What a month. I sure am glad March 2023 is over. The catastrophic events just kept coming at us. Are you feeling overwhelmed?
The severe weather outbreak of March 31, 2023 included more than 60 tornado reports across Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee. At least 27 people lost their lives; however, the death toll may rise as days go on.
A helicopter crash occurred on March 29, 2023 near Fort Campbell, Kentucky killing nine soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. Among the deceased are: Jeffery Barnes (33 years old), Emile Marie Eve Bolanos (23), Zachary Esparza (36), Isaacjohn Gayo (27), Joshua Gore (25), Aaron Healy (32), Taylor Mitchell (30), Rusten Smith (32), and David Solinas, Jr. (23).
The school shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville occurred on March 27, 2023. Six lives were lost, including Cynthia Peak (age 61), Mike Hill (61), Katherine Koonce (60), Evelyn Dieckhaus (age 9), Hallie Scruggs (9), and William Kinney (9).
Also on March 27, 2023, Mike Day, Navy SEAL, died. His book, Perfectly Wounded: A Memoir About What Happens After a Miracle details how Mike was shot 27 times on April 6, 2007. Despite his own wounds, he rescued six women and children before he walked out of the house for a helicopter rescue.
Another wave of powerful storms rolled through Alabama and Mississippi on March 24, 2023 with at least 20 reports of tornadoes. The hardest hit town was Rolling Fork, Mississippi. At least 21 people died in this violent storm.
And on March 9th, my sister lost a very important person in her life.
Tragedy is hard. I can't imagine going through tough times like these without having faith in Jesus Christ. It's times like this that I fall on my knees and depend on God more than ever. This week, many in our country are hurting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I stand with each person, each family, and each community as they grieve and try to process why this has happened.
We won't have all of the answers on this side of Heaven, but we can find comfort in our faith.
Being a Christian is not easy. In fact, sometimes being a Christian is hard, especially when people are criticizing, persecuting, harassing, or even targeting Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ. However, I want to encourage each of us to unapologetically stand up for our faith and remember that God is with us (Romans 8:18-38). God has not forgotten about us (Deuteronomy 31:6). And God has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11).
For those of us that have lost love ones, I want to ask... If we had one more day or one more moment with our loved one before they left earth, what would we do? Why did we wait?
This Friday is Good Friday.
Good Friday is the day that Jesus died on the cross. Jesus predicted His death three times (Matthew 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19). Although we cannot predict when we will die, we do know for certain that each of us will leave this earth at some point in time. The decision we make today can determine where we will spend eternity.
The days preceding the crucifixion are detailed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Passover meal was likely the first time the disciples realized Jesus’ death was imminent (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-23). John 13:1-17 also describes how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples before the Feast of Passover as He “knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father.”
If you knew your time on earth was about to end, what would you do differently? Why not live like that each day?
The crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus are detailed in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19.
How are you preparing for life in eternity? Each day, we have 86,400 seconds. We cannot have more time. We cannot save time from today to use tomorrow. How are you using your time today to prepare for eternity?
If the historical events of Jesus Christ ended with the crucifixion, we would not have the assurance that He is the one and only True God. However, the Good News is that Jesus rose from the dead three days after the crucifixion. This year, Easter is on April 9th. Please read the accounts of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection this week.
The resurrection is detailed in Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20.
When Jesus planned to surrender His life on the cross for our sins, He prepared in numerous ways. Jesus had about 33 years on earth before His crucifixion (Luke 3:23). During his earthly lifetime, He had about three years of active ministry (John 2:13, 6:4, 11:55, 12:1, 13:1, 19:14). He was intentional with all that He did. This lesson alone can teach us to be intentional with our lives. We don’t know how long we have on earth, but we should know we have one goal we are working towards. That goal should be eternal life in Heaven. If we reflect daily and be more intentional with our thoughts and actions as we do life on earth with the purpose of living for eternity in heaven, our days should look radically different from the world around us.
Join us at His Kingdom Matters to learn more about being a bold and courageous Christian, preparing for revival, and living a Christian lifestyle.
Looking for support living as a Christian in the world today? His Kingdom Matters provides the resources and community you've been searching for, including a monthly prayer guide, lecture, prayers led by Dr. Dean, a live monthly group call, and so much more. Click below to learn more!
