HAPPY EASTER!
Where ever you may be in your journey of life — mourning in your Good Friday or rejoicing in anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promise in resurrection — know in your heart that Easter morning comes after the darkest night. This is the gift of rebirth, of new beginnings, no matter how much you think you have sunk deep in the quagmire of your own doing.
The gift of resurrection if for all us, saints and sinners alike. Such is the enduring and overflowing mercy of God. This is why He has sent His only begotten son jesus Christ to live in our midst, agonize and die in the cross, so we may all live, and live life abundantly.
Start the new day of the rest of your life holding on to God’s mercy, reclaiming your joy that you may have lost. Today is that new day.
Let me share with you this new collection of Easter seeds of faith. May they take root in your heart and help you bear fruits of love, peace, happiness and abundant blessings for you and your loved ones:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
“…just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
“Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless.” (Charles M. Crowe)
“The resurrection of Jesus changes the face of death for all His people. Death is no longer a prison, but a passage into God’s presence. Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.” (Clarence W. Hall)
“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.” (Robert Flatt)
“Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer;
Death is strong, but Life is stronger;
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right…”
(Phillips Brooks, “An Easter Carol”)
“The best proof that Christ has risen is that he is still alive. And for the immense majority of our contemporaries, the only way of seeing him alive is for us Christians to love one another.” (Louis Evely)
“Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, “Christ is risen,” but “I shall rise.” (Phillips BrooksCOE)
“Easter is not a time for groping through dusty, musty tomes or tombs to disprove spontaneous generation or even to prove life eternal. It is a day to fan the ashes of dead hope, a day to banish doubts and seek the slopes where the sun is rising, to revel in the faith which transports us out of ourselves and the dead past into the vast and inviting unknown.” (Author unknown)
“Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing. (Albert LaightonCOE)
“Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.” (Floyd W. Tomkins)
“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.” (Martin Luther)
“The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection.” (Billy Graham)
“As believers, we are commanded to be thankful. I believe this is a natural result of allowing the peace of God to rule our hearts. Did you know that you can choose to have peace? You dont have to let things upset you. You dont have to be anxious and worried. That word peace means to set at one again. When you set your mind at one with God and His Word, you will have peace.” (Joel Osteen)
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos