Tag: Redemption

The Saddest Day and the Best One

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

No Greater Love

There is no greater love than the love Jesus showed when He laid down His life—for His friends. For us.

Jesus wasn’t just a good man who died an unjust death. He was the spotless Son of God—sinless, blameless, holy. Death had no rightful claim on Him. And yet, He willingly embraced it. He gave up His life so that others might have eternal life.

That alone would be enough to leave us in awe. But what makes His sacrifice even more astounding are the people He died for.

When Jesus spoke these words in John 15, He was talking to a group of His friends who were far from perfect. A hot-headed fisherman. A skeptical doubter. A tax collector. A political zealot. Brothers who once wanted to call down fire on a village. And beyond that room? Prostitutes. Outcasts. The unclean. Sinners.

And for us, too.

Jesus laid down His life so that anyone might become His friend. So that everyone might receive His love. So that we might know—deep in our hearts—that we are not rejected or forgotten, but known and embraced.

So, take a moment today and rest in this truth: There is no greater love than the love Jesus has for you. He proved it on the cross.

My Thoughts

As a child, I have to admit that I didn’t think at all about the meaning of Good Friday. I didn’t know why it was called Good Friday, but I accepted that it was a good thing because I was always out of school. Yes, I knew from going to Sunday school that it was the day we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus, but since I didn’t have a relationship with Him, that meant little to me. Once I became a Christian, I was amazed at the love that the sacrifice of Jesus showed. He was not eager to give His life, but He was willing to carry out the plan of the Father. Thus, submitting His will to His Father in Heaven, He went voluntarily to the cross. Why do I think that? Jesus Himself said he could call down legions of angels to defend Him. But He didn’t. So, when Pilate questioned Him, He did not reply. The answers were in the hearts of those who believed in Him then and believe in Him now. He is the Son of God who gave His life for me, you and all who accept Him. One verse I memorized this year is John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” This is the good news of Good Friday. Because we believe, we accept God’s free gift of eternal life. Remember when God created the world and said it was “good”? I am sure that He would call today a good day, too…a good day to reflect and remember and to worship Him for His plan of redemption that reaches out to all mankind. Have a blessed Good Friday and may we ever cherish the love of our Savior!

Creation

On By vickleaIn promises, ScriptureLeave a comment

I believe what the Bible says about God’s creating everything. I am not a proponent of combining science and the Bible and coming up with new theories about how everything came to be. I just believe what God said. After all, He is the Creator and He was the only One there at the time, so I will take Him at His word.

Many like to refute the truth of the Old Testament, saying that it is no longer relevant so people need to only pay attention to what is in the New Testament. Really? ALL of God’s Word is relevant and necessary if we want to truly get to know Him. But for those who need verses from the New Testament that point to God as Creator, there are many.

Not only did God create everything to begin with, He puts the people in power who are on thrones or even in the Capitol building. It is hard for me to grasp that, but I think of it as, “God put them there for this season and He will be the One to remove them when that season is over.” We were created “through Him” but notice that we were also created “for Him.” We were created to have a relationship with God and it is to our detriment that we turn away and choose not to do so.

Scientists want to prove everything with things that they can explain with math formulas and experiments and observation. We Christians, however, know that understanding that God formed everything is by faith. We can’t experiment with faith or come up with a good math formula that replicates it. There are all kinds of physics laws, but one I remember from long ago is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. I suppose that is true when man tries to create something from nothing or totally destroy something so that it no longer exists. But God created the laws of the Universe and He doesn’t have to operate within their boundaries. He created something from nothing and He can also totally destroy things so that they no longer exist. If you don’t believe me, read Genesis 1 and then turn to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. The towns were there and then they weren’t, due to their great sin. We can trust that God’s Word is always true and that He is in control of all that He has made. What we cannot trust is mankind’s idea of putting God in a box and commanding Him to stay there until they are ready to let Him out or need Him for something. God is not the genie in the bottle, ready to appear when we want Him to. He is always there, always looking, always listening, and ever waiting for us to accept Him as not only our Creator but also our Savior.

It amazes me that the God who made everything knew we would need a Savior and planned for Jesus and our redemption from the beginning. Read Genesis 3:15 and see the plan’s beginning. In this month in which we celebrate the Resurrection, we can also see the evidence of new life as flowers and trees bud and blossom. They are the visible representation of the new life that God has for us if we just accept it.

Creation was God’s plan. How did He do it? I don’t know and I don’t have to know because I have the faith to believe that He said it and that makes it true.

God Purchased What Was Already His

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/9115/day/5

The lessons from the book of Hosea are many but none is more important than the one of redemption. Hosea was already married to Gomer; she was already his wife. But when she left him and their three children, he did what God told him to do and went in search of her. After he found her, he had to pay to get her back with him. Isn’t that the story of our own salvation? We belonged to God from the day He created us. We wandered away, strayed far from our Heavenly Father. Then He sent Jesus as the price for our redemption so that we could be accepted back into His presence again, restored to a relationship with Him. The story of Hosea is one of forgiveness and love, even when the object of your love is not worthy. We did nothing to deserve God’s love and forgiveness, yet He forgives us anyway. You may be thinking as I did; But we are not prostitutes. We didn’t go out and sell ourselves to others. Really? In our state of sin, that is exactly what we did. We sold ourselves to whatever caught our eye and took our attention off of God and what was holy and right. It may not have been an idol of lust, but whatever replaced God in our lives was our idol and He redeemed us because of His great love for us, not because we deserved it. Grace…mercy…love. All equal salvation. I don’t know if Gomer was thankful or not but I know that I am and I hope that you are grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus’s blood that God paid for our eternal souls.

No Fear of Death

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

bible.com/bible/113/psa.49.15.NIVUK

There is no fear of dying for Christians because dying on earth means living eternally in the presence of the Lord. The thought of dying can be scary for some people because it is an unknown that we have never faced and when we finally face death, it’s for the first and last time. We cannot go through the occasion again and tell others about our experiences so that they won’t be afraid. The good news is that Jesus died BUT He came back to life again and because He lives, I know that one day when I die, I will also be resurrected and live with Him. I’m sorry for all those who do not believe this Biblical truth because they are truly without hope. The older I get, the more I anticipate being with the Lord forever. It will be glorious, beyond what I can think or imagine. It is normal that those left behind will grieve, but they also have hope of seeing their loved ones again in Heaven. “Ever be with the Lord” is not just a Biblical phrase. It’s the hope that I cling to as I face every challenge of being elderly, complete with aches and pains and a body that is breaking down, just as it is supposed to. I just read about the death of Moses and was amazed that he seemed to be totally spry at death…clear vision and a spring in his step. After all, he was able to climb a mountain to see the Holy Land before he died. I’m not Moses, though, and my seventy year old body is weary. Nevertheless, I am called to keep on keeping on until the Lord calls me to my eternal rest. I pray that you have the same hope of eternity with the Lord. No pain, no sorrow, no tears. Just Heaven! As the song says, “I Can Only Imagine.”

I pray that God will bless and keep you today and give you the gift of hope and the refreshing presence of His Spirit guiding you in all your ways.