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Tomorrow is Easter Sunday; a day that for thousands of years and billions of people around the world has been a beacon of joy, hope, and security. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are foundational for christians. Without them Christianity would be nothing more than a collection...
...of stories and moral teachings. There would be no salvation, no hope for the future, and no limitless, unconditional love. Christianity would simply be another way to try to be good in an attempt to possibly appease some untouchable deity in a blind shot at getting...
...something good after death or in the next life.
But Good Friday and Easter Sunday did happen, so everything is different. These events mark the climax of a narrative that started before the creation of the world. In the beginning, the God of boundless love and joy created...
But Good Friday and Easter Sunday did happen, so everything is different. These events mark the climax of a narrative that started before the creation of the world. In the beginning, the God of boundless love and joy created...
...humanity to share His creation and Himself with. Everything was good and perfect. There was no sadness, fear, stress, or pain. There was just a perfect world and perfect, loving community with God and each other. Because God’s love was boundless He did not force humanity...
...to love Him or live in the paradise He set up for them. God gave them the freedom to choose His garden or their own path. The choice was made and humanity separated itself from God by ignoring His guidance and going their own way. They turned their back on God and walked...
...their own path.
They defiled themselves by doing things that harmed themselves and others. They ignored, contradicted, and opposed the life they were made for. They were made for unconditional love; they replaced it with acceptance based on what you do. They were made for...
They defiled themselves by doing things that harmed themselves and others. They ignored, contradicted, and opposed the life they were made for. They were made for unconditional love; they replaced it with acceptance based on what you do. They were made for...
...community; they replaced it with self-centeredness and striving to be better than everyone else. They were made for security in God’s provision; they denied the provided provisions and fought to provide for themselves. They were made for perfection, boundless love, complete...
...provision, security, joy, support, community, peace; they chose brokenness, hatred, selfishness, fear, insecurity, stress, pain, sorrow, worry, loneliness, distrust, isolation, depression, hopelessness.
God could have left them there. They essentially threw the beautiful...
God could have left them there. They essentially threw the beautiful...
...gifts He had given them back at Him and said that it wasn’t good enough. Humanity discarded and trampled on the boundless love God had given them. He had opened Himself to them completely and they rejected Him.
But God never rejected them.
No matter how far they went from...
But God never rejected them.
No matter how far they went from...
...Him, how horribly they treated Him or each other, no matter how much time passed, no matter what, God continued to love them just as He did at the beginning. Humanity is God’s treasure; His beloved. From the beginning of the world to today to the end of eternity...
...God constantly pursues His beloved. All He wants is for His beloved to live in joy and peace in His care once again.
And so, the all-powerful God stripped Himself down and took on the form, struggles, and limitations of a human being. He (Jesus) lived among humanity as...
And so, the all-powerful God stripped Himself down and took on the form, struggles, and limitations of a human being. He (Jesus) lived among humanity as...
...one of them for 30-some years. He went through everything with them: the pain, the struggles, the highs, the lows, the successes, the failures, the joys, the fun, everything. The only difference is that He was in community with God like humanity had been at the beginning. ...
...Because of this, He lived a perfect life in step with God’s intention for humanity. He did no wrong, He loved and cared for everyone regardless of their social standing, He didn’t try to make a name for Himself or climb some societal or religious ladder, He taught everyone...
...how to live in community with God, He led the way back to the perfection that humanity had been made for and that they were all longing for even if they didn’t realize it themselves.
But just teaching the way to God wasn’t enough. There was a consequence, a price to pay, ...
But just teaching the way to God wasn’t enough. There was a consequence, a price to pay, ...
...that came with humanity choosing to deny God’s path. The price was death, eternal separation from the holy God. Separation is the last thing that God wants for His beloved. He loves humanity completely, unconditionally, and boundlessly, and He proved that love by dying in...
...their place.
This is the story of Good Friday. God, who had already confined Himself to a human life and body to live among humanity, voluntarily endured humiliation, abuse, mocking, beatings that tore his body to ribbons, hatred and betrayal by the people He loved, and...
This is the story of Good Friday. God, who had already confined Himself to a human life and body to live among humanity, voluntarily endured humiliation, abuse, mocking, beatings that tore his body to ribbons, hatred and betrayal by the people He loved, and...
...finally the most horrible, gruesome, and painful death of the time. He died in agony. He was God but He was also human; he felt everything just as a human would. He didn’t cut corners or miraculously shield himself from the pain. He could have, He’s God so He could have...
...done anything he wanted, but He chose to display His love in an extreme and vivid way that has been remembered for thousands of years through religious teachings and reflected in fictional stories of both religious and secular backgrounds.
The cross isn’t just a religious...
The cross isn’t just a religious...
...icon. It is a love letter. It is a proclamation to the ages and the ends of the earth that God loves you so much that He chose to suffer and die instead of be separated from you.
That is the God of christianity. He is a God who loves and desires you more than His own...
That is the God of christianity. He is a God who loves and desires you more than His own...
...comfort. He loves you completely and endlessly no matter what you do or think. He will never stop loving you. You can never do anything to change how He loves you. You do not need to earn His love because He has already given it to you completely and will never change it. ...
...The whole Bible displays God’s boundless, unchanging love and the cross proclaims it.
If Good Friday is a love letter, then Easter Sunday is a reunion hug. Jesus’s death is a fact of history. He died and was buried and lay dead in the tomb for three days. Then on the third...
If Good Friday is a love letter, then Easter Sunday is a reunion hug. Jesus’s death is a fact of history. He died and was buried and lay dead in the tomb for three days. Then on the third...
