"As He Said"

Today, we celebrate a beautiful story of love and redemption. We celebrate Jesus' life, not His death. This day, known as Easter, is the very foundation of the Christian faith.

Most likely, if you are reading this, you believe that Christ died and rose again three days later, but the Bible tells us that even of those who saw Him after the resurrection "some doubted" (Matthew 28:17). How do you know? How do you know for sure that Christ arose that day?

Look at Mathew 28:6 - "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

"As he said." The angel is here, sitting on the door of the empty tomb showing that Jesus always keeps His Word. Jesus told the disciples over and over again what would happen, and it did! Jesus always keeps His promises...and He said that He is coming back! Isn't that amazing?

But as my pastor said this morning, you may be thinking, "So what?" The question is this: what has the resurrection meant in your life? What difference has it made in your life? Do you take God at His Word? Are you living for Jesus, the one who has the supreme authority? Why don't we just do as He says?

Priceless

Have you seen those commercials? You know, hiking boots - $30, Tents - $90, Food - $120. A camping trip with the family - priceless.

Romans 12 tells us many different characteristics of love. Some can be found in verse 9-10. "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;"

Honor. What is honor? Someone who recently spoke in my Sunday school class described it as "to see one as priceless." I thought this was very interesting. We walk around putting a price tag on people. Oh, they're only worth 15 minutes of my time. Oh, she can only hang out with me in private. He's only worth half of my effort. And these are people we call friends!

But Jesus looked at me, His enemy, and he gave me a price tag. It says, "Priceless." Jesus gave up his throne, his home, his friends, his family, and ultimately his life. He paid the price with His blood, something we could never pay back. It is priceless. Jesus saw you and me as worth all this! The Bible tells us to love others as Christ loved us. So, how about it? Do you love others like Christ loves us? Do you see others as priceless?

Call the Ambulance!

"Call 9-1-1! He's not breathing! I think his heart may have stopped!"

The paramedics rushed onto the scene a few moments later. One feels the neck of the patient. No pulse. Immediately, he begins CPR while the others put the man on the stretcher and into the ambulance.

3 John 2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." John is wishing this elder good physical health. He knew this elder was spiritually strong. How about you?

What if your physical health was a reflection of your spiritual health? Maybe your diagnosis would be just a common cold, a nuisance. This could be a small sin affecting your life, but it could get worse if you don't take care of it. It could worsen to pneumonia. Or maybe you have cancer, a seemingly small sin that has begun but is rapidly spreading such as bitterness, immorality, or maybe even a lie. You need surgery to cut that tumor out of your body or perhaps chemotherapy that will take weeks or healing. You may need to cut that sin out of life, or it may be a longer healing process of restoring fellowship with God. Maybe you aren't breathing, or you have an eating disorder. Your body is not getting the nutrients that it needs. You aren't in God's Word daily. You don't spend time with Him in prayer. Or maybe your heart has stopped. There is no passion for God, no desire whatsoever to serve Him or love him.

So what is your diagnosis? Are you spiritually healthy? Or will those around you say, "We need the doctor! Call the ambulance!"

Such Small Sin, Such Great Sacrifice

For all sin. For murder, theft, abuse, immorality. All of these put Christ on the cross. He died for all sin.

The greatness of this fact should never cease to amaze us. But sometimes, we put so much emphasis on all of the big sins that I think we forget about the fact that it was all sin that put Christ on the cross. It wasn't just murder that put Him there. It was that simple lie that you told yesterday, that unkind thought when someone cut you off in traffic, that angry spirit at a friend. Christ died for the small things. Even if one of these seemingly small sins was all that we did, it would still not be enough to get us into heaven. Christ died for all sins, great and small.

So as you go throughout the day, think about those small sins. Those are what He died for. He saved us from that! So why do we continue in sin? Romans 12:1 tells us that we should present ourselves as a “living sacrifice” and that this is our “reasonable service.” Let's not take for granted God's great grace in saving us from these small sins. May it cause us to live our lives for Him.  

East to West, Not North to South

Psalm 103:12 – As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Today, one of my teachers spoke of this beautiful truth, so I thought I would share it with you. This verse holds the beautiful truth that Christ removes are sin far from us. But think about how far this really is. He didn't say the north and south. Eventually, if you travel on this earth, you will come to the point where you are going south. Then, when you come around again you will meet the north because the earth is a sphere.

