"Born to Love"
God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son
merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.
He came to help, to put the world right again.
John 3:17
Once there was a very rich, but lonely king. He was unhappy because he longed for a wife with whom he could share his life, his palace, and his kingdom. Then one day the king saw the most beautiful woman riding through the streets on horseback. He had never seen such beauty. He fell instantly in love with her. Enquiries revealed she was a peasant girl, but the king’s heart was captivated. He made sure that each day he rode past her house in the hope of catching just a glimpse of his beautiful love. The king had a problem. How would he win her love? He could draw up a royal decree commanding her to become his queen. But then he could never be sure he had won her love, for she would be required to submit and obey a royal decree. Perhaps he could call on her and try to win her over, appear in all his regal glory and sweep her off her feet. But no, then he could never be sure whether she had married him only for his power and riches. Finally, he thought up the perfect plan. He would come disguised to her as a peasant. That was the only way to truly win her love. So, he abandoned his palace, his riches, his comfort, and put on peasant’s clothes. He then went and lived among the peasants. He worked with them, shared their sufferings, and danced at their feasts, until finally he won the heart of the woman who had captured his.
So, it was with the King of the Universe, Jesus Christ. He came from heaven's splendor to make God's love visible, not to make God's love possible.
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Live by choice and not by chance!
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"God our Savior, wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6) Jesus' love for mankind motivated him to be born, to die, and his resurrection proves his divinity. He died to pay the penalty for mankind's sins. Sin separates us from God. Jesus' obedient act of being crucified made "the way" for everyone who believes in him as Savior to possess a miraculous life on earth and an eternal life in heaven. "The way" is referred to as salvation.
1. What is salvation?
Salvation (spiritual birth or being born again or becoming saved) is an undeserved free gift from God as stated in Romans 6:23, “The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Embracing salvation brings empowerment to win over life's challenges, negative thinking patterns are transformed into positive ones, and redirection from a destructive lifestyle into a life giving one. It relocates a person from the kingdom of fear into God's kingdom of love and faith.
2. What did Jesus experience before and during crucifixion?
After Jesus was arrested, the Romans whipped him thirty-nine times. Isaiah 52:14 describes what the crowd saw as Jesus was put on display after his beating. “Many were amazed when they saw him --beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person." Next came crucifixion. This was the Roman's most sadistic way of killing a convicted man. They nailed Jesus' arms and feet to a rough wooden stake. As he hung there, Jesus said "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
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Live by choice and not by chance!
_____________________________________
"God our Savior, wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6) Jesus' love for mankind motivated him to be born, to die, and his resurrection proves his divinity. He died to pay the penalty for mankind's sins. Sin separates us from God. Jesus' obedient act of being crucified made "the way" for everyone who believes in him as Savior to possess a miraculous life on earth and an eternal life in heaven. "The way" is referred to as salvation.
1. What is salvation?Salvation (spiritual birth or being born again or becoming saved) is an undeserved free gift from God as stated in Romans 6:23, “The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Embracing salvation brings empowerment to win over life's challenges, negative thinking patterns are transformed into positive ones, and redirection from a destructive lifestyle into a life giving one. It relocates a person from the kingdom of fear into God's kingdom of love and faith.
2. What did Jesus experience before and during crucifixion?After Jesus was arrested, the Romans whipped him thirty-nine times. Isaiah 52:14 describes what the crowd saw as Jesus was put on display after his beating. “Many were amazed when they saw him --beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person." Next came crucifixion. This was the Roman's most sadistic way of killing a convicted man. They nailed Jesus' arms and feet to a rough wooden stake. As he hung there, Jesus said "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
Eventually, Jesus' pain became a barrier in his ability to feel Father God's presence. At this point, as recorded in Mark 15:33-34, "At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Emotions can be very misleading, but very real. Jesus' statement didn't indicate God had abandoned him. Remember, Jesus was fully man. This desperate cry came from the depths of his humanity. Like us, during his time of excruciating anguish, Jesus "felt" alone. God "did not" turn his back on his obedient Son. He was there with Jesus through the whole painful ordeal. If you doubt this conclusion, ask yourself this: How can a loving God separate himself from his obedient son? He didn’t. Like Jesus, we might sometimes feel God has abandoned us. When this happens it is our "feelings" talking. God won't ever desert us. No matter what!
