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by Rick Warren |
| Today's Devotional is based on this passage: |
"That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18 MSG).
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 says, "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.
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 says, "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.
| Today's Devotional is based on this passage: "But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" (Mark 14:61 NIV) |
What's so important about Easter? It's important because it proved that Jesus was who He claimed to be. He was God in the flesh, and He came to earth to save us.
Three events occurred in dramatic succession on that Easter weekend: the trial of Jesus, then the death of Jesus, and finally the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus actually went through six trials. In that one night, he was brought before Annas (the father-in-law of Caiaphas), Caiaphas (the high priest), the Sanhedrin (the religious Supreme Court), Pilate (the governor of Jerusalem), Herod (the governor of Galilee), and then back to Pilate.
At the end of those six trials, what did they find to accuse Him of? Nothing. He had done nothing wrong. They brought in people to make up phony charges, but those didn't stick. Finally they convicted him on one count: claiming to be the Son of God. That's the sole reason Jesus went to the cross.
Everyone who has ever been presented with Jesus has already made some kind of decision about who He is. You either believe He's a liar, or you believe He's a lunatic, or you believe He's the Lord. It can't just be "I believe He was a good teacher." He couldn't be just a good teacher, because a good teacher would not say, "I'm God, and I'm the only way to heaven." A good person would not say that unless it was the truth.
Jesus claimed to be the Savior of the world. In John 12:47, He is recorded as saying: "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" (NIV). He allowed Himself to be put on trial so there would be no doubt about who He was. He could have stopped the trial at any moment; he knew He would be proven guilty and put on the cross—but He allowed it to happen. It was all part of the plan.
Three events occurred in dramatic succession on that Easter weekend: the trial of Jesus, then the death of Jesus, and finally the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus actually went through six trials. In that one night, he was brought before Annas (the father-in-law of Caiaphas), Caiaphas (the high priest), the Sanhedrin (the religious Supreme Court), Pilate (the governor of Jerusalem), Herod (the governor of Galilee), and then back to Pilate.
At the end of those six trials, what did they find to accuse Him of? Nothing. He had done nothing wrong. They brought in people to make up phony charges, but those didn't stick. Finally they convicted him on one count: claiming to be the Son of God. That's the sole reason Jesus went to the cross.
Everyone who has ever been presented with Jesus has already made some kind of decision about who He is. You either believe He's a liar, or you believe He's a lunatic, or you believe He's the Lord. It can't just be "I believe He was a good teacher." He couldn't be just a good teacher, because a good teacher would not say, "I'm God, and I'm the only way to heaven." A good person would not say that unless it was the truth.
Jesus claimed to be the Savior of the world. In John 12:47, He is recorded as saying: "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" (NIV). He allowed Himself to be put on trial so there would be no doubt about who He was. He could have stopped the trial at any moment; he knew He would be proven guilty and put on the cross—but He allowed it to happen. It was all part of the plan.
| Today's Devotional is based on this passage: |
Easter celebrates an event that proved Jesus was who He claimed to be. He was God in the flesh, and He came to earth to save us. And that meant He had to die for us.
After a night of beatings and mocking, after being crowned with painful thorns, Jesus was crucified. Crucifixion is probably the most brutal and torturous death penalty ever devised by men. His hands were stretched out wide against the cross and nailed through the two bones in each wrist. As the nails went through this part of the flesh, they would strike the nerve that travels up the arm and cause excruciating pain.
If you hang this way for any period of time, the muscles around your chest cavity become paralyzed. You can breathe in but you can't breathe out. Death on a cross is really a simple matter of suffocation, except the Romans didn't want to make it that easy. They'd take a person's knees and bend them a little bit and nail the feet to the cross.
So a man would hang there in absolute agony until the pain in his chest was about to explode, and then he would lift himself up on his nailed feet to grab a breath. When the pain in his feet grew unbearable, he'd let himself back down again until the pain in his lungs became unbearable. It was an incredibly torturous event.
Eventually, the soldiers would break the legs of the criminal to hasten death by suffocation.
In the case of Jesus, they didn't have to break His legs, because He had already died. But just to make sure, they stuck a spear in His side. Water and blood came out of the chest cavity, which, doctors say, only happens if the heart rips. You can call it what you want, but Jesus died of a broken heart.
Why did Jesus have to die? Because He alone was able to pay for your sins. You deserved punishment, but Jesus paid the penalty for you: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).
After a night of beatings and mocking, after being crowned with painful thorns, Jesus was crucified. Crucifixion is probably the most brutal and torturous death penalty ever devised by men. His hands were stretched out wide against the cross and nailed through the two bones in each wrist. As the nails went through this part of the flesh, they would strike the nerve that travels up the arm and cause excruciating pain.
If you hang this way for any period of time, the muscles around your chest cavity become paralyzed. You can breathe in but you can't breathe out. Death on a cross is really a simple matter of suffocation, except the Romans didn't want to make it that easy. They'd take a person's knees and bend them a little bit and nail the feet to the cross.
So a man would hang there in absolute agony until the pain in his chest was about to explode, and then he would lift himself up on his nailed feet to grab a breath. When the pain in his feet grew unbearable, he'd let himself back down again until the pain in his lungs became unbearable. It was an incredibly torturous event.
Eventually, the soldiers would break the legs of the criminal to hasten death by suffocation.
In the case of Jesus, they didn't have to break His legs, because He had already died. But just to make sure, they stuck a spear in His side. Water and blood came out of the chest cavity, which, doctors say, only happens if the heart rips. You can call it what you want, but Jesus died of a broken heart.
Why did Jesus have to die? Because He alone was able to pay for your sins. You deserved punishment, but Jesus paid the penalty for you: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).
