Category Archives: Devotions

I just returned from a trip to South Florida to visit old friends (hence the long blog silence).

On the way home, I was reading a delightful book about Jesus  by John Eldredge called Beautiful Outlaw. Eldredge offers a fresh look at Jesus, free of stereotypes and religious straight jackets.

At one point he writes, “If we will get rid of the limits and the religious constraints,we will see Him everywhere..we should expect to encounter Jesus anytime, anywhere, everywhere…Jesus is infinitely creative. Just let Him be Himself with you.”

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that at the very moment I read those words, I heard another passenger say, “Look out the window!”

I turned my head and looked into the night sky…and there I was greeted with the most amazing sight!

Below the plane, lightning was  illuminating the night sky with incredible bursts of blinding white. Occasionally,  huge  lightning bolts shot from the clouds in a dazzling display of power.

This went on for half an hour. I was completely transfixed.

This verse kept running through my mind: “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord. The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all peoples see His glory.” (Psalm 97: 1-6).

As I watched His display with the wonder of a child on Christmas morning, I felt His smile.  Jesus and I were sharing a moment 31,000 feet up in the air.

I wondered if anyone else on the plane realized that  this was their Creator revealing Himself to them in an absolutely spectacular way.

He truly IS everywhere…if you have eyes to see.

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ^{18  (Col. 1: 15-18).}

Bruce Marchiano as Jesus in The Visual Bible: Matthew

Why do I love Jesus so much?

This is why…

Christ was all anguish that I may be all joy
He was cast off that I might be brought in
Trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend
Surrendered to hell’s worst so that I might attain Heaven’s best
Stripped that I might be clothed
Wounded that I might be healed
Athirst that I might drink
Tormented that I might be comforted
Made ashamed that I might inherit glory
Entered darkness that I might have eternal Light
My Savior wept so that all tears may be wiped from my eyes
He groaned that I may have endless song
He endured all pain that I may have unending health
He bore a thorned crown that I may have a glory diadem
He bowed His head that I may uplift mine
He experienced reproach that I might receive welcome
He closed His eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness
He expired that I may forever live.  (excerpt from The Valley Of Vision).

I didn’t deserve any of that. Neither did you. (Romans 3:10-12).

Yet and  still, He gave all He had to give to gloriously rescue us from the hopelessness of our sin.

Amen and hallelujah.

Photo credit: Google

Confession time: Lately, my attention has been captured by the shiny objects of this world.

It began subtly, as drifting always does.

The details are not important but the state of my heart is.

In the past, I would not have been aware of it so soon. But as I walked with Jesus through a difficult season that required 100% of my faith,  He and I have become so much closer. I see the traces of His hand everywhere. I “hear” Him speaking to me through many different avenues: His Word, the beauty all around me, laughter, the precious friends and family that He chosen to place in my life, sermons, music, life with all its ups and downs.

Yet with all that, my gaze began to drift from the beauty of His face to the things of this world. At first it was just a glance; then two; then five…then I found myself gazing at the fleeting, the temporal, the things that promise much but never deliver because they are ultimately empty.

Yesterday in church, Jesus began to call to me in a powerful way. As the church service began, I had no idea that my God, whose name is Jealous would begin to woo my back to His arms and to His side.

His Voice is undeniable in its passion and authority.

Our pastor began to talk about how Jesus pursues us with single-minded fervor.

“Jesus pursues a continuing love with you…He wants us to experience Him and He wants to experience us…we are only seeking Him because He first sought us…He pursues us, He comes after us, even when we are corrupted and contentious.”

Still. Always. He loves us.

Then this Scripture, read with great animation from the pulpit: “Show me Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.” (Exodus 33:12-13).

“Knowing Me is why you are here,” Jesus whispered from the pages of my Bible. “Don’t ever lose sight of that.”

The shiny objects of this world become like rusted tin in light of that glorious and wondrous Reality.

Heaven reached down to me sitting in that pew yesterday morning as the Voice of my  Savior reached my heart that had inconceivably (to me, not to Him) begun to wander.

He remembers that we are dust. Our weaknesses surprise us but they never surprise Him. He knew exactly what we were when He chose to set His affections upon us and open our eyes to His matchless beauty and grace.

That same Voice spoke to me again at the gym this morning…just in case my stubborn heart didn’t get the message the first time.

