The Risen Christ and New Beginnings

As we come up to Resurrection Sunday celebrating the Risen Christ and new beginnings, I was reading Psalms 30-35 and a few verses jumped out at me which are very applicable right now and can be every day. The verses I would like to share are, "You changed my sorrow into dancing. You took away my clothes of sadness, and clothed me in happiness. I will sing to you and not be silent. Lord, my God I will praise You forever". "Happy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the person whom the Lord does not consider guilty and in whom there is nothing false". "But the Lord is against those who do evil; He makes the world forget them. The Lord hears good people when they cry out to Him, and He saves them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed". "Lord my God, defend me with Your justice. Don't let them laugh at me. Don't let them think Aha we got what we wanted! Don't let them say we destroyed him. Let them be ashamed and embarrassed because they were happy when I hurt. . . I will tell of Your goodness and will praise You every day". There is so much more in all the above Psalms but, I would like to focus on what Jesus did for us at the Cross and how He can turn our lives around.

We are coming up to Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday, the day Christ rose from the grave after dying a horrendous, excruciating, heartbreaking death, just so our sins would be forgiven and we could have eternal life in Him. Easter is a day when we will wear our very best clothes and bonnets, we can spend quite a while deliberating on what would be the perfect outfit to wear on such a wonderful day; however, this is just the outside what Christ did for us is to re-new our insides. He removed our bitterness, He removed our sadness, and He removed our pain, replacing them all with happiness, joy and healing; if we so choose. Christ also died so all, yes all, our sins would be forgiven and forgotten and what do we have to do? Just repent and confess. Think about that for a second and imagine the freedom that Christ brings, His grace and His mercy, when we repent and lay down our sins and they are disposed of forever. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of Christ, just turn to Him and let Him carry all of your burdens, let Him wash away all of your sins, and let Him renew your soul. God also protects His children from harm and will bring down those who would try to hurt them, He makes our way straight in the wilderness, lights our paths and hears all our prayers. He will never leave you alone and is as close as His Name; no matter what you are going through right now, just know Christ is right there with you and has already won the battle for you.

We have choices each and every day, some good, some bad, sometimes we will make the right choice and sadly, sometimes we won't. However, do not be discouraged, for when we make wrong choices there is forgiveness and pardon; I am not saying go out and purposely sin like the devil because its all right, no, we know right from wrong. But, when we do mess up there is forgiveness in Christ if we confess our sins before Him. He loves us so much and He wants to change our sadness into happiness and our sorrow into dancing, He wants to mend our broken heart and heal our spirit, He will remove our enemies and refresh our souls. All we have to do is turn to Him with our whole hearts and minds and let Him wash over us like a cleansing rain removing anything that is not of Him. If you do not know Christ today is the day of your salvation call on His Name, Jesus the name above all names, He is that close just waiting for you to turn around. Moreover, if you do and have known Christ but have wondered away and are lost in the wilderness it is time for you to return to Him as He is waiting to return to you, rend your heart and not your clothes, so the question is, do you know Jesus and does He live in your heart? The Word says, that God rejoices over us with gladness, He quiets us with His love and exults over us with singing, He has set a banquet before us and has pulled out a chair ready and waiting for us; it is time to join in the feast and take our place at His table.

Cited

Psalm 30:11-12

Psalm32:1-2

Psalm34:16-18

Psalm 3524-28