What happened on Easter?

The story which is celebrated in much of the world has to do with pagan ritual. Eggs and rabbits and things like that. These have nothing to do with our risen Savior.

Jesus told His disciples that He would rise again on the third day. Many people disbelieve that story today, even in the church. I mean, how can you manage to get three days between Friday and Sunday? Going by Jewish calendars and tradition it is simple. A day begins at sunrise and ends at sunset, at least to us. But, to Jewish people who lived in Jesus’ day, the next day begins at sundown on the day before. So, when the soldiers arrested Jesus in the garden on early Friday morning, part of that day had already passed by.

The sunrise brought the priests and the High Priest before Pilate to accuse Jesus and He was flogged, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted a crucifixion and the Sabbath began at sundown. From about the third hour until the ninth hour Jesus was on the cross, that would be 9 am until 3 pm for us. Counting from sunrise to sunset is the timing that they used because the preparation for the Sabbath had to begin at sundown, counting as the next day.

empty_tomb11 He laid in the tomb from just before sundown on Friday, all day on the Sabbath, and most of the day on the first day of the week on Sunday. So Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are three days!

So…what happened on Sunday morning at around sunrise? A miracle to those who witnessed it for sure! A bright light which was brighter than the Sun in its strength, which pierced even the cracks around the rock which covered the entrance to the tomb. The stone which had been rolled over the opening of the tomb and sealed with the Roman seal was rolled away.

We don’t know what the soldiers saw at that moment. They could’ve seen the risen Jesus in His glory or maybe an angel, possibly two angels who told the disciples and Mary that He has risen just as He had told them that He would. I want to believe that those soldiers who were guarding the tomb saw Him in His glory and likely believed that He was the Savior, the King of the Jews and their Messiah. But, until we get to Heaven we will not know for sure what they saw or what they believed.

Our Savior is alive and is at the right hand of Power on High! There is no other name by which we must be saved to be in His Presence! The only requirement is that we believe in Him and in what was written about Him in the Bible, ask Him for your forgiveness and repent of your old way of life and follow Him daily. That is our job, our responsibility as believers and as Christians! To tell others about our Savior Who died to give them the ability to become Christians and partake in His Kingdom too. No amount of money or work to do to be eligible for salvation, just believe in Him.

Are you a disciple?

This question has haunted me ever since I gave my life to Jesus and I still struggle to answer it. The Bible calls us “saints” although I don’t feel like I fit that description either. I was called into the ministry almost seven years ago, so I actually identify with the description of a disciple more than any other. What about you?

In many ways the first time I felt a call from God was about thirty-six years ago and at that time I wasn’t ready at all! I hadn’t been reading my Bible and I only attended church services a few times during the year. I felt that I wasn’t worthy to be called into any kind of ministry so I did what Jonah did…I ran away from that calling. I ignored it for many years.

Then, I got a call from a preacher who had been teaching a Bible study in a small church close to home. He told me that he needed me to fill in for him on Sunday (He called me on a Wednesday or Thursday, I really don’t remember). Anyway, I didn’t have much time to prepare. I was scared to death. I didn’t like speeches nor standing in front of a crowd to speak and you have to do that every week if you are a preacher.

God got me through that sermon, even though it only lasted about 8 or 10 minutes! I am still preaching there and today I can speak for about thirty minutes, sometimes a bit more. Why am I telling this? Because, as shy as I was in high school none of my classmates would think that I would ever do something like this! But, I have been there for six years and nine months so far. I pray that my sermons are doing some good for the Lord.

That is why I come here to “preach”. I don’t have to stand in front of people and I can write what the Spirit gives me to say so that others might come to know Jesus as their Savior. God loves each of you so much that He sent His Son to take the punishment that you and I should have been given. In many ways, you can see in the news today what is happening in our world with all of the murders and shootings and all of the wars and terrorist bombings going on. All of this is due to people who have made God fit their image of Who He is and what He demands of them.

God doesn’t demand anything besides your obedience once you have given your heart to Jesus and decide to follow His example in your daily life. Living your life through Jesus example is the best way to live because only He could fulfill the Law and the Ten Commandments perfectly. Please seek Him out while you have breath and time to do so because there is no second chance when you leave this life for eternity.

Romans 6:22-23 says this: 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Be a follower of Jesus Christ

In many ways, that is exactly what we as Christians are supposed to do with our lives when we give our hearts to Him. So…why doesn’t the church follow Him in everything that it does? By church, I don’t mean any particular religion or denomination. I mean any specific body of believers who claim to be Christian and who follow Jesus.

One of the greatest preachers that ever lived died this past week. I don’t need to tell you who he was because everyone knows already. Some of his quotes I will list below and let you decide if you could live up to any of them.

“I feel sorry for the man who has never known the bracing thrill of taking a stand and sticking to it fearlessly. Moral courage has rewards that timidity can never imagine. Like a shot of adrenaline, it floods the spirit with vitality” ― Billy Graham
“Self-centered indulgence, pride and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.” ― Billy Graham
“I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right.”― Billy Graham
“When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”― Billy Graham
“Jesus was not a white man; He was not a black man. He came from that part of the world that touches Africa and Asia and Europe. Christianity is not a white man’s religion and don’t let anybody ever tell you that it’s white or black. Christ belongs to all people; He belongs to the whole world”― Billy Graham
“Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone – except God.”― Billy Graham
“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”― Billy Graham
“The cross shows us the seriousness of our sin—but it also shows us the immeasurable love of God.”― Billy Graham
“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”― Billy Graham
“Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.”― Billy Graham

We are all called by God to live up to the standard of Jesus the Christ, not to live up to a standard of a certain man who was a good example of being a Christian. As believers, we are expected to live each day like Jesus’ followers did. Because if you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit living in your heart and Jesus is with you in that same Spirit during your day and night!

God knows where you are or where you have been each hour of each day during your life. There is no hiding from Him or keeping a part of your life secret from God because even if you haven’t given Him your heart, if He has any plans to use you in His Kingdom, then nothing that you do is secret in any way.

Does God love you? Unequivocally YES! He didn’t send Jesus to die for our sins just for the fun of it! Love, meaning agape love, is the reason behind everything that God does in this universe. He doesn’t owe you or me anything even though we owe Him everything that we are or have in our lives!

Without Jesus and the resurrection our life in Him would be meaningless but because of the resurrection, we can live with Him when our life here is done. Your life means more to God than it does to you because you are a beloved creation and He gave you all of your abilities and strengths and also your weaknesses too. He knows what you can do and accomplish and what is beyond your ability but with Him, those things which He asks you to do can be done.

Always lean on Him daily because in your strength you can’t, but with God, everything is possible regardless of the difficulty.