For as long as I can remember, Easter has been my favorite celebration.
I’m not sure if, as a young girl, it was the beauty of spring, blossoms on the trees, warmer weather, and landscapes colored like the Easter eggs in my basket, or the new dress and shoes my mom bought me every year that made me love this day so much. I also loved the gathering of family and my grandmom’s Italian Cream Cake and how full the pews were in our tiny Methodist Church.
I carried those traditions on with my own family including inviting everyone I could find who needed a home to enjoy Easter lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids in our back yard. I confess that I also stressed over the kids outfits, the one Sunday the boys had to wear dress up clothes–which they hated. The one Sunday I ironed for everyone in the house. There was some pride involved.
But despite how I loved new shoes as a kid or the pressures I placed on myself as an adult, this day has always held such joy and delight for me because this day, Jesus conquered death.
As the sun rose on that first Easter morning, the Son of God did too. The scene of Mary Magdalene meeting Him is still one of my favorites. I promise to write about that this week.
[bctt tweet=”Can we fully wrap our minds around such power, such love, such grace? #Resurrection” username=”wordsbyandylee”]
This week our reading is on who Jesus said He was– all of His “I AM” statements.
Conveniently, or ironically, or Godly (whichever adverb you choose to use) there are seven “I AM” statements in John’s gospel. I thought that very thoughtful of Him for our reading plan this week.
I hope you’ll join me. Ink these verses down in a journal. Write your thoughts. You will probably want to read more. . . these will make you hungry to read. The people were always amazed by the authority with which Jesus spoke. As I read these verses, I am too.
We will be unpacking these verses on my daily broadcast of the Bite of Bread on Facebook Live every morning at 8:20. I hope you can join us as we weave these verses into this Holy Week preparing our hearts for Resurrection Sunday.
Digging Deep to Live Fully,
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I love the I AM verses and have underlined them throughout my Bible. His authority frames my life and gives me peace. Yesterday He completely took over our morning service, turned the program upside down and stunned our congregation with a need to be silent in His presence for more than 10 minutes. What a beautiful experience…and now we are all looking ahead eagerly to what He has planned for us next. We’ve been praying for revival in our hearts and in our city. This silence seemed a sign that it has begun. Thanks for sharing these verses, and I’ve done the same. Bless you for writing, Andy!
Oh Cheryl, I wish I could’ve experienced what He did in your church yesterday! Excited for Plant City. Thanks so much for reading, commenting, and sharing. Blessings on you too!