The Joyful Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

I remember when my step-dad would come home, often times after he was drinking.  He was a man who was out of control and he was not a man full of joy.  He was a man full of rage and hate, which he took out on us kids and on his wife.  Even when he was not drinking, he was a man who had a short fuse.  Never did we want to leave one of his tools out of place, definitely not outside overnight, and never did we want to break something that he would have to fix, because then he would “break us.”

I share this not for sympathy’s sake, as the life the Lord has blessed me with has shaped and molded me into the man I am today, but as a small illustration as to what a man with no joy is.  My first step-dad had no joy in his life.  The raising of a family was a burden to him, and the things of the Lord were, shall we say, something my mother pushed on him.  So what should a man find joyful?  Or better question that we can ask is, what or who should fill us with joy, that we might find joy in the people things around us?

First off, let’s look at the who.  Who should fill us?  And the Sunday school answer here is “JESUS!!” And this is where we start; we cannot start from any other source.  We must start with Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  If we are not born-again Christians, washed clean by the blood of Christ, we will not be filled with true joy.  Sure, we can have joy in other things or other people in this world but it is a fleeting joy that will ebb and flow as time goes by.  Think of your favorite sports team. Now think of that great season they had, and that great game, and that one great play where they won the championship.  That was a moment of great joy.  That great joy didn’t last did it?  It is not the same when they are losing or having a bad season.  It is a fleeting joy.

When we have Christ, however, we see something more; we have something more.  We have eternal joy that surpasses all earthly joy.  The joy that we now possess can and will endure all things that will come to pass, even when those things that come to pass are worse than a losing season or a lost championship game.  Scripture speaks of joy often and throughout both the Old and the New Testament.  We can find any number of passages with joy or rejoice contained throughout, either as a description of what someone is doing because of what the Lord has done for them.  We can find passages about being joyful or rejoicing as a command because of what the Lord has done, for instance look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always.”  This is a command to be always rejoicing, or to be always filled with joy.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 118:24, a familiar verse to many, “This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” It reminds me to rejoice and give thanks to God for today and what this day brings; the challenges, the opportunities, the struggles, the victories, and the accomplishments. Each day is a gift from God’s own hand and we come to the realization that even the breath that we take and the sun rising are gifts.  Then we can begin to be joyful because we realize the gracious gifts our Heavenly Father has already showered us with.

So we must start with being born-again, but we are also not on our own.  We are washed by the blood of Christ and imputed with Christ’s righteousness.  The Father sees Christ in us when He looks upon us.  Now, it is the Holy Spirit that indwells us and empowers us and enables us to do these things that we speak of.  Ever hear of the fruits of the Spirit?  They are named that way because they are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

Joy is listed second in this list, and not by happenstance.  If you have the Holy Spirit, He will fill you with joy.  You will find joy and will be able to rejoice if you keep your focus on the things of the Lord.  We have been commanded in Scripture to seek first the Kingdom of God and then these other things (the things of the world) will be added to us (Matthew 6:33).  We will be able to rejoice even in the mist of trials, even when the darkness is overtaking us.  We find that in James 1:2 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.  There is a reason for this as well and we find that in verses 3 and 4, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

As a man of God, the joy that we have begins with the joy that we find in Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Not just us men, this is true of any and all who are the Redeemed.  That is our true joy.  But men, it is you that set the tone in your own homes.  You are the physical and spiritual leaders in your homes for your families and examples for your friends and co-workers.  What joy do you demonstrate?  When you have a bad day at work or school, or wherever you come home from, do you let loose on your family?  Or do you come in the door and let the joy of your heart fill the house and spread to the hearts of your wife and your children?

Let me ask you this question: does your wife or your children fear you when they make a mistake?  I am not talking about when a child has broken a rule or has misbehaved and it comes time for discipline.  That is a separate subject.  Do they fear you when a child loads the dishwasher wrong, or your wife squeezes the toothpaste out of the tube incorrectly?  Do they fear you when you come home from a tough day?  Are they hesitant on any day that you come home?  What would they say about you?

