Preparing Your Heart for EasterEsimerkki

Preparing Your Heart for Easter

Dear Sister,

Welcome to the Lenten season! We at Help Club for Moms feel so honored that you would join us for this devotional plan. Our prayer for the next three weeks is that you will feel closer to Jesus as you turn your gaze upon Him. As we look ahead to Resurrection Sunday, we will reflect on Christ’s great sacrifice for us.

When I ponder the power of the resurrection in my own life, the verse that keeps coming to mind is Philippians 3:10-11, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead.” To that, I agree wholeheartedly! I want to experience miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

However, the passage then goes on to say, "I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” To be honest, I struggle with that. I want to experience His power, but I’d rather not share in His suffering and death. As I write this letter, my life is pretty comfortable, and I like it that way. But the truth is that when we choose to follow Christ, we must choose to follow Him through the good and the bad times.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We must be prepared to follow Jesus even if it means losing or leaving everything. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25). It is in surrendering, in laying down our lives, that we come to experience the abundant life found in Christ. This abundant life does not mean a comfortable life but rather an extraordinary life filled with the power of God! Our goal is to live a life on this earth worthy of the calling we have received.

I encourage you to press into the Lord and seek Him with all your heart! Ask Him to fill you with His power so that you can experience all that He has for you! Don’t be afraid of suffering for His sake. The Lord, our God, promises He will always be with us.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

With love in Christ,

Jennifer Valdois & the Help Club for Moms Team