Easter And American Girls
The Risk We Face at Easter is my article over on The Rebelution. This is what has traditionally been called Holy Week and we're nearing the end of it. But there is a risk inherent to this week - it's the risk of sentimentality. That's what I write about in this piece.
American Girls and Their Social Media Lives is a book review I wrote for The Gospel Coalition. "American Girls" is a new release by journalist Nancy Jo Sales, reporting on the disturbing research Sales collected as she interviewed teenage girls about social media and their sexuality. It was an interesting read. Here's a taste:
"Today teenage girls live online, a recent study revealing that “92 percent were going online from a mobile device daily” (10). But this online world isn’t the screen of innocent fun so many parents believe it to be. It’s a hypersexualized world where validation, acceptance, and worth are inexorably connected to sexual appeal and appetite."
These two posts remind me so much why today, Good Friday, is needed. Sin is very real, terribly and darkly real, and it has infected us all. But the twin hope of today is that sin doesn't have the final say. It doesn't close the curtain. Hope does. Redemption does. Resurrection does. Restoration does.
And that's why this is a truly good Friday.
Why is Good Friday Good?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones:
"I remember a man a few years ago asking me, 'You know, I never understood why the church calls Good Friday Good Friday - why not Bad Friday or Tragic Friday. Surely, it is the worst thing that has happened in the history of mankind, and yet you call it Good Friday.' That is a good way of addressing this question. Do you realize that Good Friday is Good Friday and that it is the best day the world has ever known? I am not referring to the men who cried, 'Away with him' or to the men who put him to death, but I say that what happened on that day is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened - Good Friday, glorious Friday!" (From Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, digital p. 1581)
Burk Parsons: "[Today] is Bad Friday for the Devil."
You are a Valuable Worm
The second is that all human life has been corrupted by sin and is totally depraved. Romans 3 is perhaps the biblical chapter that is the most lucid on this truth. In verses ten through thirteen, Paul alludes back to the book of Psalms when he writes:
As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
John Calvin offers this: "Man, so far from being just before God, is but rottenness and a worm, abominable and vain, drinking in 'iniquity like water.'" (Institutes, Book III, xii, 5, p. 496).
So how do we reconcile value and worm language? The only way we can is by looking to God. Any value in our humanity is totally, fully due to God's glory. Our Creator has infinite worth and He has bestowed worth on us. Not because we're especially swell, but because He is especially good. This allows us to see the inherent value of all life but also take responsibility for the sin that corrupts us.
Yet the good news of Easter is that you don't need to stay a valuable worm - for that is what we are born as (Eph. 5:8). Easter says that one Man came and this Man was no worm. He was wholly, entirely perfect. He was holy. He was just. He was kind, compassionate, powerful, strong, gentle, gracious, firm, loving.
He was God.
And then this God-Man let Himself be led to the slaughter for a group of sheep - selfish, dumb sheep. Like worms. And He offered Himself an atonement for many and then rose from the dead, giving us new identities. That's why we no longer call ourselves worms, because Jesus Christ has made us sons (Rom. 8:14).
And that is a reason to rejoice.
The Beauty of God's Sovereign Will
And the results seemed to land in the lap of a desperate Roman governor who wanted to keep on good terms with the Jews. This man was Pilate. And though, as Mike Andrus notes, "the Jews were granted a fair degree of liberty and self-government, and the Sanhedrin, composed of Jewish religious leaders, retained various judicial functions, ...death sentences could not be carried out without permission of the Roman governor." The Jews wanted Jesus dead. So they had to get civil government involved.
Enter Pilate. We know the story, don't we? Pilate gives in to the ultimate case of peer pressure, and he releases a criminal (as was the custom of the day) named Barabbas and condemns Jesus to death on the cross. But as I was reading this familiar story, I landed on a phrase in the HCSB translation that startled me a little. It was in Luke 23:24-25:
So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
Does the irony not strike you? Pilate thought he was washing his hands of responsibility and leaving it in the lap of the Jews. But what's craziest, is that he thought that Jesus' death now lay in the will of the Jews. How misguided Pilate was.
Immediately I thought of another instance where Pilate showed his ignorance at who God is. John 19:8-11 says,
[Pilate] entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”
Pilate was so humanistic, so focused on the physical and the fleeting, he was blinded to Jesus' mission. Jesus, on the other hand, was cross-centred, God-centred. And He was this because of His unshakable trust in God's sovereign will.
