“THE NAME EASTER COMES FROM THE NAME OF A TEUTONIC GODDESS OF SPRING NAMED EASTRE.”
That’s what the Internet says…. must be true?
Easter did not originate with the Resurrection of Jesus but was originally a Pagan Festival, which the Roman Catholics converted into a day in honor of Jesus Christ. This being said, every day we should remember that Jesus rose from the dead…for us.
Now, check this out:
Luke 18:31-33 reads: "Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, `we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.’"
Believe it or not, the Apostles didn’t understand what he was saying.
The apostle Paul once said, "I preach unto you Christ crucified. Unto the Jews that is a stumbling block. Unto the Greeks it is foolishness. But to those who are saved it is the power of God and the wisdom of God." You see, Easter is the very heart of the message about Jesus.
That is why Jesus took His apostles aside saying what he said in Luke. Now what could be better than that? Jesus didn’t tell them that just once, but over & over again. In Matthew 16, 17, & 20 Jesus tells them the same thing. Still, they didn’t really understand, like it was a mystery.
When Paul refers to the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, he calls it a "mystery." And the word "mystery" that he uses is a Greek word for a military strategy that is kept secret from the enemy. Cool? Who’s our enemy? Satan!
Okay so let’s go into some covert ops here…
Oftentimes military strategy depended so much upon secrecy, that even those in positions of command weren’t told the secret strategy until the last possible minute, because if the enemy found out, then the plan would fail. Ye olde “less of those who know the better the secret is kept.” If Satan had found out what was happening, the plan wouldn’t have worked. So God kept it secret.
At Calvary, Satan is saying, "Nah, Na nah na Nah Nah! I’ve won. I’ve beaten God. Evil is triumphant. Righteousness has been defeated." Satan didn’t know the plan of God. God can be sneaky…Thank him!!! Even though Jesus told the apostles ahead of time, it went right over their heads.
After the resurrection, their eyes were opened. Now all the pieces fit together, and these words from Jesus made sense to them. For the first time, they began to understand this teaching that had just gone over their heads before.
So, guess what, because of HIM:
1. Here is power to change the way we think, to change the way we act, to change our lives.
2. Here is power to overcome our sins, to give us victory over alcoholism, or drug abuse.
3. Here is power to heal marriages that are broken, power to aid the heart torn apart by grief.
4. Here is power to bring families back together again, and to fill chasms of loneliness that are deep inside of us.
5. Here is power greater than anything that the world has ever seen.
That’s a lot of power and to be Thankful for!!!
My inside job for this year / month / week / day / hour / minute / second is …
No comments:
Post a Comment