HE IS RISEN!
Mark 16:6,19 (NIV): “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.” 

For three years, Jesus ministered to people. He loved them and healed them. He told them about the Kingdom of God. Even still, those closest to Him did not completely understand the significance of His words. The final week of Christ’s life started with cheers of “Hosanna!” from the crowd but ended with cries of “Crucify Him!” And on that faithful Friday, our Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for you and for me. The earth shook; the veil tore; the devil danced with glee. Oh, but Sunday was coming! 

Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the validation of our faith and the hope for salvation. There is no greater hope in our lives than knowing that Christ resurrected on the third day, fulfilling the prophesies from the Old Testament. And what’s more, because He lives, we can live also. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. He exchanged His life for ours. For those of us who believe in Him, we get credit for His righteousness, and He takes responsibility for our sins. Because of Christ, we will never die but will have eternal salvation (John 3:16; 11:25-26). 

Christ promised that He would rise, and He did! Christ has promised that He will come again so that we can be with Him forevermore, and He will (John 14:3)! In the meantime, The Apostle Peter encourages us with these words: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). 
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Celebrate today . . . FOR HE IS RISEN! 
Shalom,
Theresa

A Single Offering 
Hebrews 10:14 (ESV): “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
The Bible teaches us that God so loved the world that He wanted to redeem sinful mankind back to Himself (John 3:16). In order to do that, there had to be a sacrificial offering of a perfect, spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ died a substitutionary death for you and me. The punishment that belonged to us for our sinfulness, He took on our behalf.
In the Old Testament times, the priests had to continuously go before God to offer sacrifices on behalf of sinful men and women. These sacrifices did not remove the sin, but simply pushed the sin problem ahead until the next offering was to be made. When Christ went to the cross, however, He completely satisfied the wrath of God against our sin once and for all. Colossians 2:14 teaches that Christ took our debt and nailed it to the cross, marking it PAID IN FULL. Now, those who come to Christ and accept this pardon are clothed in His righteousness and share in His eternal inheritance. Our new identity is seen as perfect and holy before God. While me may not always feel or behave holy, God sees the eternal truth of who we are, even as we are in the process of becoming that person. His patience with us is beautifully described in a little five-letter word called “grace.” Even more, you and I once had no power over sin. But now, thanks to Jesus Christ, the power that set us free from sin is the power that keeps us free from sin.
Rejoice in the Savior Who loves you today!
Shalom,
Theresa

*Stewart, W., & Allen, T. (2013). Fire yourself daily: 365 devotionals. Milestone Publishing House, p. 108.

No More Barriers* 
Mark 16: (ESV): “And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’”
The women wanted to anoint the body of Jesus, but they were concerned about how they would get to Him. Men had rolled a large stone weighing about 1 ½ tons to seal Christ in His tomb. When they arrived at the grave, though, the stone had been rolled away (Mark 16:4).
When Christ hung on the cross that fateful Friday, He cried out, “It is finished!” Then, He died. In that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This was the veil which had once divided man from God. The partition that said, “You can’t come any closer,” was removed once and for all. There were not more barriers; mankind had intimate access to God!
No more stones, no more veils, no more barriers. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). No man, no woman, and no demon can keep you and I from immediately approaching our Father. God invites us with open arms to come. Run to Him!
Come to Christ today!
Theresa

*Stewart, W., & Allen, T. (2013). Fire yourself daily: 365 devotionals. Milestone Publishing House, p. 182.

There is a Danish proverb that says, “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God.”  Have you ever felt a little “short-changed” in the gift getting department from God? You look around you and see talent just oozing from people.  She sings like an angel; words just flow out of his mouth so eloquently; if something’s broke, he can fix it; she can pick a bunch of flowers from the yard & make a gorgeous center piece for the table.  

Me?  I sing and my dog starts to howl, literally.  I try to make a floral arrangement & it looks like a bunch of sad weeds hanging over the edge of a glass.  It’s not fair.  I wish I were like her.  I would give anything to be able to do things he can do.  I don’t understand how some people can be so talented and not use their gifts for God.  You know, if only I had a talent, I would gladly use it for the Lord.  But, I don’t. God just didn’t bless me with any special skills.  

There is a term for that condition; it’s called “hogwash."  Now, I’m not sure if that is derived from the Greek or not, but I do know that in it’s purest sense, it means that is simply untrue. You see, according to the Bible “Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us” (Eph 4:7).  However, there is a catch…you and I don’t get to choose which gifts we’d like to have.  Only God determines that.  Paul explains in 1Corinthians 12:11, “It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts.  He alone decides which gift each person should have.”  

So, does that mean I can’t be anything I want to be.  No, you can’t.  BUT, you CAN be EVERYTHING God wants you to be.  Today, focus on becoming the you that God has fully equipped you to be.

Judges 13:24 (ESV): "And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson.  And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him."