Jesus knew His death lay no more in the hands of the Jews than His resurrection did. He could pray, "Not my will, but Yours be done" because He was eternally convinced that the Father is in control of everything, and is using everything for our good and His glory.
So sometimes God's sovereign will seems messy. Broken. Ugly, even. But it is always beautiful. For it's a reflection of a good and glorious King and Father who is caring for His children. And no matter what we think, nothing lies outside His will.
Image Credit: http://www.cityofhewitt.com
His Stone and Ours
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a truly remarkable, joyous thing, isn't it? Our eyes widen in childlike amazement, shocked like the women, a little scared like the disciples, and initially doubting like Thomas. But we see the marks on His hands and we see the empty tomb, and we marvel.
Now pause for a moment with me and think about that empty tomb. The tomb was owned and offered by Joseph of Arimathea (the ESV Student Study Bible suggests that Joseph was "a member of the Sanhedrin who did not consent to the actions against Jesus"). This tomb was really a cave, guarded by a large, very heavy stone, and a collection of soldiers. When we read of Jesus' resurrection in Matthew 28, we see the stone supernaturally rolled away by "an angel of the Lord." The soldiers guarding the tomb were (naturally) freaked out and "became like dead men" verse four says.
That stone heard Jesus' first new breath of glorified life. And that is pretty much the opening line and premise of the song below. A husband and wife duo, called Gray Havens, released this song, "The Stone," in conjunction with this Easter. The music is beautiful (I think), but its message even better.
The song is about life, the joy of Christ's resurrection and the hope destroying the despair. It's about the stone being rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus' victory over the grave.
But it's also about more. David Radford, the lead singer and husband of Gray Havens, as well as the writer of this song, explained the second meaning of the theme "stone":
The stone guarding the tomb signaled life's victory over death, and Jesus' power over the grave. But the glory of the gospel, the good news of the cross and the tomb and the life of Christ, supplants the stone within us with a new heart of flesh, one that desires to glorify God.
I'm reminded of God's words to His chosen people in Ezekiel 36:26-27:
Easter is a celebration of the gospel, of life above all else. Let us celebrate the new life of Christ, but even more, recognize that because He lives, we live too. Because He is God, we can have true hearts to serve Him. Think about His stone, the symbol of His victory, and ours, the symbol of our failure to save ourselves. Then think about Him, and rejoice that His victory wins over our failure. Easter is about life. Let us never forget.
Now pause for a moment with me and think about that empty tomb. The tomb was owned and offered by Joseph of Arimathea (the ESV Student Study Bible suggests that Joseph was "a member of the Sanhedrin who did not consent to the actions against Jesus"). This tomb was really a cave, guarded by a large, very heavy stone, and a collection of soldiers. When we read of Jesus' resurrection in Matthew 28, we see the stone supernaturally rolled away by "an angel of the Lord." The soldiers guarding the tomb were (naturally) freaked out and "became like dead men" verse four says.
That stone heard Jesus' first new breath of glorified life. And that is pretty much the opening line and premise of the song below. A husband and wife duo, called Gray Havens, released this song, "The Stone," in conjunction with this Easter. The music is beautiful (I think), but its message even better.
The song is about life, the joy of Christ's resurrection and the hope destroying the despair. It's about the stone being rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus' victory over the grave.
But it's also about more. David Radford, the lead singer and husband of Gray Havens, as well as the writer of this song, explained the second meaning of the theme "stone":
As I continued writing, I thought of another kind of stone the bible speaks of.
Charles Spurgeon, England's most famous preacher of the late 19th century, wrote "Man's heart is by nature like a stone; but God, through his grace, removes the stony heart and gives a heart of flesh."
This idea turned into the words:
We were far, yet
We were taken from the dark, yes
Turned from stone to flesh, new hearts, yes
Curse is broken
Licia [my wife] and I are thankful this Easter season for the new hearts we have been given in Christ. We hope this song will serve as an encouragement both to those who believe in the reality of the resurrection, and for those who may not yet believe, but have a longing for the story to be true.
The stone guarding the tomb signaled life's victory over death, and Jesus' power over the grave. But the glory of the gospel, the good news of the cross and the tomb and the life of Christ, supplants the stone within us with a new heart of flesh, one that desires to glorify God.
I'm reminded of God's words to His chosen people in Ezekiel 36:26-27:
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Easter is a celebration of the gospel, of life above all else. Let us celebrate the new life of Christ, but even more, recognize that because He lives, we live too. Because He is God, we can have true hearts to serve Him. Think about His stone, the symbol of His victory, and ours, the symbol of our failure to save ourselves. Then think about Him, and rejoice that His victory wins over our failure. Easter is about life. Let us never forget.
