I love Easter, It was at Children’s Service in 1981 at Neath, that an 11 year old boy although raised in a Christian Family and to be honest had never known a life outside Church, give his life to Jesus, that 11 year old was me, that day was over 30 years ago and I remember as if it was yesterday.
A lot of things have happened in the meanwhile, and a lot of water has passed underneath the Bridge, times have been enjoyable and times have been less than enjoyable, yet that 11 year boy has grown up and hopefully matured and has become a 46 year old man. When I look back with hindsight and I see the highs and the many lows, the times that yes it’s been difficult.
Lamentations 3:22-23
English Standard Version (ESV)
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[a]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Some
2,000 years ago, a man was lead to his death by an occupying army to die a
death that was both humiliating and agonizing both the political and
religious authorities had conspired to end the live of this one man because
they felt threatened by his message and popularity his friends had
run away from him and where now in hiding.
One of his friends had betrayed him and one of his closest friends had denied him, he was beaten and bloodied, and was led to certain death by public execution, of all the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who shared his fate or will share his fate including some of his latter disciples, this one death out of thousands of similar deaths of those who had been crucified on a cross of wood,
This one death was and is of eternal significance, this death bought God’s Gift of Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, The Redemption of Mankind.
When
our Lord Jesus came, He had one mission in mind, he voluntary laid aside his
divine attributes and was born by a woman, he lived a normal life in seeming
obscurity, he launched his mission by these words The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me see Luke 4:18-19, he had been tempted to sin by the deceiver and
accuser Satan, yet had not sinned, indeed there was no sin found in Him, his
mission then and now is to save sinners. John the Baptist said these words when
Jesus came to him to be baptised in Water, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, and see John 1:28-30
In
1904, The Lord moved mightily in the land of Wales and tens if not hundreds of
thousands give their live to the Lord and became followers of Jesus, one of the
most famous hymns to come out of that time was Here is Love vast as the Ocean
or Dyma Gariad Fel Y Moroedd
Dyma
gariad fel y moroedd,
Tosturiaethau
fel y lli:
Twysog
Bywyd pur yn marw—
Marw i
brynu’n bywyd ni.
Pwy all
beidio â chofio amdano?
Pwy all
beidio â thraethu’I glod?
Dyma
gariad nad â’n angof
Tra fo
nefoedd wen yn bod.
Ar
Galfaria yr ymrwygodd
Holl
ffynhonnau’r dyfnder mawr;
Torrodd
holl argaeau’r nefoedd
Oedd yn
gyfain hyd yn awr:
Gras â
chariad megis dilyw
Yn
ymdywallt ymâ ’nghyd,
A
chyfiawnder pur â heddwch
Yn
cusanu euog fyd.
Here is
love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness
as the flood,
When
the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed
for us His precious blood.
Who His
love will not remember?
Who can
cease to sing His praise?
He can
never be forgotten,
Throughout
heav'n's eternal days.
On the
mount of crucifixion,
Fountains
opened deep and wide;
Through
the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed
a vast and gracious tide.
Grace
and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured
incessant from above,
And
heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed
a guilty world in love.
Let me
all Thy love accepting,
Love
Thee, ever all my days;
Let me
seek Thy kingdom only
And my
life be to Thy praise;
Thou
alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing
in the world I see.
Thou
hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou
Thyself hast set me free.
In Thy
truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy
Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy
grace my need is meeting,
As I
trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou
art pouring
Thy
great love and power on me,
Without
measure, full and boundless,
Drawing
out my heart to Thee.
It's
now Easter, a time of renewal and restoration, hope and
transformation because Jesus paid the ultimate price and died for our sins and
rose victorious from the grave and now is in Heaven. I would ask you to
think about the real reason for Easter which hasn’t nothing to do with Easter
Eggs, Hot Cross Buns or indeed the Easter Bunny, but it’s because of Our Lord,
Our Saviour, Our Redeemer Jesus Christ. I could continue but I will close with
this video.
Yours
because of his Salvation
