Easter season is upon us again. In a year filled with busyness, bills and battles, it is an ideal time to take a deep breath and reflect on what life is all about anyway. Most instinctively know Easter has a special significance beyond bunnies, spotted eggs and Peeps. There has to be something more. At times it seems like Easter is as hollow as the little chocolate bunny with the cute candy baseball hat on that I just dreamt of chewing the feet off of (sorry, just a post-diet food daydream relapse). Allow me to explain what Easter is about once and for all. Easter is about MY sin. Far from a 
boastful statement about the importance of Mark Applegate, I say, to repeat, that Easter is all about my sin. Allow me to circle a thought for you and tie it in a nice bow (as best I can with my limited skill).Last week I began sharing with you writings from beyond the grave. The next of my favorites that I must share with you comes from the “Prince of Preachers” Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892). Spurgeon was a reformed Baptist preacher who wrote and preached in a technologically slight culture to literally millions of people. He preached every day, wrote dozens of books, and truly lived an awesome life. He is in many ways an idol to me in the writing world. If I had half the vocabulary of this giant, you would be even more horrified when you read my babble. In this snippet, pulled from a favorite website of mine (gracegems.org), he points to why my sin, regardless of its relative apparent size is such a big deal.“A little thing?”“Beware of light thoughts of sin. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him--no longer alarms him in the least. We palliate and excuse our sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison! Who knows its deadliness! Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes--spoil the grapes? Does not the tiny coral insect--build a rock which wrecks 
a navy? Do not little strokes--fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings--wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded your Redeemer's head with thorns--and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe! Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity--you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified your Savior--and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."Spurgeon rightly evaluated his own sin. At Easter, more than ever, we must look at ours as well. This last line from Spur
geon haunts me. Spurgeon states emphatically and soberly that we should “look upon all sin as that which crucified your Savior--and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful’." In this light is where I take the blame for Jesus dying on the cross the Friday before Easter! Romans 3:23 (ESV) says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Lump me in the “all” category. Take a glance at the Ten Commandments. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything in your life? Did you always obey your folks the first time they asked for something? It might make me feel a little better to hear your conscience tell me that you are guilty too, but it really wouldn’t change anything for me. Romans 6:23a (ESV) shows us the consequence for our sins saying “For the wages of sin is death”. My sin deserves death regardless how big or many there are. (Death in a physical sense and in an eternal spiritual sense in a real place called Hell.) God would be righteous and just to fling me to Hell head first (no passing go, no collecting $200 for those readers residing in Monopolyville). Amazingly and with an 
unfathomable amount of Grace, God made a way for me to be forgiven. On the Cross, Jesus died as a substitute punishment-taker for Mark Applegate. In Matthew 27:46 (ESV) Jesus, agonizing in pain on the Cross, said "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" God was emptying His righteous cup of wrath on His Only Son in my place. When He shortly after said “It is finished”, he was acknowledging that an amazing transaction had just taken place. 2000 years later, once He led me to repenting (turning from sins) and placing my complete faith in Jesus Christ to save my soul, an amazing thing happened. Jesus applied His Righteousness to my account in exchange for my sinful, self-serving, Hell-deserving account balance. I get to go to Heaven not because I am worthy, but in spite of the fact that I am not. My sins caused Jesus to die on the Cross as part of God’s prearranged plan to show the world how truly 
amazing a God He is. My sins were such a big deal, they cost Jesus His life...and so are yours.This brings us to Easter Sunday. You may be in the same boat I was before God miraculously saved you. Don’t trust on your goodness to save you. Don’t trust in a religious ritual or an extra special prayer to save you. Put yourself in my place, and then look to the Cross! Realize that you too put Jesus on the Cross. Call out to Him and He will save you too. Turn from the old you and trust Him to save you. Then, and only then, will Jesus arising from the grave on Easter Sunday conquering death make sense to you. He saved me years ago, He can you too! May you have a truly special Easter this year above all others!
boastful statement about the importance of Mark Applegate, I say, to repeat, that Easter is all about my sin. Allow me to circle a thought for you and tie it in a nice bow (as best I can with my limited skill).Last week I began sharing with you writings from beyond the grave. The next of my favorites that I must share with you comes from the “Prince of Preachers” Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892). Spurgeon was a reformed Baptist preacher who wrote and preached in a technologically slight culture to literally millions of people. He preached every day, wrote dozens of books, and truly lived an awesome life. He is in many ways an idol to me in the writing world. If I had half the vocabulary of this giant, you would be even more horrified when you read my babble. In this snippet, pulled from a favorite website of mine (gracegems.org), he points to why my sin, regardless of its relative apparent size is such a big deal.“A little thing?”“Beware of light thoughts of sin. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him--no longer alarms him in the least. We palliate and excuse our sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison! Who knows its deadliness! Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes--spoil the grapes? Does not the tiny coral insect--build a rock which wrecks 
a navy? Do not little strokes--fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings--wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded your Redeemer's head with thorns--and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe! Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity--you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified your Savior--and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."Spurgeon rightly evaluated his own sin. At Easter, more than ever, we must look at ours as well. This last line from Spur
geon haunts me. Spurgeon states emphatically and soberly that we should “look upon all sin as that which crucified your Savior--and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful’." In this light is where I take the blame for Jesus dying on the cross the Friday before Easter! Romans 3:23 (ESV) says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Lump me in the “all” category. Take a glance at the Ten Commandments. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything in your life? Did you always obey your folks the first time they asked for something? It might make me feel a little better to hear your conscience tell me that you are guilty too, but it really wouldn’t change anything for me. Romans 6:23a (ESV) shows us the consequence for our sins saying “For the wages of sin is death”. My sin deserves death regardless how big or many there are. (Death in a physical sense and in an eternal spiritual sense in a real place called Hell.) God would be righteous and just to fling me to Hell head first (no passing go, no collecting $200 for those readers residing in Monopolyville). Amazingly and with an 
unfathomable amount of Grace, God made a way for me to be forgiven. On the Cross, Jesus died as a substitute punishment-taker for Mark Applegate. In Matthew 27:46 (ESV) Jesus, agonizing in pain on the Cross, said "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" God was emptying His righteous cup of wrath on His Only Son in my place. When He shortly after said “It is finished”, he was acknowledging that an amazing transaction had just taken place. 2000 years later, once He led me to repenting (turning from sins) and placing my complete faith in Jesus Christ to save my soul, an amazing thing happened. Jesus applied His Righteousness to my account in exchange for my sinful, self-serving, Hell-deserving account balance. I get to go to Heaven not because I am worthy, but in spite of the fact that I am not. My sins caused Jesus to die on the Cross as part of God’s prearranged plan to show the world how truly 
amazing a God He is. My sins were such a big deal, they cost Jesus His life...and so are yours.This brings us to Easter Sunday. You may be in the same boat I was before God miraculously saved you. Don’t trust on your goodness to save you. Don’t trust in a religious ritual or an extra special prayer to save you. Put yourself in my place, and then look to the Cross! Realize that you too put Jesus on the Cross. Call out to Him and He will save you too. Turn from the old you and trust Him to save you. Then, and only then, will Jesus arising from the grave on Easter Sunday conquering death make sense to you. He saved me years ago, He can you too! May you have a truly special Easter this year above all others!
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