Tag Archive | colored eggs

What do you think of Easter?

Apr2

In researching about Jesus and His fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Him, I came across this link and just had to share it with you!

Mathematically speaking, the odds of anyone fulfilling this amount of prophecy are staggering. Mathematicians put it this way:1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power 1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!
https://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheology/jesus_prophecy_fulfilled.aspx

With Sunday being Easter, there’s a lot of discussion going on about Jesus and if He is all that the Bible says He is. In a bible study years ago of the book of John, this same mathematical statement was made and affected me profoundly. It sort of anchors my thoughts concerning Jesus, especially in light of all the negative discourse that’s out there about Him. 

Of course, Satan is just as active (maybe more so because his time is running out) in tempting believers to doubt Jesus and non-believers in completely discounting Jesus ever existed. It’s clearly easy to understand why non-believers could be so manipulated by Satan, but why is it that he is so successful in inducing such vulnerability in God’s army (you and me)?

. . .why is God’s army plagued with such a lack of boldness and courage and so easily disheartened and distracted? p. 1, FD

Repeatedly in my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, I state the answer to the above question:

. . . if he can keep you from consistent Bible study and prayer, then you will not possess the ability to recognize the lies of fiery darts and your thinking will be vulnerable to Satan’s manipulation. p. 61, FD

When these two disciplines, Bible study and prayer, are not practiced consistently in a Christian’s life, Satan’s fiery darts find an easy mark,. . . p. 63, FD

Have you been an easy mark for Satan? Do you find it easier to talk to others about anything other than Jesus? Do you find yourself expressing more passion for your favorite sport or movie than you do Jesus? 

Is Easter just an excuse for buying a new outfit? Is Easter one of the two times a year you feel the pull (thank goodness there is still some pulling) to attend church? How does the Easter story of colored eggs and chocolate bunnies compare to the Easter message of Jesus that you tell your children?

REMEMBER:

The first half of John 10:10 reveals Satan’s intentions toward mankind, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.” p. 6, FD

Be alert, my dear readers, to the fiery darts you have unknowingly allowed to influence your thoughts which have given way to attitudes and actions that have committed you to the bondage of negative thinking in which you may be bound!

Especially regarding Easter! 

Beware of the easter bunny!

Apr17

Hold on, this isn’t a blog condemning the secular celebration of our most cherished Christian holiday! 

(Please read on!)

If it was, some of you would be rolling your eyes  about now and you would be preparing to hit that little ‘x’ to close this tab.  But not to worry!  I am a grandmother of nine incredibly wonderful and fascinating grandchildren.  The oldest being 9 and the youngest being 17 months.  So I’m pretty confident that eggs will be dyed, hidden, and hunted for around this country home come Sunday.

But there will be something a little different!

What will stand out about my family’s celebration of Easter will be the difference in our focus.  Yes, we have small children who are of the prime age to gather colorful and decorated eggs for their baskets! And, of course, there will be chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and Cadbury eggs, etc.  They will all look stunningly adorable in their new Easter outfits. But while those things are fun, they are not my family’s focus when it comes to celebrating Easter.

So, what’s the difference?

The children are young in this family, but no one is too young to understand why Easter is such a special celebration.  And the emphasis in our family is that Jesus Christ died for our sins; came back to life; and after spending a little more time on this earth, He went to heaven.  That’s why we have the hope of heaven after our time here on this earth is ended.

Here’s some ideas from my first born daughter about sharing the Easter story with your children, and a really cute and fun game to help them grasp the resurrection.  Enjoy:

Tell them the Truth:

 Make sure your children (whatever their ages!) know these things about Jesus this week. Make sure they hear YOU tell them about God creating them, sin stealing them, Satan threatening them, & Jesus rescuing them! Don’t freak ’em out, just tell them the Truth. Let Easter come to life for them (& for you!). Let it become more than just a candy holiday they celebrate in Spring. Let them see, it’s their story…

A Fun Game to Play!

Look for empty things!! & Every time you find an empty thing, cheer “Hallelujah! The tomb is empty!”

Make a game of it by…
* Putting a sticker/mark on a card every time someone finds something empty & cheers. Count the stickers later & see who found the most. Maybe give a prize
* Putting a jelly bean in a jar every time someone finds something empty & cheers. On Easter Sunday eat all the jelly beans

…Have fun finding (& celebrating) Jesus in plain ole ordinary life

The fiery dart of Easter is that young children cannot grasp Jesus’s death and resurrection and how that relates to them and their future.  Therefore, we tell them the story of the Easter Bunny which is a simple cute story easier for them to grasp.

Sure they are young and there is much about Easter that is beyond them (remember how there is a common sense ‘truth’ in fiery darts! ! ! FD p 20) But if we bring it down to their level, they will understand far more than the fiery dart will allow us to believe.   If all our children know about Easter is bunnies, jelly beans, colored eggs, or new outfits, then they have missed totally the most significant event if Christendom. And if they miss that then they have missed everything!