Inspiring or Distracting by Steph Beth Nickel

As the celebration of our Lord’s substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection approaches, one of two things can happen.

We can spend extra time meditating on what Jesus accomplished on our behalf …

OR …

We can face a tsunami of extra plans and preparations coupled with trying to accomplish five days' worth of work in only four.

True Confession

Because I have extra work to accomplish this week (thankfully, some of it is even paid work), both in my office and beyond, I haven’t been spending near the amount of time I would like to focused on the Saviour.

I am thankful, however, for Christ-centred podcasts that I can listen to while I’m cleaning the church (and my house, although this won’t get near as much of my attention).

While I’m taking my daughter to work and picking her up or toodling around, running errands, I can listen to faith-based podcasts and audiobooks.

Even in the midst of my busyness, there are things I can do to keep my thoughts centred on Jesus and the price He paid on my behalf.

There are also other things happening this week that have the potential to help me focus even more intently on the most profound weekend on the Christian calendar—as long as I don’t let my mind wander to the tasks yet undone:

1. Worship team practice on Thursday night.

2. The Good Friday Service (to be followed by a fellowship lunch).

3. The Resurrection Sunday service (preceded by yet another worship team practice).

 And then there’s the amazing reminder in Colossian 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (NIV). (emphasis mine)

So, whether I’m spending quiet time with the Lord, participating in the church services, cleaning my house, preparing meals, or working in my office, I can turn my thoughts heavenward. I can work at my tasks as if doing them for God—because, ultimately, I am.

This week—or any week—I can and should commit my To-Do List to Him. In fact, I repeatedly make plans to begin each task by committing it to Him. This is not a habit I’ve gotten into, but it is one I intend to work on today and in the days ahead.

So, is the upcoming weekend an inspiration or a distraction? 

While it has the potential to be both, as we take our thoughts captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), even the distractions can inspire us.

Do you find this week inspiring, distracting, or a bit of both? How do you stay focused on our Saviour when you’re especially busy? How do you point those around you to the One we are to honour each and every day He gives us breath?

What If The Miracle of Easter Is Saturday? by Bob Jones

Easter Sunday morning, millions of believers will attend a physically distanced outdoor sunrise service. Good Friday, many will spend some portion of the day attending services to remember the suffering of Jesus. However, the most relatable day of Easter weekend is not Friday or Sunday – its Saturday. It's your day.

 

On Saturday morning after Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples wake after not having slept for two days. The city that was screaming for blood the day before is quiet. Crowds have disbanded. Jesus is dead.

 

Those who believe in Jesus, gather. They remember; things he said; what he taught; things he did; people he touched or healed. They remember what it felt like when this Jesus wanted them. They remember their hopes and dreams of how they were going to change the world.

 

John Ortberg reminds us of these things and more in Who Is This Man. 

 

Maybe they talk about what went wrong. What happened? None of them wants to say this, but in their hearts, they’re trying to come to grips with this unfathomable thought: Jesus failed. Jesus ended up a failure.

 

He couldn’t convince the chief priests. He couldn’t win over Rome to make peace or get enough ordinary people to understand His message. Jesus couldn’t even train His disciples to be courageous at the moment of great crisis.

 

You might expect that if Jesus were to be crucified then resurrected, God would just get on with it.

 

There are no Bible verses for Saturday. The two days on either side of Easter Saturday are heavily discussed. Some of the brightest minds in the world have devoted themselves primarily to those two days - maybe the two most studied days in history.

 

In its own way, Saturday should mark Easter as much as Friday and Sunday. Everybody knows Saturday. It’s where we exist.

 

Saturday is the day you hear your doctor’s prognosis. You wouldn’t wish these feelings on your worst enemy. You fear that all your tomorrows will feel as dark as today.

 

Saturday is the day your dream died. You wake up and you’re still alive. You have to go on, but you don’t know how. Worse, you don’t know why.

 

Saturday is the day when you think that your circumstances are as good as they are going to get. Prayers unanswered. Silence. Brass heavens.

 

Saturday is the day the tomb is NOT empty.

 

What if the miracle of Easter is not Sunday? What it its Saturday? The miracle of Saturday is the Son of God lies dead. He who knew no sin became like me. And you. He died in our place.

 

Jesus showed his invincibility not by avoiding death, but by suffering death.

 

Saturday is the day when faith matters most. It’s the evidence of things unseen.

 

If you can find God in a tomb, you will find Him in any circumstance you are facing.

 

Thank God for Easter Saturday.

 

Bob Jones is a recovering perfectionist who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks iced tea. My walls are adorned with our sons’ framed football jerseys, and my bookshelves, with soul food. 

I write to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose.

