Shepherd's Heart 3/21/25
On the first day of spring, we’re supposed to wake up to warmer weather, sunny skies, and first glimpses of greenery pushing up through the ground. But yesterday morning, I think we were all a bit shocked to find the ground blanketed in snow and gloomy clouds hanging low in the sky. This unwanted snow, in a time when we are longing for spring, reminds me that things do not always go as we expect.
We will experience days of shock, uncertainty, disappointment, loss, weakness, and the like. We have hard days, good days, and everything in-between. When we consider the life of Jesus, we know that He knew the cross was coming, yet everyone around him was devastated, scared, and didn’t understand what was happening. The Lenten season draws us closer to the cross, humbles us, and calls us to repentance. And it also promotes a message of hope that is not dependent on our circumstances, or things going how we expected or wanted, but rather, hope in the One who never fails, always loves, and is completely in control.
The Apostle Peter, one of those who was scared and confused when Jesus went to the cross, later wrote this to followers of Jesus.
1 Peter 1:3-6
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
We can see from that Peter went from fear to hope because of the cross. My prayer is that during this Lenten season, you are finding the time to pause, reflect, and draw nearer to Jesus. Have you brought to the cross your burdens, worries, and fears? Have you let go and surrendered control to the Lord? Friends, take time to be in awe of God’s grandness and power, to savor His love and kindness, and to turn your heart toward him, first and foremost. When we put our faith in God, hope rises up. Not the kind of hope we have to talk ourselves into, but the kind of hope that pours out from God onto His beloved children because Jesus went to the cross.
Blessings,
Pastor Pamela
We will experience days of shock, uncertainty, disappointment, loss, weakness, and the like. We have hard days, good days, and everything in-between. When we consider the life of Jesus, we know that He knew the cross was coming, yet everyone around him was devastated, scared, and didn’t understand what was happening. The Lenten season draws us closer to the cross, humbles us, and calls us to repentance. And it also promotes a message of hope that is not dependent on our circumstances, or things going how we expected or wanted, but rather, hope in the One who never fails, always loves, and is completely in control.
The Apostle Peter, one of those who was scared and confused when Jesus went to the cross, later wrote this to followers of Jesus.
1 Peter 1:3-6
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
We can see from that Peter went from fear to hope because of the cross. My prayer is that during this Lenten season, you are finding the time to pause, reflect, and draw nearer to Jesus. Have you brought to the cross your burdens, worries, and fears? Have you let go and surrendered control to the Lord? Friends, take time to be in awe of God’s grandness and power, to savor His love and kindness, and to turn your heart toward him, first and foremost. When we put our faith in God, hope rises up. Not the kind of hope we have to talk ourselves into, but the kind of hope that pours out from God onto His beloved children because Jesus went to the cross.
Blessings,
Pastor Pamela
Posted in Shepherds Heart