Welcome! God loves you! The events from Palm Sunday to Easter are the most important days in history. I want to take a moment to reflect on the lessons that have inspired me during this Holy Week, a time when the global church prepares to commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus bridged the gap created by sin between us and God through his sacrifice, offering us a new life. His resurrection on the third day is a cause for celebration, prompting us to pause, reflect, and assess our own lives during this meaningful time.
Amidst life’s challenges, certain situations might seem overwhelming, be it news of job loss, the passing of a loved one, an addiction, a broken heart, a medical or mental health diagnosis, or wanting to give up.
You may feel withdrawn due to fear, anxiety, despair, anger, and shame, believing some things, situations, and struggles are beyond redemption. Yet, even the darkest shame cannot withstand the light of His resurrection; we offer everything to Him except what we cling to for ourselves. It was sin and God’s divine plan that led Christ to the cross, while His authority and power shattered the darkness and despair, and resurrected him to everlasting life.
Friends, each day brings a fresh opportunity to know our loving Father, as His mercies and steadfast love are new every morning. Are you feeling lonely, unlovable, misunderstood, struggling with feelings of rejection, overwhelmed, stressed with lots of emotional turmoil?
The Good news is that God loves you. He sent his only son Jesus Christ to die for your sins, so that by his death, you may have life.
Take a moment today to ponder these questions:
1. Have I placed my trust in Jesus?
2. Are there obstacles hindering me from wholeheartedly following Him?
3. Am I leading a life that genuinely honors the significance of the cross and the empty tomb?
In a world that’s profoundly lost and fractured, those around you ”be it in your communities, workplaces, or schools—are seeking something genuine, authentic, and hopeful. Let’s guide them towards the living hope found in Jesus Christ. While reflecting on your own life today, remember that our loving and gracious Heavenly Father is eagerly reaching out to you. If you hear His voice today, do not harden your heart. Hebrew 3:15 Psalm 95: 6-9.
Reflect on these truths.
God Loves you
God wants you to know him
God is near to all who call upon him
God promises not to forsake you
God is Love.
God Loves you (Listen)
1 John 3:1 (NIV) See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
John 15:13 (NIV) Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Romans 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 17:3 (NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
God wants you to know him (Listen)
1 John 5:20 (NIV) We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Philippians 3:8-10 (NIV) ‘What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ I want to know Christ yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
John 14: 5-7 (NIV) Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
Colossians 1:10; 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV); Daniel 11:32
God is near to all who call upon him (Listen)
Romans 10:13 (NIV) for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Psalms 145:18-20 (NIV)’The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.’
Isaiah 55:6-9 (NIV) ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’
John 3:16-18 (NIV) ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ‘
God promises never to let us down (Listen)
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)’Be strong and courageous. “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)’No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ‘
Joshua 1:9 (NIV)’Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
God is Love (Listen)
1 John 4:7-8,10-11(NIV)‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ‘
Ephesians 2:4-6 (NIV)’ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions ” It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
Psalms 86:15 (NIV) ‘But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. ‘
Lamentations 3:22-23 ‘Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’
Are you feeling lonely, unlovable, misunderstood, struggling with feelings of rejection, overwhelmed, stressed with lots of emotional turmoil? The good news is that God loves you. He sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us, so that by his death, we may have life.
2 Corinthians 5:15-21 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Whatever shame you may feel, picture Jesus taking it off you. He reaches out to you to embrace this love; you don’t have to carry this burden. Romans 4:25 ‘He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
All of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
All your mistakes have been paid for. Jesus paid it all. Read this again slowly. Jesus Paid it all. He said Finished. Finished means Finished!
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Hebrews 12:1-3. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Acknowledging God’s love for us and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ intertwines faith with gratitude and reflection. Understanding and embracing God’s love exemplified through Christ’s sacrifice can deepen one’s spiritual connection and appreciation. This acknowledgment during Holy Week amplifies the significance of Christ’s resurrection as the ultimate symbol of hope and redemption.
Prayer: Romans 10: 9-13
God, thank you for allowing me to call on your name, thank you for sending your son Jesus to rescue me from a life separated from you. I know that you love me and want what is best for my life, today, I repent of my sins, I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and I believe in my heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Today and every day, I surrender my life to you, help me to seek you with all my heart in Jesus’ name Amen.
Thanksgiving (Spend a moment and give him any praise that comes to mind)
God when I think about all that you have done for me, I am overwhelmed with thanks. You are so good and kind to me, thank you for being my steady source of hope and joy. Thank you for allowing me to call on your name! Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to rescue me from a life separated from You. Thank you for drawing me closer to your heart. Please give me the courage to draw close to you, help me to see myself the way you see me: as whole, loved, and set apart for Your glory. You are worthy of being praised at all times, in every situation! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Romans 8:1, Romans 15:13.
Spread the good news of Hope and Redemption
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) ‘But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’
(Listen) Blessed Assurance
We hope that this word encouraged you to remember, what Jesus said. “IT IS FINISHED”! Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8
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