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PROGRAM D-8063

Are you ready for Easter? I’m not asking if you’ve got the house clean or have planned your Easter feast. I’m asking if you’ve prepared your heart to celebrate the glorious truth that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again from the dead to ensure that you can spend eternity with him. It’s more important than any other day we celebrate, so I’m suggesting some things you can do to prepare your heart for Easter.

There are many good books written to help you do this. I’ve been reading a couple of them and I encourage you to do that. Some are very short—you can read them in an hour or less. Let me share some quotes from authors you may know.

Tim Keller:

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.

Watchman Nee:

The greatest negative in the universe is the Cross, for with it God wiped out everything that was not of Himself; the greatest positive in the universe is the resurrection, for through it God brought into being all.

John C. Broger

God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.

Lee Strobel:

Jesus Christ did not come into this world to make bad people good; He came into this world to make dead people live.

In review, here is what I’ve suggested you can do to prepare your heart for Easter:

  • Read at least one of the Gospel records of that weekend when Jesus died and rose again.
  • Put in writing what you feel and experience as you read the story each day.
  • Read a book or article that will prepare your heart for Easter.