We will have bad days or rough days; these things will happen. I could share a multitude of bad days that I have had that I did not intend to have when I left for work, or left for school that morning. But that did not give me permission to first, get frustrated and second, take that frustration out on those that the Lord has given me responsibility over.  I can thank the Lord for those events, knowing that one day I will not have to endure such things.  But until that time, I can take my cares and concerns to Him in prayer, rejoicing in the fact that I have eternal life and an eternal reward far greater than any temporal matter.

The joyful man of God is not a happy-go-lucky guy, who is easy going and seems like nothing ever bothers him.  The man who is happy-go-lucky is really someone who does not like to get into the deep end of the pool of anything.  Said a different way, he has little conviction of anything, or anyone.

The things of this world can bring us joy, but they cannot be the purpose of our joy.  They cannot be the center or the source of our only joy.  It must be Christ.  There is nothing in itself wrong with enjoying sports, movies, boating, or whatever it is, but it must not distract, compete, or replace Jesus Christ.  We invalidate the joy of Christ and the salvation He brought to us and the joy we find through the Holy Spirit if we have to go and fill our lives with joy in things of this world.  Unbelievers see these things and will doubt our own profession of the transformative power that salvation is.

True joy is only found in Jesus and Him alone.  We share that joy with one another when we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with unbelievers.  We share the joy of Christ when we gather physically together as believers, whether that is for Sunday morning to worship our Great God, on a Sunday evening, a midweek bible study, small group bible study, a one-on-one study, a lunch, a coffee, or whatever it is.  We share that joy when we are together, because we are in Christ and washed by Him.  That very fact, being washed by the God who created the universe in the span of 6 days, should bring you great joy.

Every time you leave your house, every time you stand in line, every time you are late getting home, every time you get a flat tire, every time you end up in a place you did not think you would, rejoice, be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit that dwells within you.  You are in a position that so much of humanity is not.  You are among the redeemed; you are part of a select few; you are part of the House of God; you are a child of God.  Rejoice, for this is the day that the Lord has made, and you can tell anyone and everyone who hears about the amazing God that you have.  Only He knows if they will also be adopted into the house just as you have.  If they are, all heaven will rejoice just as that person that you shared the gospel with will.  So again, I say rejoice.

The Trustworthy Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

One of the greatest characteristics of a man of God is to be trustworthy.  To be trustworthy is to say that someone is to be found worthy of putting trust or our faith in them.  To put it bluntly, if they said it, they will do it.  Seems straightforward, and I should be able to wrap this characteristic article up in one simple paragraph, right?  Nope, to be found trustworthy is actually much more complex than this.  There are so many ways that break others faith or trust in us by what we say or do, or what we do after we say something wrong.

God created us to be social beings, whether that is within our family groups, friend groups, or local church fellowships.  We need that interactions in a social setting, but we also need help, we need to depend on one another in everyday affairs and in spiritual affairs.  Again, this is where these 3 groups which I listed out above again come into play.  They will help us along and we will help them along as well, but the depth and topic of help will depend of the depth of trust we have built up within those groups.  Let me illustrate, let’s say you are trying to help a fellow believer with a sin issue, which at this point they are confessing they have a sin and they need prayer, accountability, and encouragement through their fight over this sin.  However, you tell a couple of other folks in the church who are not the Pastor or Elder (who may not even need to know every sin issue).  This is actually gossip, and now will that fellow believer come back and feel confident in revealing a private matter with you again? Probably not, as they have no trust in your ability to keep such things confidential.

Keep your commitment in word and deed. If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you make plans with someone, be there. Seeing things through is the trademark of a trustworthy person.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no, we tend to think little or lightly of this verse and others like these as we are afraid of commitments and vows these days.  Generally speaking vows do not even mean all that much, just look at the divorce rate, even among believers.  If and when we make a vow, and the wedding vows are some of the biggest ones as we make them between our spouse and God, but really when we make a commitment we need to honor it.