Now, Jesus is close to dying. "Yeshua let out a loud cry and gave up his spirit. And the parokhet in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw the way he gave up his spirit, he said, "This man really was the son of God!" (Mark 15:37-39) After Jesus was taken down from the cross his body was laid in a rich man’s tomb. Three days later he was resurrected leaving an empty tomb. Before His crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples of His coming resurrection, so when two of the disciples heard of the empty tomb they ran to it. "Shimon Kefa (Peter) arrived, entered the tomb and saw the burial-sheets lying there, also the cloth that had been around his head, lying not with the sheets, but in a separate place and still folded up." (John 20:6-7) There is a spiritual significance to this folded napkin. In the Hebrew culture when dining as a guest in a home, it was the customary tradition at the completion of the meal for the guest to either crumble up his napkin indicating the meal was good and he would gladly return again for another meal or to neatly fold his napkin showing displeasure with the meal and the decision he would never come that way again. Like a neon motel sign flashing “Vacancy”, the empty tomb with the folded napkin was Jesus announcing to the world that death couldn’t keep its grip on him. Throughout the centuries there were people who lived lives of love, miracles, and purpose, but none have resurrected from the dead. Jesus Christ is alive today.
3. How do I respond to Jesus' love?
By receiving the free gift of salvation making you a Christ Follower (Christian). “Those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Becoming a Christ Follower is not about embracing a religion or a philosophy, its about entering into a personal relationship with God. At this very moment, Jesus is waiting outside the door of your heart. Will you receive his love for you today? You may feel like you don’t deserve to be loved this way. The truth is no one deserves this kind of love, but that is the beauty of Christ’s love. It isn't dependent on your worthiness, but on your willingness. Will you take this opportunity to receive Jesus as your Savior? If your answer is "Yes", please say this prayer: "Jesus, thank you for loving me unconditionally. I ask You to come into my life, forgive me all of my sins, and make me a new person right now. I believe You died, so I might live abundantly on earth in a relationship with God and eternally in heaven. I give You control of my future. I trust You to make something wonderful of my life. Amen." By accepting Jesus, you just experienced the greatest miracle - being born again! Jesus is now the Shepherd of your new life and the Holy Spirit lives in you. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Divine DNA .
Read the next chapter: Divine DNA or choose a title below.
Knowing God Power of Prayer Spiritual Warfare Glossary
Born to Love Renew the Mind Crisis Help What Readers Are Saying
Divine Connection Are You a Misfit? Love in Action __________________________________________________________________________________________
Scriptures quotations taken from the New Living Translation® (NLT) Bible. Copyright © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
CJB denotes scripture quotations taken from the Complete Jewish Bible® (CJB) Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern and used with the permission of Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 615, Clarksville, Maryland 21029.
3. How do I respond to Jesus' love? By receiving the free gift of salvation making you a Christ Follower (Christian). “Those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Becoming a Christ Follower is not about embracing a religion or a philosophy, its about entering into a personal relationship with God. At this very moment, Jesus is waiting outside the door of your heart. Will you receive his love for you today? You may feel like you don’t deserve to be loved this way. The truth is no one deserves this kind of love, but that is the beauty of Christ’s love. It isn't dependent on your worthiness, but on your willingness. Will you take this opportunity to receive Jesus as your Savior? If your answer is "Yes", please say this prayer: "Jesus, thank you for loving me unconditionally. I ask You to come into my life, forgive me all of my sins, and make me a new person right now. I believe You died, so I might live abundantly on earth in a relationship with God and eternally in heaven. I give You control of my future. I trust You to make something wonderful of my life. Amen." By accepting Jesus, you just experienced the greatest miracle - being born again! Jesus is now the Shepherd of your new life and the Holy Spirit lives in you. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Divine DNA .
Read the next chapter: Divine DNA or choose a title below.
Knowing God Power of Prayer Spiritual Warfare Glossary
Born to Love Renew the Mind Crisis Help What Readers Are Saying
Divine Connection Are You a Misfit? Love in Action __________________________________________________________________________________________
Scriptures quotations taken from the New Living Translation® (NLT) Bible. Copyright © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
CJB denotes scripture quotations taken from the Complete Jewish Bible® (CJB) Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern and used with the permission of Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 615, Clarksville, Maryland 21029.