AFTER EASTER
What happens after Easter is over? For many the Easter weekend represents an opportunity to re-write your story. There were pages, paragraphs, sentences we would love to edit out of our story. Mistakes that brought shame, guilt and even physical pain are among the things we would like to edit out. Opportunities we missed, moments of disobedience to God. We need a fresh start.
After the recent Easter weekend at Grace Place many made or renewed their commitment to Christ. For you who did, the pages are now blank. You can now rewrite your story as you follow Jesus. Each step can be an adventure as we seek to obey and follow our Leader Jesus.
Here are five things you should do after Easter to make the very best of what happened in your life this weekend:
1. DON’T LOOK BACK… Whatever happened in the past does not control your future. Your Faith struggles of the last months are behind you so, do not allow them to revisit. You are forgiven!
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (I Jn. 1:9 NLT)
2. MAKE NEW HABITS… You know the saying: “The definition of insanity is: doing the same things and expecting different results”. Things need to change in your life or you will be even more frustrated and disappointed next Easter. Here are three things that must change:
-You need to make time to talk with God. The Bible calls this “prayer”. Do not make it a ritual or beat yourself up if a day a week or a month passes and you have not prayed as much as you expected too. What I have learned is this time with God needs to be flexible, as your schedule will change more often than you realize. Just make a commitment to find room in every week to talk with God, read your Bible and sing your favorite worship song. Just do it!
-You need to connect at church. We are called to BE the church to each other and our world. Jesus is the head of the church and we are his body. You need your church family and they need you. If you have not been attending faithfully you are missing out on wonderful opportunities to grow in Christ and to connect with the family for personal enrichment through fellowship. Consider not only attending regularly on weekends but join small group it will help accelerate your spiritual growth. Plus you will have a blast. You are welcome.
At the Grace Place we have two service options: Sat. 6p or Sun. 10:30a
-You need to Serve others. Whither you know it or not you were wired by God to serve others. Your greatest fulfillment in life comes when you are helping people around you. Going to church is good but it does not take the place of serving. You can serve at church, in the community, at work, school just about anywhere you happen to be during the week. Recently I walked through the parking lot of a café on my way to lunch. I noticed several pieces of trash in the parking lot left by previous guests, so I picked them up and put them in the trash. The owner happened to see me do this and went out of his way to thank me. If I had not been on a diet at the time I could have had a FREE dessert. His thanks was reward enough and it made me feel great to have done something for someone that helped them out even though it was a small thing.
You can connect at Grace Place and we will help you find a place to serve. Email us at: connect@graceplaceaustin.com
3. TUNE IN & TUNE OUT…Whatever gets most of your focus and attention will lead your life. There are voices, projects, hobbies, entertainment that is calling for your time your money your attention. There are some things you need to tune out. Let God reveal them to you and obey Him by setting them aside. There are some things you need to tune in. Again let God guide you and make sure you obey Him.
4. GET INVOLVED IN THE MISSION: As followers of Jesus we are all called to be in the mission! That mission is to share the good news of Jesus with the world around us. April 7th at 7pm Grace Place is hosting a class called “Discover the Grace Place”. In that class you will learn how you can connect with the Mission God has given each one of us. As we get connected we discover the gifts and talents we have been given come in handy and we discover the joy of helping other find the answer for their lives…JESUS.
5. DREAM BIG! D. L. Moody (a great preacher and writer of the early 20th century) once said: “If God is your partner make big plans”. After Easter is a great time to dream big. Have you ever dreamed of traveling to another country to share your faith, help a church be built, bring clean water to a village that has none, bring help and hope to people who have little? Have you ever dreamed of making an impact in our local community where poverty rules, single moms struggle and young students are discouraged and dropping out of school? It’s time to dream big!
Signup for the discover class at: connect@graceplaceaustin.com