The Real Meaning of Easter

Happy Easter everyone,

Millions of Christians (Christ-followers) around the world are celebrating Easter today. For Christians Easter is not about the easter bunny or easter eggs or any such tradition. Instead it's about the risen Savior: the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ.

The Message Bible puts it the following way:

Luke 24

Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery

1-3 At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.

4-8 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.

9-11 They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.

12 But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.

I love the way The Message translation (above) puts it: "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.

It's the real message, the real story, behind Easter: the death, burial (and most importantly), the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

The New Living Translation puts it this way:

Luke 24

The Resurrection

1 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

The New Living Translation puts it slightly different, but it's the same core message: “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

It's all about Jesus today, The Risen One, The Living One, The Son of the Living God, The Savior: Jesus Christ!

Praise God!

MJ

Thankful Thursday, Despite....

Hey everyone,

Well it's been another Thursday, or as my good friend Mike Spillman (Future You University) has dubbed it "Thankful Thursday". It's a day to be thankful, grateful, looking for, seeing and being appreciative of the positive around you. Is this always possible though?

It may be "Thankful Thursday", a day when you should be thankful (and every day should be like that really), but it's kind of hard to be thankful when your life doesn't quite go the way you'd like it, isn't it? I mean not every day is going to turn out the way you'd like it so what do you do on those days?

I've been confronted with this question lately and my answer is simply: keep being thankful, grateful, positive and appreciative of the positive that surrounds you on a daily basis. I've had to take this advice of mine today (and every day lately). It seems that since my post on Attitude Tune-Up, my attitude's been tested daily. Go figure right?

My point is that despite the apparent tests of my attitude I've still somehow managed to stay pretty positive and upbeat. I'd like to take credit for that but quite frankly it's had little to do with me and a lot to do with my faith.

As you may or may not know, I'm a Christian, or as I like to refer to myself, a Christ-follower. I have to say that it's been my relationship with Christ that has kept me going a lot lately. I do believe that if it hadn't been for Christ (whose death, burial and resurrection the entire church world will be celebrating shortly), I probably wouldn't make it from day to day.

For that alone I'd like to thank Him and I'm so thankful and grateful and appreciative for. It's kind of odd (I think) how He's kept me going, how He's kept reminding me that He loves me. He's done it a lot lately mainly through my little nieces. Being around them, and sometimes just thinking about them, brings such joy to my life and reminds me that despite every thing life brings our way sometimes, I still have a lot to be thankful for.

Of course my little nieces hasn't been the only way He's reminded me of His constant love for me, nor consequently are they the only thing I have to be grateful and thankful for. I am blessed to still have my parents around and kicking. I'm blessed to be able to get up every day virtually pain free, take a deep breath, eat great meals, wear cool clothes (it tends to get pretty hot here in Belize), etc (you get the point).

So this brings me back to my original question: is it possible to be thankful, grateful, looking for, seeing and being appreciative of the positive around you all the time? While it may not be the easiest thing to do ALL the time, it is certainly possible. I mean, you're still breathing aren't you? So that alone should be where you can start. As for me, I pray I always remain thankful, no matter what happens in my life or in the lives of those I care about.

God bless..

MJ

A Few Things I'm Thankful For

Yesterday was "Thankful Thursday", or at least that's how my good friend Mike Spillman coined it. In response to his question "What do YOU have to be THANKFUL for?" I said the following:

Among many things I'm thankful for waking up every day. I know that may seem lame but amazingly enough we take the very breath we breathe for granted most the time and I just like to take time out now and again to remember how good God is to keep me alive everyday. Of course, I'm very thankful for my little nieces.

Today I'd like to share a few more things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful that I have my family around me (both my parents are still alive and kicking). I'm thankful that I have the freedom to worship my God in private as well as in public (in Sunday services at church). I'm thankful for the sun, the moon, the stars. I'm thankful that I can see them. I'm thankful for food. I'm thankful that I can taste and enjoy it. I'm thankful for clothing and shelter. I'm thankful that I can feel warm and cozy at night when I go to sleep (or as is the case most the time in Belize, cool in contrast to the day's heat). I'm thankful that I can hear and enjoy the birds twirping, my little niece playing and having fun and even crying sometimes. I'm thankful for my health (though it's not at its optimum).

These are just a few more things I'm thankful for. What are you thankful for today?

God bless...

Miss J