Earlier today on Bellshill Salvation Army Band’s Facebook page I shared some devotions. I’d like to share those devotions with you tonight.
Just a few months ago we celebrated Christmas – A time of great joy when we celebrate the birth of Jesus; a time of laughter and joy as we spend time with family and friends – We were filled with the spirit of Christmas.
Now that it is Good Friday, my question to you is: are you full of the Easter spirit? That just doesn’t sound right does it? We don’t associate happiness or laughter with Good Friday do we, so maybe that’s why we we don’t talk about having the Easter spirit.
The Easter spirit can’t be conjured up from chocolate eggs or Easter bunnies, as these things have as much of a connection to the real meaning of Easter, as Santa Claus has to Christmas. Easter and specifically Good Friday, is a day we must remember the gruesome pain and suffering Christ suffered at Calvary because of our sins. So for us to get into the spirit of Easter, we must contemplate what Jesus’ death and resurrection actually means to us.
But because of our sins he was wounded,
Isaiah 53:5 (Good news translation)
beaten because of the evil we did.
We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
made whole by the blows he received.
I encourage you to take time today to consider what Jesus’ crucifixion means to you. Think about the cross. Think about your sins and how Jesus willing gave his life just so you could be forgiven. Therefore if we should have an Easter spirit, maybe it should be one of repentance for our sins, and gratefulness to God for all he sacrificed so our lives would be changed forever because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
As we consider the cross, can we truly say we are grateful for Christ’s victory over the grave? If you have never given your life to God, or need to recommit your life to Him, I encourage you to come and kneel at the foot of the cross today.
To thy cross I come, Lord, There for me is room, Lord, Poor unworthy me, even me. Pardon every sin, Lord, Place thy power within, Lord, Then I from this hour will follow thee
The Distinct Dot 