SUE O'DONNELL. 17.04.21
“ ‘You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” (John 8 v 23, 24 NLT)
But we can overcome this fear and anxiety in Christ Jesus.
Easter is a time of profound, newly found blessing,
Addressing all who believe Christ Jesus is our Saviour.
Forgiveness is the call to die to self entirely,
To turn to live in our Saviour Brother completely.
The Holy Spirit is the wisdom inviting us to see
How death to self leads to life in Jesus’ promised fullness.
“The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19 v 7 NLT)
In giving we receive, in loving we are loved,
In understanding we are understood, in pardoning we are pardoned,
In blessing we are blessed when possessed by Christ Jesus.
For it is in dying to self entirely, every worldly ideal,
Pursuit, aim, goal, principle, practice and philosophy
In this dying, we are born to eternal life.
“Grant us, O Lord, perseverance in obeying Your will.” (An Entrance Antiphon offered at Mass during the Lenten season.)
“The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.” (Psalm 19 v 8 NLT)
Dearest Father, it is so hard for us to die to our self-centred desires, drives and passions which thrive all too easily and readily, resistant to change.
But when we pray, inviting the Lord Jesus to be King over us, asking for a share in the Holy Spirit of wisdom, then life changes, thankfully.
We become recipients of great grace in Your favour, Your forgiveness. May the Holy Spirit generate our God given life.
Thank You for the gift of faith in Christ Jesus, that which is our life’s turning point, making a new life possible, one of a holiness shared with the Lord Jesus.
“Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before Him singing with joy,” (Psalm 100 v 1, 2 NLT) for we have every reason in our salvation.
“Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, we are His, we are His people, the sheep of His pasture,” (v 3) the Lord Jesus, the Shepherd.
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name,” (v 4) as Deliverer, Saviour and Sanctifier.
“For the LORD is good, His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation,” (v 5) and we expect great things in our salvation, never being disappointed.
“Reverence for You LORD is pure, lasting forever” (based on v 9) as we take every fret, worry, care, concern into prayer wanting to pour oil on troubled waters.
We seek through our Saviour’s †, to live a better, brighter, holier future as “Your laws LORD are true, each
one is fair”, (based on v 9) protecting and safeguarding us.
Yet still we can stumble and fall all too easily. “How can I know all the sin’s lurking in my heart?” (v 12) Only by calling on the purifying wisdom of the Holy Spirit, revealing this truth to me.
The Holy Spirit is such a wonderful Helper when we go wrong, however we err. Thank You Father God, for this continuous mercy which allows us, standing before Christ’s †, to say “Cleanse me from these hidden faults.” (v 12 cont)
O Lord, merciful One, “Keep Your servant from deliberate sins,” (v 13) mistakes, carelessness, errors of judgment, waywardness, disloyalty, impurity and satan’s deceitful tactics.
“Don’t let them control me.” (Psalm 19 v 13) I look to the †of merciful forgiveness as won for us by Christ Jesus. “Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.” (cont.)
Thank You for this Easter Season. I rejoice to begin again. May all that I desire, design, decide, say and do “…be pleasing to You, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (v 14)
Your loving mercy is the answer to all of my difficulties in the daily spiritual battle with satan, the warrior, the destroyer. I claim my new life is in Christ Jesus, resurrected beyond the †.
My Saviour Brother is my new opportunity to claim decisively He is the source and His Holy Spirit the sustenance of our daily journey in faith, travelling slowly but steadily home to You, Eternal Father.
This is according to Your loving plan, but we do need the Spirit’s help to be alert and attentive to avoid temptation without failing. We must, must, must stay connected with our Saviour Brother.
How lost we are without the Lord Jesus at the helm of our life. May the Holy Spirit help us to understand that our Saviour needs complete control over us to help us survive satanic attacks. May He help us in this by praying.
Lord, we long to experience Your grace and holy love’s power, once we have met the Lord Jesus personally. I ask that in this blessed and holy search, this opportunity presents itself to none believers.
But I guess that for this to happen they must pray, and to pray they need the gift of the Holy Spirit of faith. Please send the Advocate, the Paraclete anew through the risen and glorified Lord Jesus.
As we pray, it is Your power of holy love active and effective which, all thanks, praise and glory eternally be, makes quite literally all the difference in the world.
You are an almighty Trinity who in love’s unity, power, performance, deliverance “Dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred,
fosters concord and brings down the mighty.” (Exultet offered by the Catholic Church)
If we but all ascribed to this, what a better, brighter, holier place our world could be, would be, all thanks to the mercy of Your love, which saves us from sin, condemnation and a final, eternal separation.
When the Lord Jesus tells us that anyone who loses their life for His sake will save it, He is talking about our pre-occupying with self, our wishes, our wants, our needs, our rights as we see them.
But holy Father, You call us to die to this, forgiving of all such selfishness, inviting us to rise to the new life the Christ of the † offers us, by means of the Advocate, another holy Helper.
Yes, truly, fully we are blessed to be an Easter people, really alive in the Light of the Lord Jesus living and dying for us. He is our Saviour, Redeemer, Healer and Mentor. Thank You so much!
We can pray to Him, with Him and through Him, asking Him to deal with all the confusion and chaos sin causes, the disaster, dismay, distress, disillusionment, hopelessness.
Thank You that as an Easter people, we belong body, soul and spirit to the King of Glory, the brightest light
of His love cutting across the darkness of all sin.
A bright new day is dawning in the Lord Jesus’ uncompromising demand that we live by His truth, the whole truth and nothing but this truth, which invites us to see holy love mercifully at work in our saving from sin.
It is Your Son, by Your Spirit, who Father of love and mercy, enable us to see, understand and adhere to Your will as vital, essential, life giving to our happiness, enabling us to live in heartfelt peace with You because we are forgiven.
Forgiven, may we forgive to let many others know of this holy power, such a loving, new life giving power, a blessed opportunity found by faith in Christ Jesus.
No longer must we be deaf nor blind to the truth about our fallen nature, for we are redeemed. This does not mean we will no longer come under enemy attack. No, in fact satan is all the more likely to come against us with fresh vengeance.
This can be alarming, but should not in any form way lay or disrupt us. We have all the armoury necessary to fight the spiritual battle, proclaiming the gospel of life and peace experienced in Christ Jesus.
He is our profound blessing in any way we desire this, pray, ask and work for it. We fight the good fight of faith and with Jesus and the Holy Spirit empowering us, we win.
Yes, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us and calls us to be His own, a people united to share in Christ Jesus’ wisdom, truth, enlightenment, teaching, example, preaching, all blessing our faith’s growth and outreach.
Let us then teach as we have been taught, overcoming all that is evil by the all loving, ever merciful, bountiful and life building power of holy love. Let our Lord and Master ever hold the world in His hands, because He gave His life for this very purpose, the holiness we share. What a profound blessing! Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
EASTER
Key Themes
LIFE
EASTER
