today is easter. the day the we celebrate jesus not just dying for our sins, but especially his resurrection. this morning, pastor gino said that he thought today was the most important day in christianity.  i agree. happy resurrection day. on good friday, we celebrate jesus dying for our sins. (and doesn't this show us the meaning of good? good does not mean easy, simple, or the way we would always choose. it means good. profitable. for a bigger purpose.) but on resurrection day, this day, we celebrate jesus raising from the dead. therefore giving us a faith that is not dead but alive.
thank god for giving us this chance for redemption. redemption. what a beautiful word. one of my favorites. that one and moron are together in my top five. ha random i know.
here's the thing about redemption: every time i find myself caught up in the extremities of my sin, i am amazed to remember that the Hand that holds the universe holds me in my brokenness. i am awestruck when i get even a glimpse of what it truly means that god wants to redeem my soul. he is so beautiful.
why does god hate sin? most people would say because it draws us away from him, and i believe this is true, but my jesus-brother shane claiborne said something that rocked my heart. he said that he thought that god hates sin, not just because of the reason above, but also because he knows what it does to us. he hates it because he sees what it does to our hearts and our souls. it breaks our hearts and stains our souls.
thank you god for grace. and that your mercies are new every morning.
i used to think that sin would make us feel good on this earth and only in heaven would we see how broken it made our souls, but i don't think that anymore. even though our major influences tend to tell us that drinking, sex, money, and all things associated will make us happy, they don't. at least not in my life.
i have chased lovers that don't satisfy. oh how i have grown to know that they really truly do not fill us.
i would love to say that, all in all, the presence of god in our lives should be enough. period. but how hypocritical that would be of me.  i love god. not as much as i wish i would, but i love him. and i cannot say that i have ever been truly happy in a valley. valleys are sometimes called peaceful. an amazing rd i had in colorado used the term 'sweet dessert with the lord' once. i do not have the same outlook. valleys break me. desserts make me faint. i need god and real friends together. but an amazing pastor once said that we were made for relationships, and that we cannot survive by ourselves, so saying that god is enough no matter what may not be an accurate statement. i don't know how true that is, but i like that he said it. it helps me understand why i am the way i am. i don't do well being by myself for too long. it breaks me down.
it's beautiful out here at one of my top 3 places in the world: home. :) so i'm gonna go play guitar on the porch with the birds singing along in the most beautiful melodies. 'not a note is out of tune or out of place' with the amazing daffodils that are popping up 'better dressed than any girl on her wedding day'.
happy easter. happy resurrection day. praise the lord for life. for peace. for friends. for redemption. praise be to god for unfailing love. have a blessed day, friends.
here's a peak from an amazing passion play called 'the thorn' at new life church in colorado springs from last year when ash and i went to with matt bean last spring- it really doesn't do it justice though. and under it is a song that will forever remind me of good friday/easter weekend, because it's by phil wickham which reminds me of the thorn (because one of his songs was sung in it) which was over easter weekend :) k peace.