Happy Easter!

Hard to believe that it's been a year since the so-called "War on Easter."

Not sure what the status is this year (though from a quick scan of blogs it seems this year's war is against the bunny, not the Savior), but the truth of the matter is, Satan is running his campaign all year long. And his war is a lot more subtle (not to mention effective) than a bunch of atheists with far-fetched conspiracy theories about Jesus' non-existence.

Here's an example. Yesterday I received an e-mail from eReader.com with their weekly specials. They always include a little "Did you know"-type trivia in it, and one of the sidebars for this week said this.

In Norway, in addition to skiing in the mountains and painting eggs for decorating, it is tradition to solve murders at Easter. All the major television channels show crime and detective stories, magazines print stories where the readers can try to figure out who did it, and many new books are published.

It's a demon's dream come true to have people "celebrating Easter" without knowing or acknowledging its true meaning. But let's be frank--putting on your best outfit and going to church to hear a message that you don't accept is no better than solving mysteries, hunting for eggs, or joining up with some kooks out there to try to prove Jesus never existed. Lost is lost, and Satan will take people however he can get them.

But this isn't a rant against Norwegians, egg hunts, or Easter traditions in general. I just want to point out that whatever else we do to celebrate Easter, we need to keep the message of the gospel front and center.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31, ESV)

Let's welcome sinners into our congregations. Use this Sunday as an opportunity to reach out to someone who may only come to church once or twice a year.

Happy Easter!