Your Saturday Smile
I didn't want this Saturday Smile to be kitschy. So there's no jokes about the Easter Bunny, or silly spring riddles. I didn't want to minimize the gospel today - or any day, but especially not in the midst of a sacred weekend to honour the holy.
So what's the purpose of this Saturday Smile? To encourage you to celebrate the gospel today! Yesterday was Friday, today is Saturday, but Sunday's comin.' Jesus will not remain in the grave. Death will not have the final word. And so today is a day to celebrate the glorious gospel.
Meditate on these words Steve and Vikki Cook penned in their song, "The Glories of Calvary":
Lord, You're calling me to come and behold the wondrous cross
To explore the depths of grace that came to me at such a cost
Where Your boundless love conquered my boundless sin
And mercy's arms were opened wide
My heart is filled with a thousand songs proclaiming the glories of Calvary
With every breath, Lord how I long to sing of Jesus who died for me
Lord, take me deeper into the glories of Calvary
When Gethsemane Bored Us
When did we lose the agony of Gethsemane? When was the first time we read Matthew 26, and we yawned? When was the first time we read, "and He began to be sorrowful and troubled," and felt nothing? The scene has been burned in Flannel-Gram on our memory - meek and weak Jesus sniffling in a sunny garden that resembles a Thomas Kincaid painting. And we have no more passion than for our beloved childhood copy of Peter Cottontail. The Easter Bunny sparks about as much excitement as the familiar "let this cup pass from me" passage. When was the first time we saw Gethsemane and we realized we were bored?
I don't know, but it is a horrifying reality. The video below is a song by Matt Papa called "The Crucible of God (Gethsemane)." It portrays no Flannel-Gram Jesus. This is agony. This is suffering. And it was our sin that put Him there. What happened in the garden of Gethsemane?
Ponders Rick Gamache:
And we yawn. Gethsemane was a place of darkness, of wrestling, or horror and betrayal. Jesus bled. Jesus sweat. Jesus fell on His face and cried out to His Father. In a moment of both immense complexity and beauty, Jesus asked if there was another way. But He knew and, in joyful submission, He went.
Matt Papa's song, like few others, draws me to the depth of the agony of Gethsemane. Today, this Friday, this very Good Friday, don't let the familiarity harden you. Gethsemane was emotional and it was messy and it was awful. But it was good. Jesus Christ, the God-man, the One who knew no sin, became sin for us. And that is very good.
I don't know, but it is a horrifying reality. The video below is a song by Matt Papa called "The Crucible of God (Gethsemane)." It portrays no Flannel-Gram Jesus. This is agony. This is suffering. And it was our sin that put Him there. What happened in the garden of Gethsemane?
Ponders Rick Gamache:
(T)he Father held out the cup and Jesus looked in. What he saw there flung him into the throes of agony. ... Jesus lifted his head to the sky and cried out, “I will drink from this cup, Father. I will drink from this cup so that your glory may be vindicated and my name may be glorified. And so that the sheep that you have given me will see our glory and enjoy it forever. I will drink on behalf of our rescue mission.”
Just then, through blurry eyes, Jesus saw the line of torches slithering like a snake up the hill to the garden. The mob arrived. Judas kissed. Friends fled. Soldiers arrested. And Jesus’ world became a swirl of torment and mockery.
And we yawn. Gethsemane was a place of darkness, of wrestling, or horror and betrayal. Jesus bled. Jesus sweat. Jesus fell on His face and cried out to His Father. In a moment of both immense complexity and beauty, Jesus asked if there was another way. But He knew and, in joyful submission, He went.
Matt Papa's song, like few others, draws me to the depth of the agony of Gethsemane. Today, this Friday, this very Good Friday, don't let the familiarity harden you. Gethsemane was emotional and it was messy and it was awful. But it was good. Jesus Christ, the God-man, the One who knew no sin, became sin for us. And that is very good.
Easter and the Risk of Sentimentalism
We must be careful: with Holy Week there is the risk of sentimentalism swallowing up substance.
This week is what has been called Holy Week - the week leading up to the formal recognition and celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and Easter. But there is a danger in this week, one that too many of us face. DeYoung knows this - it is the risk of sentimentalism.