While pushing through a tough workout on the treadmill, this song began to play from my iPod:

And He is jealous for me; loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
bending beneath the weight of His love and mercy
When all of a sudden I unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us
Oh how He loves us, how He loves us all

And we are His portion and He is our Prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking

And Heaven meets Earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

He loves us, oh how He loves us
How He loves us all  —-(How He Loves by David Crowder)

I felt like I couldn’t breathe, right there in the middle of the gym on that treadmill. Heaven met Earth in an unforeseen kiss as Jesus spoke to my wandering heart, calling me back to Himself. This was no “Jesus meek and mild.” This was a Savior whose eyes burn with fire calling to His bride from whom He demands purity…

“NOTHING compares to Me, Susan. I AM the Living Water. I AM the Bread of Life.  I AM EVERYTHING.   I am worthy of Your fidelity. I am jealous FOR you. No one loves you like I do. Repent and turn back to Me!”

How grateful I am that He knows my name. That He desires for me to know Him intimately. That I have found grace in  His sight.   That He loves me enough to warn me of danger. That He is so powerful. That He is a Redeemer. That He does not turn me away when I come to Him full of guilt, but opens His arms wide and envelops me in His love. That there is always redemption and grace shining from His eyes when they look upon His own.

He always restores.

His lavish and unconditional love literally takes my breath away.

Our church is doing the wonderful study “Experiencing God” this summer. It started last week and I wasn’t there. This week, I will be, at Jesus’ personal invitation.

It is time  for me to experience His boundless grace in a whole new way.

I share this with you to encourage you to examine your heart today.  Is it fully faithful to the One who gave everything to set you free?

Nothing compares to Him. Nothing.

In the words of the apostle Paul, “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to One Husband, that I may present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”—2 Corinthians 11:3

As a believer, you are Jesus’ Bride. Live like it today.

Photo credit: flickr

During one of the our kids’ last track meets of the season, I noticed something unusual while standing on the sidelines cheering for the kids on our team.

One of the runners from our school was competing in one of those punishing long distance races. As she ran, her boyfriend (who had graduated the previous year) was running right alongside her, calling out encouragement the entire length of the race. He literally jogged around the entire length of the track, keeping up her pace so he could cheer her on.

After  she crossed the finish line in first place, he ran to her wearing a giant grin, scooped her up into a big bear hug, and spun her around several times as they shared celebratory laughter and kisses.

It was a sweet, joyful  moment.

It was also a wonderful visual of our lives lived on this earth with Jesus.

The Bible refers to our lives as a race.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1).

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7).

Annie’s boyfriend had completed his own races while he was still a student at the high school.  He has already made his mark; now it was her turn to run.

He was also a long-distance runner so he knew exactly what she was experiencing as she fought through exhaustion and pain to get to that finish line.

Although he had graduated and left the high school for college, he had returned to be there with her.  This was her race to run, but he was right there, offering her the gift of his presence and his encouragement.

He never left her side, just continued running right alongside her until she  crossed that finish line.

Then it was all sweet celebration, the pain of running the race forgotten in the joy of victory and  togetherness.

Do you see the parallel here?

Jesus has run His race on the topsoil of Earth before us.

Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love us in order to get something from us, but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Jesus experienced every temptation we do so He intimately identifies with our struggles, exhaustion, and pain.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15).

Death couldn’t hold Jesus…He came back for us and promises His constant presence as we run the race marked out for us.

God Himself has said, “I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you, nor let you down or relax My hold on you. Assuredly not! (Hebrews 13:5).

Are you tired? Word out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. (Matthew 11:28-30).

Then, at the end of our race, faith will become sight and we will see Jesus at the finish line, with a smile on His face and arms opened wide, hearing Him say, “Well done,  good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness.” (Matthew 25:21).

Jude 24 gives us a glimpse of what Jesus is going to feel on that day when we are finally in His Presence and in His arms:  Now to Him who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling and to present you unblemished, blameless, and faultless, before the Presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exaltation with unspeakable, ecstatic delight...

Take that verse personally. That will be Jesus’ reaction to being with you. 

So, wherever you are in your race today, take heart.

Jesus is running with you every step of the way.

And always remember that it is His face you will see when you reach your finish line.

What  a day of rejoicing that will be!

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (I Corinthians 9:24).

We are the proud owners of a Bichon Frise named Buddy.

We adore him. He is not “the sharpest knife in the drawer” as my cousin Elaine likes to say, but he is the sweetest dog we have ever had.

This past Sunday morning, Doug happened to notice that there were four enormous ticks embedded in Buddy’s snout. Horrified, he spent a couple of hours trying to remove them  but was only able to uproot two.

