He Has Risen!!!

     Easter's coming up on Sunday; also known as Resurrection Sunday. Some people celebrate by going easter egg hunting, painting eggs, and petting the easter bunny. Other's celebrate it by singing songs and reading in the Bible about the story of Jesus' resurrection.

      What is Easter Sunday, and why do we celebrate it?
   
     Easter Sunday (AKA Resurrection Sunday) Most people understand that Easter Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but are confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.

     Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the common modern traditions related to Easter Sunday. Essentially, what occurred is that in order to make Christianity more attractive to non-Christians, the ancient Roman Catholic Church mixed the celebration of Jesus' resurrection with celebrations that involved spring fertility rituals. These spring fertility rituals are the source of the egg and bunny traditions.

     The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19). Jesus' resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated (see 1 Corinthians 15). While it is appropriate for Jesus' resurrection to be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which Jesus' resurrection is celebrated should not be referred to as Easter. Easter has nothing to do with Jesus' resurrection on a Sunday.

     As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we celebrate Jesus' resurrection should not be referred to as "Easter Sunday." Rather, something like "Resurrection Sunday" would be far more appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is unthinkable that we would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny to be the focus of the day instead of Jesus' resurrection.

     By all means, celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ's resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just once a year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not allow the fun and games to distract our attention from what the day should truly be all about—the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection demonstrates that we can indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven by receiving Jesus as our Savior. (http://www.gotquestions.org/)

     "...But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay...'"

Have a great week celebrating our Savior's resurrection!

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, so I thought I'd keep it simple, and post a couple poems about Good Friday and Jesus's Resurrection.  I'll post some pictures hopefully on Monday about how our weekend went. Have a wonderful weekend celebrating God's goodness to us! :)

THE NAIL

The nail is used for many things,
A useful securing tool;
A hammer is taken by the hand
And drives it, that's the rule.

A nail is needed when you build,

It's a necessary thing.

It was also used over two thousand years ago

To hang upon a tree, the King.

He took the pain and suffering

For all mankind, you see.

Yet He took the torture just for you,

And He took it just for me.

You cannot keep a good man down,

Through the years many have said.

He went down a man, and rose a King

To deliver the spiritually dead.

He is on the throne

At God's right hand.

The First, the Last,

The Great I Am.

No nail, no hammer can touch Him now--

The mighty King on high.

What He built is forevermore,

Salvation for you and I.

So when you see a simple nail with it's sharpened end,

And need to build or repair,

Lift up your eyes, your heart and mind

And thank Him with a prayer.

                                                          -- Laurene H. Bell

Defeated:

Satan's waged a war for thousands of years,

and brought forth millions of tears.

infiltrating our inner lines, Putting evil thoughts into our minds.

He's destroyed our trust in one another,

and turned sister against brother.

He attacks the mind that's his playground,

and he really knows his way around.

He perfected his schemes, and filled our minds with doubt.

which makes us think there's no way out.

Attacking unrelentlessly , he slaughtered God's Holy Lamb.

Desecrating the words of the one who says I AM.

But in Satan's ignorance, what he didn't see,

Is the Lamb that he slaughtered, is our eternal victory!

Now he struts up and down this land,

thinking everything is in his hand.

Satan is known as the angel of light,

disobedient deceiver, he continues to fight.

He roams the earth seeking whom he may devour,

but soon he will see God's final hour.

Satan fills our heart with jealousy and with pride,

making it hard to stand side by side.

Always attacking in such a way

that even God's best Lambs are led astray.

He'll make you believe things that are not true,

try to make you do things you don't want to do.

putting temptations before your eyes

and covering them up in disguise.

The battle cry is getting louder.

the countdown is close to the finals hour.

Satan's attacking from every side.

but he's STILL no match for The Crucified!

~ By Tim Baughman '88

The Thorn

As I mentioned before, our family went to see, "The Thorn" for Easter. For those of you who don't know what it is...it's a, how shall we say it...play/musical about Jesus, and his life on this earth basically until after he rose from the dead.It was interesting to see all the different kinds of costumes, and the actors/acrobats.
In one of the scenes when Judas is fighting himself whether he should betray Jesus or not, Satan was there enticing him, and well... Judas gave in.
They had a "John the Baptist" as the Narrator, and after Judas got the money for betraying Jesus, everyone paused while the "Narrator" came out. He said, "Satan comes here for one purpose, and one purpose only...to kill, steal, and destroy." ...isn't this so true? Whether we like it or not, Satan is always going to try to steal, kill, and destroy. He will destroy our lives if we let him. There is only one thing that can stop Satan from winning, and that is the power that Christ has. We can only overcome Satan and temptation if we have Christ on our throne. That is the only way... in Judas's life, he gave in...but we as children of God have a choice...what is your choice? Do you remember the Lord's Prayer? Matthew 6:9-15 "...And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."
With every temptation God provides a way of escape. (1st Corinthians 10:13)

He has Risen!!!

