Thursday, April 2, 2015

Is Your Easter Happy?

Every year when Easter approaches, I tend to reflect a little more than usual on the sacrifice God made for us and His resurrection, all done for undeserving people to offer us a free gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven. 
He tried to tell his disciples, who had done miracles in His name, and followed Him closely, what was to come, and even they couldn't comprehend what He was saying.  He told them he would be killed and would rise again in three days to conquer death, but they didn't understand.  And even after he was crucified, they were sad, because they couldn't understand what He meant until they saw him again.  And even after they saw him, Thomas, one of His disciples,  still had doubts as to if He was really Jesus.  But what joy and peace they must have had when they realized all that He said had come to pass.  That He bore the weight of the world's sins by dying on the cross, and that He gave victory over death by rising from the grave after three days. 
I am troubled by the number of people who say they "believe" in God, but don't ever "know" God. For those of you who "believe" in God, the devil also believes in God.  Believing in God is a great thing, but it won't get you into Heaven.  Going to church is great, but that won't get you into Heaven either.  Being a good person is a great attribute, but that won't get you into Heaven. 
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one".  That means just what it says.  None of us are good enough to go to Heaven.  All the good deeds we do, the kindnesses we show, none of it is enough to get us into Heaven.  Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  All of us have sinned.  Not one of us has lived a perfect life.  We may not all be murderers, but all of us have had an unkind thought, told a little lie, etc.  All is sin in God's eyes. Romans 5:12 says "Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."  Here God tells us that because of one man, Adam, in the garden of eden, his sin against God brought the punishment of sin to all men after Adam.  Of course, our punishment for sin is eternal separation from God.
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice this doesn't say "some sin" or "big sin".  It means ALL sin, no matter how great or small.  Death is the end result of our sin.  Death means eternal separation from God.  But God offers us a "gift". Have you ever received a "gift" from someone, but you had to work for that gift?  If so, it wasn't really a gift, was it?  A true gift is something given without any strings attached.  Not because of something you did or did not do.
In Romans 5:8, it says "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  This is God's gift - His son, Jesus Christ died for us.  He didn't die while we were trying to be kind and good - He died for us while we were sinners.
Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  This doesn't say good people that call upon the Lord, it says "whosoever".  That means everyone!  From the best of the best, to the worst of the worst, all have the opportunity to be saved.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  That's it, in a nutshell!  That's how you get to spend eternity with God in Heaven.  Confess with your mouth, and believe in your heart.
We all know the most quoted verse in the Bible, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." and verse 17, "For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." 
God became man through Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, who lived a perfect, sinless life, who, though He was tempted in every way possible, remained pure and holy.  And though blameless and sinless, was crucified at the very hands of the people he was sent to save.  Just before his crucifixion, Pilate was hesitant to condemn Jesus because they could find no fault in Him, but he gave in to the unruly people and allowed His death.  And when we think of Jesus' death, it wasn't just a death.  It was a torturous death.  He was scourged - beaten with whips, stripped of his clothing, mocked, spit upon.  Many things occured before his actual death that are so horrific we can't even comprehend them.  And when He had been nailed to the cross, there were two thieves being crucified that same day. One mocked Him, telling Him if he was really Jesus, the Son of God,  to prove it and save himself.  The other knew in his heart this was really Jesus, and asked him to remember him when He entered into His Kingdom.  Jesus told him, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise."  Did Jesus have the power to save himself?  Of course.  As He was dying, he asked to "let this cup pass from me", but followed with "Thy will be done", meaning he was suffering and wished He didn't have to do it, but ultimately was willing to abide by God's plan, however it needed to be done.  And knowing the uproar that preceded his death, the people wanted to be sure no one stole His body, so they placed a huge stone at the entrance to the tomb and had guards placed there to secure it.  Yet, three days later, His body was gone.  Not only was it gone, but His graveclothes were neatly folded where His body had been. He had risen, just as He said He would!
So, His dying on the cross paid the debt we owed for our sin - death. And His resurrection gives us power over death.  While our physical bodies may grow old and die, our soul can live forever in Heaven with God.  A totally free gift!  This gift is offered, but we must accept it.  And for those say they don't believe it, you will.  Romans 14:11 says, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."  So, whether you choose to believe or not, one day, as per the very instruction of God Himself, you will confess that He is God. 
So what if I don't believe all that? Well, on judgement day, when God looks through the Book of Life to see if your name is written down (that is to mean, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and asked Him to come into your heart and save you) you will be told either to enter into Heaven, or will be told to depart from God, as He does not know you.  And to depart from God means to be cast into hell, the lake of fire, a place where torment never ends, a place where there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth", for all eternity.  So ultimately, if I am totally wrong, the worst thing that will happen is I will die, having lived the best life I could.  If you are wrong, you have far more at stake - an eternity in hell.
Today, we are faced with two choices.  Accept Jesus or deny Jesus.  There is no gray area.  There is no in-between.  If you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior, I plead with you to pray what we refer to as "The Sinner's Prayer", and ask God to save you. 
"Dear God, I know that I am a sinner, and that there is nothing I can do to save myself from my sin.  I believe that you sent your Son to die on the cross as payment for my sins, and raised Him from the dead to give me victory over death.  I am sorry for all my sin, and ask you to forgive me. I ask you to come into my heart and save me and give me eternal life with you in Heaven."
If you prayed this prayer, and meant it with all your heart, you are now a child of God!  And this Easter and all that follow will truly have new meaning for you!