With All Power

He is Risen!

I'm so thankful for the work of the Cross on Friday but I'm excited about the fact that He is alive! Jesus may have died for our sins but He lives. Its Resurrection Sunday y'all! You know this means a dress is in the closet waiting on me! Also.....I debuting my religious tattoo at church today!

I'm struck by the fact that I had bronchitis this week. Follow me here. On Monday I decided I'd been sick for 2 months and that was long enough so I finally went to PrimeCare. There I got a z-pack and then the fun really began. I coughed so much Tuesday that by Wednesday my entire body hurt. I couldn't even sit down good for how much that position caused me to cough. By Friday I was coughing considerably less and today.....I'm fine.  Can I liken that experience to salvation? I was sick in my sin before Jesus. I was lost but I wasn't quite aware I was. <----The wondering around before you realize you need Jesus which might be 10 years or 45....and before I realized I needed antibiotics(I was sick for 8 weeks). And then I got Jesus and instantly my life was changed! He purged me and is continuing to purge things out of me. (That's the coughing) I'm saved and healed as a result of accepting Him. (And I'm almost cough free!)

Yea.....Its Resurrection Sunday!

Isaiah 62:2

And the nations shall see your righteousness and vindication [your rightness and justice—not your own, but His ascribed to you], and all kings shall behold your salvation and glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

Nothing I've done makes me righteous. The only thing that grants me salvation is my faith and belief in it. Salvation by faith alone...that's the God I serve. One that requires nothing of me but gave everything that I may have life and have it more abundantly! I'm so humbled when anyone sees anything in me that tells them that I belong to Him. He's so awesome and for anyone to see Him through me is incredible cause I know I'm not. I think maintaining that reality helps me continuously seek Him out and want to know Him more intimately.

My sister has always called me different names. Historically they've been hurtful because we weren't very nice kids but nowadays she calls me Sibl. Its short for sibling. LP calls me Lise. My love and I have nicknames too. Its fascinating to think that Jesus is also calling us by a new name. I don't know what mine might be but I can say this...when He calls me I know it. I know it down to the core of who I am. He gives me such certainty despite everything around me. When I look in the Word, I'm overwhelmed by the fact that He calls me at all. He is literal Holiness and He wants me. Oh sir, you can have me!

Isaiah 62:3

You shall also be [so beautiful and prosperous as to be thought of as] a crown of gloryand honor in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem [exceedingly beautiful] in the hand of your God.

Now this one took some work on my part. I'd been hearing for a long while that I wasn't very attractive but can I offer that that's not true? It isn't because the Word says it isn't. That's it. That's enough. But it wasn't enough in my own life. I distinctly remember being super nervous before I asked my mentor if she thought I was pretty. She was floored but she was so affirming in that moment. I now know that I'm not only cute as a button but also that I'm beautified by my relationship with God. When I think about the patience, kindness. caring, compassion, and love that He's grown in me I know He's done it that I might be a reflection of who He is. I just want to be known as His own. I want my life to look like the life of someone who belongs to Him.

Isaiah 62:4

You [Judah] shall no more be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land be called Desolate any more. But you shall be called Hephzibah [My delight is in her], and your land be called Beulah [married]; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married [owned and protected by the Lord].

One of the things I find central to the idea of marriage is protection. If I love you, I seek to protect you. It may not always feel that way but that's what I'm doing. I don't want anything to hurt you, least of all me. I know I'm super sensitive so I treat everyone like they are too. If I delight in you, I want nothing to steal that joy from you. If you're a candle, burning bright and lighting up my life, you better believe I'll be fighting strong gusts of wind and water to make sure you remain lit. I think often about that as it relates to God. He loves us. Sometimes it doesn't feel like love but it is. I think that in the situations that look like He's forsaking us, He's loving us in a way we can't perceive. I know that's hard. Its hard for me. Its hard for me on a good day and it feels impossible on a bad day.  Oh but Grace.

Isaiah 62:11

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the Daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes [in the person of the Lord]; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work and recompense before Him.

Behold you salvation comes! Literally....its Resurrection Sunday. He came. He lived perfectly.  He died.  He was resurrected. He lives. And its true. The reward is with Him. Everything we actually need and what our hearts' desire are found in Him. Seek ye first and All things.....oh that all things is so tough sometimes but it is. It just is. All things not some things. I'm so glad that the faith of my family have become my own personal faith. I love this relationship. God is so good and holy and generous and gracious unto me. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for the Resurrection. Thank you.