Wow! Have you noticed? Easter is coming very early this year, March 23rd. I don't know what the weather will be like by then, but the mounds of snow in the church parking lot are just now starting to melt down a little.
It has been a cold, but very productive winter for Baker City and the whole Baker Valley. We have prayed often for rain because of the drought conditions we have been dealing with for several years. Nobody really likes having to deal with snow storms and icy road conditions, and yet, God has answered our prayers. We have one of the best snow packs here in the valley and up in the mountains in years. Remember to thank the Lord and give Him the glory for much needed moisture throughout our region.
But cold and wet weather doesn't seem like the right kind of weather for Easter. Easter conjures up visions of flowers breaking up through the soil, blossoms in the trees, new born calves and lambs, and just warmer weather in general. Like I said, we don't know what another three weeks will bring in the way of weather, but it sure seems cold, snowy, and wet right now.
Hopefully, thoughts about Easter bring to mind more than fair weather and all the new life that spring brings into being, or Easter bunnies and colored eggs.
I would hope for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, the first thoughts of Easter are images of the risen Lord, Jesus Christ! Resurrected from the grave, standing before us in glorious splendor.
We live in an age and culture that has been trying to push images of Jesus out of Easter. The culture would rather just celebrate Easter Bunnies and have Easter Egg hunts in the park, and “Spring Holiday” programs at school. There is nothing wrong with these things, mind you, that is as long as Jesus is exalted to his rightful place.
What is that "rightful place?" He is the exalted Lord; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Name above all names; the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. As we say at Christmas time, “He is the reason for the season.”
People can say what they want about Easter, that it is really a holiday derived from pagan roots, or that the name Easter is derived from a pagan god. It doesn’t really matter what people say, because, it is without question a date on the calendar that has been claimed for the celebration and remembrance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ dating back to the early church.
People can say what they want about Easter, that it is really a holiday derived from pagan roots, or that the name Easter is derived from a pagan god. It doesn’t really matter what people say, because, it is without question a date on the calendar that has been claimed for the celebration and remembrance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ dating back to the early church.
Stand up and be counted this Easter Season. Share your faith with those around you, and be sure to invite your friends and family to church to celebrate this wondrous and most glorious day, remembering the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
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