He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is a time to reflect on the great gift that God gave us. This gift was His Son who lived in the flesh and walked the earth as a human being. This gift was crucified on a Roman cross for the sins of the world. This gift was buried in a tomb only to rise 3 days later. In doing so Jesus Christ defeated death!!! How awesome is that….come on now think about it for just a second. Christ defeated death and sin by giving up his life for you and me. Every time I think about that it gives me goose bumps to think that lowly old me had someone willingly give up His life for me.
When you and your kids are going on the Easter egg hunts and opening candy please do not forget the real reason we celebrate. We celebrate for our Lord Jesus Christ and what he meant to the world. We celebrate because we do not have to live in bondage anymore! We celebrate because just like Jesus we will pass away only to be raised again into eternal life with Him!! What a blessing we have received!!
HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!
True repentance what does that mean? As my Pastor says it means that you are going in one direction and you stop, turn 180 degrees and start moving in the other direction. Psalms 51 is a prayer of repentance and has helped me understand God’s love for us as His children. He wants to see us do right not because we can “earn” our way to heaven but so we live in a way the glorifies His name. This Psalm was written by King David at a time in his life when he had committed adultery and set up Bathsheba”s husband to be murdered in a war. It speaks to me that even Bible heroes have done some pretty horrific things in their life but it does not mean that we cannot turn away from our evil ways. Yes, there is always consequences of sin….in Davids case God did not allow him to build the First Temple that he had longed to build to honor God….but that does not mean God does not love us or that He has left us in some way. Us as human beings have dealt with rejection or people that maybe gave up on us way to early but that is not how God operates. He loves us no matter what we do as long as we can come to him with a repentant heart and trust in His ways.
Thank you Father for never giving up on me and thank you for loving me as I am.
He has seen me grow from baby to a man and although there have been plenty of hardships in my life I never used them as an excuse because He saw me through. I can sit here today and honestly say I am the man I am today because of the things I have endured in my life. In the last few years I finally started to understand what it means to trust God with my entire life not just what I want him to be a part of and the outcome has been awesome to say the least. If you struggle with that part of your Christian walk today I promise you just give it the Good Lord and He will lead your life in a way you never thought imaginable.
There will be times where we “mess up” as there was only one perfect Man who has ever walked this earth and He was crucified for our sins so don’t be scared it will be ok. The Lord is with each and everyone of us and he understands the pressures and fears we have but He is standing there with an open hand to lead us where we never thought imaginable in spite of our evil ways. All He asks is that we invite him in and repent of our sins.
Psalm 51
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.[a]
5 For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But you desire honesty from the womb,[b]
teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins,[c] and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit[d] from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Below is a video I found that is talking about what is going on in Israel today and how it relates to the end times prophecy. I am of the belief that Israel is at the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming. Most people that know will also know that I am not some crazy star watching prophecy kook. With that being said I do believe we are living in the end times. My Pastor likes to say that “we should feel blessed God has chosen us as a generation to live in the time we are living in” and I completely agree with him. The more I study and learn it is if prophecy is coming alive before our very eyes. It can be kind of scary and a little intimidating because I do want to see my children grow up and I do want to see what the rest of my life has in store for me. I want to be able to experience my soon to be wife and the relationship we have for as long as I possibly can. I know the people reading this would feel the same way but think of what His coming back will be like. Can you imagine seeing Him face to face, what it will be like to hug Jesus or see God? What about no more disease or sickness or sadness? Can you imagine our world without these things? I can exceedingly more and more everyday. Think about Jesus coming back for you and all who have longed for His appearance.
This video is going to walk you through a little bit of how Israel and the countries surrounding her will all line up against her as foretold in Ezekiel 38 thousands of years ago. Most people if you ask about Egypt and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak they will say that is a good thing. Lord knows I thought it was when it happened but as referenced in this video it was not. This video will talk about the Muslim Brotherhood who is about take over their Government and how this is very bad news for Israel or what the world will think is very bad news. In all of this though I feel a peace or a certain calmness knowing that this world is in hands that is far greater than any political leader….the world is God’s and everything in it!! That is really the great news! We do not have to be worried about the future as it has already been foretold in the Bible. We know us as Christians and Jews will be safe. We understand God’s power in the earth.
I hope you enjoy this video and get as much insight out of it that I did. We really are living in amazing times and I cannot wait to experience all that is in store.
What’s Really Happening in Israel from Gary Stearman on Vimeo.
I believe in Jesus Christ first and foremost as mine and yours Lord & Savior. I want to spread the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ the son of the One True Living God. I want to empower Christians so that our united voice is heard. I want to get away from traditions and denominations so that we get to the root of our beliefs which is Jesus did walk this earth, He was crucified for you and me and He was risen from the grave 3 days later to save everyone in this world from their sins.
This blog is going to be inspired by God and about God. I have never in my Christian life been as open about my belief as I am at this point in my life. I was raised in a church but had no clue as to what that meant in the real world. I have been through a lot of pain and heart ache in my life and it is a miracle in itself I am still alive today.
I have felt the presence God pushing me toward action in the last month or so but I had no idea what He wanted me to do. This is where the blog and Facebook page come in….I knew I could reach a lot of people with both and I want both of these outlets to be all to the Glory of God. Everything you see posted or I write about I hope is inspired by Him. I want to help other Christian like myself have an easy place to reference for inspiration if needed, help with problems, current events going on in the world and a call to action for all Christians to stand united. We have to have a voice in government, in our schools, in public and throughout the world.
Please subscribe to the blog if you wish and be on the look out for more interesting posts, blogs and pertinent Christian information coming your way. I f you are on Facebook come check out my page over there to at http://www.facebook.com/ChristiansforChristSpeakOut
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
United Christian Front 