The Walk to Easter

Romans 8: 1  In his book, “an unstoppable force”, Pastor Erwin McManus writes, “God is continuously inviting us to believe that His future is better than any past we have experienced with Him…For too long the church has longed for the good old days, has hoped that the future would simply be a detour to the past…He wants to shake heaven and earth and shake us loose from all that holds us back from entering His future. This future cannot be experienced without embracing and experiencing change.” Our walk toward Easter is a marvelous time of resurrection, renewal, and rebirth as we remember our baptisms. The resurrection of Jesus means rebirth and new life to us all. It is changed life, a life that has as its centerpiece the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. This means that we can live into a new day for the church, the community, and each one of us, individually. It cannot mean a retreat to the past life that we have had and sometimes want to hold onto. It does mean that we have the opportunity and the calling to do more to grow into what God would have each of us become. It is an invitation and an opportunity for us to take ownership of every aspect of church life for which God is calling us to contribute. It includes our responsibilities as Christians and our calling as church members to help grow and maintain the church; spiritually, as well as numerically and financially, and in all other ways. You are loved, and God is calling you to be living and active within your church family. In Hebrews 4:12-13, we read, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Surrendering our freedoms for a perceived sense of security is always a mistake, because faith in God is the foundation of what amounts to true security in this life. It is not clinging to the past, or to the material things that we might think provide security. True security is the knowledge that God is in the temple of our hearts, that we are saved, and we are His! To expect miracles, to pray for them and live in miracle is something that we, as spirit-led people, must claim for the future of our church, our community and our world. The future does NOT lie in clinging to a perceived security that is based upon a detour to the past. We must prepare for our future, and faithfully be ready to walk through the new doors that God is about to open for us. Why, because with God, all things are possible!

Pastor Jan