nEw LIFE

Have you ever noticed that sometimes your favorite things do not make you as happy as they used to?

At first you might think it’s a mood you’re in...or some kind of funk... but then you realize, there is more to life than those favorites... no wonder the sparkle in your eye does not remain even when those things do.. THERE IS MORE--there is more.

WHEN the Maker of the universe created you (and marveled over how you turned out, might I add) it was not so that you could go on with life ignoring the very reason you are here...

Everyone WANTS to know the meaning of life. WHY???

What do you mean WHY?
-why do you hunger? Because you need food
-why do you thirst? Because you need water
-why do you want to know the meaning of life? Because you EXIST for the meaning of life! If there were no meaning of life, WHY on earth would people crave SO MUCH to find out what it is??

What's my take on it all? -->you were created by a God that has no beginning and has no end. He did not have to create you. He wanted to. HE WANTED YOU.

-->He created all of mankind and, contrary to what some people may believe, did not exit stage right. RATHER, He has and will continue to be a part of it all. After the first two...Adam and Eve...fell (just as you would have...let's get real), they chose to leave the way of life they knew. They chose to leave the life that was meant to be eternal...forever...living with GOD...WALKING AND COMMUNING with GOD... (THE ONLY and ALL-POWERFUL GOD!!)...all because they thought the grass was greener on the other side (on the side that deceitfully told them they could be like GOD...be GOD)...

-->This killed (figuratively) GOD. If you had a child that you loved so dearly, and she chose to do something in blatant disobedience that YOU KNEW would cause them great HURT...and they chose not to take your word on it...what would you feel? What would you do to get them back into safety?? WOULD YOU STOP AT NOTHING!?

-->So check this, GOD...THE GOD...the One that created the universe is both GOD and a 1/3 part of GOD... (If this confuses you, read the Bible, my dear, it explains everything better)...GOD, then, is a member of a trio: GOD, JESUS, and the HOLY SPIRIT. ALL TOGETHER ARE GOD. Because they are all connected and share love for humankind...JESUS...GOD's Son--get this--was born on earth...taking the form of a man...born to a virgin (Mary)...and lived, just like you and I live...

HE lived on this earth...this earth that is SO GROSELY corrupt and damaged by sin and evil...(People tend to think that their lifetime has the most sin in it...possibly because history seems like a fairytale, and the future is unknown...so surely, NOW must be the worst.....right? WRONG...since the Fall, ALL of time has been saturated with evil and corruption...just to get that straight..Jesus had no cake walk while He was here)...in fact, He was tempted by the devil himself...He went through EVERY form of temptation.....BUT-- BUT....resisted ALL temptation.

HOW?? WHY?? You kidding me?? Anyone who has ever been human would KNOW that is impossible....RIGHT? WRONG. Very wrong.

Ok...fine....what's the purpose of that?

What's the point that this man was perfectly sinless although He was hit at every angle with every temptation....? ---So, let's jump back a ways, just for the heck of it...back in the day (before Jesus....as in "BC"...before Christ...OH DANG! He must be important...hmmm!). Back in the day, people who wanted to be in right standing with God still obviously sinned...because that is what we, as humans, tend to do...a lot....because it is a part of our sinful nature-->something that was passed onto us from generation to generation...all the way back to the Fall (Adam and Eve, remember? We talked about this...you would not have done any differently than them...so stop muttering under your breath)... because they wanted to live in right standing before God, when they sinned, they had to make a sacrifice to Him to symbolize their "repentance.."

-oh, come on now...you really mean that?? you really mean that they had to slit the throat of an innocent animal to be right with God? YEP...you are absolutely correct. Ok, now that we have that basis...and now that we know that the only way to be in right standing with God was to make a sacrifice...OH, and did I mention, by the way, that that was not good for the rest of time?? They needed to do that over and over and over and over....I'm pretty sure you get my point..if not, copy and paste this sentence until you do..


