Easter - Christ's Atonement

   In church choir (which is my favorite part of the week) we are singing this song by John V. Pearson. It is my favorite song, which as many of you know, I don’t really pick favorite songs.

Behold the wounds in Jesus' hands,

The Marks upon His side.
Then ponder who He meant to save
When on the cross He died.
We cannot see the love of God
Which saves us from the fall,
Yet know that Christ from wood and nails
Built mansions for us all.

            Christ came to save me. He came to save you. He came and, out of love, atoned for our sins. My heart overflows with gratitude for what he has done for me. I particularly like the line,     “Yet know that Christ with wood and nails, built mansions for us all.”

~

Behold the outstretched hands of Christ,
Our God, who came to save,
Whose love and grace redeems our souls
And lifts us from the grave.
Though bruised and battered as we stray
His loving hands caress,
He washes and anoints with oil
Then in His arms we rest.

I think of the day when Jesus rose from the dead, and when he went to meet Mary by the tomb. Think about the joy she must have felt to see her Savior living. She must have been overjoyed. I don’t know how she could resist embracing him. I think she must have sat there for a while in tears of happiness, before she went to tell the apostles about his resurrection. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to stand after such an experience.

~

Behold the wounds in Jesus' hands,

Look to your Lord and live
He yearns to bless you with His love
And all your sins forgive.
Oh empty is the heart of man
When it is filled with sin.
Come open wide your broken heart
And let your Savior in!

   Remember that picture with Jesus knocking at the door without a door knob? And that the message is that we need to open the door for the Savior, because he can’t do it himself? Recently, I have been more diligent in scripture reading and prayer. I cannot explain how much this changes my life. Just taking 20 extra minutes out of my day raised my grades, enthusiasm, and joy. The moral? Let your savior into your life. He wants, so badly, to help you. To lift you up. You just need to take the initiative, and open the door.

 ~

Behold His wounded hands and feet!
Come touch and see and feel
The wounds and marks that you may know
His love for you is real.
Then as you fall to worship Him
And wash His feet in tears,
Your Savior takes you in His arms
And quiets all your fears.
Your Savior takes you in His arms

And quiets all your fears.

    Close your eyes and imagine for a moment. Imagine the day when Christ comes again and he lovingly embraces you. Can you imagine the joy that will come when every sorrow, fear, hardship, and care of the world is dissipated? When we were singing this song during choir, I really felt the spirit. I could clearly see my Savior, arms extended to me. I could see myself held in his embrace, and could feel his sweet, infinite love for me.

   I don't cry easily, but when this last line struck me, the tears began to flow. Isn't it wonderful? All the pain, suffering, and agony that Christ went through was because of his extraordinary love for us.  Through the atonement, Jesus Christ made it possible for us to live again, obtain eternal life, and live with our families through eternity. This last part in particular resonates within my soul. Christ built the passageway for me to live with my mother. For me to see her beautiful face, and to hold her in my arms once again.

   I will allow this hymn to sum up my thoughts on Easter, as it does a much better job than I.

~

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me 

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified 

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died

~ 

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine

That he should extend his great love unto such as I 

Sufficient to own, to redeem and to justify

~

I think of his hands, pierced and bleeding to pay my debt

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet
~ 

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me 

Secure in the promise of life in his victory 

Thus ransomed from death I will live to my Savior's praise

And sing of his goodness and mercy through endless days

 ~

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me

 Oh, it is wonderful 

Wonderful to me!

Life

"Life. Life is like a magazine. It costs ONE dollar, but I only have fifty cents."

Well, for those of you who know me (which I'm hoping anyone reading my blog does), you will know that I'm not a very outgoing person. I have never really fit in with any one class of people. It seems that I am not able to associate myself completely with any one group. This became evident to me in my freshmen year when all the "popular" or "cool" kids would sit on the left side of the choir risers at lunch and the "not-so-popular" kids would sit on the right side. My comfortable position was smack dab in the middle. I wanted to hang out with the people sitting on the left, but I simply wasn't cool enough. I would, therefore, navigate to the other side of the room to the "not-so-cool" area. Well, I didn't really find myself interested in anything they had to talk about, so my spot remained in the middle.

   I was rather new to the school district, and didn't have many friends anyways. The problem was that everyone had their groups of friends already. I might chat with a class mate, but I was never invited to sit with anyone at lunch. My freshman year of high school was pretty bad. Choir was not fun at all. I felt as if nobody liked me (they were probably all annoyed with my piano playing), and I would sit in the back, miserable,  contemplating the ways I could get out of the class.

   I think the only group of friends that I could classify as a group was during Mr. Millers 6th period English. Frankie, Tum, Mouse, and Andre were quick to accept me into their group, even If I sang a little to much (They probably heard "carol of the bells" about a thousand times). That class was one of the best parts of my life. They made me feel welcome. As if I were a part of something. Frankie and Tum were band geeks themselves, which was something I could relate to. We had many a discussion about music, and battles about knowledge of music theory (Unfortunately, AP music theory is no longer taught at PHHS. I was really looking forward to that).

    Well the next year Bels was the best class ever. We laughed, cried, and made it through life, together, as a family. Unfortunately, that same year we had moved in with our relatives (not a good idea) and my grades plunged (I was also taking two AP classes). Those people with all As drove me nuts. How was this fair in any way? Why was I the stupid one? What I came to realize is that God gave us different gifts. Mine is not in intelligence, but I in music.

   I have also learned to appreciate the fact that I don't belong in a social class, because I can hang with anyone I want to, and I hear all the gossip and the what not, and I just get to sit back and laugh at life. At the hillariousness that High School is. (Who knew "hilariousness" was a word?)