God is In the House

Author:  Susan L. Prince

I woke up today with a great anticipation of the day. This day is one to celebrate! He is risen! YAY! I couldn't wait to get to church and be with my brothers and sisters and feel the love of God permeating every crevice of that place!

God is in my heart. He is there. I feel His Spirit stirring within me...but there is something about coming together with other believers that is so totally awe inspiring and, and...well, just fun. We are all together to worship Him! To worship Him with our love for one another, to worship Him with music and words that praise His wonderful deeds, to worship Him with movement whether in hands raised to the heavens or with dance or with closed eyes in reverence to the One who gave all. My heart was aglow from the moment I walked into the house this morning. It was a happy time. A celebration of life. Everlasting life!

Of course on Easter there are many visitors and the house was packed! It was so exciting to know that new faces were there to join in worship and also that some hearts were there by God's Will and yearning to hear His Word, and perhaps be touched by it in life-changing ways. I was so anxious, anxious in a good way, a God way, wondering what He might have to say to me today. He was loving, gentle, convicting at times. He didn't disappoint and I am thankful that He helped me have an open heart and mind. Most of all I prayed He would accept our sacrifice of worship because what Christians celebrate today is the most important basis of our faith!

The service started with four of our talented singers presenting an appropriate "He rolled the Stone Away" a cappella. They really glorified God in a great way by giving their gift of song back to Him! Finger-snapping and toe tapping, what a joyous way to bring us all together to celebrate the reason for life! It was so fun and smiles abounded throughout the church. More worship was offered up to God doing a rather up tempo and updated rock version of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" that had us all engaged in song that led us into Celebrate Jesus. The mood was festive. The Spirit of God I'm sure was enjoying our praises! I know I was enjoying sending them His Way! Woooohoooooo! Then things slowed down a bit as the powerpoint went up and we watched a video to Michael W. Smith's "Above All" which reminded us of the sacrifice God gave. It reminded us of the suffering of Christ and that He did it all, suffered and died, for us. After that we had a cellist lead us into "The Wonderous Cross". My heart was really touched by the lyrics of this song today...moreso than the other umpteen times I've heard it. Special day. Special day....wow. Has it ever just hit you all over again the magnitude of the resurrection? The resurrection! It's the resurrection that makes the Cross wonderous!

Chuck then stood to pray and share a bit about what God was teaching him through a book he was reading recently...a book written by someone who didn't believe in the resurrection. He had some interesting words to share and ended by telling us that he can't wait to find out what is in store for him after his earthly death. He will move from life to life with God. He said he "Can Only Imagine" what it will be like. Which I am sure you know what's coming next...well...at least partly. As we listened to Mercy Me we watched our children sign and dance. (Yes, that is sign as in sign!....not sing!) One little girl, I think she is about 5 or 6 was darling as she emphasized every little movement with dramatic flair. She was so cute as she mouthed the words and moved in rhythm. It blessed my soul! As the song worked into the chorus 4 more dancers entered the stage in light, solid, pastel-colored, flowing dresses. Their movements were so graceful and were beautiful against the contrast of the younger kids, dress in plain dark and white, who were doing the signing. It almost was as if the audience moved from the black and white of this world, into the colors that await us in heaven. I can not possibly put into words what was so amazing about the experience today, but it left much of the congregation in tears. Women were fighting their husbands for their handkerchiefs! LOL It was glorious! It was for the Lord and He deserves every bit of the glory! I have tears remembering it all today! Wow!

Paul gave the message today. It was a good one. The theme was on bridges and how God, through the Cross, bridged the gap between man who is sinful, to God who is Holy. The Cross, He said, "was the Ultimate Bridge". He presented the gospel very clearly and I was praying for those who needed to be touched by God's Word that they were open to accepting God's Invitation. On the stage a couple of our members had built a bridge to aid visually in the presentation. The bridge was there throughout the service today and after the message, during the last song, members, Christians, and anyone wishing to "cross-over" the bridge to a better relationship with God were invited to cross. A few took the steps across that bridge today and the whole experience was just awesome. I love that church. I love God.

It just dawned on me that God sent His son to bear the Cross, which is The bridge we can cross!

To top all that off God blessed again! He has blessed us with such a wonderful church family and today Katie, the kids, and I were invited to share an Easter dinner with Carol. When we got there we saw that Gwen was there too! Wooohooooo! We shared a meal together and had some time to fellowship. I love these people!!! I love it! Sponteanous Easter dinner! Isn't that great! I am so blessed!

This was a day that was blessed because I gave it to God. God gave it back to me. He said "this is the day that the Lord has made...rejoice and be glad in it." He gave me today. He gave me yesterday. He gave me Jesus...The Today, Yesterday, and my Tomorrow. How can I do anything but rejoice?!