Thursday, April 2, 2015

Goodbye Winter...HELLO SPRING!


Hallelujah! It’s Resurrection week! Do you have a celebration in your spirit? Do you have joy in your heart? If you don’t, let me tell you something. God is amazing! He continues to work miracles and show His resurrection power over 2000 years after He raised Christ! This week, I have looked in the faces of people that could have been dead. I saw what doctors had given up on. But God is faithful and kind and He has a timeline that doctors have no say in! As I prepared for this word, I thought I was going to write about something completely different when I heard one question. How long has your winter been? My, my, my! Some of you have gotten so comfortable in your long johns and fleece that you refuse to see the springtime knocking at your door. Well, saints, it’s time to open the door and walk into your spring!

Winter is the coldest season of the year. According to Wikipedia, it is caused when the axis of the Earth in a certain hemisphere is oriented away from the sun. Hmmmmm…dare I say, that the coldest time of your life is when you are positioned away from the Son of God? Perhaps, your mind and your mouth has been saying that you trust Jesus but your spirit and your heart are not in agreement. It’s become so easy in the church to say words that sound good but that actions don’t back up. It’s become easy to speak life and believe death but today, God is calling you into spring. He is challenging you to pack up those heavy, burdensome winter clothes and put on light and airy attire. It’s time to walk into your spring!

You may be asking me why I would talk about winter during Resurrection week but this is exactly the right time. You see, when Jesus died on the cross, He took the power that a winter season can have on your life and defeated it. He rose again with the keys to death and the grave in His hands. He brought restoration, rebirth, and renewal with Him. If that doesn’t describe spring, I don’t know what does. It’s why I love this time of year so much! Whenever I think of what Jesus Christ did for me, I feel a fresh wind. I feel a fresh start. I feel the warmth of renewal.  The Song of Solomon is a beautiful book of love poems. In chapter 2, the young women says to the young man, “Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone.  The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.” (v. 11-12 NLT)Saints, that’s how the love of Christ feels after you have been through a long winter season in your life. When you encounter Him again after what seems like the quietest and bleakest period, there is a fresh wind and a new beginning.

As you go through these next few days, remember the amazing power of God. Remember what He did on the third day when He resurrected Christ. Remember that what man has decided is your end, God can make an opening! Remember that what winter has frozen over and killed, God can renew and restore. Winter is over and so are the burdens, the time lost, and the struggles. You are at the edge of your spring and it’s time to walk in it! It’s resurrection time! It’s spring time! Join me in celebrating what the Lord has done!

Amen…

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