Hallelujah! The Lord is risen!

Hallelujah! The Lord is risen.

The grave could not hold Him and He is in our hearts!

This means those who believe in Him have opened our hearts to Him when we "heard the knock." What a privilege it is to have heard the knock! I am referring to the scripture, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If any man [or woman] opens the door and answers, I will come in, (Revelations 3:20). 

From there on, we glorify God with how we lead our lives. What does that mean? Well, it does not mean we are perfect. We are growing into His perfection. We are on a very beautiful growth path. We hear His nudges and are learning to follow. Like I heard a nudge to call a friend last week to ask how she was doing. She cried and said, "How did you know I was having a hard time?" It was the Lord who knew while I, like all other believers, try to keep my ears open to that voice within. It is an exciting way to live.

It is hard to believe our lives "glorify God," but this prayer of Jesus, in John 17:10, helps us understand. He was praying for His disciples and said to His Heavenly Father, "All I have is Yours, and all You have is mine. And glory has come to me through them."

As followers of Jesus--more than any words we say--our lives tell the story. We no longer are all about serving ourselves. No, we have "sight and sound" coming within our hearts that find us doing what we can to also make life good (or better) for others who we encounter within our daily lives. We have no need to make it obvious. "It just happens." It is in our hearts to do the good to which God opens our awareness.

We may not be very well liked by some who are looking on and think, "These do-gooders are trying to make me look bad." They do not say this out loud, but it can be felt.

Jesus knew His teachings would make us different and He said, "I have given them your Word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world," (John 17:14). Some persecutions can come to believers who are following the guidance of God.

Jesus was hated so much by the religious leaders of that day that He was killed--hung on a cross between two thieves to die! Even people who think they know God, yet are following a regime of their own making verses following God's Word, can be majorly misled. And, why is God's Word so trustworthy for those who honor it as coming from the Divine Creator of all that exists?

There is not room here to say more on that, but a post titled “How can we trust the Bible to be true?”may answer questions you have. You can use this site’s search option to reach that post or the browser address: 

http://healingwithjoy.blogspot.com/2024/10/can-we-trust-bible-to-be-true.html

May we all be highly blessed as we celebrate the life of our Lord and how He came to live among us and to teach us how to live holy lives, then to die for us. (Not perfect mind you, just "holy." And we learn as we go.) 

How wonderful it is that the grave could not hold our Lord--and His shed blood is known to cover our sins as we receive Him as Lord, master of our souls, and savor following His will for our lives. The peace, comfort and joy that results carries us through the tribulations within the life we live here on Earth.