The birth announcement of Samson was heralded by an angel of the Lord.  He would be a child of promise, uniquely created to fulfill great plans by God.  Samson had an incredible gift of strength.  God wanted to use Samson to defeat the Philistines, who had dominated the children of Israel for the last forty years.  Samson, however, grew into a man that struggled with surrender to God.  As we read his story in the Book of Judges, we find that he was a man who had a willing spirit to serve God, but his flesh was weak.  He was ruled by his emotions instead of by the Spirit.  Lust, anger, and lack of emotional control caused Samson to live an almost life instead of an awesome life.

Samson sounds a lot like many Christians today.  God has amazing plans for our lives.  He wires us with all kinds of potential: skills, talents, and abilities.  Without the control of the Holy Spirit, though, we cannot operate in our full potential.  We find ourselves up and down in our spiritual walk; always waffling between faith and failure.  And, although the Spirit moves on us from time to time, we never give Him complete control.  Do you want to live an almost life or an awesome life?  If an awesome life is your choice, surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit today.  He is the One who knows the mind of God and the path that has been laid out for each of our lives; then watch as He glorifies the Father through you!

Devotion taken from the devotion book: Fire Yourself Daily.

Romans 5:5 (NLT): “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Hope...sadly, too many people go through life without this vital perspective. The Bible encourages us with the fact that this earth, with all of its challenges, is not our home (Hebrews 13:14). As children of God, we are destined for a land of peace, joy, and perfect love. The distractions of this life that try to steal our attention and weigh heavy on our hearts do not need to become our life’s focus. Instead, we should learn to turn our eyes homeward in moments of despair and focus on the joy that is set before us. That’s exactly what Christ did! Hebrews 12:2 teaches us that Christ endured the cross by fixing His eyes on what lay ahead...the joy of Heaven. So, be of good cheer! Today may be less than stellar, but the best is yet to come! The momentary discomforts we experience in this life will quickly fade when we reach our heavenly home.
Be filled with the hope of glory today! 
​Theresa

Psalm 37:7 (NIV): “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
     Be still. This is a difficult task for most of us to accomplish. We have tasks on our “to do” lists that must get checked off. And, if we are completely honest, we only feel valuable or important if we are moving and doing. There are times, though, IMPORTANT times, when we must stop our busyness and wait for God. If we are to grow spiritually, we have to be connected with our Lord. We need to pause completely, clear the mind, open the heart, and bare the soul, so we can hear our Father’s voice. We need to quiet the background noises of our lives, so we can tune into God’s words and listen to His guidance. From the moment we wake up until we lay down exhausted at the end of the day, we typically do not stop working, multi-tasking, playing, leading, following, manag- ing, parenting, exercising and so many more activities such that we are never truly still. We need to remember that busyness does not always mean we are being productive. We can fill our lives with a lot of good things and still miss the best thing. In the same way Jesus quieted the stormy seas, we should take time each day to quiet the commotion that steals our attention. This will allow us to deeply embrace the Almighty, allow His peace to permeate our soul, be completely showered in His abundant love, and experience the divine joy that comes from Him. So, let us be still in focused prayer, be thankful for the blessings we receive every day, and seek the Lord’s guidance and protection in all we do.


Have a peace-filled day!
Theresa

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV): “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

     We have all heard the saying that yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not come, so enjoy the present. Too many people, though, get stuck in the past. We live under the weight of shame and guilt from choices we made yesterday. Maybe we are still walking in the consequences of yesterday’s decisions, but our God has a way of making all things new. When we come to Him with the broken pieces of our life, the Master takes the tattered and old and divinely creates something breathtaking and new. Today is a new day. We have never lived it before. It is a clean slate, a fresh start to try something different than what we did yesterday. It is God’s gift to us. His compassion towards us never fails. His love for us is relentless. His faithfulness is great. Because of God, yesterday will not consume us. To prove it, He lovingly presents to us today.

Praise God for His faithfulness to you today!
Theresa

Mark 9:23-24 (ESV): “And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’”

     Many of us are quick to profess our unwavering belief in God. But, do we? Do we truly believe? Listen closely to your speech. Doubt is a cunning foe. It can hide in the very words that we speak. Consider each of the following familiar statements: “I know God can do all things, but I don’t know how I am going to pay this bill.” or “God is loving, but I am so worried about this situation.” Did you identify the doubt hiding in these seeming proclamations of faith? We need to start dispelling doubt. Do not give it a foothold in our hearts or in our words. Jesus said that ALL things are possible for the one who believes (Mark 9:23). 
     Proverbs teaches that there is great power in the words we say. With our tongue we can speak life or death (Proverbs 18:21). So, let us become intentional about our words and start speaking life into our faith and over our circumstances: “I don’t know how I am going to pay this bill, BUT I KNOW that God can do all things!” “I am wor- ried about this situation, BUT I KNOW that God is loving, and His peace will comfort me.” Remember, genuine faith is not based on the hope that somehow our circumstances may change BUT solely in the Almighty God that we serve!


Have a doubt-free day today!
Theresa