I had a great Easter. There were three services of which I was a part. All morning, it seemed, I had some place to get to and, then, enjoy the celebration of worship. The faces of the people were sunny and bright despite a fairly dreary day, weather wise.

The highlights of the day were of two natures. First, there was the church services themselves. Each service had its own time and purpose and, when added together, gave an entire morning to the joyous occasion of celebrating the risen Christ.

The second nature, just as enjoyable, was the delicious lunch at my Aunt Eleanor’s house in Pelham. There were many members of our family there and that sort of fellowship is a natural for Easter and made the day, although long, almost perfect.

I did hear something later in the day, after a well-deserved nap (I had gotten up at 4:30 AM), that disturbed me greatly. It concerned one of the most serious situations facing our country and entire world on this Easter 2016. It was a news account of two events that happened in other countries, but still too close for comfort.

In the past years, I have heard enough of awful events to think I could not be shocked anymore. When journalist James Foley was beheaded by ISIS and the video of that atrocity was released for all to see, I thought that was something I would have never imagined.

Then, this past Sunday when I heard of the crucifixion of a Roman Catholic priest in Yemen, Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, I was shocked. Once again it was ISIS.

That was not all, though. I then heard that the Taliban, another radical Islamist terrorist group, had a member who strapped enough explosives onto his body to kill at least 72 men, women, and children, and injure another 340 or so, I asked, “What’s going on?”

The suicide bomber did his devilish deed in a city park in Lehore, Pakistan, on Easter when the families were celebrating just as my family was in Pelham, Ga. What possesses someone to do such a deed? I answered my own question when I called it a devilish deed.

The persecution of Christians is not new. It’s been going on since Christianity began and, in fact, everyone knows that the founder of the faith, the One whose name is the root word, was crucified as well. But that was long ago and I could think that we have progressed over almost two millennia. I would be wrong.

The Book of The Revelation has a verse that has come to my mind for a while. It is the 12th verse of Chapter 12 and speaks of the fury of the devil because he knows his time is short. I don’t know about that, but it does seem that evil is growing by leaps and bounds.

Every week there is a new tragedy. The names of the towns become known, not for their sights and sounds, but for their misfortunes. Mention Paris these days and chances are it’s not the City of Lights. San Bernardino does not mean the first MacDonald’s restaurant anymore. It’s hard to think of NATO now when Brussels is mentioned.

What is going on? The devil seems to be having his way. The world, including the United States, is changing and becoming less predictable and much more violent. But have no fear.

They’re coming out with a new iPhone and it may be the best yet. Plus, I hear the one of the Kardashians is thinking about running for president.