Today I received an email from a neighbor about Christ's death on the cross. His death was gruesome.
I replied back and said I know I must be preaching to the Choir, but it helps me when I think on the things of God. It blesses me when I take time to think about Jesus and HIM being the LAMB of GOD. As Jesus hung on the cross, He said it is finished. Jesus did the work and at that point in time....he finished what needed done. Salvation comes from and through Jesus.
Her email was about the SPECIFIC technique that was used to crucify Jesus on the cross. Jesus died such a gruesome death. But after his body was removed from the cross and placed in a borrowed tomb that was the grave, he didn't remain dead in the tomb. He is risen and sits at the right hand (a place of authority) of our heavenly Father God.
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is what Easter is about. A new beginning that we can have when we ask Jesus into our lives to save us from our human life without salvation. With Jesus as our Savior we have LIFE ABUNDANTLY because we have received Salvation THROUGH Jesus Christ and receive His Holy Spirit. Abundant LIFE.
Other religions will teach you that salvation comes from your works. Other religions will teach you that in order for you to go to heaven you MUST BE GOOD and have to be CONTINUALLY DOING something to EARN God's permission to enter heaven. Other religions will teach you that YOU must be the one to DO the WORK to go to heaven. Being a Christian is not a religion about works. Christianity is not a religion about how you maintain your salvation in order to go to heaven. Christianity is not a religion about personal works that earn you salvation. Christianity is not about being good enough to win God's Heart so you have favor with Him and get the reward of heaven. Christianity is about a rightful relationship with God that comes THROUGH CHRIST.
GOD'S way to God is perfect and it isn't by our own works that salvages our souls or maintains our salvation. God's way is JESUS.
God's perfect plan of redemption for mankind isn't about YOU DOING THE WORK so YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH to go to heaven. But in God's economy.......you can never do enough on your own to earn redemption. In God's economy.....the recipe for heaven is by accepting Jesus. Jesus DID THE WORK on the cross for us and it is by accepting Him as Savior that we gain heaven.
God's good news for people is that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life that gives forgiveness and allows us to become a child of God. The GOSPEL is JESUS...not us.
Christianity isn't a religion of personal works....Christianity is about being BORN AGAIN with JESUS as our SAVIOR which places us in the rightful relationship with God. God's perfect way is through Christ, not a religion of our works, but Jesus.
God has a plan and it is perfect.
God's PERFECT plan of redemption for mankind is about Jesus Christ being our personal savior and ACCEPTING WHO JESUS IS (the Son of God) and what HE DID and TAKING HIM FOR OUR OWN.
Jesus did the work needed for us to be in a rightful relationship with Almighty God. When we accept Jesus for who he is and what he did on the cross....the Bible tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God that did THE WORK ON THE CROSS as HE was the one that did the work by taking on the sins of the world and died a gruesome death on the cross. He is the SON of GOD that died for our sins and was raised from the grave...no longer dead. He lives. He is the LIVING GOD. He's alive forever more!
You know Spring is coming...that deserves a big YEAH! The season of new beginnings. A freshness.
Easter is coming as well.
Again Jesus is the reason for the season. He is risen! His death was gruesome, BUT HIS LIFE IS GLORIOUS and VICTORIOUS! MAGNIFICENT. To think that He is the LAMB of GOD and did this for us so we can have sin forgiven to where we are able to be placed in a rightful relationship with Almighty God is something to think about and share with others.
God's PERFECT PLAN of redemption for mankind is HIS only begotten SON, JESUS the CHRIST. We have to acknowledge that God is real. We have to acknowledge that God is God. We have to acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior that will save us, cleanse us and give us eternal life. Jesus is the one to do this. Jesus. He is the one that will put us in right standing with a Holy God. He is the one that is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but THROUGH him. We have to acknowledge that Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity (Father, SON and Holy Ghost) and is deity.
When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior...our original sin is forgiven. We come into this world being born with original sin. Original sin is what we are born with in this world as a person that does not have the spirit of the LIVING God in us. We are born into a world without this. We are born without God in us.
When God forgives us of our original sin, God no longer sees this original sin. This sin is forgiven which becomes as far from the east as it is to the west. When God looks at us after we have accepted Jesus as our Savior...God sees Jesus as our covering. You become a marked individual. You are no longer your own...you've been bought with a price.
When we accept Jesus as our personal savior, we're BORN AGAIN and our name is written in the LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember John Wesley? I heard this story about him. A reporter asked John Wesley why he did so many sermons about YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN? Mr. Wesley answered the reporter, "BECAUSE YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!" I love this story.
You are BORN AGAIN with JESUS.
It isn't in being churched or unchurched that saves a person and causes this BORN AGAIN EXPERIENCE that Jesus speaks about in the Bible. It is in receiving Jesus Christ as our personal savior and believing that he is the Son of God, that he is who he says he is, that he died for our sins, and then raised from the dead.
When JESUS becomes our SAVIOR, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit completely regenerated and placed in a rightful relationship with God. We become the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God that inherits the mind of Christ which allows us to begin to understand the things of God. We're adopted into the family of God becoming a royal child of God that has been given permission to boldly enter into God's Throne Room to petition prayer.
As a Christian, while we are living on Earth, we are NEVER ALONE.
God is WITH US.
While we are here, we can read the Bible for information, counsel, instructions on how to live the kind of life that pleases God. The Holy Spirit will help us to understand the Bible.
When we take our last breath in our earthly bodies, as a child of God we are heaven bound and guaranteed eternal life in the presence of God.
Jesus did the work. Hallelujah. The Gospel in a nutshell is that Jesus did the work and we don't.
As our personal Savior He forgives and gives us new life with His Holy Spirit.
We gain entrance into KINGDOM LIVING as a child of the most High God.
Eternal Life with God is ours.
Some say, I don't need GOD. Why do I need HIM? I'm doing just fine on my own. God's a myth. We are gods. It doesn't make sense to have a GAWD. You're weak if you're a Christian. There's no GOD. We morphed from animals. We are animals. GOD is nature. How can I be sure there's a GOD? I see no need to be BORN AGAIN...this is nonsense. I'm a self made person. I did alright without GOD. No such thing as heaven or hell. This is it Baby!
You're a self confident fool if you think this way.
God desires a personal relationship with you. He created you. He's interested in you. He desires good things for you and He desires that you know His truths. He desires that you know Him. It is through Christ that you can become a friend of God. It is through Christ that you can get to know God. It is through Christ that you can touch the hem of God's garment. It is through Christ that you will become all that God wants you to become.
Having Almighty God as your God will make you a better person with a purpose.
~Deanna~
Buds on the Lilac Bush
