Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! Romans 5:18–19 (The Message) Because of what Jesus did for us, you have the opportunity to get in on God’s grace. What is grace? Grace is God’s power, ability, unearned favour and full provision for your life, and it’s freely yours if you’ve made Jesus your Lord and Saviour. Because of this grace, this free gift, you have a relationship with God. You are one hundred percent right with Him, and you’re going to spend eternity in heaven …
LET PEACE RULE
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17 (NKJV) Jesus’ finished work of the cross brought us peace. When Jesus was born, the angels sang of peace on earth and good will toward men (Luke 2:14). They didn’t add, “If you keep my law.” Jesus came to restore the relationship between God and humanity so, when you accept Christ, you are at peace with God. Under the old covenant, people couldn’t know this peace that surpasses all understanding. They were always left to wonder if they were good enough for God. But now, when we accept Christ, nothing stands between God and us. However, just because you have …
KNOW JESUS, KNOW GOD
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:9 (NKJV) If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. In John 14:9, Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father. Jesus’ response was, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” (NKJV). In other words, if you’ve heard what Jesus is like, you know what God is like! People tend to forget this. They’ll accept that Jesus loves them because He died for us, but then they think that they have to earn God’s love …
HE “SPEAKS” TO YOU
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. Hebrews 1:1–2 (NKJV) Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, believers have the ability hear from God directly. In Hebrews 1:1–2, it says that God spoke through prophets in various ways in the past. He even spoke through a donkey one time, if you read Numbers 22, but now He speaks to us primarily through His Word and His Spirit. Some think God isn’t speaking to them unless they have some type of spectacular experience. Others think that they need …
IT’S ABOUT HIS POWER
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:4–5 (NKJV) Many Christians don’t experience God’s power in their lives because they’ve moved away from the phenomenal, who-can-believe-it, greatest- stumbling-block message of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. When you move away from the truth of what Jesus has done for us, you lose all power. If you begin to rely only on the wisdom of men, you won’t access the phenomenal power that lies within the truth of God’s Word. For example, if you’re going through an illness, don’t try to …