Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
BORN TO DIE
The Old Testament tells us that God appeared as a human being on several occasions. If Jesus wanted only to heal and teach, he could have simply appeared. But he did more: he became a human. Why? So he could die. To understand Jesus, we need to understand his death. His death is a crucial part of the gospel and something all Christians should know.
Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He came to give his life, to die, and his death would purchase salvation for others. This was the primary reason he came to earth. His blood was poured out for others (Matthew 26:28).
Jesus had an amazingly productive ministry, teaching and healing thousands. He attracted large crowds and had potential for much more. He could have healed thousands more by traveling to the Jews and gentiles who lived in other areas.
But Jesus allowed this work to come to a sudden end. He could have avoided arrest, but he chose to die instead of expanding his ministry. Although his teachings were important, he had come not just to teach, but also to die — and he accomplished more in his death than in his life.
Death was Jesus’ most important ministry. This is the way we remember him, through the cross as a symbol of Christianity or through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Our Savior is a God who loved us so much that he gave his life for us.
Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He came to give his life, to die, and his death would purchase salvation for others. This was the primary reason he came to earth. His blood was poured out for others (Matthew 26:28).
Jesus had an amazingly productive ministry, teaching and healing thousands. He attracted large crowds and had potential for much more. He could have healed thousands more by traveling to the Jews and gentiles who lived in other areas.
But Jesus allowed this work to come to a sudden end. He could have avoided arrest, but he chose to die instead of expanding his ministry. Although his teachings were important, he had come not just to teach, but also to die — and he accomplished more in his death than in his life.
Death was Jesus’ most important ministry. This is the way we remember him, through the cross as a symbol of Christianity or through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Our Savior is a God who loved us so much that he gave his life for us.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
JESUS & THE CROSS II
God loves people—but he hates sin, because sin hurts people. Therefore, there will be a “day of God’s wrath” when he judges the world (Romans 1:18; 2:5). People who reject the truth will be punished (verse 8). If they reject the truth of God’s grace, they will experience another side of God, his anger. God wants everyone to repent (2 Peter 3:9), but those who don’t will suffer the result of their sin.
In the death of Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and through his death, we escape the wrath of God, the punishment of sin. But this does not mean that a loving Jesus appeased or “paid off” an angry God. The Father is just as merciful as Jesus is, and Jesus is just as angry about sin as the Father is. He is angry at sin because sin hurts the people he loves. Jesus is the Judge who condemns (Matthew 25:31-46), as well as the Judge who loves sinners so much that he pays the penalty for them.
When God forgives us, he does not simply wipe away sin and pretend it never existed. He teaches us throughout the New Testament that sins are taken care of through the death of Jesus. Sins have serious consequences—consequences we can see in the cross of Christ. It cost Jesus pain and shame and death. He bore the punishment we deserved.
The gospel reveals that God acts righteously in forgiving us (Romans 1:17). He does not ignore our sins, but takes care of them in Jesus Christ. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for our forgiveness. “He did this to demonstrate his justice” (Romans 3:25). The cross reveals that God is just; it shows that sin is too serious to be ignored. It is appropriate for sin to be punished, and Jesus volunteered to suffer the punishment on our behalf. The cross demonstrates God’s love as well as his justice (Romans 5:8).
As Isaiah says, we have peace with God because Christ was punished. We were once enemies of God, but through Christ we have been brought near (Ephesians 2:13). In other words, we have been reconciled to God through the cross (verse 16). It is a basic Christian belief that our relationship with God depends on the death of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
IS THERE A MEANING TO LIFE
At an average, 150,000 people die everyday and pass out from this world. Medical Science is doing all it can to make man immortal and it will utterly fail. The hyperbaric chamber, the Plastic surgeon, liposuction and all the face lift can not prevent aging or death.
If Life is so precious that nobody wants to die what is the meaning of life then?"
How can I find purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction in life? Will I have the potential to accomplish something of lasting significance?
