Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Yay! It's Monday again...time for a few moments to have coffee together while reflecting on some thought-provoking things.
A week ago we celebrated Easter, the event which changed human history forever. Jesus, brutally killed because of the hatred of mankind, came back to life as He said He would. He did this so that we would have hope, hope that this is not all there is. Life on earth brings us many things: struggles and difficulties, even joy. Jesus died so that in the midst of all we experience, a relationship with Him will help us live abundantly here on earth while we wait for Him to come back to get us.
Remember when Mary and the other women went to the tomb early Sunday morning to embalm Jesus’ body? Of course, they did not find Him there. What they found were two men in bright clothing who said to them "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5) I was sitting in church, listening to a sermon and this verse literally jumped out at me.
We as people will look to anything to fill the void and make us feel alive, won't we? Food, sex, career, exercise, spending money, relationships, entertainment; oh, we know the list could go on but I think you get my drift.
Isn't it also true that often, once we get something on that list, we still feel empty? I'd like to challenge you to think on the verse above and wonder with me...Why are WE looking for the living among the dead?
I am not suggesting that any of the things above are bad in and of themselves; they can certainly bring us temporary happiness. But, if they are the only things we use to fill our emptiness, then we will remain empty. We will keep repeating the same actions, hoping for different results. You've probably heard this is the definition of insanity!! Just a touch of humor. :) Looking to people, places or things to fulfill our lives will keep us stuck in places we don't want to be along with practicing habits we long to let go of.
In order to truly live, we need to be connected to a Source that is higher than us. That Source fills us with the comfort, the connection and the energy we need to live, to get up and over the circumstances we find ourselves in. Once we are filled in that way, we can go out to enjoy all the other aspects of life, including sharing what He has done with others.
Last week I referenced letting Him into your story so that He can make something beautiful of it. The fact that He died, and lives again, means He can do just that. Let His light into those lonely, disconnected places and see what He'll do!! Don't search among the dead... start living...in the way that only He can offer!
Until next week, be blessed

He Showed His Power by Restraining His Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks so much for stopping by to have coffee with me and for more of this series that has everything to do with Easter, which is only a part of the Salvation Story. Grab your Red Strand of Faith and your coffee, and let’s go chat about more of the facts that prove His power was demonstrated in His restraint of power.
Many of us are aware of what the prophets foretold of His sufferings and I have read many of them, and more than once. However, I was not able to imagine even an inch of the depth of His suffering and how much all the events leading up to His crucifixion cost Him … until I watched The Passion of the Christ.
I remember watching it as if it were just a few days ago. We went with a church group, like one big family. I had heard it was pretty tough to watch, but I had no idea what I was in for. There were so many times I gripped my honey’s arm, or pulled at his shirt and even squeezed the blood to the surface of his hands as I dared to sit through it. But there were also times where I turned my head away, unable to watch such infliction, especially as I realized, and continue to realize that I was, and unintentionally at times continue to be, part of reason for that affliction.
“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed”… (Isaiah 53:5)
I don’t know about you, but I am more of a visual, hands-on kind of learner. I need to see what I’m hearing, reading, learning; but oh, my goodness isn’t it hard to imagine all of that physical pain? We need to understand that though the physical pain was immeasurable, it wasn’t just physical; it was emotional and very spiritual! He took that emotional pain that we could, that we would have emotional and spiritual healing … eternally!
Why? Why would God allow such pain and sacrifice? I have come to the truth that God’s plan all along was about relationship with each one of us, now and eternally. He doesn’t need us; He WANTS us! His restraint of power continues to show His power!
Let’s look at the very first restraint of power in Genesis after the temptation and fall of man: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the Garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”
Picture this: the very first sin has been committed. SIN has entered all of us. God is still pursuing man despite man! He could have screamed, yelled, beaten, even killed them but instead, His first response to the sin … a restraint of power!
Let’s bring that in a little closer to home: When someone sins against you, what is your first reaction? If it is someone that God has allowed you to be over in the sense of responsibility, or someone that God has called you to lead, i.e. parent, in ministry, as a mentor or accountability partner, what kind of power do you demonstrate when you are hurt by their actions?
I don’t know about you, but my heart yearns for that meekness, that power in control that allows me to love despite being unloved, to offer healing despite being hurt, to repay evil with kindness, to forgive though not forgiven by them.
Could it be that power is best displayed by surrendering to His power?
Join me tomorrow for the conclusion.
Holding on to His power and gripped by His grace

Evinda

He Showed His Power by Restraining His Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy spring time! I still can’t believe that it is already here! With spring comes one of the most important holidays, at least for the Christian, the celebration of Easter! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s go talk about this part of the salvation story.
When you hear the word Easter, what do you think of? Is it chocolate bunnies, baskets and bundles of brightly-colored eggs? Is it family gatherings around a great meal? Is it all about the kids, their Easter baskets and joyful Easter-egg hunts, the giggles and exclamations of discovery when they find an egg, and even when they look inside?
For some, it’s that one time when they are moved into a church service; in fact, Easter is known to be one of the highest-attended services of any church. I know for me, whenever I think of Easter, I experience a myriad of emotions and they mix together in a beautiful blend. The best way to describe them is bittersweet. Why bitter, you ask?
Well, it’s hard to think of my Jesus enduring all that He did up to and through the crucifixion. One can’t help but look at these things as Easter approaches, and yet many prophets foretold of some of the sufferings He would endure for you and me.
Did you know He sat through six trials? I didn’t either. I can handle being falsely accused here and there; I can’t even imagine trial after trial! And during those trials, He gave His back to those who struck Him, willingly. He did as He commanded us to do and turned His cheeks to those who plucked out His beard. Not once did He cover His face from the humiliation and the spitting and scream stop! (Isaiah 50:6) This was and continues to be the most amazing restraint of power in the history of all mankind!
He, the all-powerful, all-knowing Son of God could have acquitted Himself, struck each of the accusers down, struck those who hit Him back, twisted the arms of those who dared to pluck at His beard. He could have defended Himself to each of the presiding judges who spat humiliating accusations at Him. Instead, He chose to restrain His power and as a result of restraining His power, here we are over 2000 years later celebrating the reality of this Man, the necessity of His grace, the sovereignty of His power.
Many of us have a hard time staring pain in the face, let alone allowing our thoughts to go down that path. But how can we not remember these things as the day of their actual occurrences approaches? Why is it that just about any resource we look to about information surrounding this holiday all have the same facts: He was accused, endured beatings that rendered Him unrecognizable, suffered other forms of abuse, was mocked, carried His own cross, was pierced … several times, nailed to the cross, and lifted for all to see … why?
The simple answer: because His Father said so. He was aware of His Father’s will and because He was aware, He intentionally died that we may have life.
Awareness is the key to intentionality!
Every year, this time of year becomes even more significant. Why? Because the more I learn about this Man who suffered so much, the more I discover facets of His character that humble me. What I am learning now has me begging Him to entwine my heart with His that I might really be just an “inth” like Him. It’s not any coincidence that I just happen to be back in school for my Bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies, and the first class I am taking is on servant leadership and in order to understand servant leadership, we must have a grasp on the truths about power.
I can’t wait to share with you the truths I’m discovering and how they tie into this part of the Salvation Story and are turning the bitter into sweet!
Join me tomorrow for more,

Evinda