The Weight of Easter

My world, my faith, my worship, and how I "celebrate" Holidays have all been different ever since July 4, 2016. Nothing is the same after you experience loss. In one book that I read, the author talked about how it was as if she had lived two different lives. There was life before death and life after death... and that is so, so true. Everything is just different. Christmas and Easter are two of the hardest Holidays for me. And I feel like Easter is often overlooked. 

We are an altar of broken stones

But You delight in the offering

I think we focus so much on the resurrection and Heaven, that its easy to overlook the days leading up to it. The betrayal. The confusion. The loss. The promise. The pain. The weight. The fact that an all powerful God, who created the Heavens and Earth, who can literally do anything, allowed his only Son to suffer immensible pain for you and me. 

You have the heavens to call Your home

But You abide in the song we sing

Jesus, asking his Father if it were possible to take the cup from Him, knowing the weight of the cup he bore, still chose to take it. I don't know about you, but for me, when my kids ask me something 9 times out of 10, I give them what they ask for. If they were asking for me to spare their life in exchange for someone else's... What would you do?  

Ten thousand angels surround Your throne

To bring You praise that will never cease

Even while sitting at the table with the one he knew was ultimately going to hand him a death sentence, still Jesus did not react in any way toward Judas other than in love.

But hallelujah from here below

Is still Your favorite melody

We sing

Hallelujah

Pilate, finding no fault in Jesus, rather obliging the demands of the people, put Jesus to death while releasing a murder in his place.

And should the fire that once burned bright

Become an ember my eyes can't see

He (Jesus) was perfect, blameless, without sin. He was beaten, mocked, and treated as a criminal. He didn't deserve to die, but he did. And he did it for you, for me, and for the people who were demanding his crucifixion. 

I will remember Your sacrifice

I will abide in Your love for me

Oh, we sing

Hallelujah

Jesus fulfilled every prophecy and promise on the cross. He made right every wrong. He saved you and me from death. We can find life and light because of Him. Through Him, we can be different. Through Him, we are no longer bound to sin. We become pure and Holy, because of his flawless life.

Jesus Christ our King enthroned

All the praise is Yours forevermore

Before loss, I focused on the resurrection. The Good News. What I like to think of as the happy side of Easter. And Easter is 110% a reason to celebrate. There is so much meaning and power behind Easter. But the new me, sees something that I've never seen before. The pain of the Father. The suffering He endured, knowing that he was offering up his only son to death. I can feel it. I can see it. I know it. But it wasn't for nothing. It was for a purpose. It was for me. It was FOR you. Don't let that suffering, that pain, that perfect life go to waste. How do you choose to live for that gift? How are you making the most of it? 

Hallelujah here below

All the praise is Yours forevermore

Now that I've been through the pain and I've seen the other side, it is so good. The sting of death is still present, and always will be, but we now have three miracles that remind us every day of the promises fulfilled. There is a purpose. There is a reason. There is a good God who loved you so much that He gave everything for you. Because of Him, one day you will be made completely whole. You will understand everything. All because of Christ, the cross, and the resurrection. 

https://youtu.be/M7MR77AVBOs

Studying Job

     If you are anything like me, having been raised in church your whole life and knowing every bible story, you have heard and know the story of Job. It's one that I have heard many times, and often more so than not just passed by. However, there is a lot to be learned in the story and life of Job. As I have begun reading a new book and devotional, this week's study is on no other than Job. It has opened my heart to some things that I felt like sharing. 

     Job was a man after God's own heart. The bible says he was "blameless and upright"  that he feared God and turned away from evil.  He was dear to God because of his faithfulness and love. Job continually praised and worshiped God. When Satan confronted God about Job, he made the argument that if everything God had blessed Job with was taken away then surely he would curse God. I can just imagine the devil before God trying to make a point that Job hasn't been through any trials, that he has had it easy. That Job just needs a little pressure and surely he will crack. It was all a test to see if in the end Job would cave or if he would continue to praise and worship God. God granted Satan permission to touch anything that Job has, but not to touch Job. The main point here is that God had to grant Satan permission!

     In Job 1:13-19, just 6 verses I might add, everything is taken away from Job. One servant after another came in to tell Job that all he had was now gone. In total he lost 1,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, 3,000 camels, 7,000 sheep, all of his servants except the few who escaped to tell him what had happened, and all 10 of his children! In a 24 hours, Job had gone from being a wealthy man to utter poverty. In all of this Job still had the strength to praise God. In verses 20-21 it says, "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.'" Job fell on the ground and worshiped God, in all of his turmoil. Job isn't a fictional character or a symbol to make a point, he is a real person just like you and me. He endured more heart break in 24 hours than most of us endure in our life, yet he still chose to worship God. Job also acknowledges that nothing was his to begin with, and that God had the right to take it away. Through all of his pain, Job still praised God. He didn't let poverty, hurt, grief, or even torment stop him from worshiping God. He continued to praise and magnify the one true God. All I can say is WOW! How many times do we stop and worship God when bad things happen to us?!

    Many times we, as Christians, allow our pain to stand in the way of knowing God more intimately. We get a case of the poor pitiful me's and want everyone to sympathize with us. When the rains starts to fall and you find yourself on your knees, is the best time to praise and worship God for the blessings He has given you. We have to remember that even when times are tough and things are not going as they should, that God is in control. Satan has no control over our life, it is only through God's permission that he can touch us.  James 1:2-4 tells us to consider it joyful when we go through trials. Trials build and produce faith and trust, making us pure. Every time I read this verse I think about how crystal is molded into beautiful sculptures. While we were on our honeymoon we had the opportunity to see how crystal sculptures are molded. When you first see it is dull and dingy, there is nothing spectacular about it, but after it is put in the fire and begins to burn it starts to form a shape and begins looking beautiful. Once the crystal is pulled out, it is spotless. You only have so much time before the crystal starts to harden to work with it and mold it into a masterpiece. We as humans are the same way. God is constantly molding us. We go through the fire so that we can be broken down and molded back together. It is through that fire that we are continually growing and learning to truly rely on God.
     
     Job 3 shows us a different side of Job. To me this only proves to us that he is human. Job asks the question that so many of us ask when things go wrong in our life... WHY?? Job 7:20 says, "Why make me your target? Am I burden to you." I find myself asking God the very same thing when things are going wrong in my life. It is so easy to turn and ask God why, but we must understand that God does not owe us an answer. This is something that I struggle with. I'm the type of person who probably gets on everyone's nerves because I am always asking questions (often why). I am just inquisitive and like knowing all the answers to stuff. So, it's hard for me to know I can ask all day long, but still not get a direct answer. My parents always talk about how when I was little I had to have all the attention when I was speaking, constantly pulling on them making them look at me when I was talking. How much simpler would life be if we could do that to God. To just turn to Him and get the answer right then. Although it seems like a great idea, how much would we learn or grow from that? It is through seeking the answers that God moves us and leads us closer to him. Those trials purify us, our faith, and bring us to the point of worship. It requires us to lean on and trust God's promise. God doesn't mind us asking questions, but we can't get caught up and focused on all of unanswered questions in life. God wants us to depend and rely on Him with every circumstance in our life.


     Job did just that. When everything else fell down, when he had nothing left he turned to God and simply praised. All of his friends and even his wife couldn't understand why he continued to worship a god who would allow this to happen, but he did anyway. In the end Job was blessed twice beyond what he had before. No matter what happens to you or how painful the situation may be, the Lord has the final say. He will get the victory and the glory. When trials come your way begin to look at the positive and praise God.