He gave Buddy a much needed break after that exertion and when it was time to try again, I moved toward Buddy to bring him to Doug…but he was not having it. He ran away from me as fast as he could.

He didn’t realize that I was trying to help him. All he knew is that he didn’t want to experience such discomfort and pain again.

Finally, we decided to take him to the emergency vet in town. The technicians were able to successfully remove the rest of the ticks and Buddy was as good as new.

However, things were about to change for  Buddy in ways he would not realize. When we took him on walks, we could no longer allow him to sniff and explore the higher grass since that is where the ticks thrive and latch on to him.

The problem is that Buddy  loved doing that. He buried his snout with abandon into the green grass and seemed to deeply inhale all the wonderful scents residing there.

The first time I tugged on his leash to prevent him from going into the forbidden area, he was not pleased. He dug in and pulled back, leaning determinedly back toward the grass. So began a tug of war. Buddy is surprisingly strong for only being 22 pounds.

Finally, he surrendered to the fact that he was not able to go where he wanted to and he stopped fighting me.

However, he was not a happy camper. He was mad at me for the rest of the afternoon. He sulked. He sighed. He refused to sit next to me.

I could not help thinking about the fact that I have often acted exactly like Buddy when God said no to something I wanted.

How often I have pushed and pulled, sulked and steamed.

Why can’t I have what I want? I would ask petulantly.

In my mind, it seemed perfectly fine and good….just like Buddy thought he should be able to explore the high grass and couldn’t understand why I was being so “mean.”

I was trying to save him from danger but he didn’t know that. My knowledge is so much greater than his. It was my love for  him that was the motivation for not giving him what he wanted.

But Buddy didn’t see my love…all he saw was the no.

Don’t we do that with our Heavenly Father? Focus on the no…and refuse to see all the times when He has said YES?

When we don’t understand a closed door,  we would do well to remember the wonderful promise of Psalm 84:11: “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

If He is withholding something, it isn’t ultimately good for us. Even if we—in our very limited wisdom— think it is.

That is when we reach a fork in the road.

We either surrender to the infinite wisdom of our good and gracious Heavenly Father, resting in the fact that our finite minds simply cannot comprehend His infinite one.  Or we run from Him, just like Buddy ran from me when I was trying to carry him to help. The ticks on his snout must have been painful but he was willing to live with that pain rather than run in the direction of healing.

This life is too short to cling to bitterness about closed doors.  Will you continue to dig in and insist on your own way?

A much better plan is to release the pain, your expectations, your hurt feelings to your God.  He loves you. He only gives what is best. Stop fighting Him. Adjust your pace to His. Let Him lead. He sees the big picture and He knows exactly where He is going.  

Yes, coming to Him for healing can sometimes hurt but ultimately it will set you free. 

That freedom is worth whatever you have to do to obtain it.

He is the Rock and His ways are perfect  and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong; upright and just is He. —Deuteronomy 32:4

Photo credit: Anna

After reading this post, one of my readers wrote the following heartfelt observation: “I am always skeptical when I hear this—‘Jesus cares about the small things’—because every time I wonder if He cares, I think, ‘Surely not; this is so trivial compared to the cares of people in the third world countries!’ I always have the sense of Jesus telling me to buck up because I have so much to be thankful for, I shouldn’t be feeling weary, insecure, or whatever I’m feeling at the moment.”

So, does Jesus truly care about the “little things” in our lives? Does He care about our feelings?

I believe He does,  as evidenced by the following Scriptures:

...(Cast) the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all, on Him, for He cares for your affectionately and cares about your watchfully.—I Peter 5:7

Notice the absolute words: whole and all.

All means all: big, small, and everything in between.

Do not gloss over the word affectionately. It means: “characterized by love, displaying tender feelings.” That is how Jesus feels about you.

Psalm 62:8 urges believers to: “Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower).

This Scripture simply speaks to pouring out your heart to Him. It gives no caveats, no mention of degree of distress, no “big” or “small” things. He desires that we share everything with Him. He loves to hear us talk to Him.

If it is important to you, it is important to Jesus.

Job asked, “Does not God see all my ways and count all my steps?”—Job 31:4

God Himself told Jeremiah, “My eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden from My face.”—Jeremiah 16:17

This is a God who rejoices over us with singing. He calls us precious to Him. He adores us. In fact, Ephesians 2:4 describes His love for us as “great, wonderful, and intense.” (Amplified version).

