Easter

If you asked anyone right now, I don't think they'd deny that this is going to be one of the strangest Easters we've had in many decades. What with no in-person worship services, very limited (if any) family gatherings, and everyone worried about COVID-19, this week just feels a little bit different. For me, however, I'm not sure it's in such a bad way. Easter is a holiday, so I naturally have a full playlist I've been listening to for a few days now. Each song that comes on makes me teary-eyed and emotional, but not because I won't be spending Easter Sunday eating lunch with my family and watching my brother and cousins have a Battle Royale style Easter egg hunt. I feel emotional because the meaning of Easter is one of the only things that's stayed constant over these past weeks. Jesus went from a triumphant entry on a donkey on Sunday, to a bittersweet last Passover meal on Wednesday, to being brutally murdered for crimes He didn't commit on Friday, to defeating death and rising again the very next Sunday. Nothing, not even the latest in a line of super-illnesses throughout the years, can change that.

Below is a small selection from my Easter playlist that I hope will bring you some hope and light during this season. Each song also has a verse or passage of Scripture to go along with it for you to get some extra insight this Passion Week. Note: All Scripture is from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.

Above All/You Are My King by Caleb and Kelsey (written by L. Leblanc, P. Baloche, B. Foote)

This mashup of my two all-time favorite "timeless" worship songs (so weird, since I remember singing these when I was in elementary school) chokes me up even when I'm not surrounded by Armageddon style news. The messages of each song are so beautiful and so true.

Above all powers, above all kings/Above all nature and all created things/Above all wisdom and all the ways of man/You were here before the world began/I'm forgiven because You were forsaken/I'm accepted, You were condemned/I'm alive and well, Your spirit is within me/Because You died and rose again/Crucified, laid behind the stone/You lived to die, rejected and alone/Like a rose trampled on the ground/You took the fall and thought of me

John 18:33-37 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the king of the Jews?" he asked him. Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world." Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."

My Victory by Crowder (written by C. Bentley, D. Mulligen, D. Crowder, E. Cash)

I know I've mentioned how much I love David Crowder in at least one other post, but it's completely true. My Victory isn't a Crowder song I was very familiar with before this post, but I definitely love it now. It's such an anthem of triumph that it's hard not to feel invincible after listening to it.

You came for criminals and every pharisee/You came for hypocrites, even one like me/You carried sin and shame, the guilt of every man/The weight of all I've done nailed into Your hands/Oh, Your love bled for me/Oh, Your blood in crimson streams/Oh, Your death in hell's defeat/A cross meant to kill is my Jesus' victory

I Corinthians 15:57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed Assurance by Elevation Worship (written by C. Brown, M. Brock) I think it's literally impossible for me to get tired of this song. No matter how many times we sing it at church or it plays on my phone or I hear it on the radio, I always end up with at least one tear rolling down my face. The words are so assuring (haha I used a word from the title) and grant my heart so much peace.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine/Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine/Heir of salvation, purchase of God/Born of His spirit, washed in His blood/Perfect submission, all is at rest/I in my Savior am happy and blessed/Watching and waiting, looking above/Filled with His goodness, lost in His love/This is my story, this is my song/Praising my Savior all the day long/This is my story, this is my song/Praising my Savior all the day long

Colossians 1:27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

The Stand by Hillsong UNITED (written by J. Houston)

I have very fond memories of singing this song on Wednesday nights with my fellow teenagers at our weekly student service. The promises reflected in the lyrics are simple, beautiful, and true. It's a wonderful anthem of surrender.

You stood before creation, eternity in Your hand/And You spoke the earth into motion, my soul now to stand/You stood before my failure and carried the cross for my shame/My sin weighed upon Your shoulders, my soul now to stand/So what could I say/And what could I do/But offer this heart, O God/Completely to You

Romans 5:1-3 Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

Come Alive (Dry Bones) by Lauren Daigle (written by L. Daigle, M. Farren)

My girl Lauren Daigle talks about a different sort of resurrection story in this song from her 2015 album How Can It Be. Referencing the resurrection of the bones in the desert from the book of Ezekiel, this song is a beautiful reminder that the breath of God can resurrect our souls and bring our hearts back to life. Nothing is impossible for Him.

Through the eyes of man, it seems there's so much we have lost/As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked/One by one, the enemy has whispered lies and led them off as slaves/But I know that You are God, Yours is the victory/We know there is more to come that we may not yet see/So with the faith You've given us, we step into the valley unafraid, yeah/As we call out to dry bones, "Come alive, come alive"/We call out to dead hearts, "Come alive, come alive"/Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise/We call out to dry bones, "Come alive"

Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!

Because He Lives (Amen) by Matt Maher (written by B. Gaither, C. Tomlin, D. Carson, E. Cash, G. Gaither, J. Ingram, M. Maher)

This is another beautifully simple song that openly declares that we are alive because He defeated death and came back to life on that Easter Sunday so many years ago. That same power that He used to defeat death is given to us the moment we believe in Him, so we are able to continue living without fear of death and face whatever the world throws at us.

I believe in the Son/I believe in the risen One/I believe I overcome/By the power of His blood/Amen, amen/I'm alive, I'm alive because He lives/Amen, amen/Let my song join the One that never ends because He lives

Hebrews 7:24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.

Flawless by MercyMe (written by B. Graul, B. Millard, B. Glover, D. Garcia, M. Scheuchzer, N. Cochran, R. Shaffer, S. Olds)

The theme of God's amazing grace woven throughout this song is an amazing reminder that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross wiped our slates clean. It was never meant to be used as a Get Out Of Jail Free card for us, but once we receive that grace and mercy we should long to get as far away from those old habits and hurts as we can and chase after the love of our Father.

There's got to be more than going back and forth/From doing right to doing wrong 'cause we were taught that's who we are/Come on, get in line right behind me, you along with everybody/Thinking there's worth in what you do/Then like a hero who takes the stage when we're on the edge of our seats saying, "It's too late"/Well, let me introduce you to amazing grace/No matter the bumps, no matter the bruises/No matter the scars, still the truth is/The cross has made, the cross has made you flawless/No matter the hurt or how deep the wound is/No matter the pain, still the truth is/The cross has made, the cross has made you flawless

Acts 4:33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all.

I pray that you and yours have a wonderful, albeit traditionally altered, Easter. See ya'll next week!