An Easter Poem

There came a morning three days hence,
A sweet soft dawn that smelled of incense.
Quiet was the sunrise bright and calm,
It rose slowly whispering a psalm.

A dazzling morning rose quiet and clear,
As if something wonderful was quite near.
A hush in the fragrant air could be heard,
Nary a note was sung from any bird.

Watching and waiting a lone garden stood,
Something was happening the garden knew it would.
As spring comes after winter beauty again,
Life would come after death and shout amen.

In that small garden love would not be denied,
In a small tomb life awoke from deep inside.
A breath of life and forgiveness was breathed,
The salvation of all was bought and unsheathed.

The door to the tomb could hold it no longer,
The glory of the Lord alive and ever stronger.
The stone rolled away sealing death off,
Hell and the devil utter no scoff.

Out he stepped shining like stardust,
His voice spoke in volumes like a wind gust.

Bright as the sun beauty unfurled,

He stretched out his hands holding the world.

Christ Jesus so dear true love forever,
He died to save us our chains to sever.
On Easter morning his triumph was true,
He loved so he came for me and you.

Oh what a savior to suffer such hurt,
And for a people to raise out of the dirt.
His heart full of love he cares for us still,
He came to save us our hearts to fill.

He rose out of death and left it behind,
His power and smile ever so kind.
He gazed at the world and said it is finished,
Love so amazing it will never diminish.


Photo Credit: Pinterest 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! It's that time of year again. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone and, depending on where you live, it's cold outside, there might even be snow on the ground, and by now everyone is wishing for an early spring and a warm, sunny summer.

A long time ago during this time of the year, someone must have been bored and decided that the year needed another holiday. Something to look forward to during the long months after Christmas and before spring. One day that requires weeks if not months of planning for some people, and a time for stores to stock pink and red merchandise. And so Valentine's Day was born.

While it actually has its roots in an old Roman holiday, Valentine's Day has since been modernized and is widely known as the love holiday. It's one day in February when people celebrate the relationships that they're in, bemoan the fact that they're not in a relationship, or spend the day burning gifts they got from ex-significant others in an effort to purify their love lives. It's a whole day based on love or the lack thereof and the only time when couples can act completely ridiculous around their friends without scaring them. As a whole, the holiday is rather silly and a lot of people don't like it. I personally think it's really cute.

I've heard every side of Valentine's Day. "My boyfriend and I are doing so well and Valentine's Day only makes our relationship better," or "We use Valentine's Day to recommit to each other," or "Valentine's Day is terrible for anyone who doesn't have a date," or, finally, "Valentine's Day it just outright awful, and I'm looking forward to buying discount chocolate on February 15." Everybody has something to say about February 14, but with all these opinions flying around, I noticed that one was missing. There's one more side to Valentine's Day that everybody forgets about.

Why do we have to wait for a certain day to fall head over heels in love with someone? We should, in fact, be this love-happy all year round. Why is this? If you are a Christian, you know that we are loved all year round, 24/7, by a God who, once upon a time, fell head over heels for us. A God who loves us so much that he sent the person most dear to him down to earth to retrieve a people who didn't know him. That sounds like true love to me. So, if we are loved by such a great God at every moment, why shouldn't we share that love with other people just as much? We really don't have to wait for Valentine's Day to share the love; in fact we, as Christians, should spread so much love during the rest of the year that Valentine's Day is an afterthought.

So this Valentine's Day, whether you have someone to spend it with or not, let's all share God's love with someone else and make this day even better. And, on top of that, if you think about it, you don't have to be lonely on February 14 because you've always got a Valentine's Day date. God is with you all the time and wants to share the love.


Photo Credit: Challenging the zeitgeist

What Would You Do?

Disclaimer:

This is a redo of an earlier post on my blog, but the subject is such an important one that I felt it necessary to bring it forward again. 

What would you do if you saw Jesus?

What if you lived during the time that he was walking on earth and performing miracles? What would you do if you heard that there was a man traveling through Israel healing the sick and claiming to be the savior of all people?

Take a minute to think about that. I'm sure most of you said that you would go follow him and believe his teaching, like you do now in your Christian life. But wait; think once more.

Would you really be willing to give up everything you had to follow a man who half your neighbors disagreed with? If you lived at that time, would you be part of a very strict religious sect, the leaders of which disagreed with Jesus and called him a heretic? You would have a family that needed providing for and land and animals to look after; you would most likely be poor, and everyone who knew you would think you were crazy to follow the teaching of a rabbi. Does it seem so easy now to follow Jesus? Probably not. On top of all this, would you even recognize Jesus as the proclaimed savior, or would you, like many of the people of the day, just shrug him off?

I hope this is a sobering thought to you. Would you recognize Jesus if he was standing right in front of you now? Would you really be willing to give up "everything" for him even if others didn't? This thought has weighed on my own mind and made me want to know Christ more personally. I hope my little post does the same for you.

Think, "Would I know Jesus?"