The most amazing “life sentence” is: “Jesus rose!” Encountering the living Jesus will change your perspective of death.

Biblical Christianity is about “location, location, location”–“Christ in you,” not Christ in a church building. Something’s terribly wrong when spoken prose about the news that Jesus rose, causes church attendees to sometimes close their eyes and doze.

Church tamed the resurrection, created a yearly ceremony and called it Easter, but Jesus, bodily walking out of the tomb, is so much more! To proclaim that Jesus is risen, while refusing to be led daily by His living presence, is inconsistent.

Perhaps it’s time to roll the religious stone away from Easter and to interact with the risen Jesus everyday. Church makes remembering Christ’s resurrection an annual event, but biblical Christianity is based on daily interaction with the risen Jesus. When Jesus’ resurrection was made a spring ritual, mystery, awe, and wonder, were exchanged for bunnies, eggs, and bonnets.

Jesus’ resurrection shouldn’t be annualized institutionalized, and ceremonialized. He’s always alive and available. If Jesus is truly risen, you can encounter Him anywhere on Easter (or any other day), not just in an “Easter service.”

I’ve never cared much for the “liturgical year.” I prefer daily interaction with Jesus, instead of annual ceremonies. To tell about the resurrection of Jesus is one thing; to experience it daily is something spectacularly different. The joy of experiencing the risen Jesus throughout the day is so wonderful, that questions about how He rose are insignificant.

The Expert in the body of Christ is the risen Jesus. All the rest of us equally need Him.

Casual Christianity and a casual approach to Easter creates many more religious consumers than it does committed contributors. Here’s an observation during the 2020 Corona virus pandemic: It appears that “church online” means a sermon online, instead of an interactive, group experience online. (The New Testament concept of Ekklesia is an interactive, group experience with the risen Jesus.)

Perhaps, in a crisis, people need to be compassionately listened to, more than to be preached to. Now’s always a good time to draw near to the living Jesus. No need to wait. Just do it. He’ll listen to you.