Getting back to the (yes being yes reference) this is actually teaching us that we do not need to invoke swearing (not the foul language) by God or heaven or by our mother’s life, but letting the fact that we saying be even because we our trustworthy.  The fact that I have agreed to say that I will do what you have asked of me you have no doubt that I will follow through, you can trust me because I have proven myself through past experiences and behaviors to be worthy of that trust.

Be honest. Even when the outcome will not be in your favor, tell the truth. This shows you have good character, which builds trust. This is not speaking of telling lies, this is speaking out on what this truth is.  Take Stephen in Acts chapter 6 and 7, when he was accused of blasphemy.  He could have just as easily countered the accusations that were leveled against him, but instead he recounted the history of Israel from the calling of Abraham to the sojourning of Jacob to Egypt, to their enslavement and their eventual deliverance.  He then revealed the true nature that the nation of Israel had fallen into, a nation of outward religious works and that is what upset those religious leaders so furiously that they killed him.  It did not end well for him, but it did spark a massive growth for the early church and it in the next chapter of Acts we see the calling of another man of great honesty, Saul, who we come to know as the Apostle Paul.

Be transparent. When you make a mistake, admit it. This shows that you are able to take responsibility for your actions without blaming others. This is one of the easiest temptations to fall into, as we try to distance, or at least limit our exposure to ourselves to the outcome of the issue that we may have caused.  Take a look at Genesis 3.  When after Adam and Eve had sinned and then were aware of what they had done so they hide themselves.  As God was walking in the garden He called them and confronted not both of them, but God confronted Adam and what was Adam’s response?  “It was the woman who ‘YOU’ gave to me.”  Adam realized he messed up, he sinned, but was trying to limit his exposure of guilt, and blame to Eve and to God who created her.  Of course, we know how that worked out for him.

Be on time. When you are late, you are showing people that you don’t value them or their time. You are also showing the that you have a hard time keeping your commitments.  In our current culture and society people have lost the sense of the importance of being on time.  Being on time or punctual is a lost part of discipline.  We are unable to manage time effectively anymore, it seems even more so know that so many people have been working remotely.  Lost time is wasted time, it is something that can never be recovered.  I have seen more young people in the last few years late for their own weddings because being on time was not that important to them, than ever before.  Time is a luxury item that no one can afford to buy, let alone waste.  Everyone, can earn more money, most people in 2020 and 2021 have received more ‘free’ money than ever before, and with increased minimum wages and labor shortages we can earn more money, but we can never earn more time, earn more days, or years.  When we waste them, they are gone forever. So as Ephesians 5:15-16 says “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

Keep confidences. If someone has told you something, it is because they trust you. Do not share this information with others. Guard the person’s business carefully.  This is beyond any type of professional courtesy.  When someone shares something with us that should be kept in confidence, or in secret we lose full and complete trustworthiness.  As one Christian is to do with another, we are to confess our sins, not to every and all Christians, but to those that we have close fellowship relationships with, those that we have built a deep relationship with.  I cannot give a list of things that could be shared and cannot be shared with other, as this things are truly set by the subject and the closeness of the relationship.  When we engaging in divulging these intimate trusted secrets we are engaging in gossip and that is clearly defined as a sin.

Don’t gossip. Talking negatively about others behind their backs erodes trust. Remember if people gossip with you, they will gossip about you. We can engage in gossiping without us actually revealing anything anyone has revealed to us in confidence as mentioned in the previous point.  Just because we were not trusted with the secret, does not mean we do not lose our trustworthiness by being a gossip.  We may be spread a complete falsehood about someone.  Or it could be something that is in fact true but has been distorted through all of the hushed retelling, as each person embellishes a little bit with each iteration of the story.  Regardless, this is an affront to our God because His Word clearly states that we are not to be a gossip.  Gossiping will cause fractures and divides within the body of Christ, and when a Christian is engaged with unbelievers in gossips it is damaging to the testimony of Christ and the transformative power of His gospel.

