Pastor's Pondering
Read Lead Pastor Duane Mabee's weekly Pastor's Ponderings here!
What is Easter
by Duane Mabee on April 14, 2022What is Easter all about? There are many ways to answer that, but here’s one to think about. Easter is a reminder that God loves you so much He planned way ahead of time to save you and make you part of His family.
The Bible says:
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His Own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure… He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins, (Eph 1:3-8 NLT).
Think about that. God loved you before He created you. He loved you despite knowing that you would turn against Him and do things He detests. He loves you so much that He did everything necessary to make it possible for you to have a relationship with Him and be forgiven of everything you’ve done wrong.
God chose to pay a heavy price to redeem you. He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world, where He knew Jesus would be rejected, falsely accused, and crucified.
Jesus loved you enough to volunteer to die in your place. Death is the penalty for sin. It is the penalty we deserve, but Jesus didn’t. He never sinned. He died on that cross to pay the penalty for our sin – your sin and mine. Once He finished paying for our sins, death had no right to continue to hold Him. He didn’t have any sins of His Own to pay for. Acts 2:24 says, God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. His resurrection was witnessed by many people, who were willing to be put to death rather than say the resurrection wasn’t true.
God loves you so much, He did everything necessary to make it possible for you to be forgiven and become His dearly loved child, but in order for that to happen, you must receive Jesus and what He has done for you.
Acts 2:21 says everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. The only way to be saved is to admit that you need to be saved and ask Jesus to do it for you. Call on Him. Tell Him you believe He died on the cross in your place and for your sins. Ask Him to save you. Then, Acts 2:38-39 says to repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. That’s what Easter’s all about.