BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.”
(Revelation 4:8)
MEDITATION:
God loves you and has a plan for you! Let that marinate in your
thoughts for a moment. God, the Creator of everything (including
you), has a plan for your life! Because God has a plan for your
life, regardless of what it going on around you, you know you
have a purpose for living.
And, it is a good purpose that will be fulfilling and enrich your
life in ways you could never imagine, and could not be found in
any other source. Doesn’t that sound exciting? However, for us
to discover the purpose God has for us, we have a responsibility
to believe in His Son, Jesus, and to commit our lives to Him.
The Bible says,
“God so loved the world that He gave His one and
only Son, [Jesus], that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life”
(John 3:16)
Because of Jesus, we can have a full of purpose for living,
which will result in an abundant life for us. Jesus said,
“I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly”
(John 10:10)
But there is a problem: people are sinful and separated
from God. We have all done, thought, or said bad things,
which the Bible calls “sin”. The Bible says,
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
(Romans 3:23)
The result of sin is death
(which is physical and spiritual separation from God).
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)
But, because of Jesus, there is “good news”. God sent His
Son (Jesus) to die for your sins! Jesus died in your place
so you could have a relationship with God, and be with
Him forever.
“God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us”
(Romans 5:8)
But it didn’t end with His death on the cross. He rose again
and still lives today! Each year we celebrate Easter, we need
to remember the agony Jesus suffered for our sins, how He
was buried in a tomb for three days, and most importantly
how He was resurrected on the third day (and He is now
with our Heavenly Father). That is what Easter is all about.
It is a time of celebration. A time to praise and worship the
Lord for what He did for us!
For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus said,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father, but through Me”
(John 14:6)
So, who is this Jesus? Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and
of His blessed mother Mary. Since Jesus was born of God
(a Divine person), He is God (Divine person). Jesus did not
have a human father so He could not be ‘only’ a human
person. When Jesus came to earth, He was both God and
human.
Jesus’ childhood is not mentioned much in the Bible, so it’s
hard to say exactly when He “knew” He had always been God.
We do know He was aware of being the Son of God at twelve
years old (Luke 2:41-52). As an adult, Jesus was fully aware
of who He was, and He was ready to do the work God sent
Him to earth to complete.
The fact that Jesus is both God and man is very important for
us. As a human who shares in our human weaknesses, He knows
what it is like to be human and tempted; therefore He is able to
represent us in the presence of the Father, and He prays for all
who belong to Him (John 17).
There has never been (and never will be) anyone like the Lord
Jesus. John Phillips, (a writer who penned more than 50 books
about the scriptures) wrote these words about Jesus,
“He never uttered a hasty, unkind, untrue, or frivolous word.
He never entertained an impure thought.
His talents never debased for selfish ends.
His influence, never bad.
His judgment, never wrong.
He never had to apologize for anything that He did
or retract a single word He said.
He was never too late or too soon, never upset,
never insipid, never shallow or afraid.
He had absolute victory from the moment He drew his first
breath in that Bethlehem barn until the moment He closed
His eyes in death on the cross of Calvary.”
ACTION:
The world tries to offer us much, but it can never provide anything
equal in value to what Jesus made available for us. In Jesus we find
the valuable things that money cannot buy (peace, happiness, joy, etc.).
These things can only be found through a relationship with Jesus.
Do you know Jesus? Does Jesus know you? If not, then consider the
truth of the scriptures. Our life on earth is short, but our life after
death is long (eternally). Think about the agony of suffering forever
(physically, emotionally, and spiritually).
Imagine being in pain 24/7 without any hope of relief, and wanting
to die, but you can’t. Imagine being able to see others you know in
Heaven enjoying the promised life for those who believed, and chose
to surrender to the Lord. Imagine being able to see them, but not
being able to talk to them, or embrace them.
Imagine seeing God and knowing that you cannot be with Him,
and you will continue to suffer the agony of knowing you had
the same choice as everyone else, but you chose the ways of the
world, so now you have a constant reminder of paradise lost.
If we could take a peek into eternity and see the punishment
for those who refuse to turn from their sin and ask God for
His salvation, the question would not be,
“Should I worship and serve the Lord?”
instead our question would be,
“How soon can I make the transition?”
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus
so that I can escape eternal separation from You. I realize
that the ways of the world want to persuade me to stay the
way I am, but Your Word tells me that I would be making
a bad choice that would result in eternal punishment and
separation from You. Forgive me of my sins and show me
how to worship and praise You, and Your Son. Help me to
start living ‘for’ You now so that I can live ‘with’ You forever!”
BLOG: utvolwoody.com
BREAD FOR BELIEVERS 
Discussion
No comments yet.