All I need to know
I learned from the Easter Bunny!
* Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
* Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
* There’s no such thing as too much candy.
* All work and no play can make you a basket case.
* A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.
* Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
* Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
* Some body parts should be floppy.
* Keep your paws off of other people’s jelly beans.
* Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.
* The grass is always greener in someone else’s basket.
To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.
May the joy of the season fill your heart.
AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!
Happy Easter!
It’s a true story, courtesy of Ida Mae Kempel, but the names have been changed. Jeremy was 12 years old and he was only in the second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His body was twisted, his mind was kind of slow, and his teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with his squirming and his grunting noises. However, at other times he spoke pretty clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated that darkness in his brain. No one could have guessed that Jeremy would end up teaching his entire class, oh, and his teacher.
Yeah, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Easter Eggs.”
Doris Miller finally became so exasperated with Jeremy that she asked his parents to come to St. Theresa’s for a consultation. When she explained that it would be better for Jeremy and the other students if, well you know, if he were in a special school. His mother begged for Jeremy to stay where he felt safe.
After they left, the teacher struggled with what to do. She wanted to sympathize with the parents. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But what about the other students?
Well, God did something in her heart that day. She ended up praying for the patience to be what Jeremy needed. From that day she tried to ignore his noises and his blank stares. One day he limped up to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. And out loud, Jeremy exclaimed, “I love you, Miss Miller!” The other students kind of snickered and she was a little embarrassed.
Easter approached and Doris told her students the story of Jesus, and she emphasized the idea of new life. She gave each child a large plastic egg and she gave them an interesting assignment. She said, “Bring it back the next day with something inside that shows new life.” Well, the children were excited, well, all except Jeremy. Doris saw no signs that he “got it.” She was going to call his parents that night to explain the assignment but she forgot.
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in this large wicker basket on Miss Miller’s desk. Then came the time to open their eggs. Well, one had a flower in her egg, another a plastic butterfly, still another had a rock with moss on it – all symbols of new life. When Doris opened the fourth egg, she just kind of gasped. The egg was empty! Yeah, it was Jeremy’s.
She was going to quickly set it aside, but Jeremy suddenly spoke up, “Miss Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg?” Doris said, “But your egg is empty, Jeremy!” He looked into her eyes and said softly, “Yes, but Jesus’ tomb was empty, too! Jesus was killed, but His Father raised Him up!” The recess bell rang and the children ran out to play. And the teacher cried.
Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the funeral home were kind of surprised by what they saw there. On top of Jeremy’s casket, there were 19 eggs – all of them empty.
And now, our word for today from the Word of God in John 14:19 – something Jeremy really understood. Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live.” The tomb is empty. The arguments about the way to God end at that empty tomb. Our little, earthbound lives don’t have to be small anymore when we open up to the power of the One who blew the doors off His grave, who died on a cross to pay for every sin we’ve ever done. Our questions and our fears about what happens after our last heartbeat are answered at that empty tomb.
Jesus is alive today! The question is if you belong to Him! Have you ever opened the door of your heart and said, “Jesus, I’m putting all my trust in You to be my Savior from my sin”? If you never have, don’t go into another Easter weekend; don’t do Good Friday without opening your heart to Him. We’d love to help you with that, and maybe you can find some encouragement right where a lot of people have. It’s at our website. It’s YoursForLife.net. I hope you’ll check it out.
See, Jesus has beaten what has beaten every other person who ever lived. And because He lives, you can live also…forever.
I’m having flashbacks, yeah, of some very special Easters past; often at a sunrise service. Like the Easter in Miami, with the sun rising over Biscayne Bay as I spoke about Jesus rising from the dead. Or the Easter morning on an Idaho Indian reservation; that was great! Celebrating Jesus with Native Americans in a public park. And the one on the mountaintop near New York City.
And then there was that sunny, but cold, Easter on an Ozark mountainside, with the backdrop of the massive white statue of Jesus known as “The Christ of the Ozarks.” He stands there, night and day, with His arms open wide. You know, that’s my Jesus – arms open wide.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Easter – Up Close and Personal.”
That’s why there’s a personal invitation woven into the accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection. The women who had stuck with Jesus when everyone else ran away had come with spices to properly care for Jesus’ hastily buried body. What they found rocked their world; the huge stone rolled away from the tomb and a powerful angel sitting on it! Then the shocker of all shockers. We find it in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 28:5-6. “I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen, just as He said.”
Then, the invitation, “Come and see.”
I remember the morning I “came and saw” for myself what Jesus did for me on Good Friday and Easter. My life has never been the same. That invitation, by the way, is still open this Easter. Come, check it out. See for yourself. You can miss the game-changing impact of Jesus’ Easter triumph if you only look at it as a historical event; which, of course it is, according to six historians of that time. But it’s so much more than that.
You can even miss it if it’s just a religious event, a special day on the church calendar. It’s so much more personal than that, because Jesus died on that cross to take my hell for my sin, and so I can go to His heaven. And because Jesus blew away death that Easter dawn, I don’t ever have to fear death again. He said to those who belong to Him, “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). Jesus, and Jesus alone, proved He can give eternal life because He’s got eternal life!
There’s a lot on the line in that “come and see.” Like eternity! Because just knowing about Jesus, liking Jesus, agreeing with Jesus is still missing Jesus. See, He’s the Gift you have to take to make it yours. He’s the Rescuer you have to grab onto in order to be saved. You can be in church, celebrating Easter, but never really have a personal relationship with Him. He can be in your head, but not in your heart. And that’s the difference between forever with Him and forever without Him.
And because everyone deserves a chance at Jesus, He won’t let us just sit there and say, “Oh, it’s so nice to be here with all the folks who know Jesus.” No, His Easter invitation is followed by His Easter orders. “Go and tell” (Matthew 28:10).
When you’ve come and seen what Jesus can do, then go and tell those who haven’t. To know the love of a crucified Savior and the power of a risen Savior, and not to tell others about Him, is a crime against Him and a crime against them. And what should I tell them? It says, “Mary Magdalene went…with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord’” (John 20:18). That’s it! Just tell them your Hope Story of your firsthand experience with Jesus and the difference He’s made.
And if you have never come and seen for yourself, if you’ve never personalized – made for you what Jesus did on the cross when He died to pay for every wrong thing you’ve ever done, taking your hell. If you’ve never taken Him into your life, let this be the day. What a wonderful time to do that! Just tell Him, “Jesus, I’m Yours.” And please go to our website. I can meet you by way of our website and help you there understand for sure that you’ve begun your relationship with Him. It’s YoursForLife.net.
I’m so glad the arms of Jesus are still open wide this Easter, to send those who know Him to “go and tell” those who don’t, and to welcome one who’s been searching for a lifetime to “come and see” His love and His power for themselves. Yeah, Jesus walked out of His grave that first Easter, and He’s ready to walk into your life this Easter.
http://www.hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/easter-up-close-and-personal-6583?utm_campaign=949063703c-AWWY+6583&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Ron+Hutchcraft+Ministries%2C+Inc.