Good Morning Church Family!!
Hope you all were able to enjoy your Easter Sunday, celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior! With everything going on in the world, it is always good to focus on what is truly important. Now that Easter is over, how do we continue that focus? Here's what Jesus had to say before ascending into Heaven.
“So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.” -Matthew 28:19-20
Sometimes we may tend to think too hard to figure out how we will be able to do this. We may feel like we do not have the communication skills to be able to connect. We may feel we are not good enough or not worthy to tell others about Him while we have our own issues. We need to remember that sometimes all we need to do is LOVE. God IS Love. So when we love others, we are representing Him. Others will be drawn to Him because they are drawn to love.
“You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. And people don’t hide light under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:14-16
Friday I was blessed with the opportunity to help hand out our “Easter in a bag” bags! It did my heart so much good to see all the smiling faces! Some I was familiar with and others, not so much. We had a few people who came that did not attend our church, they just heard about it on the news. The people were so grateful to our church for handing these bags out. A few people were tears as they grabbed their bag and headed out of the line. Something as simple as a bag containing little reminders of what Jesus did for us on that cross and coming back three days later can really move people!
Church family, as we all know, our world can be a dark and lonely place for so many people! My challenge to you is to continue to be that light that so many are desperately looking for and need! Let someone that is 6 feet behind you get in front of you at the grocery store. Smile and wave at your neighbor. Call someone on your contacts list just to check in and see how they are doing. Show them you care. They just may need someone to talk to. If it feels a little awkward, just remember what Jesus tells us: “I will be with you ALWAYS”. He did not say “from time to time”, or “only when you are doing good”. He said “ALWAYS”. The same Jesus who rose from the dead over 2,000 years ago, is with us ALWAYS!!
God, I pray that we don’t forget what you instructed us to do! I pray that you give us the strength we need to be the light in the darkness. I pray that we don’t keep the light under the bowl but, instead we let it shine for others to see YOU in our lives. Thank you for ALWAYS being with us!
Amen,
Jen