He Is Risen, Indeed

   Happy Easter to you! We celebrate Easter because God has taken care of all of life and given us a new lease on life. Who wouldn't want one of those?

   He Is Risen, Indeed! Now we have a fresh start, especially with our relationship to God. All the failing to pay attention, our starts and stops of believing, our hit or miss relationship to our Creator is forgiven, our barriers to faith and prayer, and our failure at living the God life, are all forgiven as Jesus was dying for us. We now have a new beginning, fresh as the spring air after the rain.The Resurrection demonstrates forgiveness for the broken relationship, and a promise that there is life after death. That life after death can solve a lot of worry enabling us to have the courage to live a life like we should.

   The best gift of all is the invitation to come near to God. We know that God is loving and welcoming, because the Resurrection lets us see God as God really is. Jesus said, he who has seen me, has seen God. So our spiritual life gets a real boost in authenticity. We have confidence that the picture of God is now pretty clear, making it much easier for us to relate to God. Our prayer life can improve, because we aren't just asking God for help when we need it, but can share both the joys and thanks as well as the cries and the needing help prayers.

   Let Easter be a time for a renewed faith participation. Get more involved in forming your Spirit. Prayer, Worship, Meditation, developing close relationships with others who are growing in their faith, connecting with God in Holy Communion, in service to others, in acts of charity and financial support of the church so it can tell more and more people about the fresh start that comes with Easter.

   People Need the Lord for a variety of reasons. The need can be almost anything that isn't what it could be. God has designed the Kingdom of God, the church, to be a place where people gather. The fellowship of other pilgrims is awesome. In that community of faith, there are going to be people who have struggled or suffered as you have, and can give you the help you need to recover. They will share their experiences and growth, so you won't have to repeat every mistake. They will share with you the joy of faithfulness, so you can get to that level of abundant life sooner rather than later. The blessings of traveling with others is that it's always safer and much more fun.

   So happy Easter! I pray that it will be a new step of faith and walk with God with the joy and blessings of forgiveness and support for that life with the Spirit of God helping you each step of the way.

Pastor Jeff