Easter makes us feel really nice, doesn't it? We're wrapped in warm and fuzzies, singing all the cheeriest hymns, hearing that uplifting message, usually seeing a full sanctuary, and meeting babies in Easter bonnets. And we can't forget the joy of family breakfasts, brunches, and/or dinners, the Easter greeting cards, and all those trending pictures of bunnies and kittens in spring fields. Easter is such a happy time, isn't it?
It's true; we love Easter. It's a nice holiday, and our perceptions and beliefs about it have been shaped by our traditions. Unfortunately, traditions breed sentimentality.
"We must be careful," warns DeYoung. He's right. This is not the week of good feelings and Kinder Surprises; it is a week for a celebration of the solemn and the theological. Our theology of the Cross and the resurrection should pour out into this week, just another week of magnifying the gospel - an occurrence that shouldn't be unusual but can still be special. But make no mistake, Easter should be about the gospel, not feelings, no matter how fun and familiar those feelings are.
Easter is about substance, the theological framework of the person and work of Jesus Christ - the incarnation (God the Son becoming man), the crucifixion (God the Son suffering the wrath of the Father), and the resurrection (God the Son raising from the dead by the power of the Father). Easter is also about joy, but it is an informed, biblical, Christcentric, God-glorifying joy in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Not joy in tradition.
So celebrate Easter! Rejoice in the sacrifice and the glory of Christ on the cross and through the absent tomb. Gather with family and friends and enjoy those traditions as you magnify the gospel together, but remember the risk of sentimentalism. Combat it with the substance of truth.
Growing in Grace: March 2013
Well the end of March snuck up on me, and so I'm substituting this week's Saturday Smile for Growing in Grace. (But I hope it'll make you smile too!)
Holy Week and the Insomnia of Jesus - "When the disciples screamed in the face of a storm, Jesus slept (Mk. 4:37-38). When Jesus screamed in the face of a cross, the disciples slept (Mk. 14:37,41)."
This is the Body the Lord Has Made - An especially thought-provoking post on God's command (yes, command) to exercise.
Remember and Worship - Lisa Spence's reflections on Easter traditions and worship of our Risen Saviour.
Rivers of Tears and Those Who Mourn - This post over at Lies Young Women Believe talks about grief over sin and was especially enlightening after writing about our attitude of repentance.
Reasons to Rejoice - A great quote by Jeff Purswell!
What Does It Mean for Jesus to Despise Shame? - John Piper answers this question that I've always kinda wondered.
Chinese Abortions - A devastating look at the greatest slaughter in human history.
The Blessings of God Are Released Through Persistent Prayer - "God often appears hostile to test the strength of our faith in his goodness: “Like a child trying to push against the hand of a parent, the parent gives only enough resistance to test the resolve of the child. So God resists us in prayer, to see our resolve in his goodness.” Will we press through what looks like hostility to see the rushing river of God’s goodness that runs underneath?"
The State of the Bible - Interesting infographic.
Penguin Fails - And now, for the culmination of this month's GiG ... penguin bloopers!
Why I Call It Good Friday
The Sacred Made Secular
But we shouldn't be surprised. The devil has long been trying to make the sacred secular, counterfeiting the gospel and making cheap imitations of the holy. Just look at Easter and its traditions. It was once known as a deeply-rooted religious holiday, born out of a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Now it's nothing more than a civic business holiday. Or look at the practice of dyeing eggs, originally started by Christians as symbols of Christ's empty tomb and dyed red to indicate His shed blood. Now they're just symbols of bunnies and candy and big family dinners. Take the Easter Bunny, as another example. Long ago he had Christian roots, since rabbits were well-known throughout medieval churches as symbols of fertility and new birth in the spring. But with George Franck von Frankenau's seventeenth century legend of this gift-giving hare and years of German tradition, the Easter Bunny was secularized and now simply represents a Santa Claus copycat.
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't eat candy on Easter or dye eggs. What I am saying, though, is that I hope you're aware of our society's secularization of the sacred and you will stand stand for the truth and celebrate and exalt Christ this Easter (and every day!) And lest you get too discouraged, remember this: God is in control. He's not nervous or afraid of the devil's secular influence upon the world's view of the sacred. He is sovereign and all-powerful and knows exactly what He's doing.
So this Easter let's not exalt the secular but our sacred and resurrected Saviour, Jesus Christ!
All I Have is Christ
At our Easter service yesterday morning, we sang a beautiful song by Jordan Kauflin called, "All I Have is Christ." As we leave this Easter weekend, let's continue to reflect on what Jesus has done for us.
