He Is Alive!

During this Resurrection/Easter season, especially THIS Resurrection/Easter season, I am celebrating that Jesus Is Alive.

He is as alive today as He was when He rose from the grave.

Hallelujah for that!

Yesterday was the 4th Sunday of Lent.

Catholic churches throughout the world all heard the same messages during Mass. (Our daughter-in-law, who attended a Baptist church, heard the same message.) Was this same message shared at your service this week? God is so good!

This was the 1st reading:

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

14 In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

15 Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.

16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.

19 Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects.

20 Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.

21 All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.”

22 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing:

23 “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Next we heard the Responsorial Psalm: (Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6)

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

1 By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

3 For there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, And our despoilers urged us to be joyous: “Sing for us the songs of Zion!” R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

4 How could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten! R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

6 May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, If I place not Jerusalem ahead of my joy. R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

The 2nd reading held this message:

Ephesians 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters: 4 God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ – by grace you have been saved -,

6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,

7 that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;

9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.

10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

And, the final word was the Gospel of...

John 3:14-18

Jesus said to Nicodemus: 14 “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

It should not still astound me so, but it does, how God can continue to amaze me with His timing!

Not only was the Word my family heard the same between different states and different churches, my lovely granddaughter woke the morning before with the following VBS song (that she has not heard for nearly 2 years) pulling at her heart and mind...

John 14:1-4

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

This earthly world is ripe for Him to come in judgement again and take those who believe in Him home to the many rooms in His Father's House.

We have to be excited about this right?! I know I sure am glad that He is my personal Lord and Savior. We are blessed beyond measure that Jesus came for us and that He paid the ultimate price for our transgressions, a debt that we could NEVER hope to repay.

Now how many earthly souls will we get to take with us? Continue to pray for your family, for your friends, and for your neighbors, (now more than ever), that all may know Him, repent and turn toward God before it's too late!

I wish to leave you with this mighty song of resurrection and I pray you have a beautiful, blessed, and fruitful Monday! May the Lord speak to your heart, and may you have the discerning ear to hear him audibly!

-Bodie

LYRICS:

The moon and stars they wept

The morning sun was dead

The Savior of the world was fallen

His body on the cross

His blood poured out for us

The weight of every curse upon Him

One final breath He gave

As Heaven looked away

The Son of God was laid in darkness

A battle in the grave

The war on death was waged

The power of hell forever broken

The ground began to shake

The stone was rolled away

His perfect love could not be overcome

Now death where is your sting

Our resurrected King

Has rendered you defeated

Forever He is glorified

Forever He is lifted high

Forever He is risen

He is alive

He is alive

Hallelujah

The Lamb has overcome