The Real Message of Easter

Other day I was chatting with some of my friends on social media and since Easter is around the corner, I asked them their plans for Easter as they too are Christians. And I got replies like going to church, celebrations with family (which means lots of chicken after the 40 days Lent and booze), Easter eggs(the demand for the egg is so high that you have to pre-order at the bakery!) This made me to think What is the REAL MESSAGE OF EASTER? Is it just about eating, drinking and celebrations?

Like my friends, many people still think Easter is all about fluffy chicken, once-a-year midnight mass, celebrations and Easter eggs. Although the egg represents 'new life' but we hardly realize that our new life is in Christ. The real meaning of Easter is lost, just like Christmas. We have become like heathens and Easter is become just a mere celebration.

So what is Easter?
God's word very clearly tells us that man's destiny is to be the children of God's eternal family. We are the most important and placed highest amongst God's creation. “You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalms 8:5-6).God is building his family, in his image, having his name so that we may see him in eternity. But like every movie has a villain, our villain is the sin that is battling against us and within us.

In the old testament, the priest would sacrifice the bull, or the lamb as a sacrificial sin offering and its blood would make atonement and purify their sins. That's the old order of atonement. But that could not take away the sins of human beings completely. That is when God decided to send the SAVIOUR, the Hero of our lives, His one and only son to this earth to be the sacrificial lamb for us. He was born without sin and he lived without sin. Yet the sins of this world came upon him. He bore it all. He was led to the cross as a sheep taken for slaughter but he did not open his mouth. Jesus died on the cross for our sins once and for all and we have direct access to Him. The lamb of God(Jesus) was bodily resurrected on the third day and is in heaven preparing a place for us so that when He comes back, He will take us to heaven to be with him till eternity. We no longer have to sacrifice animals for our sins or have to confess our sins in front of our priests. We don't have to lament on every Good Friday and make merry on every Easter. That is the real message of Easter. YES, our Lord is not dead, HE IS ALIVE FOREVER.

How then should I enjoy my Easter?

Our Easter should be daily. We need to celebrate Christ daily by fulfilling his commandments, out of which the most important is the great commission. "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20)." Our purpose on this earth is to preach the good news of the resurrected Christ to the ends of the Earth. Today we live in a rapid change. People's heart are filled with lots of fear,insecurity, incapability, diseases, dread proving that we are not able to cope with the problems around the world like rising cases of crime and evil, sexual rebellion, alcoholism, political and social issues etc. This is where we Christians can be best involved in the hour of need by spreading the love of Christ - the real message of Easter. This is the real joy that Jesus gives.

Am I capable of becoming Jesus' disciple?

Many times we think, am I worth? But the Bible says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4). So be of good cheer, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But the good news is that we now have the forgiveness for our sins and have the opportunity to enter the family of God. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9) Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalms 34:14).
And you automatically qualify to become the disciples and children of God.

I heard a story of a couple who went to a coffee shop to drink coffee. After having their coffee, they threw the cups in the trash can and left. Later, a rag picker came and collected the cups. He saw a message on the cup which said scratch the cup. He scratched the cup and saw a gift inside of $1 million as the coffee shop was conducting a scratch and win contest and the rag picker won it. It all depends on us how we use what is available to us. God is with us always but its our choice of whether to accept him or reject him. So I encourage everyone that through this Easter, let us become more diligent in having a closer walk with God, renew our mind, body, soul so as to become a living sacrifice for him and be a aroma pleasing to him in between our colleagues, friends, family, relatives DAILY. Do not forget for even a single day for what the Lord has done for you by dying on the cross.

Happy Easter!

Overcoming Failures

We've all put our heart in doing something and have many times failed to achieve it. It may be during our childhood or while we were teens or even when we grew up and became adults. We all have tasted the bitter drink of failure from time to time - bad exams, wrong relationships, being unsuccessful in whatever you do or even having failed GOD.

Bible too talks about failure and recognizes that human beings fail. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. James 3:2. But the question arises - how do we handle failure in the situation that we are in and at that moment. There are 2 choices in front us- either we feel depressed or seek deliverence. Its easy to be depressed and give up and blame it on God or on ourself for the circumstance, which is what we do most of the time. But Jesus wants us to be delivered. Even in complete devotion and love to God we may fall. That is why God gave us his son Jesus who died for us so that we may get up and start our life again. No one is perfect but God does not want us to face failure for our entire life. Handling failure is a vital part of our spiritual life and a sign of our maturity.

God wants us to repent and seek god. If we look at the life of King David, he had failed in many situations. In one occasion when David decided to bring the ark back, he failed at his attempt as he planned to bring the ark back with his own wisdom and knowledge but when we further read in the Bible, he sought God's word and was successful in bringing the ark into Jerusalem which led into joyous celebration for all children of Israel. David, despite of his wrong decision and failure, he did not get depressed but decided to seek God and do the right thing and in the end found success. Almost all important figures in the Bible, to name a few - Abraham, Peter, Moses all failed but they not only recovered from their failures but they learned from it and confessed their sins to God and gained favour and strength from God. Humble yourself to God and acknowledge your mistakes and failures and he will lift you up in due time.

God did not restrain us from failing either because He wants us to fail or He wants to punish us for disobeying Him but He wants to teach us as part of his discipline. Hebrews 12:11 says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Be disciplined and self controlled, practicing the fruits of the spirit so that we may get what scripture says in Philipians 3:14 - I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Get help from the word of God. Word of God will give answers to all your doubts, fear and failures. Bible is full of verses to comfort you in times of need. Here are some verses that you can meditate on when you face trials or failures in your life -

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Romans 5:8 - But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

2 Cor 12:9-10 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Acts 2:38 - And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:3-5 - More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Proverbs 28:13 - Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

The words of our mouth can bring failure into our lives. We need to be very careful about the words that come out of our mouth. We say words like nothing good happens to me, I will never be able to do this or achieve this. Though were saying this but we don't realize that what we are in large part is because of what we speak. They are like seed that is planted, once we speak they take root and product fruit. We speak words of defeat and failure and can't expect success in our life. Confess the word of God and release yourself from the curse of a bad mouth.

Above all, never give up. Pray without ceasing. God has a set time for our miracles. Remain active and do the right things. We can do all things through Christ and boldly declare our destiny. We need to have a vision for our victory and have to see ourself happy and successful and give light as it comes to pass. We have to understand the true purpose of God's calling in our life. God tells us to be active, enthusiastic, energetic, on fire and zealous. God wants to defeat our flesh and win the battle for us. Trust in the Lord at all times. I wish that God may give you all the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.