Everything about us interests Him. He is intimately familiar with all our ways: “O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down and stand up. You know my thoughts…you know when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what i am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and your follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on  my head…You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb…You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ” —Ps. 139:1-5, 13-16

His thoughts about us are constant: “How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I cannot even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!” —Psalm 139: 17-18

He even knows the exact numbers of hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30).

He never looks away from us for one nanosecond; He even watches us while we are sleeping (Ps. 139:18).

Yes, He calls us to be primarily concerned with others and with helping the poor. Nowhere in Scripture does He advocate self being our central focus.

However, Jesus knows firsthand how hard it is to be a human being living life on this fallen planet. We can be beaten and bruised. Exhausted and irritated. Elated and excited. Heartbroken and sad. Frustrated and annoyed. Content and joyful.

We need a safe place to take all of that and Jesus provides the perfect strong shoulder and listening ear. We are to live all of life before our Savior “Who fills everything everywhere with Himself.” –Ephesians 1:23

I keep a running dialogue with Jesus all throughout my day. I talk to Him about anything and everything. I pray to Him. I laugh with Him. I have cried many tears in His presence. I remind Him of His promises to me in His Word. I practice memorizing my Scripture passages to Him. I sing to Him. I praise Him. I listen for His still,  small voice speaking to my heart.  I wrestle things out with Him when I don’t understand His ways.  I ask Him to help me see the big picture when I am mired in the minutiae  of this life. I ask His forgiveness when  I stumble…and then I ask Him to pick me up and fill me with His strength to keep going.  I thank Him for the glorious beauty of nature all around me. I most especially thank Him for the loved ones whom He has given to me.  And every single day, I pour out my heartfelt gratitude for the fact that He came to save me.

Yes, He cares about the little things.

He cares about it all.

Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me. —Ps. 69:16

Photo credit: whychange

Three years ago today, a dear friend and I sat together in an empty church sanctuary fighting back tears as we contemplated the fact that unwanted trials had crashed into our lives, leaving fear and uncertainty in its wake.

We had shared our prayer requests and we had searched the Bible together for promises to cling to, knowing that God’s eternal, unchanging Word was our only anchor in the storm.

Suddenly, a wonderful idea dawned on me like a ray of hope and I turned to my friend with a smile.

“Why don’t we agree to meet on this day next year?! This  awful season will be over and we can celebrate God’s faithfulness and goodness in taking care of us!”

She wholeheartedly agreed and we parted ways, looking forward to all the praises we would share one year later.

Except…April 5, 2010 arrived…and the storms were still raging in our lives.

Still, we praised God for the myriad of ways He has protected us, provided for us, guided us, and loved us. Our anticipation was high that next year would be the year when this would all be over. We so looked forward to that day.

April 5, 2011 dawned and my friend and I faced that date with bruised hearts. The road had been so long, the path rocky. The tears had flowed and so many prayers had flooded the Throne.  Still, joy was present. We had both learned to savor and count our blessings from the hand of our very good God, which is always a pathway to joy.  We still declared God’s goodness to each other, in the face of circumstances that overwhelmingly screamed the opposite.

He promises that He will never break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning flame (Isaiah 42:3). Against all odds, hope still burned in both of our hearts. We didn’t understand but we were determined to praise through this. Our hope was not wishful thinking. For the Christian, our Hope is a person and His name is Jesus.

And Jesus is faithful. Always.

This morning, April 5, 2012, I received an email from the friend who I have truly grown to love.

While we weren’t able to get together on this day, this was a day of rejoicing.

Three years later, the storm clouds had given way to sunshine and the promise of spring. We had both entered a very welcome new season in 2011. Life did not suddenly become perfect for either of us (there is no such thing), but we had seen the hand of our Savior move powerfully in our situations, performing wonders that only He could.

Our faith had triumphed and our friendship was as real as it gets. We had laughed, we had cried, we had prayed. We had survived.

A precious gift…gold from the fire.

Yet, Jesus had one more surprise on this day for me. He always has more in store for us than we can even imagine.

About a month ago, I mentioned to one of my best friends, Jackie, that Doug and I would soon be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. She informed me that the twentieth anniversary was represented by platinum. Since I am a big fan of jewelry, I was all over that and shared this important news with Doug. Being the amazing husband he is, he agreed that a diamond and platinum ring was the perfect way to celebrate such a momentous milestone and we paid a visit to a local jeweler.

This afternoon, my phone rang.

It was the wife of the jeweler, telling me that my ring was ready…three days early.

All of a sudden, it dawned on me what day it was…April 5th.  How sweet His timing is! Three years to the day that I sat in that church sanctuary, wondering what my future would look like.