Apologize. If you have done something wrong, admit it quickly, sincerely and ask what you can do to make it right.  When I say quickly, I do not mean hastely, I mean as soon as you realize you made the error.  As Jesus says leave your offering on the alter,  do not even what to finish the ceremonial offering process when it dawns on you that you made a mistake.  Go and make it right with your brother, then come back and finish.  This apology must be sincere, God is concerned with the heart, He is not concerned with outward appearances and actions so much as He is with our hearts and our relationships with Him, His Son, and with each other, the apology must be from the heart with the intent and follow through to restore the relationship.  The restitution of the relationship is not always complete by saying “I am sorry,” there may be trust issues that have to be worked through, there may be restitution, discipline that must be handled, among other things.  But has the one who did the offending or the thing that wrong someone else you must first recognize it and offer up the sincere apology with the intention to retore the relationship.

Be predictable. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Be the person who is steady in the room.

This is a hard one to master as we are emotional creatures.  God made emotions in us to glorify Him and we must be masters of those emotions in order to do that.  This goes far beyond just the outward appearance of being steady or level-headed.  Does this mean we cannot have that belly laugh or that sobbing cry, or even get mad, of course not.  We certainly can be happy, sad, and get mad, but to have outbursts of anger, uncontrolled anger at the drop of a hat, or crying fits for simple feedback at work on how we might do something better is not being in control of our emotions.  We all have been depressed at some point in our lives, even at some point in the last year, look through the gospels and you will see the emotions of Jesus Christ our Lord, and remember He was without sin, because He did not remain there and His emotions where never out of control, even when He made the scourge and ran off the money changers from the temple.

Set the tone. Your attitude will cause a ripple effect with others. Make sure that the ripple effect is positive.  This is similar to your emotions but is slightly different.  Setting the tone is deciding how you will approach things; how will you handle situations when they come at you.  You know you will hit obstacles in life, that is the nature of living on this side of glory.  You will face temptations and trials, persecutions and limitations because of one thing or another.  How will you handle it?  Will you, because you know these things will come, face it with a positive attitude look for a way to navigate through it, over it, around it? Or will you look for a way to side step it, a way to blame someone else, a scape goat, or look at it as a reason to not do anything?  Or as an excuse to sin all the more?

Your trustworthiness is set by no one else but you.  It is not set by anyone else.  There are no other factors that are used in determining it.  Sure, the world may say otherwise, but that is the world and the deceiver rules the world using deceptive tactics.  We live in the world but we are not of the world.  We are not to be conformed to the image of the world but to the image of Christ, so as men of God we are to be more and more like Christ and less and less like the world.  The Word of God is full of truth and is full of trustworthy statements, I would rather rely upon it and be transformed to the image of Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. 

The Humble Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

I will admit that this is a difficult characteristic to define.  We will do this through the Word of God and, more specifically, the example set by Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry.  I could have used a multitude of different sources and definitions, reviewed a plethora of different papers, books, blogs, etc. to work through this “hard to nail down” subject, but since Scripture is sufficient for all things – not to mention that humility is mentioned almost 100 times – it only makes sense to start there. Proverbs, the book of wisdom, tells us this in chapter 22 verse 4:

“Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life;”

Humility begins with the fear of God, which is not a trembling, terrified fear, but an awe-filled referential fear. This text declares that this is an admiral trait to have within us; there are rewards to be had if we have a humble heart.  These can be eternal or temporal.  Riches are not necessarily only financial or material, but can be riches as in those we might call friends.  Honor.  It goes without saying, but when does a humble person ever get disrespected because of their humility?  Life here may not speak of the quantity of life, but the quality of life: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Philippians 2:3-5, “3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

The Apostle Paul is writing to the Philippian church about what their motivation should be in their service to one another.  Humility is not the outward acts of being humble, but is the inward motivation that reflects true humility.  It is the condition of the heart that will motivate the hands into action.  We can also say that true humility will generate in us a desire to serve others and yet go unnoticed or unrewarded. 

