Easter

Without the empty tomb, the empty cross would be meaningless.

Darkness

The Bible does not tell us what the weather was like the day Jesus was lead to Calvary.  We know there were throngs of people there, following, watching, waiting.  We know Jesus was beaten so badly that someone else had to carry his cross up the hill for him.

I've always pictured a cloudy, gloomy kind of day, because that's how it must have felt for those who loved Jesus.  But I wonder if it wasn't a bright, sunny day...perhaps even with pleasant temps and warm breezes.

Until noon.

At noon, as Jesus hung on the cross, the sky darkened.  For three hours, it was the darkest of nights in the middle of the day.  Perhaps the skies boiled with foreboding clouds and gusting winds.  I can only imagine the stormiest of storms hitting at mid-day, but without the rain.  Scripture tells us that it was dark for 3 hours; perhaps there was even thunder and lightening.  But the day was black as night for 3 long hours, as the Son of God took upon himself the dirty, vile, grimy, gritty, ugly, repulsive, reprehensible sin that belonged to me.  And you.  Every nasty thought, word, deed...he accepted the punishment, the consequence of them all.

I cannot imagine that day.  I cannot imagine His suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers, both physical and verbal.  The slightest pain, the simplest offense sends me into "woe-is-me" mode.  My mind cannot comprehend His pain.

Nor can I understand why He would suffer all that just for me.

I know he loves me - oh, how he's proved it o'er and o'er!  How can I but live for Him, then?  How can I fail to surrender my own selfish desires in light of all He's done for me?

Don't let the bunnies fool you - Easter is all about Jesus.  There is none other.

~Tammy~

Waiting on the Lord - Psalm 37

Trust.  Delight.  Commit.  Rest.  Wait.  All commands, not suggestions.  God, in his grace and mercy, even explains why it benefits us to obey...


V.3 - "Trust in the Lord, and do good..."  Why?  So He can take care of me and supply my needs. ("So thou shalt dwell in the land and...be fed.")


V.4 - "Delight thyself also in the Lord..."  Why?  So He can give me the "desires of my heart".  Which, by the way, when I'm delighting in Him will NOT be desires for worldly things, but rather desires that are Christ-like.


V.5 - "Commit thy way unto the Lord..."  Why?  So He can bring it to pass.  When I walk in the center of His will, He IS going to accomplish that will in my life.  He will make it happen.


V.7 - "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him..."  Why?  Because if I wait, I will "inherit the earth" and "delight myself in the abundance of peace" (v11).  In other words, the reward for resting and waiting is God meeting the needs in my life in such a way that I will be completely satisfied and know a peace that overflows!  


How much better to attain all this than to push my way to where I think I should be, only to find that I have missed God's best for me.


Trust.  Delight.  Commit.  Rest.  Wait.  Commands, not suggestions.  But the rewards are far better than anything I could dream up.


~Tammy~

It's been a week!

It's been one of those weeks...I've come down with a cold or the flu or something...it's the busiest week of the year in the CPA firm...things to work on at church...behind on housework (because of being sick and busy!)...I am SO glad God is in control of ALL these things!

I am reminded of this awesome truth:  There is only one thing God has never seen.

His equal.

What more is there to say?

~Tammy~

Storms of Life - Part II

So, Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink.  His fears were adversaries of his faith.  "Fear" and "Faith" do not mix.  In fact, as my faith increases, my fears should decrease...and victory over fear = growth in the Lord!


Consider this - when a crisis confronts us, we have, at our disposal, the GREATEST defense - prayer.  We have access to the throne room of God Himself.  Anytime, anywhere - we don't need a priest, we don't need a building, we don't need a certain time - God is always accessible.   And prayers don't have to be elaborate - Peter prayed:  "Lord, save me."  Short.  To the point.  Unimpressive.  Simply acknowledging the power of the Lord.


Jesus immediately held out his hand.


Yes, storms can be daunting, and certainly not something we long for.  But we know that nothing comes to us that does not first pass our heavenly Father - and He holds me firmly in his hand.


My God is bigger than any storm.  ~Tammy~

Storms of Life

We've all heard messages about Peter walking on the water.  But I recently heard some things I'd not thought of before...

First of all, while the disciples all piled into the boat, Jesus was spending time alone in prayer to his heavenly father.  Jesus - the Son of God - was praying.  How much more than do I need to spend time alone with God??

Secondly, a storm came upon the disciples, even though they were exactly where Jesus told them to be - they were doing God's will at that moment in time.  Sometimes God sends the storms to get our attention because we are out of God's will - but sometimes God uses the storms for other reasons.

Not only that, but God knows my storms.  They may take me by surprise, but God is never surprised.

Fast forward to Peter walking on the water.  Notice that as he's walking toward Jesus, scripture says, Peter "saw" the winds boisterous...he obviously wasn't looking at Jesus, he was looking at the waves and temptest around him!    His focus became his circumstances, not his Lord.

Circumstances - those nasty things you see when you take your eyes off the Lord.

And there's more to be learned from this passage, but I am out of time for today...tune in tomorrow for Part 2!  :-)

~Tammy~

Diligence

2 Peter 3:14 says, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things (ie, the return of Christ), be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."


Knowing that Jesus could return at any moment ought to cause me to LIVE as though I believe that.  How awful would I feel if Jesus returned to find me goofing off at work?  Or watching some vile TV show?  He's not going to ring the doorbell, giving me time to turn off the TV, hide that inappropriate book, or shut down that website - he's just going to appear - "in the twinkling of the eye."


More sobering still is the fact that Jesus doesn't have to return to know exactly what I am doing every second of the day!  In fact, he knows my every thought!


The verse above says to "be diligent".  Do you realize the word "diligence" means "intense purpose?"  We ought not to just be "la-dee-dah-dee-dah" in our attitude - but we ought to be intensely purposeful that Jesus will find us "in peace, without spot, and blameless."


By God's grace and thru HIS strength, that's what I want in my life today - intense purpose to do right at all times.  And when in doubt, when wavering between two choices, to choose the "high" road - to take the choice that will leave no doubt, no question, no compromise on the table.


Jesus died for me.  I will live for Him.


~Tammy~

Broken Promises?

2 Peter 3 reminds us of this important truth:  Jesus has not yet returned for the believers, not because God doesn't keep His promises, but because He doesn't want anyone to perish to spend eternity in Hell - He wants everyone to come to repentance.

In other words, He's waiting for YOU to seek His forgiveness and surrender your life to Him.  

A holy, sinless, perfect Jesus suffered torture, agonizing pain, and a burden of vile sin so tremendous it is beyond our comprehension - all so that He wouldn't have to spend eternity in Heaven without YOU.  

What are YOU waiting for?

~Tammy~