Now I knew the answer to that question.

I live in a beautiful home that we easily could have lost with the man that I have loved for almost half my life. Following the toughest years of our lives, our marriage is stronger than ever. Our children are thriving. We are debt free.

We. are. a. MIRACLE.

Imagine if I had given up. Look what I would have missed! Jesus alone knew what my life would look like three years from that day and all He asked was that I trust Him day by day (sometimes minute by minute).

Through it all, He gave me the greatest gift of all: Himself. Regardless of how this  thing had turned out, I knew I would be okay because I can never lose Him. He is everything to me.

Please hear this if you are going through a struggle right now: His timing is PERFECT. He can be trusted.  Cling to Him. Do not give into fear. Never give up. 

We are living proof that God honors bold faith. That He is and always will be GOOD. That His love never fails. That His Word can be trusted. That He is a REDEEMER.  That when we finally let go of all that we frantically cling to and open our hands, He can fill those hands with blessings unimaginable.

I will praise Him for as long as I live.

And each time I look at this ring,  I will remember the miracles He performed on our behalf.

No, there are not always happy endings in this life.

But we don’t live for happy endings. We live for a Savior who is always ENOUGH.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior…you are precious and honored in My sight…I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1-4).

Photo credit: Barney F

It is widely believed that following His final Passover meal before His crucifixion, Jesus headed to the Garden of Gethsemane singing Psalm 118.

I read that psalm in the Amplified version and was captivated by verse 27(a) that says, “The Lord is God, who has shown and given us light (He has illuminated us with grace, freedom, and joy.”

That is one of the most beautiful truths that I have ever heard.

Keep in mind that Jesus was on His way to the cross when He quoted this verse.

YET, He was illuminated with grace, freedom, and joy.

He is willing to do the same for each of His followers. One cannot give what one does not own…and Jesus IS Grace, Freedom, and Joy. His greatest gift to us is—and has always been—Himself.

However, we must be willing to subjugate our transient feelings and own the fact that grace, freedom, and joy are ours for the taking…no matter what we are facing.

The word illuminate means: “to supply or brighten with light; light up; to throw light on a situation; to enlighten, as with knowledge.”

Jesus says, “I AM the Light of the world.”

It is HIS Light that burns inside of your heart, that beams His love to the world around you, that lights up your darkness. His Light can never be extinguished. Even the unimaginable and unparalleled suffering that He was about to experience as He willingly paid the penalty for my sins and for your sins could not suppress it. He kept the joy and despised and scorned the shame.

You can do the same. How? Hebrews 12:2 vigorously declares: “He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before Him, endured the cross, ignoring and despising the shame, and now is seated at the right hand of God.”

As a believer, you have a prize that is set before you. His name is Jesus. Every day of your earthly journey brings you one step closer to seeing His face.

You will never face anything as harrowing as what Jesus faced at the cross. How do I know? Because Jesus was totally and completely abandoned by God the Father when He hung on that cross, paying our penalty. It is impossible for us to fully realize the sheer magnitude of that horror for Jesus.

Yet because of Jesus’ courage and fierce love for us in being obedient to go to that cross,  we will never know our Heavenly Father’s desertion. He is with us always and forever.

Due to that fact, we can endure anything. It is not me saying so; God’s Word says so: “I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.)—Phil. 4:13

That, my friend, is the victorious endurance Jesus has made possible for us.

So,  today as you walk along your path, whether the days are sunny or stormy, whether your heart is singing or breaking: right now, at this very moment, you are illuminated with grace, freedom, and joy from heaven above.

Live in light of that truth today.

Photo credit: Forever Faithful

This morning, I read Psalm 30 and was touched by all the wonderful things that Jesus does for His own:

*lifts us up
* does not let our foes rejoice over us
* heals us when we cry to Him
*brings our lives up from the grave
* gives us His favor
* establishes us like a strong mountain
* has mercy and is gracious to us
* is our Helper
* turns our mourning into dancing
* clothes us with gladness

To that end, my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever! (Psalm 30:12).

This is Easter week…that time of year that leads up to the most incredible miracle and joyful event this world has ever seen: the Resurrection of Jesus.

Don’t be silent.

Share the greatest Gift that has ever been given in the history of the world.

Don’t be afraid to tell others  how beautiful He is.

There are so many who need to know the joy and the certainty that there is an empty grave and He is ALIVE!

“Despite our efforts to keep Him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’ “—Peter Larson