Resurrection Day

I have always called this day Easter. That is what the stores call it and the cards and most churches. However, the word Easter remained a puzzle as I did not know where it came from. Resurrection Day always seemed too formal for the celebration of such a joyful moment, so it remained Easter. Well, no more! I discovered this week where the word Easter comes from. As with most of our holy holidays, the word comes from a pagan worship. Seems we mixed several of our Christian traditions with pagan traditions to get them involved with our beliefs. What a mistake. I plan to eliminate Easter from my vocabulary as I do not want a pagan god of some kind to be honored. Look it up some time then join me.

Resurrection Day is the basis of our faith in Christ. For without this moment our faith would be in vain. He has risen. He has risen. He is God. He came, suffered and died for our sins and was raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit of God. When we die, because of what He has done for us, we will also rise to be with Him forever. What a joyful day this should be for all of us.

Do not let the business of dinner, games, gatherings and yes, even church steal this day from you. Take time to worship Him, enjoy Him and celebrate what His resurrection means to you personally. Read the account of this event in all four gospels. It will bless you. Each account has a little different description of what happened as they individually witnessed the miracle.

Years ago I experienced the best Resurrection Day ever. Thoughts of this moment visit me often, in fact they come every year around Resurrection Day. The church service had already started which meant someone was late. Music filled the air outside the building. The church stood tall (two stories) and grass with a few daisies grew along side the shaded walk. Trees in bloom cast shadows beneath the sun and the atmosphere maintained that obvious spring touch. Before I entered the threshold, trumpets sounded. Trumpets! The holiness of the day, the joy of He has risen sank into me and worship of our magnificent Lord, our Saviour, our King, our God magnetized me to the place I stood. A few seconds passed before I entered the building but that one moment continued through out the morning of worship and obviously through out the rest of my life.

I pray that, in this Resurrection Day, every person who reads this post will have a stop dead in your tracks moment of worship for our risen Lord.