I thought I better post this before it becomes February. Since we just celebrated Christmas and Easter will be upon us soon, this might be good to read now – DB

Sacrifice   2015-11

It is January,2015 as I write this about- sacrifice. The Christian world will be celebrating Easter on April 5, 2015 and, of course, Good Friday on the 3^rd. The way my life is going, it will be here in no time, so I thought I would get a head start on the subject.

What is Good Friday and Easter?  When I was a kid Easter meant chocolate and yellow colored marshmallow chicks that we ate, but it meant nothing else.  Christmas was something about getting toys and having a big meal, but in both cases, nothing about church, Jesus Christ or what those days really meant. I found that was my loss and I did not know it at the time.

So, what is sacrifice? I heard something stated about Christmas in that it was the prelude to Easter! Wow, never thought about it in any way. But when you do think about it, the birth of Jesus Christ was for us  as people on Earth, and it was in the Sacrifice at Good Friday that led up to Easter that was why there are Christians today.

What is sacrifice again?    Food for thought:   Romans 3:22-25 “This righteousness from God comes through faith is Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of  His blood.”

Another verse would be from Hebrews, Chapter 10: 8-10   “ 8.First, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

I believe I am adding the above two Chapters in defense of my using the word sacrifice in conjunction with speaking about Jesus Christ.  I was told, at one time, that it, the crucifixion, should not be looked at as a sacrifice by the man-God Jesus, but I really cannot remember the exact WHY I should not do so. I ignore that request anyhow, and when I pray, part of my prayers say, “and thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, so that I have the chance of eternal life”. I have been told many things during my lifetime that I take with a grain of salt and discount them for one reason or another.

I can remember recently (in the last couple of years) whereas I “projected myself, in my mind, to be at the foot of the cross and watching Jesus die, so that my sins, and all other peoples, can be forgiven, because of this selfless act. It was eerie, scary, and life like to me at the time.  You can read in the Bible the things that happened to Jesus on Good Friday, but I felt His presence, felt his pain and suffering all at the same time.

Jesus Christ SUFFERED, so that we may live again. I fear not death, because I will have the chance to be with Him in what people call Heaven or Paradise.  Those that do not believe, I can only hope the best for them and do pray they will join me through the grace of God.

So, Christmas is more than toys, and Easter is more than good things to eat. There is meaning in the holidays more than what many of us acknowledge. Nobody knows the exact day of the birth of Jesus, but we do celebrate it on Dec 25^th or the Orthodox do on Jan 6^th. They are joyous days for the Christian faith, and I am so glad I have seen the light, of knowing what they mean now.

Den Betts