"I Can't Go Another Easter Without Jesus In My Heart."

As a mother it is so fun to watch the Spirit of God drawing these precious children unto himself. Our oldest, Matthew had a full understanding of Jesus, His death, His burial, His resurrection and his own personal sin and need for a Savior at the age of 5. He asked Jesus into his heart on Easter Sunday when he turned 5. Caleb wanted to be like his brother and talked about asking Jesus into his heart for years, but footballs and subway sandwiches seemed to be more pressing than his need for a Savior until he was 8 and nothing else in this world was as important to him as having a personal relationship with Jesus. Joshua has been wanting to ask Jesus into his heart for a while, but Matt and I both felt that his understanding of sin and salvation was not complete. Easter Sunday morning I woke up my children and said, "Happy Easter Joshua!" He immediately began to sob. I will be honest, I thought he was crying because he did not get the "real" bunny that he wanted for Easter. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Mommy, I can't go another Easter without Jesus in my heart." I asked him if he wanted to pray with me and he said, no I want to pray with you and daddy both so we waited until we got to church. He went and talked to his daddy about it during worship, but still he wanted to wait. I began to wonder if this was not to be the day of his salvation. I told him we would wait until he was ready. And then he said something that was so precious. "Mommy, I have dreamed of this day and practiced this day in my head for a long time and I know how I want it to happen. I want me and you and daddy to walk to the front and kneel at the cross at the end of the service and pray then." I was not about to take this dream away from him. At the end of the service we all three walk down front and Matt told Joshua to share his heart with Jesus and tell him what was on his heart and mind. This is what he prayed, "Jesus, you are so mighty and powerful and we praise you. We thank you that you died on the cross to take away our sins. I am sorry I have sinned and lied to my daddy and disobeyed my parents and told Caleb I never wanted to see him again. Forgive me Jesus. I want you in my life. In Jesus name Amen." After hearing the heart of this 6 year old there was no question in my mind as to whether he understood or grasped what he was doing. He got it. God had been drawing Joshua unto Himself and today was the day of his salvation. He gave it all up that day. He answered the call of His savior that day. As we stood there worshipping the Lord together I could not contain the tears. Oh the joy that flooded my soul was now pouring down my face. This is what I have prayed for since the day they were conceived. I have prayed that at an early age my children would come to know Christ and walk with Him all the days of their life. Joshua told me yesterday that since he has asked Jesus into his heart that everything seems different. He said he can see God's love for him in everything he looks at. He said, "Mommy, it is as if God is whispering in my ear all day long, "Joshua, I love you." Oh what rejoicing!!! He is whispering that in his ear all day long and He is shouting it from the roof tops and He is shouting it in all of creation. "JOSHUA, I LOVE YOU!" Easter (and everyday) we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. Easter will also have another special place in my heart as will August 5. These are the days that 3 of my children went from death to a New life. I was able to deliver them into this world, but by the power of Jesus Christ and His resurrection HE alone is the one who can give them ETERNAL life! PRAISE YOU JESUS! "Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead."

"He is Alive and He is in Prison."

Last year on Easter Sunday we were riding home from church and I could hear my 2 year old Jacob saying..."He is Awive (alive)." And Joshua would say..."And He is in prison." I was puzzled for a few moments, but I listened and again and again they continued to complete the others sentences as they celebrated the resurrection of our Savior. After processing what Joshua was saying, I had to ask. "Joshua, why do you keep saying He is in prison." "You know mommy, that's what we say at church... "He is not dead, no He is alive and He is in prison." "Oh no buddy, we are saying..."He is not dead, no He is alive and He is RISEN." "Oh ok, that makes more sense." I tried hard not to laugh, but that was adorable. I was able to explain to Joshua that day that Jesus is RISEN and because of His resurrection we have actually been freed from the chains of sin that held us captive so actually Jesus conquered our personal prison. How amazing!! Because of His death, burial and resurrection our debt has been paid, our chains are gone, the shackles have been taken off so we can dance in the presence of our Savior. How many of us just like Joshua have heard for years the "Easter phrases." He is risen! He is not dead, no He is Alive! Resurrection power! The stone was rolled away! We say all of these true and powerful phrases because that is what you say at Easter, but do we live according to these truths everyday. Think about it for a minute. Our Savior, Jesus was DEAD, he was not breathing, his heart was not beating and God RAISED him from the GRAVE! He was no longer dead, but he was ALIVE. The big, huge, colossal bolder had move, it was rolled away and the tomb could not hold our Jesus. WHY? Because our God possesses resurrection power. The power to breathe LIFE back into his body. Do we live like we believe this? Do we trust Him to work and act in our lives with that same power that raised Jesus from the dead? Have we given him our finances? Have we given Him our marriages, our children, our health, our jobs, our loneliness, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our worries or do we keep them tucked away behind the tomb of our flesh? If we believe God raised Jesus to a new life then we need to claim that resurrection power not just on Easter, but everyday. God is not a god that He should change his mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Celebrate the life of our Jesus not just with eggs, peeps, ham and bunnies, but celebrate His resurrection everyday as you walk rejoicing in the fact that we serve a RISEN Savior. The grave could not hold Him and death could not contain Him! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

John 11:25 NIV

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."

John 20:1 NIV

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to thetomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance."

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!"

Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jacob is the family mimic. He says "whatever" anyone else says, especially his brothers. Each night as we tuck them into bed we take turns praying and Jacob says "me turn, me turn." And this is his prayer..."Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, AMEN." Do you ever feel that way? There are days when I am so exhausted and so emotionally spent that all I can do is cry out His name..."Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" Oh, but what a powerful name it is. All that we need is defined in that one name "Jesus." The answer to everything is consumed in the name of "Jesus." Who do you need him to be today? JEHOVAH--YAHWEH - the God of your salvation, JEHOVAH-RAPHA - the God your healer, JEHOVAH-JIREH - the God who provides, JEHOVAH-SHALOM - the God who give peace, EL-ROI - the strong one who sees, EL-OLAM - the everlasting God. Take heart...He knows what you need and who you need Him to be. He is all that we need and all that we never knew we needed. Comforting isn't it! Just remember that when you know nothing else and when you are too tired to say or do anything, do the first thing. Call on His name, the sweetest name I know..."Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!"

I Hope Jesus Does Not Fall Out!!

My mother-in-law is a wonderful, strong, positive encourager. She recently found out that she had a hole in her heart. Apparently we are all born with a hole in our heart and sometimes they just never close up. Last Friday she had to go in for surgery to have that hole repaired. The night before the surgery my precious boys were getting a little bit anxious about Grandma having surgery. We were talking about it and Matthew asks "What happens if Grandma doesn't get the hole in her heart repaired?" Now I feel the need to explain before I go any further that Matt and I joke around with our children a lot and they have great sense of humors. So I replied..."I don't know, Jesus might fall out." Well, my boys all laughed hysterically! They have the assurance that this could never happen. They know that their salvation is based on a relationship, not a conditional love that might cause Jesus to remove himself from your heart and life. They know that once you have accepted Christ that it is impossible for Him to "fall out of your heart." I love to joke around with my children, but I love even more that they have an assurance of their salvation and they do not have to live "hoping that Jesus does not fall out!"

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourselves, it is a gift from God so that no one can boast."