Rejoice in the Miracles!

Written by Sheila Schuller Coleman

"Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." -1 Chronicles 16:28-29

When the Israelites successfully crossed the Red Sea - safe - delivered - from the oppression of hundreds of years of slavery and captivity at the hand of the Egyptians, God instructed them to celebrate.

Have you ever thought of that?

God instructed them to party! Feast! Celebrate the miracle! And don't just celebrate it once. Celebrate it once a year, forever and ever. That is what the feast of Passover is - a party - a celebration rejoicing and remembering what God did.

The Surprise Ending of Resurrection

By Brian Orme 

In some stories, hope is wrapped up in the obvious and tangible elements of the plot, but other times hope is revealed through a surprise ending or a twist — giving new life to the story in foreshadowed glory. The Easter story is a vivid example that things aren't always as they seem. In a way, Easter is a celebration of the greatest story twist in history, one that's so subversive it changes everything for all time.

It's easy to gloss over the Easter story — we've heard it so many times — and forget the surprise and shock of the resurrection. It’s easy to read through the Gospels without that “aha” moment it really delivers. We have the privilege of reading the resurrection into the teachings of Jesus — we know how the story ends — but for the disciples, the moments before the resurrection were steeped in fear, darkness and confusion. For the disciples, the resurrection provided an incredible twist — in Sixth Sense fashion — that made the story come alive in a new way … past experiences began to make clarion sense. It changed everything. 

Eugene Peterson explains it like this in his book Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: “The Christian life begins as a community that is gathered at the place of impossibility, the tomb.”

For The Love Of Life

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,  

though he may die, he shall live." - John 11:25 

Dear Loved One,

We tend to think of Easter as the commemoration of a great point in history, and that's a worthy reason for celebration. We also rejoice in anticipation of the resurrection unto eternal life ahead of us; a promise to all who open to the love of God in Jesus Christ. But there's also a present reality to be celebrated: Jesus rose from the dead, and He is alive forevermore. He's available right now to bring life to anything in your situation that may be dead or dying.

Celebrating Spiritual Birthdays

BY SUSAN

One of the biggest days for parents of young children is their child’s birthday! All over the country, moms go to great lengths to celebrate in a fitting way. One mom rents a clown, another a horse and buggy, yet another a restaurant complete with games and food. Cupcakes or cakes are often spectacular and gift bags beautifully arranged. Even moms (often older, more exhausted, and wiser ones!) who do not go to great lengths still celebrate their child. It’s a rare parent who forgets or ignores this special day. And usually this day is shared with lots of friends and certainly remembered by relatives. It’s an important day. It’s a genuine celebration of one of God’s most precious gifts — our child.

But there’s an even more significant birthday celebration. It’s the day our child asks Jesus to come into his or her heart. Too often, this day is noticed and a parent rejoices, but rarely is this good news shared with others. Oh, how it needs to be!