First Importance...

I love Easter...There is something about being able to step back and see the progression that took place in Jesus' life during his last week on earth. The same people who would shout his praises as He came riding into the city, were the same ones that would deny Him just a few days later. And then we get to Friday...the day Jesus would follow the plan of His Father and take the sins of world upod Himself and die. But just three days later, we would be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. In it, Jesus overcame sin and death, and He made a way for us to stop tryng to save oursevles and instead trust in the salvation that comes only through faith in the finished work of Jesus! I love Easter!
Don't get me wrong, I love all of the other events we celebrate as followers of Jesus throughout the year. But Easter...Easter is different. It draws us back to the turning point of human history. It brings us back to the death and ressurection of Jesus! And it is when we focus our lives on what the cross and empty grave actually mean, that we gain a right perspective of what our lives are to be about.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15;1-4, reminds the Christians there, and us, of what is most important...the cross and ressurection. Why? Because it is there that we see who we once were, dead in our sin (Eph. 2:5), and what Christ has made us to be, the righteousness of God! It reminds us that our lives are not our own, but that we were bought at a price with the blood and life of Jesus! It reminds us what our lives need to be about daily- pointing people to Jesus through our lives and our words! And it reminds us that we need Jesus everyday...we need His grace, we need His Love, and we need His power....we need...Easter...