Easter

 

Easter means that the Lord Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect life for you and me. He later died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, and then He arose again on the third day to prove that He had won over sin and death and Satan. If you and I have accepted his gift of salvation by repentance and faith, we are His child now and for eternity.

Easter also means that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, identifies with our pain and the pain of our loved ones.  Having suffered the worst possible pain for us on the cross He is able to sympathize with our heartaches and weaknesses. He is also an all powerful Savior to whom we can freely go for grace in our moments of sadness and overwhelming and crushing needs.  Check out Hebrews 4:15-16 in the New Testament.

Because of Easter and Christ's sacrifice we can freely approach God the Father Himself with our needs. We can cry out to Him for help and call Him our “Abba Father,” because He considers us His special child. (Romans 8:15) Easter also means that when our hearts are so weighed down with the heartaches and overwhelming circumstances of life that we do not even know how to pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede and pray for us! (Romans 8:26) 

Easter means that although we will always face trials and troubles in this world, the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  He is also our source of peace even in the most challenging of times. (John 16:33)  Even in the overwhelming circumstances of life, even when we do not understand God's ways in allowing certain things in our lives, and even in the most unthinkable circumstances, God is working for our ultimate good. We are victors in Him! (Romans 8:28)

Dear Christian reader, my hope for you would be that no matter what happens in your life situations you will slowly heal emotionally and spiritually. God will always be with you, and joy will return one day even in the overwhelmingly difficult situations. His love for you will never fail. He proved that love for you on the cross. That is the meaning of Easter for all of us.

The Time in Between

 

Palm Sunday is a special Sunday.  It is when we remember children and adults lining the street waving palm branches and singing praises to Jesus, the King of kings, as He rode into town on the back of a donkey.  Yet that day was followed with a week of drastically different events including the betrayal of Jesus and His crucificiation on the cross the following Friday.

Jesus's death on the cross was a horrific event for Jesus, as Jesus suffered hell for us on the cross.  Yet for us, who believe and trust in Him, it is was a wonderful event; as it purchased salvation for us.  That is why we call it Good Friday, because it was so very good for us.  Jesus took the punishement that we deserve and paid the price for our sins on the cross.  Now when God looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ's righteousness instead! Jesus Christ first lived a perfect life for us, and then He paid the penalty for our sins in our place!  What a Savior!  What a Lord!  That should make us want to live a life of gratitude to Him for what He has done for us.

The time between Palm Sunday and Easter was a horrific time for Jesus, yet victory was right around the corner!  On Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the grave victorious over sin, death, and hell.  So someday, all our earthly trials will be over as well.  This is the just the time in between.  Someday there will no longer be any night or tears or trials.  To God be the glory!  

Eternity

Seven years ago in early March my Mom passed away after having suffered a stroke a few days before that.  I was with her the last few moments of her life.  I wrote about that experience, about care-giving, and my reflections on eternity a few days after her funeral in March of 2017.  Bear with me as I bring that post back today.  Eternity is really so close to us, just a breath away.  Easter which is right around the corner reminds us of that.  Just click on the link below to reread that post.

http://christiancaregiving.blogspot.com/2017/03/eternity_11.html

His Grace

I have heard people say, "I don't think I could handle that."  They then proceed to name the set of circumstances which they feel they would never be able to handle, if that set of circumstances would occur in their lives.  When I was younger I remember thinking that there were two things I just "knew" I would not be able to handle, if they happened to me.  These two things were the death of my husband  and the loss of a breast.  God asked both of these things of me.  My  first husband, Wayne, died in early 2011 at the end of a long battle against his neurological disease, and I also lost a breast due to breast cancer in the same time frame that I was my first husband's caregiver.

After being my first husband's caregiver and then losing him to death I also said that I never wanted to be a caregiver again.  Yet God has asked me to be a caregiver once again now to my second husband,  Bob.  The circumstances are diffierent but the emotions are also so amazinly similiar.  I so often have felt in the last months that I couldn't go on.  Yet God has always been there with me with His grace and comfort.

The truth is that God does not give us grace ahead of time.  He gives us His extra grace to handle a difficult and "impossible" situations at the time we need it and not before that time.  That does not mean that the difficult situation will be pleasant, and that one is free from negative emotions.  It just means that God will give sufficient grace and even a measure of joy and peace in the midst of the situation.

In the book of  ll Corinthians in the New Testament of the Bible the apostle, Paul, asked the Lord three times for release from "a thorn in the flesh." We do not know for sure what this affliction was that Paul was experiencing, but apparently it was serious enough that Paul cried out to the Lord for relief.  The Lord did not choose to take this affliction from him, however.

Instead the Lord said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (II Corinthians 12:9)  The Lord was going to give Paul the grace he needed moment by moment to endure and even prosper in the midst of this affliction.  Paul's response in ll Corinthians 12:9b-10 was to say, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.----For when I am weak, then I am strong."  Paul was content to feel weak and to suffer his affliction, because in the process the Lord's sufficient strength in Paul would be seen more clearly.

How about you dear reader?  Are you willing to trust that God's grace is sufficient to get you through any challenge you may face today or in the future?  I remember feeling afraid of what the future held while caring for my first husband.  How was I going to handle each new decline in his physical functioning?  Yet God paved the way and gave me His strength step by step even during the moments when I felt very overwhelmed.  I often wonder the same thing in the challenges I now face.

Do you believe, dear reader, that God's grace will be given to you moment by moment?  Do you believe it will be delivered at the right time and that the grace will be sufficient for every scenario? Do you believe His grace will be enough for you to stay firm in your faith and to continue to believe in God's goodness and love?

God's grace IS sufficient for all your needs, dear reader.  He will equip you for whatever lies ahead.  You will not only survive, but you will prosper spiritually through the process.  This is a truth that I have to remind myself as well when I feel overwhelmed, confused, alone, or need His comfort.  I still often give into fear.  It is not easy to walk this life's path.  Yet I am reminded that God will give me the sufficient grace at the moment and moments I  need it.  God is doing it for me and will do the same for you, dear reader!