Tag: Easter

Jesus’ Finished Work on the Cross was ENOUGH

Posted on by Evangeline

 

This is Easter weekend and I am sharing a post that I previously released. I hope it encourages you to believe in all that Jesus accomplished on the cross for you.

As we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, here’s a prayer to offer up. It’s a reminder that Jesus’ finished work on the cross was all it took so that we could have unhindered access to the Father’s love for us (see Matthew 27:51).

Father, You tore the veil so there is no longer any boundary for us to cross to get to You. There is no barrier that hides You from us. Thank You that Jesus’ death did everything necessary to remove anything that stood between us, even our guilty conscience. Thank You for making a way for us to enjoy an unencumbered relationship with You. 

Because of Jesus, the Father’s love can now reach you, touch you, and move you toward your God-given destiny that is filled with goodness and joy. There is no force field or deflector shield that can act as an obstacle to His love and power. Fear may try to distract you and cast doubt on His love for you. But rest assured, His perfect love for you is eternal and provides unlimited protection and abundant grace.

**If you’ve never asked Jesus to come into your life, I encourage you to do so. His death was for you, so that you could choose to live in His Blessing. He’s waiting with open arms and an unfailing love.

There is no force field or deflector shield that can act as an obstacle to God's love and power. Click To Tweet

Photo courtesy of GodlyWomanDaily.co

easter-death-resurrection

Jesus’ Death Was All That Was Needed to Remove the Obstacle Between Us and God

Posted on by Evangeline

As we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, here’s a prayer to offer up. It’s a reminder that Jesus’ finished work on the cross was all it took so that we could have unhindered access to the Father’s love for us. [See Matthew 27:51]

Father, You tore the veil so there is no longer any boundary for us to cross to get to You. There is no barrier that hides You from us. Thank You that Jesus’ death did everything necessary to remove anything that stood between us, even our guilty conscience. Thank You for making a way for us to enjoy an unencumbered relationship with You. 

Because of Jesus, the Father’s love can now reach you, touch you, and move you toward your God-given destiny that is filled with goodness and joy. There is no force field or deflector shield that can act as an obstacle to His love and power. Fear may try to distract you and cast doubt on His love for you. But rest assured, His perfect love for you is eternal and provides unlimited protection and abundant grace.

**If you’ve never asked Jesus to come into your life, I encourage you to do so. His death was for you, so that you could choose to live in His Blessing. He’s waiting with open arms and an unfailing love.

There is no force field or deflector shield that can act as an obstacle to God's love and power. Click To Tweet
resurrection

Resurrection of Your Confidence in His Promises

Posted on by Evangeline

After Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross for everyone in the world (even the unborn), He did not just leave an empty tomb as proof that He had risen. He chose to once again demonstrate His love for us by presenting “Himself to them [believers] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3 NIV). Jesus did not want to leave His followers wondering what happened once they saw that His tomb was empty. He wanted to convince them that He indeed had risen. His resurrection served as proof of His finished work on the cross for the justification [freedom from guilt and the penalty of sin] of all who choose to believe in Him!

Two thousand years later, we can live in that freedom because we believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

I think Jesus stayed on earth so long after His death because He wanted to make sure that those who believed in Him had not lost hope. Some may have lost hope because Jesus did not become the reigning King of Israel as they had envisioned Him. Others may have believed the Pharisees’ account of grave robbers having come to steal the body and lost hope that Jesus was really their Messiah. Isn’t that how we find ourselves sometimes–expecting Him to do something in a certain way and then losing hope when He doesn’t do it our way?

But because of His love for those believers (and us), Jesus wanted to assure them that He indeed had risen, so He patiently took time to show Himself to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6). In doing so, He made sure the message of His resurrection would span the globe and stand the test of time so that generations to come could choose to believe and have hope in Him.

If you’ve lost hope for something in your life, maybe for having a baby, or advancing on your job, or overcoming a debilitating illness, RESURRECT your hope! Bring your hope back to life by finding a promise of God in the Bible that relates to your situation. Believe that promise is true for you. If you find it hard to believe, ask God to help you believe it (Mark 9:24). Then speak that promise and expect it to manifest in your life. Be persistent in speaking that promise…your enemy, the devil, will do all he can to distract you from believing and speaking it with confidence. Despite that, continue to thank God that His promise for you is sure and worthy of your trust. Rest assured, your hope will be renewed and your confidence increased as you take a stand on the promises of God.

Live to Win - cover thumbnail

Discover more about taking a confident stand on the promises of God in my upcoming book, Live to Win! 

Coming soon through major booksellers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of cross courtesy of FreeDigitalPnotos.net

Praying with your spouse - love in action

Love in Action vs. My To Do List

Posted on by Evangeline

 

They say love is a verb and that we should see love in action.

The more I learn of the love of Jesus– specifically, His love for me– its depth, height, width and length astound me. I see more clearly now that His love for me covers everything; it is complete and perfect. There are no holes in His love for me, no void spaces. So if nothing is missing in His love for me, why am I not always confident in the victory His love has already provided?

