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Tag Archives: Easter

The Weight of All That Love . .

08 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Blessings, Christianity, Easter, Faith, God, Redemption, Resurrection, Sacrifice

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Easter, Jesus Christ, Love, Redemption, Resurrection, Sacrifice

I just saw a really timely movie for this season of Easter. It’s called, “A Case For Christ”, based on a book written by the former atheist, Lee Strobel. I won’t give the plot of the movie away, although the book has been available over many years now and is probably familiar to many of you. It’s basically an accounting of what the title suggests, an investigative reporter’s discovery and evidentiary investigation into the truth about Jesus Christ. Based on leads, evidence and by following the story wherever it takes him, Mr. Strobel endeavors to discover a way to disprove and discredit what is revealed in the New Testament Gospels once and for all! But suffice it to say, it doesn’t go as planned! As a believer, this story of Strobel’s probing investigation is a great reminder of God’s omniscience and the amazing gift of love He gave the world through the birth, life, and crucifixion of Jesus.  

When I was younger and attending church routinely by habit, I understood and processed the events of the life and death of Jesus upon that cross to a limited extent. But it has only been through a process of spiritual growth and a great desire to draw nearer in relationship to Jesus by choice, that I have come to truly appreciate the overwhelming sacrifice that He made! It was something which was often softened and sanitized for the sake of us believers. We knew He went to the cross, but we couldn’t truly grasp what He actually physically endured until recent years when the reality of it all was more truthfully and graphically depicted on movie screens through films such as “The Passion of The Christ” and in this one, by way of explanation. To understand the physical impact of scourging and crucifixion upon human flesh is to realize the tremendous and undeniable sacrifice Christ chose to make for us all! When we really allow ourselves to contemplate that horrific physical suffering which was necessary as a blood atonement for the redemption of sin for all time from all beings, it is truly beyond our scope of thought. Pause and contemplate that unimaginable sacrifice, it will probably make your soft heart ache for the sake of such love!  

And that physical suffering is a great part of the proof which finally converted a reticent and stubborn atheist in Strobel. He had surely grown up hearing a sanitized version of the crucifixion as a child before he chose to avidly deny God’s existence in adulthood. But in its actual detail, beyond horrific to imagine, the physical reality of the crucifixion is the telltale evidence of not only the absolute truth of Jesus’ resurrection but also of God’s infinite love. It is only a Divine being which could possibly overcome death endured upon the cross! For those who still choose to deny it, it is not compelling enough to sway their hearts hardened by disbelief and denial, but for hearts willing to ponder such an unselfish act of love, it is undeniable and indisputable! For believers, who need no additional evidence of the proof of His existence, their faith is enough because God’s love is all they ever needed as proof! Once you know His love within, there is no need to be further convinced of His existence. You know because you know! That love lives within you, changing your heart and life forever! It doesn’t make you perfect, or better than others, it just makes you different from who you were before!

Easter is the day we remember that infinite, defining and amazing gift of God’s love! The day when Christ willingly subjected Himself to ridicule, betrayal, torture, false accusations and ultimately, death upon the cross, is the most meaningful day for believers! It’s proof that God so loved the world, that He was willing to spare us all the relentless condemnation of our sinful nature, of an eternity, spent apart from Him. By sacrificing His one and only beloved Son for our sake, as the Gospels and history recount, God remedied for all time the constant need for us to endeavor to atone for our sin through blood sacrifices. We ourselves could never be good enough to bridge that sinful chasm which separates us from God, we’re always sinful by nature. So Jesus bore the brunt of all our sin for all time, the truly innocent and pure lamb, the blood sacrifice slaughtered for the sake of all of us so that we would no longer be separated from our Father! Jesus is the bridge over the chasm! And my heart aches from the weight of all that love, when I contemplate such a sacrifice for my sake and what it means for my eternity!  

Easter’s Gift . .

