It’s really important to rehearse again this incredible truth that God, the Son, came to earth to die to pay the debt you and I owed—one we could never pay—for the forgiveness of our sins. And because Jesus died and then rose again after three days, he has conquered eternal death for us. If you have been born from above through faith in Jesus Christ, then your debt has been paid and that is the most amazing truth ever.

Think about the disciples as they were witnessing Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. No doubt they just could not comprehend how Jesus could come to this end. They believed he was their Messiah and he would save them from Rome, but instead he came to save them from their sins. But after the resurrection when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they finally understood and they were changed people.

In a statement to the Sadducees, who had just put him in jail for preaching the Gospel, Peter said, “The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:30). Peter points to the tree—the curse of the cross—and says that in spite of their intention to bring Jesus to disgrace, God raised him from the dead and reversed the stigma.

Paul went even further to show how the cross became their message. He said, “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). The fact that Jesus was crucified was a great stumbling block to Jews in that day. How could their Messiah die and on a cross of all things? And for the Gentiles—those who are not Jews—this idea of a god dying seemed foolish. There were lots of gods that were worshipped in those days. The Romans had false gods for every occasion. But none of their gods died by crucifixion! That was foolishness to them.

The amazing truth is that once the disciples understood the purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross, that very shameful act of being crucified transformed the disciples and their message, and the thing that once had been so repugnant to them became the thing in which they boasted.

And that is what we boast in this Easter season. Don’t let this celebration pass you by without taking time to remember again that Jesus set you free by dying for you and then rising from the tomb. And because of that, you are free indeed!

Resurrection Sunday is definitely the best day of the year, as we sing the glorious truth that Christ the Lord is risen! But back in the day, when the disciples were expecting Jesus to save them from Rome, they never expected him to die—and certainly not to die on a cross because that was cursed by God.

But it was totally necessary for Jesus to die if any of us could be forgiven. You see, even if each of us were to pay for our sins, we would simply die in our sins. We would pay the price—death—but there would be no redemption. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Because he was the perfect Son of God, he was qualified to die for our sins because he did not have to die for his own sins. He took our sins on himself and paid the price we could never pay so that those sins could be forgiven and we could have access to God through Jesus and his sacrifice.

Furthermore, the payment for sin had to come through the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 tells us: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” So, the death that Jesus died had to be one where his blood was shed; it could not be a bloodless death. The cross was God’s choice for the death of his Son—the shameful cross—because in that way his blood was shed, and Jesus took that curse that we deserved and paid the penalty that we owed. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’”

The good news is that even though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). It’s good for us to get a renewed and deeper understanding of why Jesus died and why he died on a cross.

As clueless as the disciples were while Jesus was with them, once they “got it,” once they began to see why Jesus came to die and why he died on a cross, and they saw that he triumphed over death and rose from the grave, then when they were indwelled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, their whole attitude toward the cross changed. Their hopes were dramatically restored and they had unshakable faith in their crucified risen Messiah.

Have you ever asked yourself this question: What kind of god dies? Jesus kept telling his disciples that he came to die, he came to deliver them from their sins not from Rome. But they just couldn’t hear it. After all, what kind of god dies?

If I had been in the shoes of those disciples at that time, I’m sure I would have struggled with understanding that the Messiah—the one I had faithfully followed for over three years, the one I hoped was going to redeem Israel from Rome—this Jesus was going to die on a cross under God’s curse. No doubt they knew the passage from Deuteronomy 21:23 which says that “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”

When Pilot ordered Jesus to be crucified, the Jewish leaders were very pleased for no doubt they thought this would be the end of this troublemaker and his followers. Surely those pesky disciples would give up after Jesus was hung on a cross. This helps us understand why the disciples went into hiding after the crucifixion and were frightened that they would be found out. They were bearing not only the grief of losing Jesus, but the shame and disgrace of the way he was killed—on a cross.

A crucified Messiah was not their idea of a hero, a Savior, their hope. And up to the end they just couldn’t believe it—Jesus was going to be crucified on a cross? They must have wondered why God sent Jesus to die and why did he have to die on a cross? What kind of god dies?