So, with that basis......God sent Jesus to the earth to live as a man, and to DIE. WHOA whoa whoa....let me get this straight...GOD, who LOVES His SON...more than anyone on earth can love their child (because He knows perfect love)...sent Him here to be killed?? By us?? By sinful people that deserve to die in HELL (OH YEAH, did I mention that is our penalty for being born sinful? NOT FAIR you may say? VERY FAIR actually. WE have sinned against a perfectly HOLY GOD...it is fair.

Sweet...nice blog....way to kill the mood..... YOUR NOT DONE READING YET....need I remind you? That is NOT the end.

That is the basis, the beginning, remember? Let's figure out the rest before signing off in a huff..... (when was the last time you started a book or a movie, got to the suspenseful "bad part" and walked away because you didn't get it.......UMM...NO...nobody does that...that’s where it's getting good! Why do you stick around?? For the credits?? for the back page that tells you it’s finally over?? NO!! It's so that you can finally see the WHOLE STORY. Point: walk away now and you won't know the rest of the story. That's all I'm saying...

--------------------------------------------------->>>Oook, now, picking up where we left off....now that your back from your lovely popcorn and bathroom break, lets kick it back into gear.. So GOD, the ONLY GOD, sent His ONLY SON...this only BEGOTTEN SON (SO LOVED BY HIM)....to this crummy messed up world....as a man...as human...to be killed by us...so that He (Jesus) could be our eternal sacrifice, so we might be saved from our sins....and given a home in Heaven after we die....FOREVER!!

Whoa!!! Slow down there turbo....you mean to tell me that God sent His Son...to die...and because of that we get to live in Heaven???? Since when does that count?? Why does that make everything all better again?? Why no more need for animal sacrifices... That’s like starting Mario and jumpin' all the way to the end to let him grab the flag....I don't get it...how does that all even work, say it was true??

Ok...so here's the thing...when Jesus was born to Mary, he became a man. Following me? Because He was born to her as a virgin (because of an immaculate conception----it will do you more good to look it up in the Bible than to Google it...trust me...), He bypassed the original sin (that whole sin thing that has been passed down from generation to generation since Adam and Eve at the Fall)...making him both fully GOD & fully MAN...capable of stepping into our place of punishment.

----------------->>When He died upon the cross, He did not do it because it looked like the humble thing to do....are you kidding me?? The crucifixion IS the absolute worst way to die known to man ....think I'm kidding?....go ahead...Google this one....try searching "Passion on the Christ Crucifixion Scene" on YouTube...go ahead, just copy and paste then come back...you do this kind of thing with Facebook all the time...it will take 5 minutes...that's less time than looking through your crush's profile pics...yeah I went there..really though...it WILL be worth it)

So...He died like that, on a cross (if you have a picture in your head of Jesus up on a cross with a few streaks of blood down his perfectly porcelain body...like the stuff you saw in Sunday school or somewhere else....You DO NOT know what I am talking about....PAUSE....go to YouTube...I'll wait....really..

(OK really now? It is that hard??) .........5 minutes...that’s it. ....
...........
.....

..... Ridiculous? YES. IT was. REAL? Very. FOR YOU? Yes.

>>WHY????? Why on earth would someone who doesn't even know me (that's what you think) die such an agonizing death to help me out??

---BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU....and wants to spend the rest of eternity with you. I don't get it, He dies...then what? I get a free pass just cuz He died?? Anyone can die...so what? Why is that so earth shattering?

Your right...anyone can die.....BUT, not anyone (actually, no one but Jesus) can bear all of the sins of every person that has lived and ever will live. THAT IS WHAT HE DID. When He died, he took all of your sins (yeah, even the one's you'll take with you to the grave) and bore them upon HIMSELF.... Did I mention that He then ROSE FROM THE DEAD three days later..

>>>PAY ATTENTION....if you got distracted with Facebook or whatever else is going on...STOP.

You'll want to hear this:: He went down to hell and took the keys (Bible reference.....) from the devil........JESUS is in charge!! HE DIED FOR THE RIGHT TO CALL YOU HIS OWN! HE DIED FOR THE RIGHT TO BRING YOU TO HEAVEN ONE DAY (not to mention give you power over the devil and his destriuctive plans)!!!!!!

