Easter!!!

Today we celebrate Easter, the day that Christ arose and defeated death, hell and the grave. A whole week that has been a reminder of just how much Christ loved us. He loved us enough to be beaten, to be mocked and scorned, to be spat upon and to be nailed on an old rugged cross. I have never really grasped the harsh cruelty that He encountered until The Passion of Christ came out several years back. I am sure that even that movie didn't depict all that Christ went through for me and for you. I don't know if I really can wrap my mind around just what He went through so that I might be saved from my sins. I never fully understood that part either, until I was 22 years old. I thought I had made a decision for Christ at an early age, so when doubts filled my mind; I dismissed them as satan attacking me. It was while at our first church, that I realized that I was sinner bound for a devil's hell. Which by the way, is a real place. People can joke and not believe it, but it is just as real as heaven. Funny that even the most non religious person I know still wants to go to heaven. During our first church, I realized that if I drew my last breath that night, that when I opened my eyes in eternity I would be seeing flames. I talked with Mark, who led me through the sinners prayer. There in our parsonage living room in Richmond County I gave my heart to Christ. I felt different...lighter. A burden had been lifted. My dad baptized me several weeks later. Had it not been for the cross and the shedding of blood, that would not have been possible. I see people who have crosses in their yards this time of the year with flowers all over them, but there was nothing pretty about the cross. It was stained with a loving Savior's blood that He willingly shed for all mankind. He loves us so much and we regard Him with so little. I am guilty of being too busy to give Him the time He deserves. We all are!!! Don't play self righteous when faced with this question about yourself. We all fall short in our devotion and sacrifice to Him. I sometimes think preacher's and their families are more guilty of this that any. While we are busy planning church calendars and going to functions and meetings....just how important are those things in sight of eternity? Churches keep their pastors hopping(more or less at their beck and call) and trying to keep some scared about job security that they lose sight of the real reason that they are in the ministry. To help a dying world find a saving Savior. He is not here...He has risen...giving us an anticipation of His return.

Three wooden crosses. The King of Kings hung between two thieves and died for me and you. His blood ran down that cross that day, and that saving blood is still flowing for sinners today. All you have to do is just Ask Him into your heart , Believe on Him and Confess your sins. Easy as ABC!! We are the ones who complicate salvation.

The Place of the Skull.

Hallelujah!!! An empty tomb. "I can face uncertain days, because my Savior Lives". I have seen lots of church signs this week saying, "It takes a Risen Savior to save a dying world."

One of my favorite songs to hear around Easter or anytime was done by Squire Parsons some years back called Morning Light. A guy at school named Jamie Ellis could just tear this song up...made goose bumps rise on your arms when he sang. I can only imagine seeing your Son die, and feeling the heart break and grief only a mother can feel at the loss of a child and then going to the tomb 3 days later and finding him not there. A panic feeling probably arose in her heart at first, but then pure joy and delight must have filled Mary's heart as she realized that He had risen. Grave clothes neatly folded indicating His return. That return might not be that far off.

Verse 1:
As the evening sun set o’re Jerusalem
Satan’s forces celebrated victory
But their laughter turned to fear
Their celebration turned to fright
After what Satan saw in the morning light

Chorus 1:
He saw angels robed in white
The stone rolled away
And the grave clothes neatly folded
In the place where Jesus lay
They Satan knew it was all over
He had lost the fight
After what he saw in the morning light

Verse 2:
Her eyes were swollen from all the tears she’d cried
And she wondered if her broken heart would ever mend
But as she looked into the tomb
Her hope came into sight
After what Mary saw in the morning light

Chorus 2:
She saw angels robed in white
The stone rolled away
And the grave clothes neatly folded
In the place where Jesus lay
They Mary knew it was all over
Everything would be all right
When she saw that empty tomb in the morning light
And some day it will be all over
Everything will be all right
Oh, it’ll be all right
Hear a shout ringing out
See graves burst open wide
See Jesus face to face
In the morning light, morning light