Tag: Easter

The Birth and Resurrection of Christ

Published on by Sandie DLeave a comment

IMG_7862This Sunday is Easter Sunday. Christ rose from the dead and He IS ALIVE.

At our house we are doing things a bit differently. Not only are we celebrating the Resurrection, we are celebrating the birth of Christ. We are Celebrating Christmas and Easter this coming Sunday. Gifts are handed out, tree is decorated and we will remember why Christ came to save us and we will celebrate that He is ALIVE. I know it sounds kinda weird, but that’s OK. I will be posting pictures of all the happenings after Sundays Celebration.

Since Christ wasn’t really born on December 25th, I don’t think He will have a problem with us celebrating on Easter Sunday. You will find people and historians that believe Jesus was born either in the spring or the fall. I don’t know when He was born, but I know without a doubt that He was born. But here is my thoughts on this and one reason we are doing Christmas and Easter together. I do want to cover a little bit about why Christmas and Easter is the most important of all observances to many Christians. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think many feel this way.

When we read Luke 2:7-8 we read, 7 “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

Ok, so here are my thoughts. Shepherds would not be in the fields in December. According to Luke it would suggest that Jesus could have been born in the early summer or fall. It is very cold in Judea during the month of December.  There is a really good article on Biblelight.net that goes into a lot of details about the birth of Christ and when it could or would have been. Here is the link for that http://biblelight.net/sukkoth.htm …

risenchristFor many Christians, myself included the most important holiday on the Christian calendar is Easter, which commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I think it is very important to remember that Christ died for my sins and all of mankind’s sins. Jesus was the atoning sacrifice.

We will all die physically unless Christ comes again while we are alive. Our death is not sufficient to atone for  our sins because atonement requires a perfect, spotless sacrifice.  Jesus, is the only perfect man who is blameless and without sin. He came to offer the pure, complete and everlasting sacrifice to remove, atone, and make eternal payment for our sin. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb.

The suffering and the glory of the coming Messiah was foretold in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53.  When we accept Jesus’ payment for our sin, His perfect and blameless sacrifice washes away our sin and restores our right standing with God. God’s mercy and grace provided a way for our salvation. There is nothing we can do on our own that will save us.

Only through Jesus Christ can our sins be forgiven, thus restoring our relationship with God and removing the separation caused by sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)

I just want to close this post with this thought.  it says in Romans 5:10, “For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. (NLT).”

When we accept and believe in Jesus Christ our sins are paid for, and we no longer have to die an eternal death. We receive eternal life though Jesus Christ.  And this is why Jesus had to die. And this is why we need to remember why He died for us.

When They Don’t Believe

Published on by Sandie DLeave a comment

Jesus3Well, today is Easter Sunday and it has been full of ups and downs.

First of all the most important thing is that Jesus Christ is ALIVE and that He died, was buried and rose from the dead. He did this for you and me. He died so we could live.

I get up to go to church like I do on most Sundays, but this one is different and somewhat depressing. Today our pastor and his wife retired. They will be missed. I’m happy for them though and know that they have a bunch of doors ready to open for them and for us.

Then I got to talking to my friend Nancybratt on Facebook. As a Christian, the death and life of Christ is the most important event ever. Because of these things, we have hope that we will live forever and reside with Christ.

She posted a topic about how her nephew and she got into an argument. She is a Christian, and he isn’t. He has denied Christ and she is very upset over that. I can’t blame her for that though, because I got into arguments with my niece Bridgette.

Human-EvolutionIn school she was being told mythology and evolution. I’m sure all kids are taught these things if they are in public school. I was when I was in high school too and thankfully I knew it was lame. But that isn’t the case for everyone.

Bridgette decided that the whole evolution thing made sense to her, and in that same conversation, a battle of truth and stupidity took over at my house. If she wanted to believe she came from a monkey, I was thinking “let her”. But I was more concerned about her soul then her thoughts that was injected into her teenage mind at the time.

I very much believe without a shadow of a doubt that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. There is no if’s, an’s or but’s about it. But to this young mind that believes anything that comes at her, she thought that there can’t be a God, because where did He come from. How do you explain faith to a person who has no faith? They have to have everything proven and see it.

GrandmaShoeLaugheadWhile I was having this conversation with her, I wanted to throw a shoe at her and knock some sense into her. My mother in law came out of her room and had about enough of it. If you want to get a sweet little mother in law that is under 5 feet tall upset, this is a good way to do that. She was so upset over what Bridgette was saying and the non sense, that her dentures almost flew out of her mouth. I think she would have thrown a shoe at her too if she was close to hers.

After she came out and tempers were flared, I decided that I had enough and had to go outside. It was such a battle over stupidity and faith that I was horse for two days afterwards.

After some time, I came to the conclusion that there is no making someone believe the way I did or do. Sometimes people and teens aren’t ready for the truth and I can’t hit them over the head with a hammer to get them to smarten up.

Nancybratt
Nancybratt

My friend Nancy is dealing with her nephew who once believed as a child. I don’t know how old he is now, but he has decided that there is no God and that the Bible isn’t true. Nancy is very upset over this and I can see why. When we love someone, we want them to be with us forever in eternity. We want them to know that Christ loves them and that He died for them. The alternative is a horrible thing to even imagine.