Good Friday and the Dark Guest
This article ("The Cross Guarantees the Death of our Dark Guest") by Jon Bloom for the Desiring God blog shares a great insight on and perfect prayer for Good Friday - it gives a well needed reminder of our sin and another well needed reminder of what was accomplished on that terrible and wonderful Friday 2,000 years ago.
Easter is for shouting. But Good Friday is for not much talking.
Good Friday is for long looks at the fulcrum of human history when the most beautiful and most horrible events converged in one glorious gory moment as the mangled, tortured holy Prince of Glory willingly became unholy (2 Corinthians 5:21) and died under the damning wrath of his holy Father, who loved him supremely and infinitely.
When we really see this for what it is, there are not many words. For God "sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). "Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "The Lord…laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). What we see on the cross is what we deserve.
This makes us freshly aware that cancelled sin still dwells in us. Our sin may be crucified, but it's not wholly mortified. And we want to "pour contempt on all [our] pride."1
This is good for our souls. It stabs at the heart of our self-righteousness by reminding us of what we really are without Jesus; how desperately we need the grace that he purchased.
Easter is for reveling in the triumph Jesus purchased for us. Good Friday is for remembering what we cost him. As we do let our words be few and well chosen.
Here is a prayer2 for Good Friday to help us repent again of our pride and remember that the cross guarantees pride's destruction:
The Dark Guest
O Lord,
Bend my hands and cut them off,
for I have often struck thee with a wayward will,
when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.
I am not yet weaned from all created glory,
Let me not only speak the word sin,
but see the thing itself.
Give me to view a discovered sinfulness,
to know that though my sins are crucified
they are never wholly mortified.
Hatred, malice, ill-will,
vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after
man's approval and applause,
all are crucified, forgiven,
but they rise again in my sinful heart.
O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!
Destroy, O God, the dark guest within
whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.
Yet thou hast not left me here without grace;
The cross still stands and meets my needs
in the deepest straits of the soul.
I thank thee that my remembrance of it
is like David's sight of Goliath's sword
which preached forth thy deliverance.
The memory of my great sins,
my many temptations, my falls,
bring afresh into my mind the remembrance
of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,
of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.
There is no treasure so wonderful
as that continuous experience of thy grace
toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:
Give me more of it.
Easter is for shouting. But Good Friday is for not much talking.
Good Friday is for long looks at the fulcrum of human history when the most beautiful and most horrible events converged in one glorious gory moment as the mangled, tortured holy Prince of Glory willingly became unholy (2 Corinthians 5:21) and died under the damning wrath of his holy Father, who loved him supremely and infinitely.
When we really see this for what it is, there are not many words. For God "sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). "Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "The Lord…laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). What we see on the cross is what we deserve.
This makes us freshly aware that cancelled sin still dwells in us. Our sin may be crucified, but it's not wholly mortified. And we want to "pour contempt on all [our] pride."1
This is good for our souls. It stabs at the heart of our self-righteousness by reminding us of what we really are without Jesus; how desperately we need the grace that he purchased.
Easter is for reveling in the triumph Jesus purchased for us. Good Friday is for remembering what we cost him. As we do let our words be few and well chosen.
Here is a prayer2 for Good Friday to help us repent again of our pride and remember that the cross guarantees pride's destruction:
The Dark Guest
O Lord,
Bend my hands and cut them off,
for I have often struck thee with a wayward will,
when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.
I am not yet weaned from all created glory,
honour, wisdom, and esteem of others,
for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.
for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.
Let me not only speak the word sin,
but see the thing itself.
Give me to view a discovered sinfulness,
to know that though my sins are crucified
they are never wholly mortified.
Hatred, malice, ill-will,
vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after
man's approval and applause,
all are crucified, forgiven,
but they rise again in my sinful heart.
O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!
Destroy, O God, the dark guest within
whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.
Yet thou hast not left me here without grace;
The cross still stands and meets my needs
in the deepest straits of the soul.
I thank thee that my remembrance of it
is like David's sight of Goliath's sword
which preached forth thy deliverance.
The memory of my great sins,
my many temptations, my falls,
bring afresh into my mind the remembrance
of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,
of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.
There is no treasure so wonderful
as that continuous experience of thy grace
toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:
Give me more of it.
________
1 From Isaac Watt’s hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
2 Bennett, Arthur. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2002. 126-27. Print.
________
Then What's the Big Deal?
