we don't sin against our Lord (Psalm 119:11), praise Him (Psalm 100:4) and allow the Holy Spirit to wash our lives with His word, empower us to lives well pleasing to our Lord and to be blessings to those God puts in our paths.

Time spent in the sun adds vitamin D to our bodies thereby enriching our very beings. So it is with time spent with the Son of God. Our lives are enriched beyond measure and as we grow in the knowledge of Him (II Peter 3:18) our lives are transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Our lives are a journey of blossoming into what God has called us to become. We can either radiate the fragrance of lavander or emminate the vile stench of a corpse flower.
We can choose to grow or choose to shrivel up and die. It is all about choice; and it is a matter of life and death.



For further reflection I highly recommend-
(http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=3206)