I did tell her that the best thing to do is to live by example and be there for him. He is the only one who can decide to follow Christ or not. Also, I think about how many different faiths or no faith at all that feel just as strongly about what they believe or don’t believe. Arguing will get us nowhere. Well, yeah it will, but that would be on high blood pressure meds and Lord knows what else.

I do pray that her nephew and all those who don’t know Christ personally will get to know Him. I pray that they will see the truth for what it is and to have faith in Christ alone.

I went to check out why some people choose not to believe and here is a list of some of the reasons why;

Reasons why people don’t accept Jesus:

  • They’ve been hurt.
  • They like their sin.
  • They don’t think He’s real.
  • They think He’s someone He’s not.
  • They’re ignorant of their need.
  • They’re afraid of what peers will think.
  • They don’t want to give up stuff.
  • They don’t believe in hell.
  • They think there’s more than one way to heaven.
  • They think they’re okay without Christ.
  • They’ve seen His followers act like hypocrites.
  • They’re deceived.
  • They feel unworthy
  • Never really read what the Bible had to say

50190-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Man-Bonking-Another-On-The-Head-With-A-Hammer-During-A-ConflictThere can be many more reasons why someone would choose not to become a believer in Christ. From my own experience  it does no good to make people believe  because that takes faith and if they have none, you are preaching to the choir. On most days I do good about not arguing about my faith in Jesus Christ, most days! For those other days, I have to understand that I may just be the seed planter and someone else needs to come along and water. It takes many people to help someone become mature in their faith. They don’t need to be mature in my faith, they have to have a personal relationship that is real to them. My faith does them no good if they have none for themselves.God knows what needs to be done and each person is given free will. We may not like this and many times I don’t because I want to use that hammer of common sense. But that isn’t for me to decide for them.

 

Christmas is Just around the Corner

Published on by Sandie DLeave a comment

I can’t believe that Christmas is just a few days away. This year Christmas was pretty easy since we exchanged names and I got the grand-kids only a couple gifts each. Normally they get all kinds of gifts, but I wanted them to have quality over quantity. We will see what they think on that.

I can’t help but think about all those parents who have lost children this year and what their Christmas is going to be like. My deepest prayers go out to them. This year my church family has had more than it’s share of deaths and people returning to be with the Lord. I would like to also remember our troops and their families who are still away or who have lost someone they love.  I hope 2013 is a much better year.

I don’t want this post to be negative, so I’m going to focus on all the good things about Christmas and what it means to me.

ImageChristmas isn’t just a day, but it is a feeling that is embedded in my heart. Without the birth of Christ, there would be no reason to celebrate or to be here. Life would be pointless. Even though Christ wasn’t born on December 25th, we still celebrate. I think Christmas can be everyday because we need to remember that He gave us the greatest gift of all. I’m not talking about keeping the Christmas tree up or the lights up all year. I’m talking about how we need to be thankful and celebrate that we can have eternal life because of Christ. That is so much more to celebrate than what we prepare for on December 25th.

I would love to one year celebrate Christmas at Easter. Wouldn’t that be awesome to be able to celebrate the birth and remember how He died for us all at once? I don’t think my family would go for that, but I would like to do that. To me Christmas and Easter are the two most important observances and holidays. The rest I can do without.

One of the things about Christmas and Easter that seems to confuse my mind and that isn’t hard at all is why some choose to celebrate these days. I guess as a Christian I feel that we need to remember these days are about Christ. But then I know many who aren’t Christian and they celebrate the day. Is it just a day for family and gift giving to them or ? I guess I won’t understand that because I come from a different place. Like with Halloween when people that believe that is the day that is for darkness and such and everyone celebrates it. Well our family doesn’t, but many do. I guess its all depends on the condition of the hearts.

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope that Jesus is a part of your Christmas whenever that would be.

ImageI came across someone asking a question about December 25th not being the real birthday of Christ and I liked how a couple people answered her question about where in the Bible does it say to celebrate the Birth of Christ and the date. I copied and pasted a couple of those answers.

1. The Bible does not record the dates of the birth and resurrection, but historians have a pretty good idea.

There was a astronomical event within a 4 year period of the date we state as the beginning of A.D. time (year 0) that would have looked like what was recorded in the Gospels about the star appearing, the one the wise men followed. The birth of Jesus was likely actually in April.
His death coincides with the Jewish Passover observance, so we know that was in early-late spring.

2. We are told to remember what Jesus did in His death and Resurrection; we do this when we meet as a Christian body at the breaking of Bread.

The Bible doesn’t mention that we are to celebrate Christ’s birthday. Interestingly, the only person in the Bible to celebrate their Birthday, was Herod!…Concordingly, ‘Easter’ is not a festival that Christians are told to follow either. Again as with the ‘Birthdays’, funnily enough, only Herod is recorded in the Bible celebrating Easter (Istar).
Having said that, there is nothing, in itself, wrong or sinful in regarding Christmas and Easter with great joy: not marking the day itself, but remembering and rejoicing in the event it commemorates—the miracle of Christ’s birth and resurrection. As Christians we are free to celebrate these occasions if we wish. if we do so for the right reasons.