“By His wounds we are healed”. Isa. 53
Family celebrations are on the horizon! The cross is the center of our commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His selfless and sinless sacrifice in our place is our reason to celebrate and praise His Name. We call the holiday Easter and for a moment in time we stop and rehearse His ultimate sacrifice…His life for ours on that thorny, thistled “old rugged cross”. Not only did he die for us but also on the third day He rose from the dead and gave us the promise of a resurrected life after death!
This deliberate and divine act of love was to give our lives promise, plan and purpose. We are destined and programmed to serve others first, not ourselves. In our Easter release to the Princess Parable Series, “A Royal Easter Story”, we have introduced our five young knights who present a challenge that draws our young princesses into a chariot race that reveals the truth of what the cross teaches.
Do you live a life selflessly and sacrificially serving others?
We cannot be consumed with a life that seeks its own and find life abundantly. It is an impossibility. Local churches open their doors on Good Friday to give us the opportunity to take a personal account of our commitment to our first love and renew our loyalty to live as Jesus challenges us to live…Holy! We are reminded to live serving others, as He did, with eternal values and purpose in view.
As women, we are dedicated to living and then, teaching the character of Christ to our little princes and princesses. We focus on drawing their attention to the importance of serving, helping and caring for others. That is why we find ourselves saying, “Can you comfort your little brother” or “Will you help mommy?” Teaching by example, without excuse, is the most powerful tool in our toolbox! We are “known and read” by these little eyes and ears. They know if the cross is real in us, or not. We don’t fool them, but we do confuse them when our life message does not speak the reality of Christ in us!
Are your little ones confused?
“Then said Jesus to his disciples, IF any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Matt. 16: 24
The cross holds the hope of humanity. Denying self-life (our pride and selfishness in all its ugly forms)…and taking up His cross (His desires and His perfect Will for us)… authenticates His life in us. Living life consistently with no unconfessed sin and nothing between us and another person enables us to follow Him. “His crucifixion is the key; His resurrection the door…it is only by His death that we have the mandate to enter into the gates of eternal life. His door is open always. Christ is King.” Isrealmore Ayivor
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live;
yet not I, but Christ lives in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me?”
Gal. 2: 20
“There are no crown-bearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
