Happy Easter!

Luke24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

What good is it if we keep our salvation a secret? Jesus suffered and died for our sins and rose from the dead to make our way into heaven through Him. The greatest event in the history of the world happened in the days from death to resurrection. Jesus died for me and you but He did not die on the cross and rise again so that we can enjoy salvation by ourselves. The gift of salvation is the most wonderful gift which anyone can receive. One of the most important things we need to realize is that Jesus does not want us to be quiet about it. Jesus did the greatest unselfish act for us! Try celebrating Easter every day of the year by telling others about repentance and salvation in Jesus name. Jesus did this not for just me or you but for EVERYONE so try telling someone about it.

In times of darkness our hope is in Him

Lamentations 3:1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
3Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

In our darkest hour we must still keep our hope in Him. When God sets us in a place of darkness, which we deserve from our rebelling and sinfulness, we must not forget Him. Even though we are in a terrible place in our lives we must be humble and remember that it could be worse. The reason why it isn't worse is because of God's mercy. Its God's way of putting us in check. The afflictions we face is for us to better ourselves. God's mercies are far better than we are deserving. When we find ourselves in a place where God put us in we must always be thankful. We must not lie down but we must grab hold of the hope that is in us. We must show God that no matter where our problems come from we will stay true to Him.

39Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
40Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.

Why are we complaining about our present punishment for our sins and rebellion? We are still alive aren't we? His punishment puts us through the wringer but he hasn't given us something we could not stand. In our darkest hour, brought onto us by God, we can always be thankful that we are still alive. We need to stop and examine what we have been doing. Stop and look at our sin in our everyday lives. The secret problems that we have, we hide, and cover up. The sins that we continue to allow in our lives. We will stay in that place until we learn our lesson. God wants us to examine what we have been doing and turn back to Him. Search and try our ways which will lead us to repentance and back to the good graces of God.

Listen

1 Kings 17 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

This is a matter of listening to the God. Many times in our lives we follow what God tells us to do. When we do what He tells us, everything goes great. But have you ever gotten to a place where everything just doesn't seem to be going quite like you thought. Everything was great when we were listening to God but then we get complacent. We get to a point where we stop listening. God takes us to places spiritually where we will flourish. Like Elijah if you listen and obey, God will take you to that place. Elijah obeyed and God sent him to a place where he had a constant supply of water and food. Then the water source, where Elijah was at, dried up. Jesus is our living water and if we listen we will be taken to a place where we will thrive. But we cannot rely on the same place forever. After a while the water source Elijah was at dried up. All the water on earth did not dry up, only the place where he was at. This is so true in our spiritual life. We try to thrive on the same water source because we are comfortable. When we get comfortable we stop listening to God. Eventually the place where we are at in our spiritual life will dry up. When it does, we sit back and try to survive in a place spiritually where there is no more flow. We need to listen to God and He will put us in the right place to receive more. Open your heart to God and listen to what He wants you to do. When you do listen you will be sustained spiritually. God does not want us to stay in the same place all the time. God is constantly moving us in our spiritual life to better ourselves for His service. Don't become complacent and stop listening. If you do you will stay in a place which once flourished but has become dried up.

Step on!

In Joshua chapter 10 we see that Joshua was on a roll. After defeating the mightiest of cities five kings gathered together with their armies against him. Verse 8 "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee" And Joshua with God's help defeated them. This is the same in life. We get on a roll with God so much. Things are going so great for us and when we least expect it the devil gathers up a problem that looks as if it cannot be solved. 5 kings gathered to fight Joshua. Joshua didn't lose his cool. Joshua didn't give up when it looked impossible to win. Joshua knew that all things are possible to those that believe. Joshua knew Who was on his side. When life looks like its impossible to beat. When you have troubles gathered against you, remember Who is on your side. Fear not for He has delivered your enemies and troubles in your hand. So that you may see your problems and defeat them soundly. In verse 24 the kings are brought out of hiding after being defeated. Joshua informs his men to put their feet on the necks of them. This shows that with God we have the power over all no matter how big or small. When problems gather against you, place your foot on its neck. When temptation comes to you put your foot on its neck.

Don't let others.

I Samuel 23:2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go and Smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 3. And David's men said unto him, Behold we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 4. Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah: for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
How many times in our lives have we asked God for something. God promised it but we let others cast doubt on what we know is true. When David asked God, he was told an unfailing word. God told David that he and his men will beat the Philistines. God's promises in our life are the same. Why cast doubt because of others non belief. Your facing life's difficulties and you know what God has promised us healing, blessing, and favor. David let his men doubt enough that he had to go back and ask God again. God will give you the same answer as before. But if you let the world cast doubt in you, go back to the One who made the world. The One who will not fail you. Reassure yourself in Him!

Making yourself better!

Ecclesiastes 7:3 "Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better". When I read this scripture my heart jumped. When you first read it you think to yourself "Isn't laughter better than sadness?". I love a good laugh all the time and those of you who know me you know that. But I discovered something I've been doing and some of you have as well I'm sure. In my life I like to focus on the better things. I read this scripture and became convicted because I rarely focus on this part of my life. If we don't focus on the bad (Sinful) things in our life then how can we improve? We need to face our problems and make them better. If we continue to go around not dealing with the problems in our life, our hearts and minds will not get better. We need to get serious about our sorrow/sins. Once we get serious than we will improve ourselves in every aspect. Sorrow brings us closer to God. When we focus on only the happy things in our life we don't look for correction and help from God. I challenge you to make yourself better by looking at the sorrow in order to let God transform you into something pleasing to him.

Pursue

("The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."John 10:10-11) We have all had it happen to us. We go to the doctor and they tell us something we don't want to hear. We receive an unexpected bill in the mail that we cannot pay. One of our friends or loved ones is in the hospital. We go to work and our hours are cut or even worse the company says they cant keep our position. Satan is the thief and he wants to steal everything and anything he can from us. He wants to do what he can to steal your love for the Lord. Satan comes and takes things from you to make you say"Why?". Satan is using so many distractions in our lives. Satan wants to distract you from God. David and his army returned to their home (I Samuel 30:3 "So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, [it was] burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives." ) David's men wept uncontrollably until they had no tears left to cry, like so many of us have done at our worst time. Instead of going after the thieves of their wives and children the men turned their anger towards David. David not only had to worry about losing his wife and children now he had to worry about losing his own life. (I Samuel 30: 6 "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.") In our time of need we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and questioning God. We need to do what David did and ENCOURAGE ourselves in Him! (I Samuel 30: 8 "And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.") David could have laid down and given up and suffered the loss of his family and his life. Instead David turned to the God who restores what Satan has taken! (I Samuel 30:19 "And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all."). In our time of need we can sit around and cry about it or we can take action. We can sit back and say "This must be the will of the Lord" or we can encourage ourselves in the Lord and pursue and overtake Satan and restore what was taken from us.