Easter Forgiveness

Easter is a the most significant holiday in Christianity. For this is where the rubber met the road of forgiveness. We, who believe in Christ, have been forgiven...of all of our sins and been given a pass into God's eternal kingdom. But have we too exercised that same forgiveness of others or is there someone who you still are holding a grudge against for a hurt that has wounded you to the core. I can ask that question becasue I myself find that I too am holding on to a few of those.

But God's forgiveness of us is such a blatant example of how we are to forgive others....no matter what they have done. We don't have to be best friends with them or even hang with them or make an effort to confront them...we just are called to forgive them. God knows our hearts...he knows the roots of where our hurts have come from. It could be rejection, or loneliness, or a broken trust or someone who has found your Achilles heel...and have aimed successfully and have caused you to fall ... physically, emotionally or spiritually. But God is greater than our fall. He can and will help us up and lead us to his path of peace.

But holding a grudge is like putting a top on a pot of water and turning the heat up to high...it causes things to heat up quicker. Turn off the fire of a negative and unforgiving attitude...take off the cover of a unforgiving attitude that is smothering you ...release the steam that causes you so much anxiousness and bitterness as well. God sent Jesus to forgive us for our sins....to forgive us one time for all eternity. This is the same God who can free us from the grips of unforgiveness....that keep us tied up in knots.

Easter is a time for new beginnings...new life ...a transformed life. We tend to go about this time getting Easter baskets together...uniting with family and friends, celebrating fun activities....etc. But let us not lose focus of the real reason for this celebration. It is a freedom...an eternal freedom that has opened the doors of heaven to let us in when God knows he has finished our time on this earth. We only have one chance to live this life....and God wants so much for us to appreciate his blessings...be covered in His grace and be diligent in our efforts to tell others His story and what he has done in our lives...and for us.
It is a time for renovation, regeneration, and restoration...a time to get rid of some old stuff that has been hanging around. A time to sweep our some of the dirt, and a time to open the windows and let the fresh Spirit of God circulate throughout our hearts.

This whole week has been Holy Week and now it is coming to an end...today being the day that symbolized Jesus dying on the cross....and three days later, Easter Sunday, being the day that Jesus was resurrected. The significance is great for our lives as well...we too can make a choice to be resurrected from the pits of unforgivenss...and be set free. God has the ability to do just that but we have to ask for his help and then have the faith, the true and confident faith, that he will generate whatever it is we need to accomplish that goal.

May your Easter be blessed with a deep and insightful time of worship a renewed and restored heart, and memories and appreciation of what our Lord has done in sacrifice out of the love of you and me.
John 3:15-17 (New International Version)

15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[a]

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[b] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Dear Lord...."thank you"...are words that seem so insignificant at a time such as this. Fill our hearts with an outpouring dedication and loyalty to you today and throughout the rest of our lives. It is then that you will recognize the true meaning of our little words. Amen
--
Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for His glory will shine through.
www.cathyjodeit.com
http://simplygod-cathy.blogspot.com/