It’s Still A Good Friday

Thank God it’s Friday!

This year, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday mean so much more to me with everything that is happening in our nation.  Today, I spent some time meditating on John 3:16.  In the NLT  it reads “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  I have read and recited this verse since I was a little girl in Sunday School.

However, today I was especially drawn to the verbs in this verse.  The first two verbs were actions taken by God our father toward us with no conditions attached; He LOVED and so he GAVE.  Christ gave everything and endured injustice, excruciating pain, humiliation, and death, all for sinful man, so that if we decided to choose him, we would have eternal life in heaven with no heartache, sickness, pain, indebtedness, rejection, loneliness, shame, etc. There was no guarantee that we would choose him, but for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)   He did not deserve this punishment and we do not deserve him taking our punishment.  He chose us instead of choosing himself.  Before I was born, he chose me over himself.  Think about it.  Before you were born, he chose you over himself.  Romans 5:8  says “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  I doubt most of us would do something like this for people whom we hardly know, have never met or who haven’t even been born yet.  His death represents the punishment he took for our sin.  But on the third day! Christ’s resurrection represents the fact that Christ did not remain in the grave.  He rose from the dead.  We too have the guarantee that we will be made alive if we belong to him.  (I Corinthians 15:21-23)

There is a God who loves us.  He is a good father.  He gave his son Jesus so that we could have eternal life with God forever in eternity.  We don’t need to be perfect to give our heart to Jesus.  Lord knows it is so easy to think selfishly, hold a grudge, tell a super-small teeny tiny white lie, gossip, hate those who hurt us, and the list goes on.  He already knows we are not perfect.  When we give our heart to Jesus, the holy spirit lives within us and gives us power to overcome sin.   As we develop a relationship with Jesus, we will grow a strong desire to please him and all the old patterns of sin will not be appealing to us anymore. Christians are not perfect, they are redeemed. When we make a mistake, we can ask God to forgive us and help us to change.  He knows our heart and will give us the power to live our best life, free from the bondage of sin.

When we give our heart to Jesus, life won’t be perfect, but we won’t struggle alone.  If you’ve lived on this earth long enough you have probably experienced one or more of the following; a heart break, loss of a loved one, abuse, or rejection, sickness.  Psalm 34:18 says “God is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  God can and will heal your brokenness, if you let him.  I love the Amplified  Bible translation of Isaiah 53:5.  It says “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,  And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

You may be feeling hopeless, like life will never change or get better.  You may be telling yourself that your current situation is your lot in life so just deal with it.  He wants us to live life abundantly, and that means with fullness of joy.   He can take your hopelessness and give you an expectation for a good future. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal savior, and would like to give Jesus your heart, say this simple prayer right where you are.

Dear God,   I need you. I am calling out to you today.  I am so tired of doing things my way.  I invite you to come into my life as my Lord and savior.  I repent and ask you to forgive me for my sins.  Help me to trust in you and to live my life for you alone.  Thank you Lord, Amen.

If you’ve said this sprayer, God will fill the emptiness in your heart with his Holy Spirit.  His grace and mercy will overflow in your life, bringing you peace and wholeness.  Don’t be surprised if you feel happiness that you’ve never felt before but don’t know why.  Read the above scriptures over to yourself so that you can let this gift of salvation settle in your soul.   Jesus is so good!  He is the Greatest Of All Time!  It truly is a Good Friday and a Happy Resurrection Day!

Go be Fabulous somewhere else!

Laura