...day He returned, He came out of the tomb alive and well, though His body was scared from the crucifixion. The cross was His love letter, so after restoring His body He kept its marks on Him as a sign of His love and presence. His resurrection and the weeks following were...
...His proclamation that He had beaten death once and for all, that no one needed to be separated from Him any more. His weeks on Earth after His resurrection were also a time for Him to spend with His followers, a time to take away their grief, to encourage them and build...
...them up, a time to eat with them, and a time to welcome them into His work and the building up of His kingdom through telling others of His love.
Easter Sunday is a reminder that the perfect paradise that God intends for His beloved is open to everyone. It is a reminder...
Easter Sunday is a reminder that the perfect paradise that God intends for His beloved is open to everyone. It is a reminder...
...that God is alive, active, and in community with everyone who comes to Him. It is a reminder that although we are not in the perfect paradise right now because we are physically still confined to Earth, we are a part of God’s kingdom and are connected with His love, ...
...provision, peace, and joy.
Humans are eternal, spiritual beings. It doesn’t matter how religious or anti-religious you are, humans were created to live eternally with God. Being confined to mortal bodies when humanity chose to go their own way doesn’t change the fact that...
Humans are eternal, spiritual beings. It doesn’t matter how religious or anti-religious you are, humans were created to live eternally with God. Being confined to mortal bodies when humanity chose to go their own way doesn’t change the fact that...
...your soul is eternal. God is offering you a free pass to live eternally with Him in the perfect paradise He made for you. The alternative being an eternal death forever separated from His love and care. He also offers you a place in His kingdom not just in the future after...
...death but right here and right now. He wants you to spend every day of your life in His love. He wants to go through life with you. He wants to protect, provide, and care for you. He wants to spend time with you, to comfort you, and support you. He wants to teach you and...
...shape you and help you live the life you were designed to live, the life that will fill you with joy and meaning and feel more natural than any other path.
He doesn’t promise that all your wishes will be granted (though many will), or that life will always be easy, or...
He doesn’t promise that all your wishes will be granted (though many will), or that life will always be easy, or...
...that you will always live in comfort and prosperity, but He does promise to always be there for you and will always provide what you need. He offers security when the world feels like it is falling apart. He offers peace when everything is in turmoil. He offers love even...
...when you feel unlovable. He offers acceptance even when you can’t accept yourself. He offers companionship so that you are never alone. He offers guidance when you feel lost. He offers hope when you can’t see anything good on the horizon. He offers strength when you feel...
...like you can’t move forward. He offers protection when you feel like you are being crushed. He offers comfort when you are mourning. He offers joy that is more powerful than any circumstance you find yourself in. He offers Himself because He loves you so boundlessly.
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...He doesn’t ask you to change before coming to Him, He wants you to come to Him just as you are. He loves you. Full stop. He doesn’t “love you if... “ or “love you when…” He just loves you. No matter who you are, what you& #39;ve done, how you identify, He loves you.
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...I’ve been a christian basically my whole life. I have personal stories about how God has carried me through situations that could have emotionally destroyed me otherwise. I have felt His love in real and meaningful ways. I have learned about Him through both scholarly...
...routes and Him speaking to me in ways other than traditional study. He gives me the strength to move forward. I know I don’t need to worry because I trust that He will take care of me no matter what. Even when I struggle to see a way forward I have hope for the future...
...because I know that He will never leave me. I have joy and fulfilment because I am loved by the greatest lover ever. He will never leave me, never forsake me, never decide that He doesn’t like me or that I’m not good enough. He will always be right by my side no matter what...
...and will always pursue me no matter where I roam.
That is what being a christian means to me. Christianity isn’t a “religion” to me, it is living life in God’s kingdom with God right at my side supporting me, teaching me, and loving me. It gives my life meaning, ...
That is what being a christian means to me. Christianity isn’t a “religion” to me, it is living life in God’s kingdom with God right at my side supporting me, teaching me, and loving me. It gives my life meaning, ...
...significance, fulfillment, security, and love. That life is open to you as well. Just turn to God, reach out to Him, tell Him that you want to live life with Him and He will welcome you home with open, loving arms.
Easter is a great time to learn more about God, His love,...
Easter is a great time to learn more about God, His love,...
...and being in a relationship with Him because churches around the world will be celebrating His resurrection this weekend. If you are a christian, just became a christian, are thinking about becoming a christian, or couldn’t even care less about christianity or religion of...
...any sort I invite you to check out a church livestream tomorrow. See what church is like, hear more about the amazing God who loves you, get plugged into a christian community. It won’t take much time, no one even needs to know that you are watching, but something...
...beautiful, amazing, and life changing could happen and I don’t want you to miss out on that opportunity.
Particularly during this time in the world it is important to have a supportive community around you, so please reach out and connect regardless of your religious...
Particularly during this time in the world it is important to have a supportive community around you, so please reach out and connect regardless of your religious...
...beliefs. Christians are humans and we mess up and act wrongly at times, but I also know that there are countless people who would love to selflessly share the love of God with you and help or support you however they can. Reach out to your local church or a christian you ...
...can get into contact with; don’t be alone right now. Times are rough, but God is love and is waiting to support you and carry you through this time. 
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Here are links to 2 churches I am connected w/if you would like to check out church but don’t know where to start. @myIvyChurch is at 10:30 am (UK time) and Rolling Hills is at 9 & 11 am (pacific time).
https://ivychurch.org/
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https://ivychurch.org/
(You can follow this link to read this whole thread in one document instead of split across tweets: https://www.patreon.com/posts/easter-35886980)">https://www.patreon.com/posts/eas...
