God's Word for Wednesday, 1/1/20

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 

Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 MSG

God's Word for Tuesday, 2/13/18

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

John 3:16 (MSG)

Easter 2013

Easter Sunday is always a crowded day in most protestant churches, and you see folks there who haven't been around since the previous Easter. But going to church is not what Christianity is about. Dressing up & showing off new dresses, hats, eggs, candy, or bunnies ... not those, either.

It's about lives. Our lives. It's about God's unconditional love for us. That love makes everything about our lives as believers new.

It's about forgiveness. God's forgiveness of our evil (yes, the e word!) natures. We are empowered to live our lives free from condemnation and bitterness, if we accept His forgiveness, which gives us the ability to forgive others.

It's about Jesus, and what He did for us. If you're a believer, you already know. If you're not, you can be.
"But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Jesus the Anointed One died for us." 

We don't have to make ourselves acceptable; in point of fact, we cannot. If we could, then Jesus' death was for no reason.

God accepts us the way we are, warts and all, because of what Jesus did. All we have to do is believe that.


Most Christian churches make a HUGE deal of the occasion, and it IS important to remember that we serve a risen Savior.

One difference between most churches and mine was (and is) that we remember His resurrection all the time - not just once a year.
 
His resurrection from death is the point.
 
As that other Paul put it, "just as one sin (disobedience to God) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act (Jesus' punishment and execution for mankind's sins) resulted in justification and life for all people." (Romans 5:18)  We have hope precisely because Jesus overcame sin and death, took our punishment in our place, and has granted life to us.

HE IS RISEN!

The cross is shown 'empty', because Jesus isn't there any more. That's the GOOD news!