Dear woman reading this,  who are Cassie and Precious? I may have introduced Cassie to you some time ago but Precious is brand new.

Cassie is a baby goat.  If you have spent as much time as I have on YouTube watching baby goat videos, you have a pretty good idea what Cassie is like.  If Cassie had a theme song, it would be “Happy Rhythm” recorded by the Cathedrals and also by Ernie Haase and Signature Sound and probably by others.  I don’t know who originally wrote the words and music but I get the idea the song has been around for a lot of years. Sometime, search YouTube for one of those groups singing that song.

Precious is a rabbit.  She has issues we probably will find out about in the future but she was purchased by a family and then rejected and brought to the pasture because she didn’t lay colored Easter eggs.

Let’s see how Precious is doing in the pasture.

Did you just hear a scream and see something fly past us? Cassie! Little One! What’s going on?

Arnold! Over here! Arnold always makes a grand entrance just because of his sheer size! He’s one big bird!

Arnold,  did you hear that scream? Do you know what happened?

Here comes The Shepherd carrying Precious and she looks terrified.

Arnold,  she looked at you and screamed.

Oh. I get it.  Eagles are a rabbit’s natural enemies.  She’s certain you will carry her off in your talons.

Shh! The Shepherd is speaking to Precious in a quiet, gentle voice. Notice how he isn’t scolding her for being scared.  He understands.

Notice, also, that the Shepherd isn’t shooing Cassie away and saying he has something more important to do. Although he is gently reassuring Precious,  he is also enjoying Cassie as she runs and jumps.  Whoops! Cassie just jumped on your back,  Arnold! That’s gotta be a first: a baby goat on the back of an eagle!

Dear woman friend reading this,  just like the Shepherd in the story,  your Shepherd,  the Lord Jesus,  understands you and me. He understands our weaknesses.  Like the Shepherd understood Precious’ fear of Arnold,  the Lord Jesus understands our fears.

Like the Shepherd didn’t push Cassie away and tell her not to be a  nuisance,  the Lord Jesus doesn’t consider you or me to be a nuisance.

We can be so thankful that our Shepherd understands us!

Leave a comment telling me about how the Lord Jesus understands you and doesn’t criticize or scold you for having weaknesses.

 

 

 

May I depart from the usual format for this post?

A friend recently wrote that Jesus’s life was bookended by two possibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb.

Today we celebrate the empty tomb.

Some may say Jesus didn’t really die. He only swooned and revived in the cool of the tomb. Do you remember what the soldier did right after Jesus gave up His life? The soldier pierced His side with a spear. Blood and water flowed out showing the sac around His heart had broken,  something that only happens at death.

Some may say that Jesus’s followers stole His body and falsely claimed He arose.  How would the disciples have gotten past the soldiers guarding the door? Neglect of duty would cost them their lives. If the disciples had stolen Jesus’s body, what gave them the courage to proclaim the resurrection so boldly knowing it wasn’t true?

Why did the veil in the temple tear in two from top to bottom? The veil symbolized that humanity’s sin prevented access to God. The weight of the veil could have caused it to tear some from the bottom up  but it didn’t tear that way. The way it tore, you could say God Himself tore it from top to bottom to say that now, through Jesus’s death,  humanity can have direct access to God.

Why did Jesus die so much faster than usual? Jesus died about 3:00 which was the time the Passover  lamb was killed. As the final Passover lamb,  He had to die at the same time as the lamb.

Why death by crucifixion? I love to point out to the children in my Sunday school class the reason for this. Back in Egypt,  the Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb and put the blood on the top of the door and on the door posts. Now do something you haven’t done since childhood and connect the dots.  What do you get? A cross. How did the Israelites roast the Passover lamb? Their roasting method had the lamb connected to something resembling a cross.

So what? Maybe this is all familiar to you. Maybe you have heard this for years. Maybe you ask what this has to do with us 2,000 years later.

Go back to the veil.  All this was done to make a way for humanity to once again be in a right relationship with God.

Think about it.  We had rejected God and went our own way which leads to destruction.  But God loves us, loves you, personally,  so much that He took our place,  your place, on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin, for your sin, once and for all. Then, upon His death,  God Himself tears the veil from top to bottom,  opening the way to Himself once again.

Ok, fine. What’s the resurrection got to do with this? It was proof that God accepted Jesus’s death as payment for the sin of humanity.

Fine, but what does this have to do with us 2,000 years later?

When someone offers you a gift, when do you get the benefit of that gift? When you accept that gift.

Have you accepted Jesus as your substitute? Have you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life He offers?

Believe that Jesus died as your Substitute and rose again and ask Him to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord, the Ruler of your life.

Easter really doesn’t have anything to do with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks and colored eggs. It’s the celebration of when Jesus conquered death.

Wouldn’t right now be the perfect time to receive the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that God offers?

If you have received Jesus’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life,  would you let me know in the comments below? If you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life after reading this post,  would you let me know in the comments below?

Little One,  Arnold,  Cassie and Precious, if they were real, would love it if you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life today. Accept His gift. Accept it now.