Please follow my writing at REVwords.com

Symbols of the Sacred by Nina Faye Morey

What does the Easter miracle of the death and resurrection of Christ mean to me? Several symbols are commonly used to represent such Christian concepts. As a Christian writer, I regularly employ these symbols or “mental pictures.” Like Jesus’ parables, they help make religious messages and teachings easily understood and remembered by young and old alike.

As Easter approaches, I search the store shelves overflowing with candy Easter eggs, stuffed Easter bunnies, and Easter baskets for gifts for my grandchildren. Their greeting cards also depict these and other symbols commonly associated with the holiday. The verses celebrate the coming of spring and new life and wish them “Happy Easter.” I might find “religious” Easter cards for my significant adults, but it’s clear the Cross of Calvary faces stiff competition.

Easter Egg Basket & Lily

So what, if anything, do these curious Easter customs and symbols have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ? The truth is Easter didn’t originate with Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Its only Biblical reference is a mistranslation of the word “Pascha,” which refers to the “Passover” (Acts 12:4 KJV). Our Easter observances are an eclectic mixture of ancient mythology and pagan practices that pre-date Christianity. The early Christian Church adapted many pagan symbols for rebirth, renewal, resurrection, and transformation, such as eggs and rabbits, from spring fertility festivals to explain Christ’s death and resurrection to new converts. Because of their pagan roots, some Christians reject these symbols and judge those who embrace them. However, the Christian church has long incorporated them to both conceal and reveal sacred truths.

This Easter I’m looking forward to painting some Easter eggs with my grandchildren. It’s a folk art that combines the pagan symbolism of the new life created in the egg with the Christian symbolism of the new life found in Christ. Since the egg holds the miraculous power of giving birth to new life, I’ll point out how this makes them an especially appropriate symbol of our Lord’s resurrection. I’ll reveal the special meaning of each colour; and how it’s believed that the more colours your Easter egg has, the greater its magical power. Red represents the life-giving blood Jesus shed on the cross so those who believe in Him could have eternal life. White stands for innocence and purity and symbolizes God’s forgiveness of our sins through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Green expresses our hope of life after death. Yellow depicts light, God, and love.

Egg-laying Easter Bunny

I’ll also describe the meaning of each pattern as we draw them on our eggs. My grandkids are already familiar with many Christian symbols, like crosses, doves, and suns. Fish symbols were secret signs used by early Christians because Jesus was the “fisher of men.” Triangles represent the Trinity. Dots depict the tears the Virgin Mary shed at the foot of the cross. Spirals symbolize the mysteries of life, death, and everlasting life. Borders, ribbons, and curls with no beginning or end are called eternity bands and illustrate infinity and immortality. According to legend, their coils draw in and trap evil spirits, so they offer protection from sin.

For Christians, Good Friday commemorates Christ’s death on the cross and burial in the tomb. Easter Sunday celebrates His miraculous resurrection and triumph over death that gives hope to His faithful followers. I’ll explain to my grandchildren how Easter eggs are powerful symbols of this Easter miracle. Their hard shells represent Christ’s sealed tomb. Cracking them open Easter morning portrays the divine mystery of Christ’s gift of new life to believers through His death and resurrection.

Illustration Credits:

Easter Basket & Lily © 2008 Nina Faye Morey

(Previously Published in Grainews, March 10, 2008)

Egg-Laying Easter Bunny © 2007 Nina Faye Morey

(Previously Published in Grainews, March 26, 2007)

Thankful for the Blood

 Three years ago this March 30th, I had surgery to remove a cancerous prostate. My surgeon pointed out later I would have been dead within two years without the surgery. But he also told me that I needed two blood transfusions during surgery, without which I would not have survived the operation.

In my upcoming book, Prostate Surgery: My Story of Survival, due out early summer, I describe my feelings that first Easter shortly after surgery. They were a sharp reminder my cancer of sin could not be removed without the divine blood that flowed at Calvary. Here is an excerpt from that book.

But Easter, traditionally the period remembering Christ’s death and resurrection, had particular meaning for me following surgery. It feels a little peculiar to think that I had someone else’s blood flowing through my arteries and veins during surgery. Although I had been a blood donor most of my life, I was particularly grateful for the one who donated blood for me. The parallel is all too clear: I am eternally grateful for the blood that was given for me at the cross. Human blood gives me existence, but the life that has ultimate meaning for me is the transcendent life gained through the blood of Jesus Christ shed for me.

As Ann and I attended Good Friday services this year and in the future, our gratitude to God for His sacrifice on our behalf, will always be heightened by this recalling this experience again.

"GOOD" Friday?

 "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.


In you, O LORD, I take refuge;


let me never be put to shame.


In your justice rescue me.


Into your hands I commend my spirit;


you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."


- Psalm 31

They call it Good Friday. I have often wondered why is it called good when it is anything but...? The atrocities and horrors that Jesus endured on the cross certainly don't go hand in hand with anything even resembling pleasant.

