When we choose freedom and victory

It’s Easter season in south Louisiana and that means crawfish boils, fish fries and feasts, Easter dresses, and egg hunts with baskets and bunnies, family and friends, laughter and love. For believers there will be worship at the cross on Good Friday as we reflect on the sacrifice of the Savior and glorious music on Easter Sunday morning as we gather in overflowing churches  to hear the Word and celebrate our risen Savior.
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I love everything about Easter; the music, the message, the hope, the beauty, the victory. Yet so often, it seems after we've had our Sunday services and eaten our Easter feasts we go back to living our lives as usual. 

I'm praying that this Easter season will make a significant difference in my life and yours.


We could purpose to live differently this year.
To live in the power and hope of the Resurrected Life.
Our Savior died on the cross for our sin, but He ROSE from the dead. 
The tomb is EMPTY!! 
We don't have to live in defeat. The victory is won! 

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

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This Easter Sunday I’ll be singing with the chorale one of my favorites, “The Lamb Has Overcome”. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and bring glory to God, the Father. His death made a way for us to have freedom and victory in this life.
 
But we must choose to live in the power and hope of the resurrected life. So often we live as though the battle has not been won.

What would it look like for you to live in freedom today?

Is there sin or guilt that has imprisoned your life?

Sometimes, in my own life, I have to ask the Lord to show me. Sin patterns can become such habits in our lives that we no longer see them as sin and don't recognize how they are affecting our lives and relationships.

It could be bitterness. Maybe you just can't let it go. 
Maybe it's the poison of unforgiveness.

We could choose today to walk in freedom and experience the victory for which Jesus died and rose to provide.
As a believer our sins have been forgiven by the Savior. 
Embrace the life He offers you. 

Choose to walk in forgiveness.

You may be struggling with unfulfilled dreams, anxiety, failure, betrayal, unmet needs and expectations,
the pain of your life and circumstances….

What is keeping you from living the life God intended when He sacrificed His one and only beloved Son for you?
Choose His life in you.
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It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
​ by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1​

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Consider what Jesus brought to the cross -

 "With scarred hands he offered forgiveness. Through torn skin he promised acceptance. He took the path to take us home. He wore our garment to give us His own." Max Lucado

The cross -
We can study it, analyze it, pray to it, sing about it. But until we choose to respond to it, embrace it and all it stands for, we will never live in the freedom that God intended.

We have to choose to leave something at the cross.

What is the thing, the sin, the guilt, the death, the  ____________ that is keeping you from walking
in the freedom and power of the resurrected life? 

“We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part,
and men will take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Leave it at the cross, because we can't live in victory as long as we keep holding on to the things
that are holding our hearts and minds captive.

Choose freedom. 
It's the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ! 

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This week I’ll be taking some time to linger at the cross and the empty tomb of my resurrected Savior.
Will you join me?

Ponder the sacrifice made for your sins...Jesus shed His blood for your sin.
      Let His grace and love wash over you. ​

Reflect on the power of the cross...Linger there in your heart and mind.
      Let the magnitude of His sacrifice hold you and draw you into the depths of His love. 

Accept the gift of the resurrected life you have been offered...The price has been paid. 
   Surrender to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit within you. 
    Jesus Christ broke the power of death to rule over you...
          over your past, your present circumstances, and your fears.
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And then choose.
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Choose to live differently, to let Christ set you free from the bondage of sin
and all that is hindering you from living in the fullness of life with Jesus.
His mercy reigns and streams of grace and love flow from the heart of the Father.
Because Jesus chose to give His life for you, you can come boldly
before the throne of God in the power of His Holy name.
Jesus, the Lamb of God has overcome the power of sin and death.

Prayer
Father, I praise you as the Resurrected Lord of my life!
I worship You and choose to stand in the power of Your life within me. 
Thank you for the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins.
 Thank you for Your triumph over death and the grave. 
 I praise You as the Risen Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
Father, help me live my life in surrender to Your authority and the power of Your Holy Spirit within me.
Thank you that I am no longer captive to fear, doubt, anxiety, discouragement, my past or present circumstances.
​ Thank You for the hope of living a life of victory and freedom through the life of Your risen Son.
I want my life to count as a display of Your splendor and greatness. 
Teach me what it means to live my life as a reflection of Your character and glory in this desperate world. 
By Your grace, Father help me live the resurrected life.
May the greatest passion of my heart be Jesus.
May my life always proclaim the glorious name of my risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
 The name that is above every name,
​Amen

This Easter season, may Jesus stir our faith and help us to find our hope and rest in Him, 
for our lives are unshakable when we entrust them into His hands.
He is the Holy, Resurrected, Ascended, King of Kings!    
May you experience the miraculous love and power of the Resurrected Life of Jesus in the days ahead!
​Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Celebrating the freedom and victory found in my risen Lord and Savior,
Kathy

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Next Women's Retreat is 
September 30, 2017  
Solomon Episcopal Conference Center

​Make plans to join us! Mark your calendars now! ​
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