Tag: Jesus died for you

Why Not You?

Romans 8:31-32 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Why not you? That is what God spoke to me last week when I was having a hard time comprehending His incredible goodness. I struggle with asking for help. I struggle with receiving help.  As a single mom, I typically have to do it all. Grocery shopping, house cleaning, permission slips, homework, projects, budgeting, doctor’s visits, pep talks, discipline, you name it. When it is all up to you, you get in a grove of just doing it. Muscling forward no matter what. As Dori from Finding Nemo says, “Just keep moving, just keep moving, just keep moving, moving, moving.”

So last week I needed work done on my home. This was something I could not do myself. So, I reached out to my church community and found a few contractors to come take a look and give me a bid. I had no idea the repair was going to cost so much, and I was unprepared to cover the cost. But I did what I always do and just kept muscling forward trying to find a way to make it work. Then the contractors came back to me and said, we talked to our church about your situation and they would like to cover the cost of your repairs.

Why me? That is exactly what went through my head. Why me? I do not deserve this. Then God spoke to me and said, “Why not you? How many times do I need to remind you that you are a daughter of the King, a child of the most high God? I want to do this for you.” In that moment, I was humbled. I do not know how to explain it but with everything going on in the world today, I felt so humbled to be important enough to Him that he “arranged” this for me.

You are important to God too. He is patiently waiting for you to give your heart to Him. He sent Jesus, his son, to earth to clear the path for us, to conquer our sins, so that we could have a relationship with Him. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” So, why not you too?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to earth to conquer our sins so that we can have a relationship with you. Thank you for keeping an eye on me and for loving me completely. Amen

Unbelief

Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”

I heard something this week while I was listening to old sermons on my way to and from work and I have a burden on my heart to share it with you.  I had never heard it put quite this way before and for some reason it really made sense to me. To summarize it said you will not go to hell because of your sins. You will go to hell because of your unbelief. What do I mean by unbelief? Well to put is simply, if you do not believe that Jesus is the son of God who died on the cross and rose again to cleanse you from your sins then you will go to hell. No matter how “good” of a person you are. You must believe.

Salvation is that easy. Just believe. You do not need to DO anything because we have been saved by GRACE alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

You see sin separates us from God. In order to remove that separation, God sent his son Jesus to DO what was necessary to fix that. He died on the cross and rose again to make you righteous before God. So now all you have to do is believe and you will be saved. To believe, you have to have faith and Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

Your faith is increased by hearing God’s word. So, if you are a Christian, a believer, a follower of Jesus, you need to be IN THE WORD. Take time every day to read the Bible or listen to the Bible or watch video sermons about the Bible. Talk to God. Tell him about your thoughts, ideas, worries and accomplishments. Make him a part of your everyday life. Then tell others. Their faith will increase by hearing the Word of God too.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to save me from my sins. Give me faith to believe, courage to share, and grace to be saved. Amen.

Why Do You Need Jesus?

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I am not the kind of person that you can just say, “Go do this” and I will do it. I need to understand the WHY behind what I am doing so that it makes sense to me. Lately I’ve been struggling with the “why” behind “Why do I need Jesus?” I believe in God; I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit. But what part did Jesus play in all this? I’ve been reading the Bible, listening to sermons online and watching documentaries about the Holy Gospel and yesterday I finally heard something that made it all fit together for me. So, I want to share it with you.

When man first sinned, we were separated from God because of our sin. So, we were given laws to follow in order to bridge that divide. But because we are sinful, we could never follow those laws perfectly. Everyone has lied, everyone has put something before God, everyone has dishonored their parents, and everyone has had lust in their heart for another person or thing. No matter how hard we try to be good, we sin. This creates despair.

But God. God does not want us to be separated from him. So, he gave the people of Israel the ability to atone for their sins through sacrifices. The blood of a lamb could be shed to wipe away their sins. But then they sinned again. So, they would make another sacrifice. But then they sinned again. So, another sacrifice was made. It would never end. So, God sent Jesus. The Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and then he died on the cross to shed his blood for our sins.

You see, every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived will be punished. That is required. It will either be punished everlastingly by the sinner (you) or that punishment will be borne by the blood of Jesus Christ.  His death was sufficient to pay for all your sins. Trust in Jesus. Abandon all the hope you put into your good works and what a great person you are and trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone. This creates peace.

Give your heart to Jesus. Today! Then tell your friends and family about Jesus. Today! Without Jesus there is no eternal life with God. There is only eternal punishment. I choose life!

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to save me from eternal punishment. I give my heart to you today. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the courage to tell others about you. Amen.

It Is Well, With My Soul

1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

This morning I was asking God to speak to me, to give me a word that he wanted me to study. My eyes fell on a picture in my bedroom that says, “It is well, with my soul.” This phrase always gave me comfort and I started to wonder where it came from. I tried looking it up in the Bible, but it is not there. So, I googled the phrase and it is a song. I guess I knew it was a song, but I had never looked at the words of the song. One verse really stood out to me; it goes like this:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

We are all sinners. Good people, bad people, Christians, and non-believers; we are all sinners. This sin separates from God. That is unbearable to God. He loves us, like a parent loves their child. The separation had to be repaired. But how? Our sins make us dirty. Our thoughts are unclean. Our desires are for worldly possessions. How can we approach God? I will tell you how. Jesus!

Jesus came to earth to repair the separation. He came with a mission and his mission was you. He wants you to be saved. Jesus died for you. He took your blame, your sins, and your punishment to the cross. He wiped the slate clean so that you will no longer be separated from God. Your sin has been nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Because of Jesus, you are no longer separated from God. You have been adopted into the family. You can go directly to God through prayer and let your requests be made known to Him. Prayer is the most powerful tool in your toolbox. Every one of your prayers is heard. Every one of your prayers are answered. But just as a parent, knowing what is best for their children, will not always tell them yes, neither does God always say yes. God has a plan for you, and it is good.

Thank you, Jesus, for making a way. Thank you for your sacrifice so that I can be a child of God. My heart if full and it is well with my soul. Amen.