So many people have never stopped to consider what the meaning of life is. They look back years later and wonder why their relationships have fallen apart and why they feel so empty even though they may have achieved what they set out to accomplish. One baseball player who made it to the baseball hall of fame was asked what he wished someone would have told him when he first started playing baseball. He replied, "I wish that someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there." Many goals reveal their emptiness only after years have been wasted in their pursuit.
In our humanistic society, people pursue many purposes, thinking that in them they will find meaning. Some of these pursuits include: business success, wealth, good relationships, sex, entertainment, doing good to others, etc. People have testified that while they achieved their goals of wealth, relationships, and pleasure, there was still a deep void inside -- a feeling of emptiness that nothing seemed to fill.
The author of Ecclesiastes states this feeling when he said, "Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." This author had wealth beyond measure, wisdom beyond any man of his time or ours, women in the hundreds, palaces and gardens that were the envy of kingdoms, the best food and wine, and had every form of entertainment available. And he said at one point, that anything that his heart wanted, he pursued. And yet he summed up "life under the sun" (life lived as though all there is to life is what we can see with our eyes and experience with our senses) is meaningless! Why is there such a void? Because God created us for something beyond what we can experience in the here-and-now. Solomon said of God, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." In our hearts we are aware that this "here-and-now" is not all that there is.
The bible states that death came into action because of Sin. It declares that the wages of Sin are death. By Adam’s sin death came upon all and we all have to taste death. Do we have a chance to be immortal….yes, we still have. There is a way out. The Bible says without Shedding of Blood (Sinless Blood....all the Animal or Human blood sacrificies are invalid) there is no remission of Sin. Therefore man can do nothing to redeem himself from death. But the Good news is Jesus, who was sinless was sacrificed for you and for me. By His Sinless Blood poured out on the cross, our Sins are washed away and we are redeemed to have Life…Life Eternal…
Try Jesus today...your life will never be meaningless...
If Life is so precious that nobody wants to die what is the meaning of life then?"
How can I find purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction in life? Will I have the potential to accomplish something of lasting significance?
So many people have never stopped to consider what the meaning of life is. They look back years later and wonder why their relationships have fallen apart and why they feel so empty even though they may have achieved what they set out to accomplish. One baseball player who made it to the baseball hall of fame was asked what he wished someone would have told him when he first started playing baseball. He replied, "I wish that someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there." Many goals reveal their emptiness only after years have been wasted in their pursuit.
In our humanistic society, people pursue many purposes, thinking that in them they will find meaning. Some of these pursuits include: business success, wealth, good relationships, sex, entertainment, doing good to others, etc. People have testified that while they achieved their goals of wealth, relationships, and pleasure, there was still a deep void inside -- a feeling of emptiness that nothing seemed to fill.
The author of Ecclesiastes states this feeling when he said, "Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." This author had wealth beyond measure, wisdom beyond any man of his time or ours, women in the hundreds, palaces and gardens that were the envy of kingdoms, the best food and wine, and had every form of entertainment available. And he said at one point, that anything that his heart wanted, he pursued. And yet he summed up "life under the sun" (life lived as though all there is to life is what we can see with our eyes and experience with our senses) is meaningless! Why is there such a void? Because God created us for something beyond what we can experience in the here-and-now. Solomon said of God, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." In our hearts we are aware that this "here-and-now" is not all that there is.
The bible states that death came into action because of Sin. It declares that the wages of Sin are death. By Adam’s sin death came upon all and we all have to taste death. Do we have a chance to be immortal….yes, we still have. There is a way out. The Bible says without Shedding of Blood (Sinless Blood....all the Animal or Human blood sacrificies are invalid) there is no remission of Sin. Therefore man can do nothing to redeem himself from death. But the Good news is Jesus, who was sinless was sacrificed for you and for me. By His Sinless Blood poured out on the cross, our Sins are washed away and we are redeemed to have Life…Life Eternal…
Try Jesus today...your life will never be meaningless...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)