& Heaven Rejoices.

Luke 15:7 “and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” 

My squad, Gap 23, are people who celebrate. We praise with fire in our hearts. We rejoice in everything. & when we rejoice, heaven rejoices with us. We are singing loud, but they are singing louder. I imagine a literal party happening. A huge celebration! & when you make the declaration that you are made new in Christ, it should be celebrated! That’s a POWERFUL thing! So we celebrate it! 

Wednesday, March 3rd was a day full of rejoicing! Rejoicing with the seven people on my squad that stepped into following the Lord wholeheartedly with open arms. It was so evident that these people already lived a life fully surrendered to the Lord, but the way that they were able to boldly proclaim that Jesus is their LORD deserves a celebration. (and a blog post too, lol) 

Baptisms hold such a special place in my heart. There is something about when people come up from under that water; I imagine the Lord wrapping His arms around them and giving them the biggest embrace. Baptisms are a joyful moments.

My favorite thing is that there is so much freedom in being made new. It is a newfound freedom. A freedom that you get to choose to walk in. You get to proclaim that HE IS GOOD! & shout it from the rooftops. You feel that freedom! You feel the power; the authority that the Lord has given to you!

The other night; I was struggling with words to write for this blog because baptisms literally make me scream with excitement, but I cant throw that into a blog… so I  closed my computer, frustrated and asked the Lord how to put all my excitement into words then I opened back up my computer & wrote this — I will shout His praises because I have the power and freedom to do so. I don’t give him praise cause I think he is good. I give him praise because I KNOW He is good. I have witnessed miracles. I have witnessed what he has done in my life. I witnessed it myself. I walked through things & He brought me out of them. And because of that I know He is Good. I recognize His goodness.

His spirit is alive within me,  so why not rejoice about it!? Why not rejoice in the fact I know what he can do in others’ lives because I’ve witnessed it on my own. In this season of life, I get to witness not only God changing my life, but Him working in others. I get to watch others find their freedom in Christ and walk in that. I get to watch how they chose to rejoice in it. I get to watch lives be changed. Seeing lives literally be turned around. Watching how NEW the Lord really makes people when they surrender their entire lives to him. 

I find so much joy in that! I am pounding so hard on this keyboard writing this because I get so joyful just thinking about it. That never-ending beaming joy that I get when I witness a baptism or someone just declaring their life for Christ, I just imagine heaven is rejoicing even louder. like we are fired up and jumping up crazily here on earth , but Jesus is up there doing the exact same thing! I can’t even fathom how they would celebrate in heaven. We serve a fun God, so I imagine a celebration greater than any. 

The Lord himself and His kingdom rejoices over YOU! Heaven is rejoicing over the brokenhearted that claim their brokenness. The angels begin to sing when the sinners confess their sins. The Lord finds favor in us when we give every rugged piece of our lives to Him. GOODNESS! Doesn’t that make you want to jump out of your seat and throw your hands up to the heavens?!

Proclaim that HE IS GOOD! REJOICE! & KNOW THAT HEAVEN IS REJOICING WITH YOU.