The above video shows Jesus' at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. According to Hebrews 5:7-8, "during the last days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered."

This moves me, because I know what it's like to offer prayers with loud cries and tears, to come before God with a broken heart and a desperate need. I have learned what it is to pray to a God who has the power to make another way … but chooses not to. It helps to know Jesus understands what this feels like. Like Jesus, I've wrestled with God's plan for my life and the life of others even as I've sought to submit to it. But Jesus shows me how to obey when God's answer to my sincere, reverent prayer is "no." I also see Jesus' example of obedience.

As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication. Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival it would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.

As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.

The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the Resurrection. However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a year-round symbol of their faith. As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
 
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians. From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, coloured brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers. Today, children hunt coloured eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

I dreamed I was having a conversation with the Lord one night and I said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led me to two doors. He opened one, and I looked into a room which had a large round table in the middle and I saw a large pot of stew, which smelled so delicious it made my mouth water. Yet, the people who I saw sitting around the table were thin, sickly, and appeared famished. They were each holding spoons with very long handles strapped to their arms. Each one could reach into the stew-pot and take a spoonful, but with the handle being longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons close to their mouths. I shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering and the Lord said, "You have just seen Hell."

The Lord then opened the second door. The room was exactly as the first, with a large round table and a pot of stew, again the smell made my mouth water. Here the people  were equipped with the same long-handled spoons strapped to their arms as in the previous room, but these people were well nourished, plump, laughing and talking to each other. I said, "Lord I don't understand." It is very simple," said the Lord, "and requires but one skill. As you can see, those that you see here have learned to feed each other, while the selfish think only of themselves."

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you. 
 

Brother Roy