Friday, April 4, 2014

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE MONTH OF APRIL




"April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early Julian and one of four months with a length of 30 days.
April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern hemisphere and autumn in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa. April is the second rainiest month of the year (after July).
April starts on the same day of the week as July in all years, and January in leap years. April ends on the same day of the week as December every year. October of the previous year starts on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a common year and May of the previous year starts on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a leap year. July of the previous year ends on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a leap year and February and October of the previous year ends on the same day of the week as April of the current year as a leap year. In years immediately before common years, April starts on the same day of the week as September and December of the following year and in years immediately before leap years, June of the following year. In years immediately before common years, April ends on the same day of the week as September of the following year and in years immediately before leap years, March and June of the following year.
The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open," which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of ἁνοιξις (anoixis) (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, her Veneralia being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscan name Apru. Jacob Grimm suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus.
April was the second month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, which produced the Julian calendar."

The following is a list of April holidays and events observed in the United States and around the world.

The "Days of April" (journées d'avril) is a name appropriated in French history to a series of insurrections at Lyons, Paris and elsewhere, against the government of Louis Philippe in 1834, which led to violent repressive measures, and to a famous trial known as the procès d'avril.

Traditional April symbols

Now that you have read through the syllabus on the month of April {courtesy of Wikipedia}; I would like to share what I consider the most important event in this month: Easter or Resurrection Day. 
"Easter is the day that Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament. Easter is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance."
Easter customs vary around the world; but the customs I am most familiar with include Easter egg hunts, which I experienced as a child, Sunrise services preceding the regular Easter or Resurrection service; and exchanging the Paschal greeting of Happy Easter or "He is risen; He is risen indeed!"
Scripture tells us that God loved the world so that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus (John 3:16-17) to redeem mankind back to Himself after man's {Adam and Even}fall in the Garden of Eden. So mankind would not be lost forever; God sent His Son to earth to be born of a virgin, named Mary. Joseph, her Mary's husband was a carpenter by trade and taught the trade to his son Jesus --working until he died. On one occasion, when Jesus was 12 years old, He accompanied His parents to the yearly Passover feast. When they were departing to go home, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem and visited the temple, where He sat among doctors listening and asking them questions. When His parents discovered Jesus was not with them, they began to search for Him and found Him in the temple. They were concerned about His safety and well-being; but Jesus was concerned about doing His {heavenly} Father's business. Of course, Mary didn't really know how to take His response and pondered the things she had both seen and heard in her heart.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, opened blinded eyes, fed the multitudes, forgave sin; and made friends and enemies. He chose 12 men to be His disciples,who He later called Apostles. Many followed Him because of the miracles He performed; but some of those left Him, because they didn't understand His teachings and couldn't embrace what they considered hard things. 
Jesus chose 12 disciples to train and do the work of the ministry; but one of them betrayed Jesus by agreeing to turn Him over for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, who had long sought to kill him. On the night Jesus and His disciples had their Passover meal, Judas Iscariot completed his mission of betrayal. Jesus was arrested, questioned, scourged and mocked before being led to Mount Calvary carrying His own cross as He was whipped by a Roman soldier every step of the way. The crucifixion depicted in Hollywood movies is just a drop in the bucket compared to what Jesus really endured. Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" comes the closest to depicting the pain and agony Jesus endured before and during His crucifixion. When Jesus was beaten the soldiers used a Cat of nine tails. It was "the nine strap, lead tipped whip embedded with nails, glass and bone." This whip was used for scourging and would literally rip the flesh on the back of the subject. Roman tapered spikes 5-7 inches long were used to nail Jesus' hands and feet to the cross. The Scripture states:
"...There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care...He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed...He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:2-5,7_NLT)."
All those, who hated Jesus during His earthly ministry were glad to see Him crucified, because they considered His message blasphemous. They believed in God, but couldn't accept Jesus as the Son of God. Their religious minds prevented them from understanding the truth of the Gospel of Christ. There were also those, who hated Jesus and had even participated in His crucifixion, who later realized after Jesus {commended His spirit to the Father} died that He was indeed the Son of God.

 Easter or Resurrection Day is a joyful celebration for Christians, because Jesus didn't remain in His burial tomb, He got UP {was resurrected} and ascended to the Father in heaven! He did appear to Mary and the other disciples before the Holy Spirit was sent in His place. There were skeptics {the priests, Sadduces and Pharisees}, who refused to believe that Jesus had actually risen as He told them He would. With unbelief and pride, they perpetrated a lie and accused the disciples of stealing the body of Jesus. They refused to believe what Jesus taught and repent. One day, everyone on earth will see Jesus for themselves; and it will either bring them great joy or sadness. Will seeing Jesus on that great day bring you joy or sadness? If you don't yet know Jesus; it's not too late to make Him your Lord and Savior. Read the following Scripture out loud and make it personal:
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. It is my prayer that you will enjoy all the beautiful things that spring brings as well as your favorite holidays and event of the month. Now that you are born again, Easter/Resurrection Day will have a special meaning for you! He is Risen: He is Risen Indeed!

"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved (Romans 10:9-10_NLT)."  
 Did you make that declaration of salvation? If you did: you are saved or born again and a member of God's family. I welcome you! Now that you are a part of the family of God, you need to get connected to other believers. If you have a church that you had not been attending for a while, please go and tell your pastor that you have accepted Christ. If not, pray and ask the Father to direct your steps to a Bible-believing church, where you can be fed the Word of God and grow in your faith. 
JESUS IS LORD!

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)