But God chose the words “east” and “west.” The east and the west will never touch. You can keep going around the earth in an eastward direction and you will never touch west. The same is true if you travel the opposite direction. You have to physically turn around if you want to go the other direction.

This is how far God separates our sins from us. They can't be reached. Yes, we will make mistakes and sin again because we are human. But God forgives when we ask Him too. And if you know Christ as your personal Savior, His precious blood has already covered yours sins past, present, and future. That gives us every reason to live for Him!

So next time you travel east or west, think about the vastness of God's forgiveness. Think of the beautiful truth of this verse, and thank Him for what He has done for you.  

When It Hurts to Do Right...Because of Wrong

Sometimes, we learn to do things right the hard way. For someone like me, it's easy to go through my personal Christian walk without taking a stand. I just keep to myself and personally do what I find is right through God's Word. In my mind, ignorance is bliss. If I don't know about it or it doesn't have to do with me, I don't have to do anything about it. But I learned the hard way that this is not the right response.

At my school, we have a time of prayer that is to be used strictly for that purpose. Last semester, as the prayer leader, there were a couple of nights where I allowed the girls to have different parties. The parties were not bad in and of themselves – just a Christmas or birthday party. But it still wasn't right because it's a direct disobedience to authority.

I was recently convicted of this lack of judgment when some of the girls were wanting to throw another party. So this time, I did the right thing, and I took a stand. I think that inconsistency from leaders is one of the most frustrating things. I obviously had not made the right choice on this before, and now the girls were mad because I went against my own word.

I was a hypocrite.

It was extremely painful when one of the girls came to me and called me out, but it was exactly what I needed. God uses difficult situations to shape our lives, and He knew exactly what I needed to hear...even though it hurt.

I did not even want to confront the party in the first place because I knew I had a double standard. But I knew I still had to do the right thing. Even though the results of the entire situation were not peaceful, God taught me much just about myself.

One key to the Christian life is consistency. I have to consistently be in God's Word. I have to consistently pray. I have to consistently do what is right, no matter what the cost. Doing what is right can be hard, and sometimes, it's our own faults. But just because you fail once does not mean that you can't do what is right the next time. Accept your responsibility. Ask God's forgiveness. Ask forgiveness of others involved. And strive to do what's right...even when it's hard.  

A Beautiful Story

Tamar the prostitute.
Rahab the harlot.
Ruth the widow.
Bathsheba just another woman.
Mary the virgin.

These five women tell a beautiful story through each of their lives. It is the most beautiful story ever told, the story of salvation. For those of you who have accepted Christ as your Savior, I hope that this reminds you of where you once were and where you now are in Christ. For those of you who have not accepted this gift, please keep reading. You do not know what you are missing.

First, Tamar is an example of each one of us. She is in the line of Christ because of sin. She made herself a prostitute to get what she wanted. Just like Tamar, we are all sinners in need of salvation. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" I need a Savior. You need a Savior. Without him, there is no hope. But the story continues.

Rahab is a woman of faith. In order to receive this gift of salvation, each person must individually place his faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only one who has the power to save you from your sin. John 14:6 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." And Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." It is His promise to us. If you trust Him in faith, He will save you. But how can he do this?

It is a gift of grace. Ruth was graciously taken in marriage by Boaz. He did not have to marry her, but he showed grace - undeserved kindness. We go through this life with very little, if any, thought for God, yet He chose to save you from your sin. It is only by His grace - His undeserved kindness - that we are saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Where does His power to save come from? The death of another. Bathsheba is in the line of Christ because David murdered her husband. Jesus Christ died willingly for your sins. It is by his blood that you are saved from death. Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." But He did not remain dead. He rose again the third day after his death, and now, He lives in heaven. My Savior lives!

You may ask, "Why me?" Mary was chosen to carry the Savior of the world, and God chose to save you! John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God's gift of salvation is free to all people, including you! It doesn't matter what you've done. Simply call out to Him and accept His gift.

Christian, this beautiful story is already yours! Tell someone about it! Friend, if you don't know Christ as your Savior, ask him to be yours today!