Sweet...this is incredible! Free pass huh? I'm in.

FIRST THINGS FIRST....do you believe this is true? Do you believe Jesus really is who He said He was? IS HE YOUR SAVIOR? (not a trick question....He said He was...and He DOES NOT lie....EVER.)

If the answer is yes, and you believe that He died on the cross that horrible painful death so that He could save you from going to HELL (because that is where you deserve to go...don't get offended...it's just the TRUTH....you and everyone else..myself included... deserve to go...if we do not have a personal relationship with HIM)......if the answer is yes, that you want Him to come into your heart (a.k.a. be more than a distant God that simply you thought existed to squish people when they do wrong......be an actual loving Friend, Savior, Healer, Provider...to you)...then your qualified....
(and by the way...it is by faith in HIM that that qualifies you to have a relationship with Him.....it is not by ANYTHING you can do.....you are still human...just as every Christian is still human.....you cannot be fully perfect this side of Heaven..... But the Bible says that God expects perfection out of us.

HOW?? You just said that we cannot be perfect...I KNOW the truth in that! So, even though Jesus died on the cross for my sins and wants me to live forever with Him in Heaven....and wants to live in my heart and have a personal relationship with me..........I have to be perfect..a feat that is utterly impossible for me!?

PICTURE THIS: You have a little daughter who has your eyes…and that you LOVE so much more than you ever knew possible…..one day, you come home and there she stands, with lipstick in hand….a guilty look on her face as she tells you she knows nothing about the red all over the walls, couches, carpet, and beds in your new home…..what do you do? You tell her what she did was wrong and why…and then you send her to her room (or whatever punishment you decide upon)…..but you do not kick her out of the house and tell her to have a good life, do you? NO…you certainly do not!

Ok, so silly story…but in the same way…when you mess up, God does not look at you in disgust and tell you that there will never be any hope for you…NO, He….if you honestly and genuinely repent (which means to actually turn from your old ways) and ask for forgiveness, He will FORGIVE YOU!! You see, He does not see YOU when HE looks at you for perfection, He sees JESUS!

Ok, now just to get things straight, just because you are a Christian does not mean that you will not reap the consequences of your actions….if you kill someone, you will go to jail. Period. If you study really hard for your test, you will get a good grade. Period.

There are still and always will be consequences for your actions. MY POINT is that although GOD demands perfection, HE still also acknowledges that you are fully human (HE ACTUALLY SEES JESUS WHEN HE LOOKS AT YOU, RATHER THAN SEEING YOUR SINFUL SELF) and that you will make mistakes. He has simply chosen to give you the GRACE that you DO NOT DESERVE…that is why it is also called UNDESERVED FAVOR….

Well, if you didn’t realize it by now, GOD is madly in love with you and wants you to love HIM just as He loves you! He even sent His OWN BELOVED SON Jesus to die on the cross so that you would be forgiven of your sins (something that could not have happened any other way)………therefore it is NOT BY WORKS that you have been SAVED, but it is THROUGH GRACE….WHICH IS AN undeserved GIFT from God…the Only God.

Questions? See my bibliography.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
-Bible

Daniel--the makings of an eight page paper

Have you ever gotten the feeling that you may never finish that assignment you just sat down to do? Have you ever wondered if there would be a better environment within which you would write a better paper? Have you ever simply wished that you were not so interested in a new MacBook Pro...so that you could avoid researching it on the Internet...and then blogging about it? Why is writ ting a blog so much more enticing to me right now than writing an eight page paper on the book of Daniel?

I wonder these things.

I will sip my chai nog...and write my paper, now.

What it's all about

Every once in a while I remember I don't always do things the right way...

Every once in a while I realize that's ok...

Because thankfully I have a Lord that gives me grace for each new day...

I also have discovered much to my relief, that the things I do...both right and wrong...are not what bring love to me...

Despite how Ive messed up, despite how Ive sinned...despite how grand I am at life, despite how I typically get the win...its not about me, my sinful flesh or my own accomplishments...its really about Jesus Christ, the way He is, and the way He saved my life.