Well, with clear hindsight now and with the New Testament to explain it to us, we can look back and see why God the Son had to die—and yes, even his method of death, a cross, was part of God’s plan. Remember, no one took Jesus’ life from him; he gave it. This was all part of God’s eternal plan, every detail of his death was predetermined by God.

The reason Jesus had to die was because sin has consequences and a holy God cannot just overlook sin. The price had to be paid for sin; this is what God declared. He does not ignore our sins, but he makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven in Jesus Christ. Of course, God also never intended for death to have dominion over Jesus. What a glorious truth!

I hope you have been preparing your heart to celebrate Resurrection Sunday, for it is truly the most important celebration for us as Christ-followers. And in preparation, I’d like us to focus on a very unusual question, which is: What kind of god dies?

If you or I were given the assignment to determine how the sins of mankind could be forgiven, would we ever have come up with a plan that God becomes man and dies? The disciples certainly had difficulty hearing Jesus when he repeatedly told them that he had come to die, not to get rid of the Roman rule in Israel and establish himself as the ruler. Even though there were many clues and prophecies from the Old Testament showing that the coming Messiah would die, their belief at the time was that Jesus was Messiah and he had come to save them from Rome, not from their sins.

I’ve been trying to put myself in the shoes of those disciples as they grappled with Jesus’ mission. Clearly Jesus told them, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He told them that he was the Good Shepherd and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He even gave them an indication of the kind of death he would die when he said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14). But they just couldn’t hear it because what kind of god dies?

Only the true eternal God would have put this plan in place. To send his only Son who was equal with God the Father for the purpose of dying could only come from the mind and heart of God himself.

Then think of this—the way Jesus died was not only the most painful and horrendous way to die; the Jews considered that any crucified person was condemned by God. Don’t you imagine that in those early days following the crucifixion, the disciples were struggling to understand why Jesus had to die, and why he died on a cross? He died this ignominious death and all along they thought he was from God—which of course he was—but how could he be from God and die on a cross?

(as presented by Lisa Bishop)

When you think about fear, what are you most afraid of?

Fear has been defined as an intensely unpleasant and distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, or suffering—whether the threat is real or imagined.

We have all experienced the nagging, afflicting and at times pervasive feeling of fear. Maybe you are in the grips of fear right now. Perhaps you are in debt and see no way out and you are afraid. Maybe you made a mistake at work or received a negative performance review and you fear being fired. Maybe it’s fear of the future. Or, you have applied for nursing school or an MBA program and you worry about whether or not you will be accepted. Maybe it’s fear that you have missed your calling or fear in trying to figure out what your purpose in life is. The future of a relationship or fear of feeling alone or being single. Fear of that secret sin being exposed. Maybe you are fearful for your kids, your marriage, your financial future. You fear pain, rejection, disappointment, failure, humiliation, you fear the unknow, of getting older, maybe even death.

There are plenty of things to cause us fear. We all experience fear.

So, how do we grow in our ability to face our fears and not be held captive by them? How do we develop an unwavering confidence in the face of fear?

Let me first say that fears will never go away. There will always be things that happen in our lives that lure us to fear, but as a follower of Jesus, there are things we can learn and remember when we are tempted to fear. Ways to grow in unwavering confidence.

What is unwavering confidence? Unwavering means marked by firm determination or resolution. It means persistent and unshakeable. Confidence means belief in the certainty of something, to trust. Confidence is a belief or conviction that an outcome will be favorable.

Notice that unwavering does not mean we will never experience fear. It has to do with our perspective and response in the face of it. And who or what we are putting our confidence in matters greatly. We can be tempted to misplace our confidence in ourselves, our achievements, abilities, performance. Whether or not we get that promotion or title at work. We can misplace our confidence in our own power, intelligence and strength, in our circumstances and in other people.

