Important things aren’t bothers.”
–Luke Short (The Primrose Try)

“Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”
–Luke 6:31 (NLT)
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Here’s a little history lesson I picked up from Robert J. Morgan’s book.

“Easter is the greatest of Christian holidays. But what does the word ‘Easter’ mean? Where and when was it first celebrated?
The origin of the word ‘Easter’ is uncertain, but the Venerable Bede claimed that the Christian resurrection festival displaced ancient pagan celebrations involving the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess ‘Eostre.’ That, he said, occasioned the term. Others believe the word derives from an old German terms meaning ‘sunrise.’
Whatever its meaning, it is the oldest celebration of Christianity. The earliest written reference to Easter comes from the mid-second century. A controversy arose about the dating of Easter, causing Polycarp to visit Rome’s bishop Anicetus. The two were unable to settle the controversy, and it became a hotly debated issue threatening to split the church. Believers in Asia celebrated one day, Christians in Europe another. Books, tracts, sermons, and harangues were devoted to the topic. Synods and councils were called. Tempers flared. Clergy excommunicated one another. Irenaeus wrote, ‘The apostles ordered that we should judge no one in respect to a feast day or a hold day. Whence then these wars? Whence these schims?’
The issue came to a vote at the famous council of Nicaea in 325. Easter, declared the council, should be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after March 21, the vernal equinox. Easter then is a ‘movable feast’ that may occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. The matter wasn’t entirely settled, but believers seemed to realize that it wasn’t the date, but the significance, that gave Easter its magnificence.
A custom arose among early worshipers to keep watch the Saturday night preceding Easter morning, and many believed that Christ would return at the breaking of this day. New converts kept watch and prayed throughout the night, then were baptized at sunrise. Another custom, still widely practiced, finds the pastor addressing the congregation with the glorious words: ‘He is risen!’ The assembled worshipers shout in return: ‘He is risen indeed!’ For 2,000 years the foundation of Christianity has rested securely on this simple yet unfathomable truth.
‘The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would.”‘ Matthew 28:5-6a” (One This Day, Robert J. Morgan)

In one sense, every day should be an Easter, for He lives and the resurrection is celebrated in our lives every day if we truly believe.
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Ponder This: “We put our groping fingers toward the Cross; if our heart’s love may but touch it, death will flee away.”
–Joseph Parker

To destroy is easy, to build is hard. To scoff is also easy, but to go on in the face of scoffing and to do what is right is the way of a man.”
–Louis L’Amour (Bendigo Shafter)

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”
–Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)
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Well, spring has sprung–the wildflowers are showing their brilliance here in Texas. I trust that the first day of spring was welcome to you. If you’re up in that snow-country, at least the first day of spring is a promise.
I was doing some research for my next novel. In this novel there will be a character, actually a Methodist circuit-riding preacher by the name of John Lewis Dyer. In his autobiography I came across the following story. The man in the story had an understanding of a real relationship with the Lord. This takes place around 1851, a few years before Rev. Dyer goes to Colorado.

“There was an old Brother Lincoln. He would shout at meeting or at work. Rev. S.C. Thomas, presiding elder, came to the charge to hold quarterly meeting. Brother Lincoln would say, ‘Glory!’ as the service went on. The new presiding elder stopped, and said: ‘If that brother can refrain from shouting, I would be glad; but if he can’t, let him shout.’ The brother said, ‘Glory to God for the privilege of shouting;’ and of course he made use of his privilege. He was a good blacksmith, and every time he laid down the hammer he would say, ‘Glory!’ On one occasion, a man brought a bad horse to be shod. The horse had been tried and given up. He swore he would take him to old Lincoln. Lincoln knew nothing of the horse’s wickedness, took hold of his foot, and was thrown a somersault on some old irons in the corner of his shop. He jumped up, clapped his hands, and said, ‘Glory to God! He didn’t hurt me a bit!’ and took up the horse’s foot, and shod him. The wicked man said Lincoln had a right to shout as much as he pleased. I noticed his obituary; his last word was a shout of ‘Glory!'”

