Mothers are truly a blessing.  And the way God created females with their gifts, tendencies, graces, etc. is remarkable.  We should never take for granted those who love us like mothers.  And I hope that all the mothers out there felt special yesterday.  And as I shared yesterday that God even has some feminine characteristics.  But that might be looking at this a bit backward.  Because it is some of the qualities of God and his image in which females are given those “feminine” qualities.  So I should not say that God has feminine qualities but females have God-like qualities.  So whether you have been created male of female, thank God for the qualities of Himself that he has put uniquely in you and your gender.

We are now in the month of May.  Things are starting to grow outside.  But my question this week is are you growing on the inside?  Are you a May Christian?

Hallelujah.  Jesus rose from the grave.  He rose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign.  Praise the Lord.  We have so much hope due to this fact.  Easter is the proof of Jesus’ divinity and points to our victory over death.  We no longer have to fear death.  Because death is not the end.  The same power that raised from the dead will change our mortal bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Phil 3:21).  So let us rejoice and worship this God who reconciles us to himself and follow the Savior who laid down is life for ours.

The passion week of Christ (the week before Easter) celebrates the events (and more) that I shared on Sunday.  Jesus went through a lot that week.  I hope you spend some time this week reading and remembering these stories that give us hope.

The story of the lyrics behind “It is Well with my Soul” is very sad.  H. G. Spafford lost a lot before penning these words and yet the story of this song does not end there.  Spafford went on to have three more children.  But sadly another of his sons died before age 5.  Philip Bliss who wrote the tune behind the words also met with tragedy.  While he and his wife was traveling by train to a D. L. Moody revival, their train tipped over while crossing a bridge and plunged 50 feet to a firey and twisted wreck.  Philip Bliss was able to escape the crumpled mess but going back to look for his wife found that she was trapped in the tangled medal.  Not wanting to leave his wife’s side, he burned alive holding on to her hand.  7 lives were loss in connection with this song.  Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Bliss, at the last minute, decided to leave their two young boys at home before boarding the doomed train.  Yet even in such tragedy, the message of hope in the song still rings true, “even so, it is well with my soul”.

The story of David and Goliath is fascinating in so many ways.  Of course the biggest is that even the smallest (insignificant) person can do great things for God when their heart is in tune with His.  The greatest description of David in the Bible (mentioned twice) is a “man after God’s heart”.  Oh that this description would apply to us.  Can we be people who seek after the heart of God?

Pi day.  If you do not know what that is, the number of pi (π) is 3.14 which is today’s date (March 14th).  So as we look at π, this is the number used to calculate the area of a circle.  How big is your circle?  Who do you related to or have influence over?  Who are the ones that God wants you to minister?  You do not need π to figure this out but maybe you can take some pie to someone who God has laid on your heart and spend some time with them this week.

Inspiration can come from all around us.  From a sunrise, to a kind word, to a card in the mail, to a movie, TV show or book.  Lately I have been re-reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  I also re-watched the movies as well.  But as I was doing so, I was watching out for those messages of hope (It has been on my mind with these sermons).  And there were many times of hopelessness in the book.  People did not want to go on in the struggle. They were not sure if they could accomplish the enormous task before them.  They thought about quitting or giving in. But because of that glimmer of hope that they had inside them, the pressed on and made it through.  Hope does not disappoint.  So press on and God will see you through.