2020 04 13 Coffee with Chris Reflections on Easter

The speaker discusses the importance of honoring and celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection beyond just Easter. They emphasize the need to focus on God and turn our thoughts towards Him rather than being consumed by our own emotions. The purpose of Easter is to remember that Jesus came, died, and rose again because of His love for us. The speaker encourages listeners to accept the gift of salvation and start a relationship with Jesus. They offer a prayer for those who want to make this commitment and provide contact information for further support. Well, good morning and welcome to Coffee with Chris. Today I want to talk about Easter. We've just come off of Easter Sunday, and here we are, and you know, I think it can be, we can be quick to forget that Jesus' death and resurrection is something that we should honor, celebrate, and live because of every day, and not just Easter. As we're going back to our socially distant lives or rather physically distant lives right now, it can be easy to be consumed with our own boredom and emotions and thoughts that come with that where, you know, those of us prone to overthinking may be prone to greater amounts of overthinking at the moment because of having so much time on our hands. And so I think with that opportunity to think, to reflect, to pray, that we should be putting our thoughts and our internal dialogue towards God rather than maybe other situations and our own emotional state all the time. You know, I find one of the biggest things that sinks me further into a negative emotional space is focusing on myself and my own emotions rather than focusing on something greater and more important. I'm not trying to say that emotions and ourselves are not important. It's important to be aware of our emotions. It's important to be aware, do that self-diagnostic, see where we're at, and take the necessary steps to make sure that that you're doing okay. But I think one of those big necessary steps is turning our eyes upon Jesus. You know, I love that old hymn, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. I love that the things of earth will grow strangely dim, and I've felt that before. Have you ever felt that where you're so fixated on something that everything else kind of just blurs out? It's like a camera when it goes in focus and everything in the background is just kind of blurred out, you know? That feeling of everything else being blurred out because you're focused on one thing. Let that one thing be the Lord. As I think of Easter, I think that it's easy to forget the purpose of it all, and it's easy to forget the purpose of our lives, honestly. And I think to remind ourselves that the purpose of Easter is that Jesus came, he died, and he rose again. And why did he do that, right? He came because he loved us. You know, John 3, 16, famous verse, God so loved the world that he sent his only son, right? He sent his son because he loves you and I. He didn't just love us, he loves us currently. You know, even when we do foolish things, things he wished we didn't do, he still loves us, and I thank God so much that he loves us. And the joy of it all is that he didn't stay dead, you know? In Christianity, a common symbol for Christianity is the cross, where Jesus died for our sins, where he paid for our sins. But equally as important should be the empty tomb, and Jesus ascending, because that's the truth of where we live today. He's not on the cross dying for your sins today. He is resurrected, interceding before the Father for us, as the Bible says. And he's gone and prepared a place for you and I, and all we need to do is accept that gracious free gift that he's given us. I just want to take the rest of my time today in this video to pray, and you're welcome to pray with me. For those who may be a little more fashion and traditional, I hope this doesn't offend you, I'm going to keep my hat on while I pray. I believe that the messiness of my hair right now would probably be more offensive to God than me wearing a hat. But we're just going to go on. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you love us, that you are with us, that you sent your Son to take the place of us, each and every one of us. We thank you that you see us, that you see our hearts, and yet you still love us. Thank you, Jesus, for what you did on that Easter over 2,000 years ago and what you continue to do in our hearts today through the process of sanctification. We thank you that you care for us, Lord, even as we're at home practicing physical distancing, you care for us. This situation is not beyond your grasp, and none of us here are beyond saving. No matter what we've done, Lord, I think of the Apostle Paul who committed so many atrocious crimes before he came to you, Lord, persecuting the church, and yet you turned things around in his life, and you showed him your love and used him to influence the church. We thank you that you showed him your love and used him to influence the world in a mighty way. We know that you can do that, and you do do that again and again. Lord, I just pray for each and every one out there that's listening to me right now, that if they would like you to be in their life and to start a relationship with you, that they pray along with me right now. Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned, that I've made mistakes, and that I need you in my life. I thank you for the gracious gift of salvation that was won for me by Jesus dying on the cross. I repent of my sins, and I ask you to live in my life and to teach me to live your ways. I pray that your Holy Spirit would fill me and indwell me and guide me in learning your truths, and I thank you, Lord, for the grace that you have given me. In Jesus' name, amen. If you've prayed that prayer today or something to that effect for the first time, I would love to hear about it. You can message Highway Christian Fellowship through Facebook, you can comment on this post, you can email me at chris, C-H-R-I-S, at hcfsydney.ca, and I would be happy to help you get started on your journey with Christ. It's an amazing journey that never ends. So welcome to the family, and God bless.