Reflections After Easter

Reflections After Easter – Honoring Christ Every Day

Reflections after Easter

This past Sunday, Christians all over the world celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This wonderful celebration has come and gone, but is Easter really over?

Not in the least!

We have good news to share with the world!

As Christians, we know on a personal level the incredible love that God has for us.

We can’t earn His grace for that would be impossible.

We don’t deserve His love, and yet God wants us to be with Him forever in heaven.

As wretched and deserving of judgment as we are, God made a way and that is through the sacrificial atonement for our sins through His Son, Jesus.

Don’t miss your chance to share His message of hope and salvation to a world in despair.

Jesus told the disciples to “Go.”

Matthew 28:19

Now, many generations later, it’s up to you and me to spread the gospel to the world.

Reflections After Easter – A Poem About The Lamb Of God

The following poem by M.S. Lowndes is a beautiful reminder of the blessed assurance that we have by God’s grace, and through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Tell the world!

THE LAMB OF GOD

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God,
Who takes away our sin,
He came the sinless Son of God
To cleanse our hearts within

He hung upon the blood-stained cross
Thinking of you and me,
Dying like some hardened criminal,
His body in agony

His blood flowed down from the cross;
His body tormented with pain
He cried out to His Heavenly Father,
But it seemed no answer came

People stood and jeered at Him,
Mocking to the end
Who Jesus was and why He came,
They couldn’t comprehend

Their hearts were indifferent to the Lord;
Their consciences grew ever cold
His mother watched on – unable to bear it
As the sword pierced through her soul

As you try to grasp this picture,
The pain that Christ went through,
Remember that day you were on His mind,
He endured it all for you

Just so you could know His love
And forgiveness for your sins,
To know His resurrection power
And to have His life within

He cares that much about your life,
He endured the cross for you
Like those who jeered, or those who loved,
With Jesus – what will you do?

© By M.S.Lowndes2

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1Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Poetry courtesy of M.S. Lowndes. “The Lamb of God.” [online post]. From Heavensinspirations.com, ©M.S. Lowndes, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, n.d. Web. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.heavensinspirations.com/the-lamb-of-god.html

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Easter 2023

Happy Easter 2023

For Christians everywhere – this Sunday we celebrate one of THE most important dates in our faith – Easter.

This is history’s most glorious moment!

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, rose from the dead signifying His triumph over sin and death.

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Easter 2023

From our home to yours, we wish you a very happy Easter 2023!

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“God Is Sovereign” Meaning

What Does It Mean to Say That God is Sovereign?

A Bible teacher I am not, but to answer the question of God’s Sovereignty, we can first take a look at its definition.

According to dictionary.com, the word “Sovereign” means “supreme power or authority.” (Dictionary.com, n.d.)1

I believe that secular definition is a pretty good description, but our ultimate authority on this is the Word of God.

Let’s take a look. This is from a Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
The world, and those who live in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
3 Who may ascend onto the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place? – Psalm 24:1-3, (NASB).2

The first line of Psalm 24 is pretty clear, isn’t it?

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains . . .

God is Sovereign and Controls Everything

God is in control of everything. As a divine attribute of His Sovereignty, nothing can stop Him from His intended purposes.

As sinful humans, we don’t like not being in control.

It’s interesting that when God does not “intervene” (by human standards) in a crisis situation, some will question His power and majesty.

Do you remember that outrageous 2015 headline, “God isn’t fixing this” which also referenced prayer as “meaningless platitudes”?

How sad is it that people actually still think that way.

Here’s the truth:

God has the ability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to allow certain things for reasons of His own. His will is furthered in any case. God’s “sovereignty” means that He is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy. Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will. This holds true even if certain specific things are not what He would prefer. The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as necessary for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses. – Got Questions website.3

The fact is we live in a sinful world, and we will suffer.

Whether it’s illness, or persecution, or anything else.

The Bible warns us about the sufferings we will experience in this life.

If God is Sovereign, Then Why Won’t He Stop Evil?

God’s sovereignty in a sinful world is a tough topic for many people.

The importance of God “allowing” actions as part of His sovereignty cannot be overstated. God’s causing the basis for an act to occur does not mean He is a responsible moral agent for the act. The moral responsibility for intentionally evil acts falls on those who commit the acts themselves. – Got Questions website.4

We won’t understand the concept of sovereignty perfectly. As the Bible says, His ways are not our ways. 

Simply put, as our Creator, the world belongs to God so it’s His to do with as He wishes.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. 

Proverbs 19:21

If God is Sovereign, Then Why Pray?

God’s Sovereignty is exactly the reason we should pray. He sees and hears our every cry.

We are talking to the One who created the heavens and the earth and the One who created you and me.

We should be falling on our knees in reverence and praise.

Trusting in God’s Sovereignty helps give us more peace about a situation.

Why?

Because it takes the pressure off of us in a lot of ways.

We can rest in the peace that God is in control no matter what is going on.

And, as Christians, we have nothing to fear.

He loves us in every sense of the word.

We were created by Him and for Him and God wants us with Him for eternity.

Our modern day sufferings are just for a little while.

Because we know the end of “His Story” (the Bible) we have all the reason to praise Him, to have great faith through the storm.

This is one of the many reasons that we can delight in God.

As prophesied in the Bible, we will have tough days ahead, but stay strong.

Dear friends in Christ, Jesus our Lord and Savior is coming back someday!

