Preparing for Easter….
Matthew 26:2 You know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.
Easter is drawing closer and as a Christian, this time of the Christian calendar always stirs my heart like no other.
I read and re-read over and over the passages of scripture that detail the prophecies, the planning and the events that occurred leading up to Easter from the Book of Genesis 3:15 where it mentions the promise of the Saviour the first time all the way through each of the gospels. My heart and my mind fill with the power, the passion and the pain of Christ’s preparation for His death upon that cruel cross and the treatment He received before He was crucified – it was horrific.
Even the evening skies at this time as we lead into Easter, tell the story of Christ, as it (Passover/Easter) falls at the time of the new moon. Looking up in the night sky in this season I imagine Jesus particularly in the Garden of Gethsemane praying on such an evening under the same moon, those great droplets of blood from His brow, as the disciples slept!
My prayer is that you too will ‘prepare’ your heart for Easter by setting aside time to breath in the scriptures and the amazing events they detail as God gave His only begotten Son to die for the sins of a selfish world.
If you have children, gather them in these days leading up to Easter and read over to them the preparation, the reasons and the wonder of Christ’s wonderful sacrifice.
Don’t leave out the details of His suffering, allow the children to ask why and in your answer to their questions, let the passion and wonderment of your relationship with Jesus Christ be part of your answer. And your children will love God with all their hearts too, as you share the most amazing event in history that led to your salvation!