27 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Celebration, Choices, Christianity, Faith, Life, Wisdom

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Easter, Fruit of the Spirit, Jesus, Resurrection Day

Such a beautiful morning! This Sunday, many in the world are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, as He rose from the dead after suffering a most horrific death through crucifixion upon the cross on Calvary. We know that promises God made to His people for redemption and salvation throughout all time were fulfilled through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus! And so we shout Hallelujah, we sing songs of praise and worship, we join with family and friends in church services and special activities. For me, it is the best time of year, as I am so overwhelmingly filled with the sense of love, promise, hope and faith in God’s gift of salvation! I could never earn or merit such a gift of love, but it is mine just because I know and accept that Jesus died on that cross for me! Jesus defeated death and so shall we who believe! imagesUOGYBFHO

And so this wonderful morning, I am especially saddened to hear about another terrorist attack in Pakistan today, killing over 100 and injuring over 300, mostly women and children who had gathered at a park. This tragedy speaks to the undeniable evil which is consuming so many hearts and minds in this fallen world. It seems to be mutating and spreading, taking so many who perpetuate it into an eternity where nothing is promised but death and constant torment. After all, eternity and life are promised only through the ultimate gift of love, that which was given freely to the world through the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. His death was the blood sacrifice required to eradicate the burden of sin which is an inevitable part of our human state of being ever since Adam and Eve fell victim to its lure in the Garden of Eden. For all time, for all of us, the overwhelming burden of our sin has been born by that horrible beating, suffering, and ultimately death in an unimaginably painful manner on the cross. God promised such a gift, as our loving Father, because He hopes we all will be with Him for eternity. He never wants to lose a soul, but it will be by sin’s hold on hearts and minds that many will miss eternity with their Father! I cannot imagine such a hell as that, being parted forever from God!  resurrection

I read today of an Easter Egg hunt in Connecticut which turned into a stampede, by which adults were so driven to have free stuff, that they actually overran children in their pursuit of stuff! Again, I was reminded that Easter does not mean the same thing for everyone as it does for believers. When we lose sight of the real meaning of the day, the real reason for this day – the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus – we cannot carry into the day anything but human, selfish, ego-driven and sinful natures! This type of behavior is shocking, as is the terrorism laying waste to our world surely, but it isn’t really hard to understand! It’s the result of people having moved further from God and more comfortable with their sinful nature. It’s the natural consequence of sin taking a stronger hold over hearts and minds which are not desirous of being obedient to God or as full of God’s fruit of the spirit. Those nine fruits are so evident in Jesus during his time walking this earth that we should be inspired to fill our spirits with them as much as we’re able! Jesus provided us the ideal example of God in human form! The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, mentioned in Galatians 5, 22 -23. These fruits evoke the very nature of people endeavoring to be more Christ-like and more Godly. It’s obvious to notice the opposite effects at work in our population . . especially in the two shocking behavioral stories which I read about today and shared here with you! It’s a choice we all make, to know the Lord or to live believing that this is all there is! If this were truly all there is, God help us!   Signature02

First Day of Spring . .

20 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Beauty, Celebration, God, Joy, Life

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Easter, Nature's Promise, Spring

First day of Spring, always evokes within me a sense of what is going on all around me in this particular season. Life is bursting forth, newness and freshness prevail. There are nests and burrows dug, from which new life emerges. The flowers seem to light up with pride each new day for having brought such joy back to life. And the days are lengthening again, which is a means for nature to display itself in all its finery and showiness against the backdrop of the sun for even longer! 

580 I’ve considered long and hard which season of the four is my favorite, I can’t say as if I know for sure it is Spring. I do know that Spring holds so much joy during its daily parade of splendor, that I would surely say its my favorite while I’m in it! I’m enamored by the fluctuating weather, the promise of the warmth of Summer ahead; which then can be so distant on a cool, bleak and rainy morning. Everything seems to want to come to life again as the days grow longer, but it still seems a struggle and a process slow and steady! There are no guarantees with Summer lying in wait; but Spring surely knows its role as the interim force prevailing against whatever hold Winter still has on all of life. And so it persists in its daily show, bringing forth from the earth a variety of new creations and renewed life as well!  

195567_orig With Easter just ahead, I am fully aware of the enduring and faithful promise of rebirth, renewal and resurrection – which enhances my joy! For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son to die so that whomever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). After a time then comes the promise and the gift of life reborn, renewed and resurrected! In each Spring we see that promise of His great love affirmed through all of creation!   Signature02

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