RESURRECTION GREETING!

Hello, friends.  No new pillows today...this week is all about Jesus and the tremendous gift He has given us.  Until I die I don't think I'll understand why so many around the world will not receive this free gift of salvation.  He offers it freely...if we will simply believe in Him, we will be rescued, cleansed and put to work doing things He gives us the power to do!

On the Thursday of the last week of His life, He had a final meal with his beloved (most of them) disciples and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.  He took some of those friends with him...sometimes we just want precious friends around us when we face difficult moments.  The most incredible lesson from this moment was that we see Resurrection Power about to unfold in the submission of our Savior.  In Matthew 26:36-46 we see this account.  We see He was "troubled and sorrowful"...He said to His Father:  "if it's possible, may this cup be taken from me" (v. 39).  He knew what was coming and knew it would not be easy.  But then a short while later in v. 42, we see His submission: "if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away...may your will be done."  I was wondering...if He had not willingly gone to the cross...would that glorious resurrection have happened on the third day?  Would all the power of the universe not have raised Him from the dead so that He lives even today and speaks for us?

Listen to what Vernon Grounds says about that kind of submission:

 

"Baffled by the mystery of such love, we take our stand

on Calvary and believe that any cup we drink is held to our lips

by the Father of fathomless love and wisdom.  Our prayer

is that of trustful submission because we believe that

even life's most bitter cup is held in the Father's hand."

 

I wonder what the Father's power would do in my life if I were as submitted to His plan as Jesus was.

This Easter, let us be grateful to the One who created the universe and made a place for us to live and walk with Him.  I don't know what cup you have been asked to drink, but I know that whatever one comes to my lips will come through the hands of the Father.  That's good enough for me.

 

For further study: 2 Chron. 7:14, Psalm 25:9, Psalm 51:10-17, Proverbs 3:34,  Mark 14:32-41, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:11,  2 Cor. 12:9, Hebrew 12:1-3,  James 4:4-10, 1 Peter 5:5

 

Happy Resurrection Day, everyone!

 

Love,

Holly



Peace comes to him who trusts the Lord - Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3

I'm holding on to this promise this week because I am about to start a thrilling week and when I get around "thrilling" my emotions are all over the chart.  I can hardly contain my excitement, my heart spills over with gratitude, I don't want to miss a single moment of it...and I'm a mess!  The promise of "perfect peace" is my only hope.

Do you know there are over 3000 promises in the Bible...promises made to those who believe He is faithful in all He says and does?  This verse in Isaiah is a promise...to whom?   To the one "who trusts" in the only One who has ever kept every single promise He has ever made.  Promises are a sure thing.  Do you often not know what to pray?  You can pray with confidence toward these promises and know that it pleases the Lord when you do.  Listen to what F.B. Meyer says:

Hardly any stance could be more completely beautiful, strong or safe

than that of putting your finger on a promise of God...and then claiming it. 

Doing so requires no anguish, struggle, or wrestling, but simply presenting the

check and asking for cash  It is as simple as producing the promise

and claiming its fulfillment.  Nor will there be any doubt or cloudiness about the request.

If all requests were this definitive, there would be much more interest in prayer.  It is

much better to claim a few specific things than to make twenty vague requests.

 

There will be days when you feel you cannot adjust to the changes you are facing.  His promises assure you you can.  When your heart is unsure, His is not.  Here's an idea:  find 365 promises in the Bible, and every day start your devotional with a promise of His.  Let your requests flow from that promise and see if you're not blessed abundantly!

 

I'm praying for peace this week and I'm claiming His promise that if I will keep my mind steadfastly on Him, He will provide "perfect peace" and that means His Holy Spirit - who develops peace in us (Gal. 5:22) will go with me and guide me into His truth.  That's a pretty perfect promise!

 

For further study:  1 Chron. 17:23-24, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 145:13, Acts 2:38-39, Romans 4:20-21, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Cor. 12:7-10,  1 Thes. 5:24, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Peter 1:4, 2 Peter 3:9

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear His voice.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the people rejoice.

O come to the Father thro Jesus the Son

And give Him the glory, great things He has done!

 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY by Fanny Crosby

 

This was one of the first hymns I fell in love with as a newly saved believer.  He rescued me from the pit...how could He not get all the glory?  Composers like Bach and Handel signed many of their works "S.D.G." (Soli Deo Gloria) to give "Glory to God alone" for their works.  Maybe I should start adding that to my pillows!  It is one of the basic beliefs of the Protestant Reformation that God alone is worthy of  honor...not we ourselves.

 

We so often turn this around.  You don't have to look very far (I don't have to look any further than myself!) to know people want fame, recognition, appreciation, gratitude and praise for things that God alone has done for us.  He has made us for Himself, given us gifts and opportunities and directed us in ways we could never have made up.

 

Timothy Keller in  THE REASON FOR GOD  talks about each person of the Trinity "dancing around each other" (perichoresis) in their delight of each other (John 16:14, 17:4-5).  Since we were made in Their image (Gen. 1:26) we were made to delight in Them.  That is our purpose...the reason we were created!  Keller says:

 

God made us to ever increasingly share in his own joy and

delight in the same way he has joy and delight within himself...

We glorify and enjoy him only as we worship him, serve the

human community and care for the created environment.

 

I had a conversation with a dear friend last week who is preparing to go into a heart-wrenching legal situation not of her choice.  She said: "I don't know what the purpose of this is, but all I can say is 'To God be the Glory'".  That is faith and that gives her the peace to go foward even though it's the last thing in the world she wants to do.  This friend is in a dance with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  She was joyful and content even in the midst of a terrible trial.  May it be said of all of us!  Who are you delighting in today?

 

For further study:  Exodus 15:11, Psalm 10:1, 65:12-13, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 24:15, 48:11, John 16:14, 17:1-5, 20-24, Romans 1:21-25, 16:27, 1 Cor. 10;31 and 2 Tim. 4:18.

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly