Easter Shows Us God's Amazing Love

Friday, April 09, 2010

Easter shows us God's amazing love by Rick Warren

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8 NLT). "God is not asking you to make a promise you cannot keep. God is asking you to believe a promise that only he can keep. " Everything that Jesus did for you he did out of love. The Bible says that God made you to love you. The only reason you're alive is because you were made to be loved by God. If God didn't want you alive, your heart would stop instantly; you wouldn't even be breathing right now. God made you and wants you alive so he can love you and so you can love him back. God didn't just say he loved you, he showed it. The Bible says, "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8 NLT). It says while we were still sinners. Before I even knew God, before I even knew I needed God in my life, Jesus died for me. There's a myth that says I've got to clean up my act before I can come to God. "I've got to get it all together. There are a few things I've got to get right in my life first, and then I'll come to God." No! You come to God with your problems—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Why do we do this? It's like when we brush our teeth before we go to the dentist to have a teeth cleaning; or when we wash the dishes before we put them in the dishwasher; or when we pick up the house before the maid gets there! Why do we do this? God says, "No, no! You don't have to clean up your act. Just bring it all to me. Bring me all your problems. I have the answer. I have all the answers." You don't wait. Jesus say, "Come as you are." The Bible says, "He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love" (Psalm 57:3 LB). That's what Jesus did on Easter. He sent down himself from heaven to save us because of his love. So you bring your problems to God because he has the answer. If you don't act on this news then the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection is wasted for you personally. It makes no difference in your life. You may recognize the gift, but you still have to receive it. The Bible says, "You will be saved, if you honestly say, 'Jesus is Lord,' and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others" (Romans 10:9-10 CEV). God is not asking you to make a promise you cannot keep. God is asking you to believe a promise that only he can keep.

Easter Offers Us A Fresh Start

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Easter offers us a fresh start by Rick Warren

Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life, and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4 MSG). "Jesus is in the business of giving people a fresh start. " Once I typed the phrase 'fresh start' into Google on the Internet. It brought up 485,000 links! Evidently, a lot of people would like to have a fresh start in life. They think, "I've blown it, I've messed up, I've really made a mess of things in my life. I'd like a fresh start." Jesus is in the business of giving people a fresh start. The apostle Peter says, "Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life, and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4 MSG). Several things happen once you give your life to Christ: You open up your life to God and get to know him. You're given a brand new life, which gives you everything to live for. You get a future in heaven. You can say it this way: You get your past forgiven, you get a purpose for livin', and you get a home in heaven. What a deal! You're past, present, and future are taken care of as you put your trust in Jesus. A fresh start! "Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:30 MSG).

Easter Means We're Released From Judgment

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Easter means we're released from judgment by Rick Warren

"Those who . . . believe in him . . . will not be judged" (John 5:24 GNT). "If you put your trust in the love of Jesus Christ, your sins are wiped out, 'There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ.'" (Romans 8:1 NLT) Jesus' death and resurrection releases us from judgment. You may imagine a day of judgment where you're standing outside the gates of heaven in a really, really long line, and you're slowly moving forward, one step at a time. As you get closer, you start to sweat and wonder, "Am I going to get in? Am I going to make it? Is God going to use a giant TV screen to show every dumb or evil thing I've ever done? Will my every sin be exposed?" I have good news for you; it's a promise of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that those who believe in Jesus—his death and resurrection—will not be judged (John 3:18). So, here's the real picture: You're standing in line waiting for the judgment. Jesus sees you and he says, "I know you. We've been friends for years. You put your trust in me back at Easter 2009. Come with me. You come get in the express lane. You get the fast track. You get to bypass the judgment." Is that good news? Oh, yeah! I've got a friend named Buddy who says, when he was a little kid, his Sunday school teacher taught him that God was sitting in heaven writing down every bad thing that Buddy ever did. Writing it down! She actually made the class sing a song every week that went: "My Lord is writing all the time. Writing, writing, writing all the time." Buddy says, "It scared me. I just thought, 'I'm never going to make it to heaven. My list is getting longer and longer.'" Is that the way God treats us when we come and put our faith in Christ? No! In fact, God is erasing, erasing, erasing all the time. Forgiving, forgiving, forgiving all the time. He's sitting in heaven hitting the delete button. Why? Because the Bible says, "God is love" (1 John 4:8); and "Love . . . keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV). If you put your trust in the love of Jesus Christ, your sins are wiped out, "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ" (Romans 8:1 NLT).

