Easter means much more than just extra church services, baskets full of candy, or egg hunts. Easter is God’s fulfillment of His age-old promise. Man (and woman) had directly disobeyed God. They sinned. This sin doomed mankind forever and our daily sin digs us into a deeper hole. But God promised to save us from our sin.

To Satan he said,

“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

He promised to Satan someone who would be a Satan-crusher, a Savior of mankind. God fulfilled part of his promise on Christmas.

“Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God…While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.” (Luke 1-2, selected verses)

God sent his Son as our Savior. He lived his life perfectly in our place, but he had to do more than that. He had to take upon himself the death—the punishment—that we deserved. Isaiah prophesied it hundreds of years before…

“Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Isaiah’s prophesy came to fruition through Jesus’ death on the cross. “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle… Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19 selected verses)

Jesus’ death was the end of the sacrificial substitution Jesus had to fulfill. That is why he said, “It is finished.” But Jesus was not done there; he rose from the dead, in full glory conquering not only sin and the devil, but death as well.

We celebrate His glory with him on Easter. But Easter doesn’t have to be the end of the celebration, celebrate Easter every day because with faith, your sin is taken care of! We are saved!

HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED! HALLELUIAH!

Passage to consider: Matthew 25:34-46

“…the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

46″Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

When was the last time you helped a stranger? or done something decent to someone you don’t really like? or shown love to those who don’t deserve it?

Those who ignore God will go away to eternal punishment. In other words: Ignoring God’s call leads to hell. We have been given the opportunity of a lifetime an eternity, let’s not blow it.

Passage to consider:

Psalm 57:10-11
¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

How many people can you put your FULL confidence in? Not many, I’m sure. For me it is my parents and my fiancé.

But God is different. His faithfulness is so great it reaches “to the skies.” HE will never leave us; HE will always have our back. HE loves us.

David is writing this psalm while fleeing from Saul. David was afraid for his life. He knew his situation was grim, but he cried out to his God for help. He trusted in God’s love and faithfulness, and praised his God. “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”

We can have that same confidence in God’s love and faithfulness. We should praise his name.