Isaiah 25:8-9

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1 Sovereign. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sovereign 

2 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

3 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What does it mean that God is sovereign? n.d., para. 6. Web. Accessed March 31, 2023. God’s Sovereignty.

4 Quotation from go   Sovereigntytions.org, from “Is God sovereign over death? n.d., para. 7. Web. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/is-God-sovereign-over-death.html

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Beauty Out Of Nothing

Beauty Out Of Nothing – Gravity Wave Clouds

A few days ago, my husband and I were headed to a Bible study when we saw a beautiful and intriguing sight in the sky.

Check out these linear (also known as lenticular) clouds.

Gravity Wave Clouds

We’ve never seen clouds like this before in our lifetime.

They literally looked like stripes across the sky – white linear clouds alternating in a distinct pattern with blue gaps in between.

Only our creator God can paint beauty out of nothing on an earthly canvas.

Even a child can see it!

Lenticular clouds

What are these clouds anyway?

I immediately texted a meteorologist friend of mine.

A few seconds later, he came back with the answer.

They’re called, “gravity wave clouds.”

Wave clouds – in the sky!

Strictly speaking, it’s when a sudden cold parcel forms above and is forced downward. The splash effect is like when you throw a rock in a pond and watch the waves form and spread outward. – courtesy of Larry Cosgrove, Meteorologist.

Job 36:29-30

Beauty Out Of Nothing – The Majesty of Creator God

Just like a beautiful snowflake, no two clouds are exactly alike.

There are many different shapes and sizes towering up in the sky.

And, with just the right conditions, life-giving rain falls to replenish the earth.

Beauty out of nothing

“The clouds and the rain display God’s astonishing control of the world in operations of such delicacy and strength that men can neither understand nor imitate them.” (Andersen)1

God Reveals Himself Through Creation

One of my favorite things to do is to take a drive through the countryside.

I can’t help but stand in awe at the power and majesty of our Sovereign God. He reveals Himself in many ways through His creation and in our hearts and minds.

the beauty of creation from Creator God

God created and sustains everything that exists. His power is absolute, and His love is perfect.

What a blessing to know that He created you and me in His own image!

27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27, (NASB).3

We were not created from lower life forms without any value, as evolution suggests.

We are made for much more.

God’s likeness denotes our capacity to rule over creation and be in relationship with God and other humans and to exercise reason, intelligence, speech, moral consciousness, creativity, rationality, and choice. Since the beginning of time, God has desired to bless us and enjoy close fellowship with us, and for this reason He made us like Himself. – Got Questions website.4

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1 Anderson, Francis I. Job (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975).

2 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

4 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What does it mean when God said, ‘Let us Make Man In Our Image’ Genesis 1:26)? n.d., para. 3. Web. Accessed March 26, 2023. From Genesis.

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What You Believe And Why

Do You Know What You Believe And Why?

A few days ago, I read the results from a study where teenagers were asked about their spiritual lives. Among the surprising findings, almost none of the Christian committed teenagers could “articulate the most basic beliefs of the faith.”(Stand To Reason, n.d.)1

Now granted, this is from an older study.

But, I can’t imagine it’s gotten any better when you consider the onslaughts against our faith and traditional family values in the news, among certain celebrities, and worse, being taught in some public schools.

Apologetics for the younger generation

Are your kids prepared to defend their faith?

Are you?

Do you know what you believe and why?

To these teens, religion was about being nice and enjoying a relationship with a God who mostly wanted them to be happy and feel good about themselves—which was, as it turned out, the very same religious view of their parents (emphasis added.) – Stand To Reason website.2

Let that sink in . . . “the very same religious view of their parents.”

Sadly, what this means is that many believers are woefully unprepared to contend earnestly for the faith.

In his letter, Jude warns of the spiritual battle between good and evil which spans the generations. His appeal is quite clear:

3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints. – Jude 1:3, (NASB).3

Contending: Know What You Believe And Why

Human nature rebels against the notion of Sin. In today’s contentious world, anything goes and any sense of what’s right and moral has mostly vanished.

Even though we can expect pushback (sometimes violent) from a wicked world, we must contend for the essential truths of the gospel.

What we believe isn’t some kind of “faith du jour” teaching.

The Bible is the Word of God.

It is crucial to know what you believe and why. 

The mockers of our christian faith are hoping you will stammer and look foolish.

As adults it may be easier for us to prepare for this.

But for the younger generation? Defending their faith is even more challenging.Know what you believe and why

Some Apologetics Tools for Parents

It’s best to prepare yourselves and your kids for the modern atheistic world.

  • Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the right words to say when your faith is challenged.
  • Role play with your family so that you can all respond respectfully, and with grace, to the hard questions that are sure to come. There are some important tips in this video for Christian parents. 
  • Search out Christian resources and apologetics websites for help.  Here is one idea for your consideration on AFA.net, including a unique Christian speech writing contest for students.                                         

Don’t think your kids need guidance for defending their faith?

Watch this . . . 

In the Bible, Paul wanted a united, Philippian Church, to stand courageously together to share the good news, even while under persecution.

It’s a lesson for all of us today as well because experiencing the majesty and splendor of our triune God awaits the Faithful.

27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. – Philippians 1:27-30, (NASB).4

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1-2 From Christian Living | Contend Earnestly For The Faith (n.d.). Author Greg Koukl. Web. Accessed 16 March, 2023. Contend Earnestly reference.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

4 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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