Well, I had a great weekend hanging out with my friend Tracy and her mom Jan down in OC. For Easter, we went to the OC Fairgrounds where my old church from when I used to live down here, Rock Harbor, was holding its services for Easter this year. Since I've been studying the bible, it was so neat to understand what our pastor was speaking about in a new way... last week we studied Matthew, and this week Luke and Acts, so I've been seeing the difference in these two accounts that were written for different audiences (Jewish and Greek/Gentile.) The thing for it all that is so awesome is this: God wanted his message of hope to be available for all peoples. He hadn't given up on his people, the Jews... and he had never limited this message to be available only for the Jews (from the start of their nation - Abraham - they were meant to be blessed so that through them all nations would be blessed!) Anyway, I had such an awesome time singing songs and worshiping God on this day where people all around the world celebrate the hope we have because of his death and resurrection.
I am always hearing people say stuff about how Easter isn't about Jesus anymore, or that it was originally a pagan holiday that Christians tried to turn into one about Jesus, and I hear similar arguments about Christmas as well. What I would like to point out is this: The same God who created the heavens, the earth, the sun and moon and the seasons... I think he's big enough to be worshiped on every day of the year (which he created, by the way.) And if there are one or two days out of the year where people who don't normally worship Jesus or hear about him decide to put on pretty clothes and rock up to a church service even though the rest of their lives don't yet look very "Christian"... I don't see anything wrong about this... I actually think its pretty AWESOME! Yes, like many who heard the message back when Jesus was walking the earth and they still missed it, there will be those who still hear and miss it today. But there's the chance that others will hear, believe, and their lives will be forever changed. And if you have read the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, you'll see he was all about calling sinners to repentance on the individual scale.
Just think...
A shepherd leaving his flock of ninety-nine to go after one sheep that was lost?
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