Easter is upon us

By Pastor Gord Armstrong
RR Ministerial

Happy Easter Everyone! We will celebrate this day on April 8, just a short 12 days away. So, do you ever wonder just why we celebrate Easter? What is so significant about that day? We pull out our best spring outfits, shine our shoes, get a new do-o (hair cut and set) boy do we put on the dog. Then looking our best we venture off to church.
Some say that Easter makes them feel that spring is finally here, winter is over, its ,time for a new season. It is such a great feeling to attend church, to greet friends, and sing the inspiring Easter songs. Its even great to give little kids some Easter eggs- It can be a fun day, after all. But, lets not let these things, like the pleasure of spring, the joy of eating candy, derail the true meaning of this very significant day in our year. Each year we must pause in our busy lives to contemplate why we celebrate this day.
We know that God doesn‚t make mistakes, It was not an accident that Christ was born into our world, It was not a mistake that He was crucified, It was not a mistake that Christ rose victorious on Easter Sunday morning. It was all part of Gods great plan.
Then, how do we make sense of all this? We need to examine the facts. Christ was born of a virgin (Mary). She was pregnant with Gods one and only Son (John 3:16) Jesus was born sinless, He lived a sinless life, something you and I can not do. He was the spotless lamb that was to be sacrificed for us. Jesus was falsely accused, crucified and shed his precious blood as an atonement for sin. Who‚s Sin? Yours and mine! Then the impossible happened, Christ Jesus rose from the Dead on Easter Morning. He conquered death and opened the gates of heaven for those who chose to believe in Him. To those who believe, this is the greatest Day. It is a day to shout, to sing, to praise God and express our love to God for this awesome plan of salvation.
I can not possible do justice to this great event in History in one short article. I cannot possibly give the splendor, the majesty, the awesomeness of this event in this writing. But, let me encourage you to read the gospel of John, or Matthew, or Luke or Mark, or all four, sometime between now and Easter Sunday morning. Then lets gather in our churches and raise the roof right off with our praise, our worship and our love, for the God who loved us so much he GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON FOR YOU AND FOR ME ! HE IS RISEN: WOW!!! Have a happy Easter everyone.