I was reminded today that Christmas was just 3 months ago. We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. The day He came to this earth. God had a special plan for that Babe in a manger. That plan involved you and me. That plan was FOR you and me and the whole world. That plan was to send His Son, His only Son, to save us, all because He loved us (John 3:16). So Jesus came to earth, He lived among us. His name was, “Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins”, Matthew 1:21. He was human, yet sinless. In the Bible, Hebrews 7:26-27 says, “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” Jesus was “set apart from sinners”. 1 Timothy 1:15 says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”
Then the day came, the day we call Good Friday. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” He came to earth and he died a sinner’s death for you and me. He did that so we could spend eternity with Him. In Romans 5:8 It tells how great God’s love for us was and is, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Even though the price was paid for our sins and Jesus had done His task here on earth, God wanted to show us what it meant to have new life in Him. On the third day, just as he promised, “God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen” (Acts 10:40). And now we have hope for the future. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Do you have that hope and future in Christ? If not, and even if you do, give yourself to Him again this year.
Sing this song with me.
The Stand by Hillsong United
You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand
You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand
So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand
So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours
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