Easter is here!
Another Easter is upon us and I am excited about a four-day weekend.
However, I must admit that I am worried and a bit sad as well.
Why? Quite simple really. I fear that most people have forgotten what, rather Who, Easter is all about.
Months before Easter arrives, I see store shelves stacked with chocolate eggs of all shapes and sizes. I see Easter bunnies all over the place. Kids are super excited at the thought of sinking their teeth into all those goodies. Retailers are ecstatic at the thought of how much money they can make with all the eggs and bunnies and what not’s that they offer customers.
The last time I checked, Easter is not about bunnies or chocolate eggs.
My Bible tells me that Easter should be ALL and ONLY about Jesus Christ. On Friday (or Good Friday), we celebrate (that’s right, celebrate, NOT mourn) the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross and on Sunday, we celebrate His resurrection!
Easter does have pagan origins, but many of the early Christians who came to faith in Jesus, brought some of their old practices into the their Christian faith. Are they condemned for having done so? No, they’re not. Should they be condemned/chastised for doing so? No, they shouldn’t be!
Easter was originally a pagan festival to honour Teutonic, the goddess of light and spring, during the vernal equinox (day and night of equal length), when sacrifices were offered to her.
You see, they were no longer celebrating a pagan goddess and performing rituals or blindly following tradition by doing so, rather, they shifted the focus of Easter from its pagan origins and ideas to the TRUE reason, Jesus!
As long as a believer can look into their hearts and say that they are NOT shifting focus and importance from Jesus to bunnies and eggs and are proclaiming the true meaning of Easter (Jesus) to those around them, then they have nothing to fear and they are not condemned by God/Jesus, nor should they be condemned by fellow Christians.
At the end of the day, participating in an Easter egg hunt or two and getting your family/friends/children/colleagues a few Easter eggs, WILL NOT make you any less a Christian AS LONG AS you are worshipping Jesus alone and sharing the Gospel and true meaning of Easter with all those around you!
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Update – 26/3/2016
I wrote this post in 2012. In all honesty, back then and even now, I am very weary of churches that hold Easter egg hunts after their regular Easter service. I fear that we are bringing too much of the world into the church when we should really be doing the opposite, as God instructs us in the Scriptures.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
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Without Jesus, we are sinners destined for hell!
Everyone is a sinner! It’s a word that is rarely used in society! It’s rarely used in Church for that matter!
But, what is sin? Simply put, anything you do or say or think that does not meet God’s standard, is sin!
When we look at our lives, can any one of us honestly say that have not sinned? If you have lied, you are a sinner! If you’ve had impure thoughts about someone else, you are a sinner! If you have cheated someone, you are sinner! If you have stolen anything, you are a sinner! If you have ever been angry at someone, you are a sinner! It’s not just murderers, child molesters and the like who is a sinner!
The Bible says that me, you and everyone else on Earth (past, present and future) are sinners!
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
What’s the price that we have to pay for sinning against God?
If anyone sins against and perfect and holy God, even though He is merciful, He also is just and must punish sin because He cannot excuse sin! Therefore, the sinner must die! If He did excuse sin and ONLY exercise mercy, He would cease to be perfect and wouldn’t be a just and fair God! God cannot be ALL mercy and ZERO justice! He is perfect, He is balanced and therefore, He is perfectly merciful and perfectly just! The sinner must die for his or her sins! This is what the Bible says!
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
I have to DIE? Whatever happened to a “loving God”?
Oh He still loves us! This is why Jesus went to the cross! If the wages of our sin is death, Jesus paid for our sins by dying on the cross for us! Is it that hard to understand? You and I sinned and deserved to die, but because of God’s great love and mercy, He Himself in Jesus Christ, died for us! God’s justice and God’s mercy both at work! Jesus paid the price for us! The Son of God, God Himself, paid the price for us! This is what the Bible says!
For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
What does all this mean for you and I? What are we supposed to do with Jesus?
Jesus died for the sins of the world! But until we make a decision to accept Jesus and His sacrifice, God does not acknowledge that the price for our sin has been paid! Unless we accept Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf, we are still condemned to die! The only way out is Jesus! Each one of us have to make a decision regarding Jesus! The Bible says that Jesus is the ONLY way to Heaven!
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
There is no other way that you and I can save ourselves! Only Jesus can save us!
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
None of us are guaranteed tomorrow! I pray that today, you will ask Jesus in your life, to be your Lord and Saviour!
To all the Christians out there!
This is the perfect time to share the Gospel with your family, friends, children, co-workers and everyone else in between. This is the perfect time to share Jesus with all these people. This is the perfect time to tell them who Jesus is and why He had to die such a painful death for all sinners! This is the perfect time to help people get to know the real Jesus and all He endured for the likes of us, so that we can go to Heaven and not experience eternal death for our sins! This is the perfect time to tell people why they need Jesus! This is the perfect time to talk about salvation in Jesus! This is the perfect time to lead someone to faith in Jesus!
You can’t do it on your own strength or by your own wisdom/understanding though.
Ask the Lord Jesus to work in you and through you through the Holy Spirit so that you can share the true meaning of Easter with everyone around you.
Ask God to work in the hearts of those who do not yet know Jesus, that this Easter, they too may be saved through the power of the Holy Spirit!
God bless you and a wonderful and blessed Easter to you and yours!
Thank Sri 🙂