Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
It was a nice break from the hectic writing pace of Lent. Taking a few days off after from writing after Easter gave me an opportunity to just chill out, and reflect on many-many things. And now that I have had my chance to recharge and refresh let us get back to it. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia, Amen!
How was your Easter? Was it filled with Easter candy, baskets, and that annoying plastic grass we stuff in baskets which seems to end up everywhere? Hopefully you had a wonderful worship experience at the church of your choice. At Grace Lutheran Pocatello we were blessed by having over 1100 fellow believers join us on Easter Sunday. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! While we are humbled by the number of folks that joined us for worship, it is not all about the numbers. The important lesson for all of us to consider is many people who may not regularly attend a worship service chose to attend church on Easter. They chose to open their hearts and minds to all the possibilities that exist when a person deliberately chooses to hear the word of God spoken and the Gospel preached. They gave the Holy Spirit an opening into their hearts by experiencing the elements of communion. The body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine of that blessed sacrament. The physical element meets with the Words of Jesus reminding us that our sins are forgiven by His sacrifice. A new covenant has been given to us. And through all of this we, and all who attended on Easter Sunday, are left with one lingering question. What are we going to do with what we observed, heard, and experienced? This experience and what we saw and heard does not need to end when we exited the church building? It needs to continue to work in our lives. Take a pause in your life, and give this some thought. We all need to take the time to let the Holy Spirit work within us to shape us and change us. Psalm 119:30-32 gives us a path forward to embrace. I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding. I encourage you to take the time to rest, recharge, chill out, and give this some serious prayer. For when we chose to run in the path of the commands of the Lord, our lives are enriched in ways that are beyond the physical wealth many seek. Our understanding of what our lives are really all about can be revealed and that is more precious than any amount of gold and silver we may accumulate in our lives. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia, Amen!
PRAYER: Lord, You bless us today and every day. And while all too often we only pause to consider those blessings at Christmas and Easter, we know that we are truly blessed by Your love. Help us Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our lives that we might be forever changed. Help us, through faith, to run in the path of your commands. Broaden our understanding O God. We ask this in the name of Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ who with the Father and the Spirit are One God now and forever, Amen.
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