Love in Action

Jesus’ love is always a love in action. His love is always working to give us victory in our circumstances. Maybe I need to look more at what He’s done instead of what I’ve done or what I need to do (I can sometimes have a l-o-n-g “to do” list to change my circumstances). My to-do list, when it’s not focused on God’s ability and willingness to act, is the  kind of self-help that is not always good. Maybe I need to allow Him to be in control so that I can rest. Everything that Jesus has done is based on His love for me. Every  bit of punishment inflicted on Him before and at the cross was because He did not want me to experience it. He endured every bit of scourging for me. He took every sickness and “condition” onto His body for me so that I wouldn’t have to “live with it” (Isaiah 53:3-5). He satisfied every requirement of the Law so I wouldn’t be required to do so. He left nothing undone and did everything perfectly. What a love!

No matter the circumstances that I find myself enduring, I’m determined to choose to look to Jesus’ love for me– to have confidence in it, to trust it. I’m determined to rest in the knowledge that His love for me has done everything to give me victory in any circumstance. Because of His unmatched, unending, and unfailing love, I win!

How do you remind yourself of His love for YOU?

Women’s Role in the First Easter – Sharing the Message of the Resurrection

Posted on by Evangeline

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

How will you spend this day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God, and the Savior who loved EVERYONE in this world so much that He gave His life so that each person who believes in His resurrection can freely enjoy relationship with God, receive His love, and call Him, “Father”.

Resurrection and Life

The first people to be sent to tell the exciting news of Jesus being no longer dead but risen and alive were women! Like women typically do, they rose early, before dawn, to care someone else. This time, it was for the purpose of taking care of the dead body of One they loved– Jesus. They walked from their homes to the tomb where Jesus had been laid so that they could apply spices to His entombed body. Have you ever wondered how they expected to get beyond the soldiers who had been posted there and how they planned to move the stone that sealed the tomb?  I suppose it didn’t matter to them, they just knew what had to be done according to their Jewish custom and they went, prepared to get it done.

Jesus had women involved in His ministry while He was on earth, and now that He was risen, He commissioned them to spread the Word that He was alive. It was to be an important mission of love to share an important message of love. He wanted them to be the heralds to spread the message of a new relationship that was now available to everyone, not just the 12 disciples and followers within the borders of Israel.

Here’s how those first evangelists spent their day:

“The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

 At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was.  And go quickly and tell his followers, ‘Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.”The women came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell…”  

~Matthew 28:1-10 (NCV) 

Isn’t it just like Jesus to recognize how women are typically more relationship-oriented and therefore would use them to be the first to give the message to others that a new relationship was now available with God? He gave  a word of comfort to them to share so that others would believe in Him through their words. He entrusted women with birthing His church by giving them the message of His resurrection to share. For thousands of years, that message those women shared about Jesus being alive has brought victory to all who believed it.

How will you spend this day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus? Will you share the good news of His resurrection with someone who may not know it?

celebrate resurrection of Jesus

Resurrect Your Hope

Posted on by Evangeline
Photo courtesy of GodlyWomanDaily.co
Photo courtesy of GodlyWomanDaily.co

Easter has passed but resurrection is still on my mind. Watching The Bible TV miniseries gave me some new insights about the love and ministry of Jesus. One of them is about hope.

After Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross for everyone in the world (even the unborn), He did not just leave an empty tomb as proof that He had risen. He chose to once again demonstrate His love for us by presenting “Himself to them [believers] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3 NIV). Jesus did not want to leave His followers wondering what happened once they saw that His tomb was empty. He wanted to convince them that He indeed had risen for the justification [freedom from guilt and the penalty of sin] of all who choose to believe in Him! Two thousand years later, we can live in that freedom because of Jesus’ resurrection.

What does that have to do with hope? Well, I think Jesus stayed on earth so long after His death because He wanted to make sure that those who believed in Him had not lost hope. Some may have lost hope because Jesus did not become the reigning King of Israel as they had envisioned Him. Others may have believed the Pharisees account of grave robbers having come to steal the body and lost hope that Jesus was really their Messiah.  Jesus wanted to assure the believers that He indeed had risen so He patiently took time to show Himself to many so that we, two thousand years later could believe and have hope in Him.

If you’ve lost hope for something in your life, maybe for having a baby, or advancing on your job, or overcoming a debilitating illness, RESURRECT your hope! Bring your hope back to life by finding a promise of God that relates to your situation. Believe that the promise is true for you. If you find it hard to believe, ask God to help you believe it (Mark 9:24). Then speak that promise and expect it to manifest in your life. You’ll have to be persistent in speaking that promise…your enemy, the devil, will do all he can to distract you from believing and speaking it with confidence. Despite that, continue to thank God that His promise for you is sure and worthy of your trust. Rest assured, your hope will be renewed and your confidence increased as you take a stand on the promises of God.

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