Moved

There are two things I know:  I serve a great God & today I was able to serve Him with a group of wonderful people. 

It is two days after so many tornadoes ripped through our state.  As of right now there are 318 who are dead, and countless others who are missing.  It is going to take years for some areas to recover.  What is amazing is seeing one of the things the body of Christ does best.  Minutes after the storms hit the planning began, then the calls went out of how each of us could help, and then the body of Christ answered & it will keep on coming until there is no one left to help.  The body is like that.  Are you hungry, we'll feed you; homeless, we'll house you; injured, we'll get you help; we'll do all of this, but most important, we'll point you to Jesus.  Hopefully, you'll see Him in us.  We are His hands, feet, and heart.


There are times for me that a song will define a time or a feeling.  There are several songs right now that do this.  Music moves me.  I always focus on the words, because lots of times when I'm singing, my words will become my prayer.  The song 'No Matter What' is one of those songs.  Through all that has happened this week I am reminded of Job 1:20b. When Job learned that all 10 of his children had died at almost the same time he said: 

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Before anything happens in our lives, the Lord knows about it, and He might allow it to happen.  Why would a loving God allow bad things to happen His people?  Because He cares about our holiness a lot more than our happiness.  He knows that even through the hard times we will find peace when we turn to Him during the hard times.

 

 

Lord Jesus, we praise you for who you are.  I praise you because of the love you showed us by taking on the sins of the world.  No one else is worthy, only you.  Lord we ask for mercy on our neighbors.  Guide us to serve them as You would.  Let our actions bring glory to you and may all that we do bring honor to your name.  Help us to not be afraid to share you; the bread of life and living water as we see to their physical needs.  Let us not grow weary Lord.  Give us your love for our neighbors.  We love you Father God, and want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  In His mighty name, ~Amen.

If you haven't had a chance to help the storm victims, call a local church and see what they are doing, and how you can help.  We have lots of great churches in Birmingham who are coordinating workers to help in the hard hit areas.  I promise that as you give your time to help others, you will be blessed.

Praying for our state!
In Him,
~ashley

Tearing it Up

My daughter and I did something really cool Easter night.  We watched 'The Passion of the Christ' together.  It was her first time to watch it, and as we watched I would stop the movie and explain things to her.  I wanted her to be able to see in her mind what it means when she says Jesus took on the sins of the world; and that when we talk about 'Jesus dying on the cross for my sins' that she sees an accurate description of it.  It was brutal and ugly...just like sin.

As Jesus was being beaten Elizabeth & I talked about how He took that beating with our faces in mind.  He would have endured the cross if only the thief to His right would have accepted the grace only He offers.  Christ experienced God the Father removing His presence and leaving Christ to face the consequences of sin alone.  What a relief it had to have been for Him to say 'it is finished'.  Notice He said 'it' is finished, and not 'I' am finished.  The 'it' is the payment of sin for the world.  The 'it' is that there is no more barrier between us and God, and that is why the vail in the temple tore. 

The vail was the barrier between God & man.  With the barrier gone we don't need to go through anyone to get to God; we only have to go through Christ.  The phrase 'it is finished' was changed to 'it has begun'.  Begun is:  our personal relationship with Christ; our serving to advance His kingdom; and our ability to approach God our Father ourselves and hanging out with Him.

I am thankful for so many things.  Besides what Christ did for me, I am thankful for my bible that I can read whenever I want, and that I don't have to guess what God meant when he gave us His word.  I have Christ as my example and living explanation.  How blessed we are!  Thank you Jesus for everything you have done!

Counting my blessings with a thankful heart,
~ashley

Finishing the Job

I had to share this video with you!  It is called 'It is Finished' by Matt Papa.  Through all my fears & failures Jesus still said it is finished.  When I get in the way, Jesus still said it is finished. 

May His name be lifted up in my life, and in everything I do!  Thank you Lord for taking my place!

Happy Easter!
~ashley

Remembering

Today is Good Friday.

