After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28 — New International Version

Other Easter Posts:
Blogs for Bush
Theodore’s World
Freedom Eden
Freedom Folks
(Will be updated throughout the day, or create a trackback to this post and it will appear below.)

Trackback URI | Permalink

Tweet

Nancy Astor: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”
Sir Winston Churchill: “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

Programming Note: I am heading out to finish a little bit of shopping. Today’s First Cup will actually be an after-the-second-cup-and-I-get-home edition.

DONE!! On with the post —

The Wide Awake Cafe (Laura Lee Donoho) God Will Provide

My prayer is that the Lord of all will shine on this disbelieving, violent world and that the star that rested on Bethlehem will one day illuminate many hard, and harried hearts and show them the way to true Peace. May all the troops in harms way know the very presence of Emmanuel, God with us.

Actually, I think I’ll leave it at that and urge you to read the whole thing.

Tweet

One of the goodies inside of an Easter basket this morning was the DVD of The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The C.S. Lewis book has been a favorite of mine for years.

I can’t think of a better movie for them to have watched this afternoon than this one. A beautiful allegory, beautifully told.

Tweet

Today’s First Cup is very simple — He Is Risen!

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28 — New International Version

Linked with Resurrection Sunday / Open TrackBacks at basil’s blog.

Tweet

Nancy Astor: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”
Sir Winston Churchill: “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Gray Lady Misrepresents FISA Testimony — “The New York Times has panicked into a serious misrepresentation of the testimony given to the Senate Judiciary Committee by five former FISA judges. Power Line looks at the transcript of the committee hearing and discovers that reporter Eric Lichtblau, who predicated his new book on the supposed illegality of the secret NSA terrorist surveillance program, wrote dishonestly about their appearance in yesterday’s hearing.”

Sister Toldjah TIME magazine publishes hit piece on Rahman and the Christian right — “Since when did Rahman become a “poster boy” for the Christian right? Does the Christian left not support religious freedom or something? Is the Christian left not concerned with the fact that a man was nearly put to death over the “crime” of converting to Christianity in a country where our military (and that of our coaltion) has shed blood and lost lives fighting for things like religious freedom?”

The Jawa Report (Bluto) Cynthia McKinney: Why She Punched That Pesky Cop — “Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) allegedly assaulted an officer of the law earlier today, when he failed to recognize her as she rushed past a metal detector. While members of Congress are not required to go through the Capitol metal detectors, they are supposed to present their credentials. McKinney was in too big a hurry to be bothered complying with one of the people who help ensure her safety.”

Michelle Malkin DOCUMENTS OF THE “UNDOCUMENTED” — “Search Google News for the term “undocumented.” You’ll get thousands of hits like these:” [Great visuals. -- Jim]

Blogs for Bush (Mark Noonan) The Death of the Guest Worker Program? — “While the Senate bill on immigration reform has a provision for allowing illegals currently here to remain (in a sort of modified guest worker program), Senator Frist – testing the waters for a Presidential bid and also understanding of political reality – seems to be backing away from support for anything hinting of amnesty.”

Tweet

Abdul Rahman has found refuge in Italy.

The Afghan man who faced the death penalty after converting from Islam to Christianity flew to Rome on Wednesday after the Italian government granted him asylum. Abdul Rahman, 41, “is already in Italy. I think he arrived overnight,” Premier Silvio Berlusconi said.

Tweet

The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks ~ Sir James Mackintosh

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) The Pro-Illegal Immigration Rallies — “Here’s the situation in a nutshell: we have illegal aliens, the businesses that hire them, immigrants whose first loyalty seems to be to Mexico, and the democrats who want to turn the illegals into citizens to get more votes being given preference over a much larger group of law abiding Americans who believe, correctly, that we need to secure our borders and that we should not reward people for breaking our laws.”

The Strata-Sphere (AJ Strata) GMU Class of ‘85 and ‘89! — Final Four bound George Mason Alums AJ and LJ Strata let their school spirit show. “We are so proud of you!”

TMH’s Bacon Bits (The MaryHunter) Islam, the Religion of Peace (Part 3) — “So, it seems that the Afghan Abdul Rahman, the Christian convert from Islam who was to be condemned to death, has been saved from execution. But what does this whole episode, from a budding Muslim democracy (no less), tell us about the Islamic countries for which thousands Christian and Jewish soldiers from America, Great Britain, and the West have risked – or lost – their lives, in order to save said countries from evil Islamofascism?”

Spring break started today, so naturally the kiddies are up earlier than they would be if this were a school day. What’s up with that?

Tweet

While it is indeed good news that the three hostages were rescued today, the utter ingratitude of the organization they represent is appalling.

Let me put this in a way that perhaps the Christian Peacemaker Teams will understand: I am a Christian, not because sin released me, but because Christ rescued me. A not insignificant difference.

Others are saying:

“There’s more than just a little irony in the fact that it was the “illegal occupiers” that this group opposes being there who rescued them.” — Sister Toldjah

“Today, the CPT insulted the U.S. and other Coalition troops who daringly rescued the three peace activists by releasing this announcement. In it they compare the taking of hostages and their subsequent murders to Coalition Forces who detain suspected terrorists” — The Jawa Report

“Many readers note that the CPT statement refers to the hostages’ “release” instead of their rescue.” — Michelle Malkin

Tweet