Life
What is our source of life? It is God. God created the heavens and the earth, and He created you and me. God created us to believe in Him, obey His commands, worship Him, and to be in fellowship with Him. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they fell into disobedience and sin, and so did mankind. God loved His creation (us) so much, that He provided a way to come back into right relationship with Him, even though Adam and Eve's sin separated us from Him. This way to right relationship is found in Jesus Christ, one third of our Triune God.
|
Throughout the Old Testament, we can read about the sacrificial system that was used to keep man in right relationship with God. The atonement for sin ALWAYS included the shedding of blood - even with Adam and Eve - when God gave them animal skins to wear to cover their nakedness, or their awareness of sin. We read about the tabernacle and the temple - the system of worship that God ordained for the people of the Old Testament was clear. This system was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ to earth - fully God and fully man, sent to be the final sacrifice for man's sin - once for all.
|
The New Testament is thrilling to read! We can read about how Jesus came to earth, through Mary and the virgin birth. We read about His ministry on earth, and the many miracles that He performed as He revealed Himself to His people. We see that Jesus of Nazareth led a sinless life, and was tempted as we are. He was given every opportunity not to fulfill the job that the Father gave Him - yet at every turn, He was completely obedient to God the Father. Jesus taught the people the way to the Father, and that way was through believing Him, and repenting, and accepting Him as their Savior - God's only Son. This was not about religion - this was all about relationship and accepting the sacrifice God gave.
|
Just as Jesus was completely obedient to the Father, so should we be. I love the account of Jesus being baptized. This event gives us the perfect example of the Trinity working together...God the Father speaking from Heaven, Jesus the Son in the water being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. Together, they are our God, and Jesus fulfilled His ministry at every moment - being baptized as we are to also be baptized as a profession of our faith. (Matthew Chapter 3)
|
When Jesus' ministry on earth was complete, and the time had fully come, He laid down His life for ours. He willingly went to the cross, and was hung for our transgressions. He died on the cross for our sins, just as the lambs were slain for the sins of those before them. Jesus died once for all - the Lamb of God was slain, and His blood atones for our sins. Jesus rose again from the grave 3 days later, in complete victory over death and sin. He has ascended to the Father's right hand, and will return for His people some day. This was God's plan since the beginning of time, and all the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah who would come have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He came and He died for our sins - allowing us full access to the Father through Him.
|
Pretty exciting, huh? It should be! The victory over death that every believer in Christ has should be very exciting! We will not fear the sting of death - we will be spending eternity with God the Father in the heavenlies. We will be spared the certain hell promised to those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Have you accepted Jesus and the gift of salvation that He gave? The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We have all sinned. We all need Jesus and His atonement for our sins through His sacrifice on the cross. To accept Him as Savior, be sure that your heart along with your mind prays as you ask God to forgive your sins, and believe in your heart that Jesus died for you, and that He is the Son of God, who sits at the right hand of the Father. Believe that He died for your sins, and that the path to eternal life is through Jesus. Repent, believe, and be saved! (There is no salvation without repentance)
If you have just accepted Jesus as your Savior, I praise God with you! Get a Bible, find a church, grow in the Lord, and surrender your life to Him - totally and completely.
"And He [Jesus] was saying to them all...If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfiets himself?" - Luke 9:23-25
|
|