So yes, the cross was horrible and agonizing, and yes, Jesus suffered terribly on it, but the true sacrifice He paid, the true pain He endured came by bearing the full and total wrath of God against sinners. He, the sinless, bore our sin. He, the guiltless, bore our guilt. He, the shameless, bore our shame. He, the perfect, bore our punishment. We deserved the wrath of God poured out upon us, but as we remember tomorrow, on Good Friday, Jesus stepped in and took our place. He willingly became our substitute, stepping in to pay for our unpardonable crimes.
So if all Jesus did to pay for our sins was just die on the cross, then what's the big deal? But since Jesus instead bore the full wrath of God while dying and suffered spiritually like you or I will never suffer, then that's a pretty big deal. In fact, that's the biggest deal that can ever happen.
What Would You Do If You Knew You Were Going to Die on Friday?
In this article, Michael Kelley shared seven things that Jesus did on the week leading up to His betrayal and crucifixion and linked it to the question, what would you do if you knew you were going to die on Friday?
- Speak honestly about what angers you (Matthew 23:1-36).
- Provide perspective to those around you (Matthew 24).
- Reflect on what really matters (Matthew 25).
- Have dinner with friends (Matthew 26:26-30).
- Let those around know how much you love them (John 13:1-20).
- Comfort your friends with hope (John 14).
- Pray (Matthew 26:36-46).
Your Saturday Smile: Easter Edition
5) How can you tell which rabbits are the oldest in a group? Just look for the grey hares!
4) How do you know carrots are good for your eyes? Have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?
3) Why didn't the egg cross the road? Because he wasn't a chicken yet.
2) Why does Peter Cottontail hop down the bunny trail? Because his parents won't let him borrow the car.
1) What do you call a line of rabbits walking backwards? A receding hareline!
Sunday's Comin'
It may be Friday, but Sunday's a'comin' ...
What's So Good About Good Friday?
What in the world is so good about Good Friday - the somber day before Easter, on which the death of the Son of God is remembered and celebrated?
Without Good Friday there would be no Easter. If Jesus didn't die, He wouldn't rise from the grave. If He didn't rise from the grave, He wouldn't be the Son of God. If He wasn't the Son of God, then He wouldn't be able to live a blameless life on earth. If He wouldn't be able to live a blameless life on earth, then He couldn't die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If He couldn't die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, then our sins wouldn't be atoned for. And if our sins weren't atoned for, we would have to bear the full and total wrath of God upon ourselves.
But because of Jesus' death and sacrifice upon the cross, we don't have to bear the wrath and punishment of God upon ourselves. Jesus' death allowed all who repent of their sins and believe in Him to have life! Jesus' death brought us life!
I'd say that that makes Good Friday pretty good news, wouldn't you?
Without Good Friday there would be no Easter. If Jesus didn't die, He wouldn't rise from the grave. If He didn't rise from the grave, He wouldn't be the Son of God. If He wasn't the Son of God, then He wouldn't be able to live a blameless life on earth. If He wouldn't be able to live a blameless life on earth, then He couldn't die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If He couldn't die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, then our sins wouldn't be atoned for. And if our sins weren't atoned for, we would have to bear the full and total wrath of God upon ourselves.
But because of Jesus' death and sacrifice upon the cross, we don't have to bear the wrath and punishment of God upon ourselves. Jesus' death allowed all who repent of their sins and believe in Him to have life! Jesus' death brought us life!
I'd say that that makes Good Friday pretty good news, wouldn't you?
Why Easter Makes Me Sad, Convicted and Filled With Hope and Joy ...
Convicted because I find myself often getting caught up in the candy and Easter Bunny stigma so much that I lose focus of Jesus. I often feel convicted the same way at Christmas time. When we as Christians prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, we're bombarded by the media, which tells us that Easter has one purpose and one purpose only - to celebrate yourself. Buy yourself some candy. Enjoy yourself with your family. Take care of yourself and have fun! But as Christians we must be concerned with the opposite. We must celebrate Jesus. We must do the things we do only to celebrate Jesus. We must have family dinners and go to church on Easter Sunday and have an Easter egg hunt solely to celebrate Jesus!
And finally, I'm filled with hope and joy when, and only when, I focus on the true meaning of Easter, the death and resurrection of our Living Lord, Jesus Christ. I'm filled with hope because I know that since Jesus rose from the grave, I can have hope that He will one day return and that one day, I'll be able to sit at His feet and worship Him! Joy because of what Jesus did for me! He rose from the dead and gave life to me, a sinner, saved only by the grace and mercy of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!