So, what are these two passages trying to tell us?  It is telling us to consider, declare, deem, treat, and rate others of more value than ourselves.  But in order to value someone more than ourselves, we must have a valuation scale. Let me take a time out here.  I am not determining or stating that we assign some arbitrary value to other people.  Each person that makes up the human race has dignity.  That is clear throughout Scripture because we all, whether unbeliever or believer, are created in the image of God. We are to be treating others better than we treat ourselves. That is respecting and caring for others.

In contrast to humility, there is the sin of pride, most prominently displayed in narcissism.  Narcissism is essentially a heart full of pride that is so deceived by sin that it does not realize it.  People who are narcissistic tend to be selfish, but in a way that is hard for them to see it as being selfish.  They are self-focused to a point that everything is about them, how everyone treats them, how this is against them, how great they are at this or that.  This is not humility.

Yet, humility is also not a low value of ourselves.  We are not to look upon ourselves as worthless or of lesser value than any other person.  As believers we must understand that 1) we are valued and valuable, but 2) the value of Jesus Christ is so grand, so fantastical that in comparison it makes us look like we have no value. This is why in Job 25:6 Job declares “How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!” We must remember Christ died for us. To be humble we must be looking outside ourselves to those around us. 

As I stated in the beginning, humility is a hard word to define, and it is also a hard thing to describe.  So, let me define it this way.  Humility is to love and serve that which is unlovable.  It is to know, love, and serve that which may never reciprocate, either by choice or ability.  Jesus Christ exemplified this very thing in washing His disciple’s feet.  This narrative is found in John 13:1-17.

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.

5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Let me start with the fact that Jesus already knew two things.  The first was that Judas Iscariot would betray Him and the second He would be, in a matter of hours, crucified. The basic definition that I gave earlier fits this situation, that you know, love, and SERVE those who are unlovable and who may not be able to reciprocate that love.  Does that not rightly fit Judas Iscariot?  If Jesus was returning to the Father shortly why would He need to stoop down to the lowest stations in that culture, the foot washing servant?  Because He is humble and was giving them an example to follow.  Jesus said as much in verse 15. But here is another thing that Jesus makes very clear.  Look at verse 16 Jesus is Lord and Teacher and no one is greater than He and yet even He, the King of kings and Lord of lords, took on the role of the lowest station at that time.  No one else can say that serving in whatever need there is – within the church – is beneath them.

When someone says, “I am humble” what is it that they are actually saying?  There are only two response categories that the answer can fall under.  Some might argue that there is a third category, and that being indifference.  But I do not believe that the ability to be indifferent is applicable here because there is something that will always motive our choices and actions.  It could be something that keeps us from helping or serving.  It is not by indifference; it is selfishness that prevents that. 

The first response would be of pride.  This declaration of one’s own humility is actually the exact opposite.  It is a statement of their pride and ego.  It is done so without fully understanding the weight of their sin, or the price of their salvation, and quite possible comprehending what they were destined for prior to coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  Hell, that place of eternal wrath and punishment for sins not wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  The sin of pride is all about self, that is narcissism.  We all know someone that is at some level a bit narcissistic.  One thing about narcissism is that the one with it rarely admits it, usually because of their false sense of humility.

The second response would be of true humility.  This is a declaration of not one’s own work, but the admission of what Christ has done for them.  They have an understanding of what it means to be a child of the Most High God.  And they understand what they have been saved from with a true realization that they could not do it for themselves.  For every Christian, this should be our response, but on this side of Glory we are still prone to sin.  We must continue to be reminded to have a humble spirit.  When we are truly humble, we are more protected from so many other sins.  The sin of pride tends to sprout other sins, so we must guard our hearts and always be able to see when we are becoming more prideful. 

The man of God will have a sense of humility.  He will serve in any way he can wherever he can and will do so with all thankfulness.  To be humble is to deem others of greater value than himself and to see his God as that of greatest value.  He will recognize the great divide that separates himself and God and will have a sense of being undeserving of being called and redeemed by the blood of Christ.  For it was Jesus Christ who bridged that gulf, that divide, so that the man of God might have a right relationship with the God of the universe.  The man of God will recognize through his humility that he brought nothing to his own salvation.  That it was only through the completed work of redemption of Jesus Christ.

