Here comes the sun

Given the advice of health experts and nutritionists, you would never think of starting your day without a good breakfast. After all, research has shown that after sleeping, the body needs and requires the appropriate fuel to assure peak performance. Beginning each day with a few quiet moments of prayer (1 Kings 8:28) and reflection are equally vital to one’s spiritual agility. It’s not that God needs to hear from us on a regular basis, but that we need to be still and listen to Him before the sounds of the day overwhelm our senses. The world throws an incredible number of distractions and temptations our way in order to steal focus from our primary mission – following Jesus’ lead and fulfilling the plan that Our Redeemer has uniquely designed for us (Jeremiah 10:23). With each new dawn, we must be refreshed and nourished in order to tackle the task at hand with energy and enthusiasm. Starting the morning off on the right foot in earnest prayer (Psalm 17:6) will guarantee we never walk alone. As my father often told me across the breakfast table when a full schedule of chores and activities were waiting, “eat up, son, we’re burning daylight.”

That's what faith must be

Rabbits, marshmallows, egg dyes, haircuts, new Sunday outfits… the worldly signs of Easter signal springtime. In reality, Easter is not about a bunny. It’s about something darker and far more significant – the final act of the Passion, in which Jesus, following his death on the cross at the hands of the Romans, rose from his tomb after three days to rejoin his Father in heaven (1 Peter 1:3). For even the most devoted believers, the story detailed in the Bible strains the brain as truly unbelievable. Yet, therein lies the paradox: the act of resurrection may indeed be impossible to believe, but belief in heaven requires it. If our earthly shell disintegrates, what will comprise our heavenly form (1 Corinthians 15:40)? And, if we don’t have bodies in heaven, what kind of heaven would it be? Those who suggest immortality of the soul alone might find it difficult to enjoy the promised pleasures of eternal life without any senses. Is the capability to believe in such a supernatural event as Christ’s resurrection a special act of God’s grace? We may not know what God has in store for us in His heaven (Psalm 73:25), but recognizing His Son’s resurrection and believing the Truth that it really happened makes Easter even more meaningful.