As I pondered more, I decided to do my usual 'Google' trick. I found a couple of interesting comments including one on how the exact origins of the name are uncertain. Not very helpful.

Some argue it stems from the use of good as an adjective applied to the day, which is an Old English synonym for holy. Others argue it is a corruption of the word God in the same way that good-bye comes from the phrase God be with ye.

Another Google link on the origins of the Good Friday name, talked about how Christians believe the day is good because the message of Easter is about Christ's victory over sin, death, and evil.

Just as the origins of the name, Good Friday, will remain a mystery, so will the events of Easter - especially the truly 'good' and miraculous part on Easter morning when Christ arose from the grave!

 This is where faith steps in and we realize that it is not our job to solve the mystery. Our job is to have faith and believe. Jesus' death on the cross signifies new life in Christ. Through the Grace of God, we are made whole again and in His strength alone we are equipped to go out and share the news with the rest of the world.

 

It really is the greatest story ever told, when you stop and think about it. No Easter Bunny story or chocolate egg candy delight can surpass that one.
 

And the wonderful part about the Easter Story is that it doesn't end there. Christ surely did suffer and die on the cross and then rose again, but because of all that, the Spirit is living in me (and you) and all believers. Hallelujah, Christ arose!

A Bad Day and the Day After - M. Laycock

A Bad Day. We got a call from the vet that my dog had been hit by a car. She was still alive when we got there and we had to decide whether or not to try and keep her that way. She was an old dog – somewhere between fifteen and eighteen, we think, and she was in pain, so we did what was merciful.

Then I got home to find an email from an editor saying he was rejecting a manuscript I’d sent him a few months ago. I was kind of numb as I read it. The words took a while to sink in.

I was expecting my dog to die. She was old a long time ago. I was pretty sure that manuscript would be rejected by that editor. It isn’t ready to be published.

But it was still a bad day. A day when things die always is.

But now that the day is over and I look back on it, I see there were some good things in that space of twenty-four hours. I was able to put my hand over my dog’s beating heart one more time and cry a little before having to go on with a day full of things that needed to be done. I was able to be thankful for the fifteen years that little ball of fur and bone was underfoot. I was able to be thankful for friends that make you feel better just by sitting across a table sipping tea; for days full of mundane things that are so beautiful in their rhythm that you hardly notice. And for that word, ‘hardly,’ because I did notice, just a bit; for the hope that gives me. And for editors whose rejections leave you still believing in the dreams you have for words strung across a page.

There are always things to be thankful for, even on a day when death becomes a reality. There is always hope for a new day, hope that the darkness won’t always seem impenetrable.

There is always hope because our Redeemer lives. It was a dark day when He died -literally, according to the scriptures - but Jesus didn’t stay wrapped in death. He rose and walked among his friends again, spoke to them, encouraged them, ate with them. He not only gave them hope for a new day, he gave them life forever after, life lived in the presence of God.

The Apostle John wrote that “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30,31).

We no longer live within the day on which death seemed victorious. We live in the day that came three days after. We call it Easter.

And Jesus said – “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b).


Marcia's devotionals have won awards and been published internationally. See more of her work at www.vinemarc.com

Good Friday -- Janet Sketchley

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8, NIV*

I have a friend who resists accepting God because of the Cross. How could a loving Father send His own Son to such a cruel death? Why would He arrange it that way?

Short answer: because there was no other way. A loving Father would have chosen any other way, grasped at any straw. But nothing else had the power to break the power of sin and restore humanity to a God both loving and holy. As long as we stood steeped in evil, we couldn’t stand with Him.

And let’s admit it, there’s not one of us who has never sinned. One sin is all it takes. That’s not hardline legalism, that’s a fact of life. Purity and filth can’t coexist.

That doesn’t mean we’re all dirty, rotten scoundrels, just that we’re not pure. What a love, Who would endure torture and death to restore us!

Let’s be very clear: Jesus was not a victim. He knew what was coming, knew the cost before He stepped out of Heaven. Theologians debate whether He understood it from the Nativity, but we can be sure He knew it that night in the garden. But He chose to go ahead because there was no other way.

Thank You, Jesus, for laying aside Heaven’s splendour to walk in human flesh and show us the Father. And to suffer and die so that we could have eternal life with Father, Son and Spirit.

One of the ways I’ll observe His sacrifice for me is to listen to Todd Agnew’s “Blood is on My Hands” (Reflections of Something, 2007). I invite you to take 5 minutes to visit (Click here or go to YouTube and search by title). The visuals are difficult in places, but you can close your eyes and listen.

Because of Jesus,

Joanna Mallory

PS: If you feel inclined, please lift a prayer for K. God is a patient suitor.

*(New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. To read this passage in context, see www.biblegateway.com)

© Janet Sketchley, 2008
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For devotionals, reviews and conversation, stop by Janet Sketchley's blog, God with Us: Finding Joy.