21 March 2011

Easter Eggs and Holy Boldness

“The story of Easter is the story of God's
wonderful window of divine surprise.” - Carl Knudsen

Easter is one of those times for me that brings back such fun childhood memories. We have seven kids in our family and when we were growing up, we loved to color eggs. There was lots of laughter and creativity, and when we were finished we looked as colorful as our eggs. The result was baskets loaded full of eggs of every color of the rainbow. One of my favorite parts of the process was writing on an egg with a white crayon and then dipping the egg in coloring so the words would magically appear. I always let my eggs soak extra long so that the colors ended up being very bold, but some of my brothers and sisters preferred to make theirs pastel colors.  Thank God for individuality.... the results were so beautiful!

A few weeks ago I wrote about Lent being a time of preparation... not only for Easter but for the fulfillment of God’s promises. The first step in my Lenten journey began with some questions of “Self Reflection.” As I have been examining the changes that I have been working on this year, I praise God that I am not in the same place I started, but also thank Him for opening my eyes to the areas where I still need work.

The second step in my journey of preparation has been my “Prayer Life.”  Second Corinthians 13:5 tells us to “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.” What I know for sure is that God is faithful to hear my prayers. I also understand that the purpose of prayer should go beyond my own personal daily struggles.

As I was thinking back to our family baskets of Easter eggs, the words “Holy Boldness” came to mind. David Wilkerson, founder of World Challenge Inc., had this to say about Holy Boldness, “The more someone is with Jesus, the more that person becomes like Christ, in purity, holiness and love. In turn, his pure walk produces in him a great boldness for God.”

Just as I chose bold colors for my eggs, I am reminded that God is calling me to be bold like Jesus. Boldness doesn’t require an education or degree, but it relies on one’s ability to stand firm in their beliefs. Ephesians 3:12 says, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” This verse reassures me that I can go to Him in prayer, anytime...  how awesome, but if I say I am a Christian and I am secure in my identity in Christ, I need to remember that He hasn’t given me a spirit of fear, but one of power through my faith in Christ. So, these days I am using my Lenten devotions to draw me closer to God and also praying that He will help me step out in faith, to share the celebration of Resurrection with others. My prayer is that as I am fixing my eyes and thoughts on my Savior, I will be filled with a peace-ful spirit that is ready to choose Holy Boldness.

May your week be filled with blessings as we share Christ’s journey to the cross.
God’s Peace, Donna Weaver

Prayer: Lord, Teach me to walk with the confidence of Your Spirit's power.
Make me a humble servant that will speak out boldly as
the witness
You have called me to  be. Help me to recognize and resist
Satan's efforts
to obstruct me.  May You be glorified in all that I do.  Amen.

2 comments:

Maxine said...

THANKS FOR THIS REMINDER OF BOLDNESS!
I too think we need "checkups" and for me Emmaus weekends are just that!! Can't wait to see you then!

Donna Weaver said...

Maxine.... Looking forward the weekend too. Been working on Agape!

Always get filled up with the Holy Spirit and love sitting back and watching God do His thing!

See ya soon, Decolores!