Does this characterize you? If so, you are demonstrating a characteristic of a man of God.  If it does not, pray about it.  Get into the Word of God. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness, for right living and walking as Christ walked.  We have been told how to do it, but not just outwardly, the heart must be the focus.  If you are not saved, I pray for you that today would be the day of salvation, but know what it is that you are being saved from, an eternity in Hell.  A place where all unbelievers go to be punished for all of eternity, with no relenting, no breaks, and no reprieves.  You will, if you are redeemed, spend eternity instead in the marvelous presence of Jesus Christ and His glory, but count the cost, there is a cost to following Christ.  There may be relationships with family and friends that are lost, lifestyles that change, your desires and thoughts will be changed because He will place in you a new heart that seeks Him and desires Him and less of self.  Let today be that day!

Why Do We Celebrate Easter?

Posted on by brettyamaji

As the title suggests I am writing about Easter.  Is it wrong for a man of God to allow his family, or in a broader sense, any Evangelical Christians to celebrate Easter?  If you have read, that you might have already answered that question, but we cannot give a clear answer to that until we have a clear understanding of the context.  You see, the name Easter, like so many words in the modern English language, are loaded with multiple means.

So where did the name Easter come from?  The history is not as strong as some would like and I am by no means highly educated in this matter, but I wanted to give some insight into some possible historical lineage.  The Saxons of Northern Europe worshipped a goddess of the east called Eastre or Eostre.  She was referred to the goddess of spring with her symbol being the hare which happens to be the symbol of fertility.  However, there is very little, if any, physical evidence that there was truly a group of humans that ‘worshipped’ a goddess called Eastre.  There are several other examples that I can give, but they are the same.

It appears that the Easter celebration that Christians celebrate, which is the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead, has been taken over by the secular world.  Could it be that simple, that quick, and that easy?  In the last 100 years, do more Americans look forward to an imaginary man-sized rabbit hopping into their houses to seal their hard-boiled eggs (or hollow plastic eggs) and hide them outside, rather than the rising of a Jesus Christ?  The secular world says we cannot tell our children about Jesus Christ because that has not been proven true. It might negatively impact how they see the world.  But we actively promote the Easter Bunny on TV and in stores and in our schools, and sadly in some churches.

That last one is really a sad one.  The church should truly be counter cultural and should not allow something like that to creep into it.  Should a church have an Easter Egg Hunt? Some will outrightly say no, others will say yes, and I will say with caution: it depends.  Definitely no bunnies, but if you want invite the kids of the neighborhood and share the gospel in a friendly and inviting environment, sure.  But the gospel message must be the focal point, not the eggs, or candy, or the fun.  It is the message of the gospel.  Jesus did not rise from the dead so that we might worship a bunny and enjoy chocolate on this particular Sunday.  He defeated death so that we would no longer be slaves of sin.  And no bunny, chocolate, or egg will ever give hope of defeating the death that waits for those who are still under sin.

So why do we celebrate Easter?  Let me rephrase that.  Why do we celebrate Resurrection Sunday?  Because it is the day that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior defeated death.  He declared to all that death no longer had power over Him and those that would be found in Him.  If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, well, He still would be dead, showing that He was not God, and as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19:

14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. 15 Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But Paul does not stop there.  He continues on with the good news with verses 20-22, especially at the end of verse 22:

20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 

I started with a question and I want to get back to it.  Is it wrong to celebrate with the hiding of eggs?  While I would say no it is not and Scripture does not say that it is forbidden.  How does it seem to you?  Is it too close to the secular celebration of Easter and the hoppy man-sized bunny?  Then I will suggest to you what was recently suggested to me – hide lambs with Scripture verses inside.  Your children will find the treasure of the wisdom of God instead of the foolishness of men and all to His glory.  Resurrection Sunday is coming – He has risen! He has risen indeed.