As I prayed about what to write this Easter, I felt a deep sense inside of me for God’s profound desire to have an intimate loving relationship with each of us on a continual basis, every moment of our day. The sense of His love and desire for us was so strong and unexplainable, yet so very real and tangible it was undeniable. Closest, I could compare to this feeling is how my heart almost explodes with love for my grandchildren. 

God is Sovereign. He holds Supreme power and authority. Yet He gave mankind free will to choose as they wish. It’s our choice to do what we want with our own life; it’s our choice to love and serve God or not. Psalms 139:16 tells us “You saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in Your book before I was one day old.” (ICB). Can you grasp that? Before we were an embryo in our mother’s womb, we were already created in the thoughts of God Almighty with our days planned and a specific purpose in mind; still He gives us a free will to choose whether or not to be who He’s created us to be and do what He’s created us to do. Part of His will for us is to have an intimate relationship with Him. Just like in the beginning with Adam, God wants to walk and talk with us daily. He knew Adam was going to mess up, just like He knows our mess ups ahead of time. So, before the foundations of the earth were laid, He devised a way to legally bring all those back to Himself that would come. Yes, I said legally. God is Supreme Judge, but satan is our accuser, our prosecuting attorney, very literally. God follows His own laws, otherwise He would be lawless, and His laws would be null and void. So, when mankind broke God’s laws, satan took his stance against us. But like a good defending attorney, God the Father, Son, and Spirit, found a legal way to win our case. Bet you didn’t realize you were a part of a Heavenly court case, did ya?!? Our Heavenly Father loved us so much He sent His Only Son, a part of God Himself, to pay for the consequences of our wrong choices to legally restore our relationship with Him (John 3:16). It breaks God’s heart when we refuse what He’s done for us through His love, yet in His grace, He still loves us. Nevertheless, love alone cannot negate our lawlessness. Some think that God should have never given us free will. But without free will, you don’t have love. Love is a choice. It’s a verb. It requires action. If there’s no action involved, it’s not love, it’s happenstance. Even the heavenly angels had a choice: and one third no longer dwell in heaven. As for those of us praying for friends and family members that have refused to accept God’s love, please take heart in this! The Father has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us in prayer and petition for others before His throne in His courts via our own Blood Covenant through Jesus. Jesus Christ Himself speaks to the Father in our defense (1 John 2:1-2) and is ever interceding for us and our loved ones (Romans 8:34). Don’t lose hope! Everyone has a free will, but our God can be very convincing and He’s hoping you’ll partner with Him to give Him legal right to pursue that loved one too! 

On with the court case… You know Jesus literally laid His life down for the Joy of a restored relationship with you and me… Just like the Pharisees, satan had nothing more than trumped up charges against Christ so he could not demand His life. Jesus chose to release His Spirit from His body so He could enter the gates of hell on our behalf after God allowed our sins to be laid on Him as a substitute for us. The price for sin had to be paid. Satan thought he had finally beaten God… But he forgot about Christ’s sinless life! On the day of Christ’s death, hell, and its minions were in for a whole lot more than they bargained for. Then, in victory, on the third day CHRIST AROSE!!!! All for us… 

The beat of God’s heart is our relationship with Him. His plans for your life weren’t just a casual whim or a bit of heartburn… He put deep thought into who you were going to be and loved every moment of it! YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO HIM!!! Did you know He’s even placed a song inside you? In the molecules of your very being are frequencies that sing their own unique song back to Him! He so longs to share life with you day by day… Even the little things in your life are important to Him! He’s not some mean ogre waiting to pounce on you for doing wrong (that actually is satan by the way). He’s a loving Father that wants to guide you through life to show you all the incredible things that He’s prepared for you. He wants to be there for you when this fallen world tries to bring you down. He longs to express His love for you in ways you can’t even begin to dream of without experiencing them! He’s just waiting for you to ask Him into your heart...  Give Him permission to take the lead and get ready for the ride of your life!!! (This world can’t hold a candle to what He’s got in store for you!!!)  

Much Love and Easter Blessings…  Papa Joe & Mama Donna