This reminds me of Annie’s Uncle John Swank. When he visited us he might be sitting in a chair, lounging, or resting a tired body. Then there would be a shout of “Hallelujah” followed again by quietness. Sometimes, there gets inside a person an urge. Now, myself, I’m not a shouter, but once in a while I sure get the urge to clog up a spell in the kitchen.
Can you imagine going into Brother Lincoln’s blacksmith shop and listen to the hammer ringing off the anvil along with a shout of “Glory!”? That shop would be a place where revival could happen. Ol’ Brother Lincoln sure didn’t need it, but his shop must have been something else.
How about those last words? Wouldn’t it be great if every Christian, with their dying breath could give a shout of “Glory”? I tell you what, I just might have to do a little clogging thinking of this story.
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Ponder This: “Love implies the crucifixion of self, the absolute putting away and annihilation of self.” -John Daniel Jones

Many men were like that–stones in the path, weeds to tangle weary feet–thorns that lacerated and poisoned.”
–Zane Grey (Arizona Ames)

“Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it.”
–Proverbs 22:5 (NLT)
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“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!”
–Psalm 14:1 (NLT)

“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”
–Stephen Hawking

How does one harden their heart so? Where was it along the journey of life that a person, such as Hawking, says “NO” to their Creator and refuses to listen to the wooing of the Holy Spirit? There is a point, where the Spirit will no longer seek after an individual.
Perhaps part of the blame is the lack of convicting power in today’s preaching. A couple of things to ponder. Why doesn’t the Spirit convict people today when a preacher brings his message? Maybe because the preacher isn’t on the “same page” with the Spirit. How much time does the preacher put in prayer for his sermon? The Spirit should bring conviction when the Word is being preached. Just perhaps the Word isn’t being preached, but one of compromise, tolerance, and the building of personal self-esteem.
Listen! Whenever truth is preached it will bring conviction of sin. Whenever there is a strong presence of God there will be the conviction of sin. Compromise of the truth will not bring conviction, in fact, it will grieve the Spirit and drive Him away. Legalism, ha! The purpose of the Law makes a person conscious of sin! “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” (Romans 3:20, NLT) The Law convicts man; perhaps that is why there is such a demand not to post the Ten Commandments.
When a person is confronted with the truth and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit; that person will either cry out to God, or he will hardened his heart against God. The Holy Spirit will either convict a person or He will enrage a person to the point that person turns completely away from God.

Money don’t grow by itself. You’ve got to water it with sweat.”
–Elmer Kelton (Stand Proud)

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.”
–Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)
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Revelation 2:6, is an interesting verse, “Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (HCSB) In this verse, and also verse 15, God says He hates the works of the Nicolaitans. It means something or someone that is utterly repulsive. Their doctrine was based on compromise. “Their belief was to have truce with the world; to meld with the changing moral climate of society.” (Rick Renner) This is something that God abhors–hates.
This is a major problem within the church today. How many churches, and/or individuals are practicing the works of the Nicolaitans? The following is a list of characteristics that a Nicolaitan would show.

1) No emphasis on living holy and separated from the world.
They much prefer to be acceptable with the multitude.
2) No emphasis on the doctrinal teachings of the Bible.
They work under the guise of progressiveness; the Bible is too restrictive and should only be used as a reference.
Sound doctrine is replaced with social action and social justice.
3) No emphasis on absolute truth or absolute biblical authority.
The idea is to be “open-minded.” To be absolute is to be negative.
4) No exclusionary belief that Christ alone is the Way to Heaven.
They use as their disguise–tolerance, asserting that everyone has a piece of the truth. This will lead to universalism. It is interesting that one third of young Christians have this belief. (Rick Renner)

Do you know anyone that has these ideas? Their practices are ones that God hates. What Jesus hates, we, as His followers, must also hate.
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Ponder This: “But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!” –2 Timothy 3:1-5 (HCSB)
That Scripture goes right along with the Nicolaitans. I saw on the news that students at one school had a walkout, took down the American flag, stomped on it, and supposedly did it in reverence to those killed at Parkland. No, it was chaos, disrespect. Take time to ponder each portion, but I want to draw attention to a few words.
Ponder verse one, hmmmm. Then think of these: lovers of self, disobedient to parents, unholy, without self-control. Do you know these type of people? Do you hang around them? Look at verse 5, Avoid these people!