Easter Means We're Acceptable To God

Tuesday, April 06, 2010 Easter means we're acceptable to God by Rick Warren God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God (Romans 4:25 CEV). " It is Christ's goodness in you that makes you acceptable. You're not perfect, but he is. " Jesus' death and resurrection make us acceptable to God. Would you be surprised to know that most people do not accept themselves? I've been a pastor now for over 30 years and I've talked to tens of thousands of people, and I've found that most people really don't like themselves inside. They wish they were different. They wish they looked different. They wish they acted different. We don't accept ourselves and so we spend our lives trying to find acceptance among other people; but even more important than being accepted by other people is being accepted by God. That's a problem. Why? Because God is perfect and you're not. And neither am I. God lives in a perfect place called heaven, so God has a problem. How does he get imperfect people into a perfect place where he is perfect? (Because, obviously, if he allowed imperfect people in a perfect place it wouldn't be perfect anymore.) God has to come up with a plan for imperfect people to be able to live in a perfect place. God's plan is what I call "The Great Exchange." The Bible says, "God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us!" (2 Corinthians 5:21 LB). I don't know how to make it any clearer than to say it like this: You're never going to be good enough to get into heaven because it's perfect and you stopped being perfect a long time ago. It is Christ's goodness in you that makes you acceptable. You're not perfect, but he is. So God says, "We'll do an exchange here. Jesus will take your sins and you get my goodness in your life." That's quite a deal! A lot of people feel trapped by their past. They say, "If you knew what I've done, you'd know I'd never be acceptable to God." I don't know what you've done, but God does and he still accepts you: "God says he will accept us and acquit us—declare us 'not guilty'—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like" (Romans 3:22 LB).

Easter Means Jesus Paid For Our Sins

Monday, April 05, 2010 Easter means Jesus paid for our sins by Rick Warren Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. Ephesians 1:7 (GWT) "Everything you've ever done wrong, everything you're ever going to do wrong, things you haven't even thought of yet, all those sins have already been paid for by Jesus Christ as he died on the cross. " Jesus' death and resurrection paid for our sins. There have been a lot of great religious teachers throughout history. They've all had good things to say, but what makes Jesus different from every other religious teacher throughout history is the fact that he died and rose again. That's of critical importance because it's not the life of Jesus that saves you; it's not the teachings of Jesus that save you; it's his death and resurrection that open the door for your salvation. Jesus died for your sins. The Bible says we've all blown it. We've all made mistakes. None of us is perfect. That's pretty obvious; I don't measure up to my own standards much less God's. We have all sinned. The Bible says that justice demands punishment. If you do the crime, you pay the time. If you break the law, you pay the fine. If you get caught speeding, you get a ticket. If you break God's laws, you pay God's penalty and, according to the Bible, "the wages [for our] sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23 NLT). In other words, somebody has to pay for all the things you've done wrong in life: either you pay or somebody else pays for you. And this is where God says, "I'll do it!" He steps up to the plate. Jesus Christ is sent to earth—God in human form—and he says, in effect, "I will pay for your sins." Here's the good news: Everything you've ever done wrong, everything you're ever going to do wrong, things you haven't even thought of yet, all those sins have already been paid for by Jesus Christ as he died on the cross: "Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness" (Ephesians 1:7 GWT). When Jesus died on the cross for you, it showed two things: It showed how much your forgiveness cost. The highest price you can pay for anything is to give your life for it. And that's what Jesus did. He gave his blood. He gave his life. It was extremely expensive. Grace is free but it is not cheap. It cost Jesus his life, but he paid for your sins. It shows how much God values you. It shows how much you matter to God. Jesus died for you on the cross. It shows the highest price possibly to be paid was giving a life. How much are you worth? Jesus says, with his arms stretched out on the cross, "This much I'm willing to die for you." You may think that you're worthless because of things you've done wrong. But Jesus says, "No. You're priceless. And I'm willing to give my life in order to pay for your sins."