Two years! It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I’ve had Peace, Love, and Grandbabies for two years! I’ve been blessed writing stories and sharing them with you all and I can’t wait to see where God keeps leading us!
In case you weren’t aware, my latest devotional book came out last Friday and is available on amazon.com. For so many years, I worked full time in the corporate world and part time in ministry. I was always balancing my time and energy to make sure I could succeed in both areas, not to mention raising a family and managing a chronic illness. Never in a million years would I have thought I could leave the world of corporations and endless meetings behind, at least not until I was well into my golden years! Even more astonishing to me is the reality that I would be writing full time and sharing my love for the adventure of life and Jesus to so many! God is sooo good!
I thought I would share the introduction of my latest book with you today. Part of the story may sound familiar – I wrote it last Easter – but I felt it was a perfect place to start the next 40 days of conversations about the Hope that can be found only in a close, one-on-one relationship with Jesus.
If you read my first book or have read the stories on my website, you know a bit about me and the way my brain works. If this is your first visit with me, let me share a few things.
First, I am not a Bible scholar. I’ve read my bible from cover to cover so many times I’ve lost count and have studied its contents for years. I believe that God has given me a gift for seeing lessons in the stories and teachings held within its holy pages and that’s what I share with you.
I’m not a Nobel Laureate either. I don’t pontificate or delve into deep, psychological issues. My writings will never hit anyone’s best seller list! (which has never been the goal, by the way!)
I am a story teller. My stories are short, personal thoughts. My desire is that each day’s reading will feel like more of a conversation between two old friends. I hope that, as you read, you find yourself asking questions, or adding your own wisdom to the words on these pages.
My goal for all of us – life-time Christians, new believers and those still testing the waters of God’s amazing truths – is simple: Know Jesus. Come be introduced to His love and care. Be reminded of how He can take simple things, like stories, to bring to life the truths He wants us all to understand and live by.
My life changed when Jesus became the sole source of hope and love to me. Knowing Him keeps me grounded in what is really important. Loving Him shows me how to love others. And following Him is the biggest and best adventure I could ever have imagined!
So here we are. Let’s start with the most basic thing, Jesus, because everything always comes back to Him. From the stories throughout the Old Testament that point toward Him, His life on earth and the very words He spoke while here, to the grand finale of life, His coming back to take us home to be with Him forever, everything points to Jesus! His life changed EVERYTHING!
But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.
The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”
– Luke 24:1-7 (NLT)
All it took was three days. Three days to change the entire course of mankind. Three days that Satan thought he had won. But God knew better. He took those three days and made them the cornerstone of salvation. It wasn’t enough that Jesus died on the cross; that was only part of the plan. It took His resurrection on the third day for sin to be conquered and Satan to realize he had lost.
And those three days make all the difference in where we spend eternity. What will you do with this risen Savior?
It’s a big question. A question that we will look at and talk about during the next 40 days together. I’m so thankful you’ve decided to join me, once again, as we talk about a Savior who loves us so fully and completely that there is nothing He wouldn’t do to show us His love. He will move heaven and hell to make a way for us to be with Him forever. And that’s exactly what He did. And it only took three days!
Love and blessings to you!
Deanna