Today is Easter Sunday where we celebrate that Christ has Risen from the dead! Yesterday we saw, "The Thorn", I will write all about how I liked it another time, but for now, here is the, "Easter Story Poem"

Easter Story

Jesus came to compensate
For all the wrongs we do.
He came to earth to die for us,
So we’d be born anew.

"This bitter cup, let it pass from me,"
He cried, in a plaintive voice;
"Yet not My will, but Thine be done;"
He said, in His faithful choice.

The Judas kiss would seal his fate;
He faced a hostile crowd;
The governor, Pilate, saw through it all;
Jesus’ guilt he disavowed.

"I wash my hands of all of this,"
Said Pilate, "Let Him be."
But the crowd yelled "Crucify him now,
And set Barabbas free!"

Pilate yielded to their wish;
And Jesus was led away.
The soldiers beat him, and mocked Him, too,
Yet He continued to obey.

A crown of thorns lay on His head,
As His sentence was carried out;
His hands and feet were pierced with nails,
But He did not scream or shout.

"Father, forgive them for this crime;
They know not what they do."
He said this despite His torment, because,
He was thinking of me and you.

"It is finished," he sighed in His anguish and pain,
As His body gave up to death.
The curtain tore, and darkness fell,
After He took His last breath.

The best of the story is the very last part;
It’s why on Easter we’re filled with pleasure:
Death could not our Savior hold;
His power is beyond all measure.

He rose from the grave, and was seen all around;
Ever since, He’s inspired devotion,
And we’ll be with Him for eternity,
When we get our heavenly promotion.

That’s why Easter is a major event:
He suffered and died in our place.
He rose and forgave us and loves us still,
Our Savior of matchless grace.

By Joanna Fuchs

~Do you feel Defeated? Give your burden to God~

Over the last few years I have gotten quite a few emails from various friends and family asking for advice. They feel like they can go any further, and that maybe God has forgotten about them. Or that maybe he doesn't care.

Recently my friend sent out a prayer request to a group of us girls on the prayer support list. She told us that some things were going on her family but that she couldn't specify what. A week or so later she emailed everyone to let everyone know that the reason was her mother's Health. Her mother has Breast Cancer, and was going through a rough

spot in life. They were going through test and are still deciding to see if their mom needs or should take Chemo Therapy.

It's hard in life when you've reached a point in the road where you feel lonely. Believe me, I know. I've been there too.

But...God is right there with us. He has been tempted, rejected, pushed around, hated, laughed at, mistreated, crucified, lonely, and angry before. He knows how you feel, and he is right there with you comforting you. When Jesus found out the Lazarus died, it says in the Bible that "Jesus Wept". He knows what it feels like to lose someone. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he felt alone. He's been there. He knows how you feel. Let him take all your troubles, fears, anxieties, and worry's. He'll take it, if you let him.

Here is a poem that my Uncle Time wrote. I thought that I should let you all read it.

Defeated:

Satan's waged a war for thousands of years,

and brought forth millions of tears.

infiltrating our inner lines, Putting evil thoughts into our minds.

He's destroyed our trust in one another,

and turned sister against brother.

He attacks the mind that's his playground,

and he really knows his way around.

He perfected his schemes, and filled our minds with doubt.

which makes us think there's no way out.

Attacking unrelentlessly , he slaughtered God's Holy Lamb.

Desecrating the words of the one who says I AM.

But in Satan's ignorance, what he didn't see,

Is the Lamb that he slaughtered, is our eternal victory!

Now he struts up and down this land,

thinking everything is in his hand.

Satan is known as the angel of light,

disobedient deceiver, he continues to fight.

He roams the earth seeking whom he may devour,

but soon he will see God's final hour.

Satan fills our heart with jealousy and with pride,

making it hard to stand side by side.

Always attacking in such a way

that even God's best Lambs are led astray.

He'll make you believe things that are not true,

try to make you do things you don't want to do.

putting temptations before your eyes

and covering them up in disguise.

The battle cry is getting louder.

the countdown is close to the finals hour.

Satan's attacking from every side.

but he's STILL no match for The Crucified!

~ By Tim Baughman '88