This is the day that everything changed.

When my children were young we loved to watch VeggieTales.  One of our favorites was An Easter Carol.  Hope's Song is a beautiful way to explain what Easter is.  In the end of the song Hope sings:  "He died for us to give us life & to give us hope he rose." 

But, for Jesus, there was also fear; I can't imagine the fear He had.  Being fully God & fully man He knew what was about to happen; the pain, the heartbreak, the knowing that God the father had to turn His back and allow it to happen.  The weight of every sin, and the blackness of it all was placed on Him.  Jesus knew, and the fully human side of Him made an appearance in the Garden of Gethsemane.  I appreciate Him showing this side.  But what I also see is His submission to God the Father's will.  Jesus knew we needed a way out, and His blood provided it. 

Even though God had to look away while Jesus was on the cross, He knew what Jesus was going through.  In the movie The Passion of the Christ, they show that God was still there by a teardrop falling from heaven.  The link is graphic, so make sure if you are young your parents are ok with you watching this clip.  A teardrop from heaven is not in the bible, but it is a reminder that God's heart was broken.  In the next scene you see the earthquake and the veil tearing in the Holy of Holies.  The veil was a barrier between man and the presence of God.  Only the high priest, once a year was allowed in the place where God dwelt, and it was to atone for the sins of the Jewish nation.  The veil tore to tell us that we all have access to God through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus.  No better gift has ever been given!  He died for us to give us life, and to give us hope, He rose.

We need the life His death gives us, and we need the hope His resurrection brings.   Can you imagine the sadness His disciples and followers were feeling Saturday?   They did not realize what was about to take place on Sunday.  Are we like that?  Are we Saturday people?  Are we wondering what is to become of us?  Are we hiding our faith?

Good news!  Jesus is Risen!  There is hope in His resurrection.  A hope that we are not left alone to fend for ourselves.  We have a purpose while we are here, and we have a hope that this is not all there is.  We are destined to better and greater things.  We have the assurance of spending eternity with Jesus. 

Jesus, how wonderful you are.  Thank you for accepting my sin, and taking the punishment that was meant for me.  Thank you for giving me a new life through the sacrifice of your blood.  I believe you are the only son of God the Father, and that you came to take away the sins of the world.  I commit myself to you, and will serve you all the days of my life.  Forgive me when I sin, and help me through each day.  I love you Jesus.  In your name I pray, ~Amen

Have a wonderfully blessed Easter!  The grave is empty, He is risen!  Hallelujah!!!
~ashley

Finding Peace in the Storm

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 

I wish bad things never happened.  I wish, I wish, I wish.  Unfortunately, wishin' ain't gettin'.  The only thing we're promised is that Christ has overcome the world & He will love us through good times and bad. 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4 

"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:3-5

I found out this week there is a child in one of my children's classes whose mother is very sick and could possibly die.  Sadly, he is not the first child to have a parent die, and he won't be the last.  My brother was his age when our father passed away, and I remember the feelings we all had during that time.

You may not have something like this going on in your life, but we all have difficult times in our lives.  Who do you turn to when tough times hit?  The only One who can give you peace in the middle of life's storms is Christ.  God asks so little of us.  He wants us:  our love, devotion, our very selves.  But what does that look like?  It is knowing that everything you do, you do for Him.  It's knowing that nothing can separate you from His love.  It's giving Him the best you have in everything.  Christ went through it all so you wouldn't be alone.

Christ is the peace in our storms.  Lay your burdens at his feet and rest.

Lord Jesus, right now I am troubled.  You know my heart and how I feel.  My heart is burdened.  Forgive me for trying to fix it all on my own.  Forgive me for my selfishness.  You know me.  I know you went through it all so you would understand how I felt.  Thank you Jesus for doing that for me.  You are my refuge when life is coming at me.  You are my strength when I am weak.  You lead me and I will follow you.  Give me your peace while I am going through this trial, and show me what you want me to learn.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

In Him,
~ashley