What's Jesus ever done for me?

Here's the bad news.

None of us live up to God's standards and we never shall. The truth is that all of us have taken a decision at some point in our lives not to do things God's way.

It gets worse - the bible tells us that this is the very reason that we all die, and as a result we're all heading for an eternity without God in it. The bible calls this 'Hell' and - don't be fooled - it's not a place where we can get up to what we want and enjoy ourselves. Far from it, it's an eternity of loneliness, sorrow, despair, pain...

There is good news though. God doesn't want us to end up this way. After all, he created us to be with him, to walk with him, to talk with him, to know him. God gave us back our choice by hatching a plan that was achievable for people (unlike living up to His standards) - but at tremendous cost to God himself. His only son, Jesus, took all the death, loneliness, sorrow and pain that should have been ours.

How could this be? Jesus came to earth, lived the same life that we all live - but unlike us lived up to all of God's standards, despite extreme provocation, and earned the right not to die.

He then gave up his right to life by allowing us to crucify him, even though he was completely innocent even in God's eyes. On the cross, he knew the loneliness of his Father turning away from him, he knew the sorrow of leaving his friends and family behind - and he certainly knew the pain before he gave himself up to death itself.

So did it all end there? No, God's work was only half-done. Jesus was an innocent man and death had no right to hold him. Jesus was raised to life, and he's alive today and wants us to know him.

We now have a decision to make. Do we ignore what Jesus did and continue where we're heading - or do we choose God's way and discover the abundant and fulfilled life that Jesus promised his life could bring us?

At CBCF (and in lots of other churches) we've found that living God's way - as the Creator intended it - is so much better than going our own way. It's not a set of rules intended to restrict us, but we're actually realising our purpose which is so liberating!

All we need to do is to acknowledge before God and each other who Jesus is and what he did for us, to accept that there was a massive cost for God but he did it because he loves us, even though we've spent our lives turning our backs on him.

If you want to know God as your Father, and accept Jesus died for you so that you could be saved from where you are heading, you could say this prayer to God:

Dear Father, Thank you so much for giving up your son for me. I realise that Jesus had to die if I was ever going to know you, but I am so sorry that it was my choices that made it necessary. I want to put those decisions to death as well, and live a new life learning how to live your way. I want you to be part of my life and I want to really know you, as you intend. Please help me to be the person you want me to be. Amen.

Oh, there is more good news. Although Jesus is now in heaven, we do have someone to help us live God's way. He is the Holy Spirit and he will guide us to the truth, remind us of what we've learned and teach us how to know God.

The exciting journey begins...

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