Blog by Sandy Hopkins
Easter 2018 marks my 32nd year as a Christian! I ponder whether Easter means as much to me in 2018 as it did the very first year my eyes were opened to the reality and wonder of Jesus.
I also ponder gosh Lord – shouldn’t I be a lot wiser than I feel some days?! On good days I can be tricked into thinking I’ve learned so much and am doing so good – then I remember my humanity and how recently it was that I messed up. Life can be filled with highs and lows and they don’t always come in an even order so as to help us stay balanced. It’s good to be reflective and take account for your life – it’s not just something us over 50’s should do, I think it can benefit us all. Personally, I take time to reflect because…
1. I want to make sure I’m doing things that help people and make a difference in others lives. My conviction is that life is about God and people and I’m about helping connect people with God and helping people smile at the future (Proverbs 31:25 AMP).
2. I want to know that I am still growing as a Christian and loving Jesus more than I did yesterday or last year. I choose for Jesus and my relationship with Him to be the centerpiece of my life from which everything else flows and if I don’t prioritize that relationship other things by default will take priority.
3. I choose to celebrate the wins & milestones because it’s important and a value that helps build family, plus doing that makes great memories.
I find Easter is a good time to take stock of the important things in life. If you don’t take the time to assess your life and make changes based on your priorities, you may just find yourself having more regrets than fond memories. It’s never too late to recalibrate our sails!
Here’s what I am pondering in the scriptures at the moment – in fact the awesomeness of God as expressed in The Passion Translation is blowing my mind and giving my Bible reading a new lease of life…
Psalms 8:1-9 The Passion Translation
“Lord, your name is so great and powerful! People everywhere see your splendor. Your glorious majesty streams from the heavens, filling the earth with the fame of your name! You have built a stronghold by the songs of babies. Strength rises up with the chorus of singing children. This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth. Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you. Look at the splendor of your skies, your creative genius glowing in the heavens. When I gaze at your moon and your stars, mounted like jewels in their settings, I know you are the fascinating artist who fashioned it all! But when I look up and see such wonder and workmanship above, I have to ask you this question: Compared to all this cosmic glory, why would you bother with puny, mortal man or be infatuated with Adam’s sons? Yet what honor you have given to men, created only a little lower than Elohim, crowned like kings and queens with glory and magnificence. You have delegated to them mastery over all you have made, making everything subservient to their authority, placing earth itself under the feet of your image-bearers. All the created order and every living thing of the earth, sky, and sea— the wildest beasts and all the sea creatures— everything is in submission to Adam’s sons.
Lord, your name is so great and powerful. People everywhere see your majesty! What glory streams from the heavens, filling the earth with the fame of your name!”
What’s God speaking to you about from your Bible? Allow Him to be the “fascinating artist” from Psalm 8 who can amaze you once again by the effort He went to to get your attention that Easter 2,018 years ago.
Romans 5:8 The Passion Translation
“But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!”
SELAH