Now, being confident in those things is not wrong. But depending on and relying on anything other than Jesus as our ultimate confidence will make us vulnerable to wavering. So does that mean when your confidence and trust are in Jesus you will never waver? No, you are human. Yet, you can and should be growing in your reliance and dependance on Jesus. Growing your faith and trust in Jesus, as you continue to mature in your faith to the One who is faithful.

When it comes to unwavering confidence I am reminded of the story of Peter and the disciples in the midst of a storm. Remember that scene in Matthew 14?

Jesus had just performed the miracle of feeding 5000 people with just five loaves and two fish. After the 5000 men, as well as many women and children are miraculously fed, Matthew tell us what happens next.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

In Romans 8 Paul tells us that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, and because of that, we can cry, “Abba, Father.” We are permitted to call the God of creation by an intimate term, a family name, if you please—Abba, Father, Papa. He is our heavenly father, and he will never let us go.

I think of a friend of mine who never knew her father; he abandoned her before she was born. Others have fathers who simply neglected them, and still others have fathers who abused them. If that is true for you, your concept of a father is likely warped. But let me assure you that God is your heavenly Father, and he is perfect. Don’t transfer your negative experience with your earthly father to God, because you will then miss the joy of fellowshipping with him as Father, Abba, Papa.

I had a wonderful earthly father who never neglected me or mistreated me, but even he could not promise to never leave me. But my heavenly Father can say, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” and I have full assurance that he will always be with me. He will not let me go, and the same is true for you, if you are his child.

Let me close with these wonderful verses from Romans 8:38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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God will never let go of you! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life, he is committed to you and will keep you for all eternity. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah, but Mary, you don’t know what I’ve done. I’ve committed a sin, knowingly, and I’ve wandered far from God.” That may be sadly true, but it doesn’t change the promise that Jesus gave us. If—and that is an important “if”—you have truly been born from above through faith in Jesus Christ, you can’t even jump out of his hand. Your own disobedience and sin are not strong enough to break his grip on you.

I would remind you of David, a man after God’s own heart. You can’t go much further wrong as a believer than David did, committing adultery and murder. He tried to cover it up, to bury it and forget it, but until he confessed it and admitted his guilt, he was the most miserable person alive. That’s always true for a believer. If you are living in willful disobedience to God’s principles, as a true child of God, you will be more and more miserable until you come to full repentance. Read Psalm 51 to remind yourself of David’s agony because of his sin.

None of us escape the consequences of our sin, whether believers or not, but nothing can separate a true believer from God’s love. Not even our sin. I want to encourage you to come back to God with a repentant heart, with a commitment to forsake your sin and walk in his way, and he will restore to you the joy of your salvation, just as he did to David.

My own story corroborates this truth, for I foolishly chose to walk away from my commitment to God’s principles for a period of ten years—ten long years. It wasn’t ignorance, but it was a willful determination to run my own life and get what I wanted. I failed miserably in that endeavor, and at the end of my emotional and mental rope, I came back to God, truly repentant, and he has proven himself to be a God of great mercy and grace to me. That was over 38 years ago, and I can testify that God simply never let go of me. He let me run my own show, until I ran it into the ground, and then he restored me.

I shared the story of a boy who was rescued from the jaws of an alligator by a father who would not let go. And afterwards the boy showed with pride the scars on his arm where his father dug in and held on against a much stronger animal who was trying to devour his son.

Just as this young boy foolishly and ignorantly dove into the dangerous water where this alligator lived, we as children of God sometimes foolishly dive into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. The Bible says that the enemy of our soul, Satan, prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Peter goes on to say, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith. . . And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:9-10).

If you feel like you’re in the alligator swamp right now and they’re ready to take you under, remember that God has said if you are called to his eternal glory in Christ, he will himself restore you and make you strong again—after you have suffered a little while. God is not going to let go of you.

But why does he allow us to suffer a little while? Unlike the story of the father who fought to save his son, God is not helpless against Satan. He could deliver us sooner rather than later, and we puzzle as to why he doesn’t, don’t we?

There are various reasons that God allows his children to endure suffering, but in every instance it is to bring us to maturity so that our lives will bring glory to God. In writing about suffering, James said, “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:10-11).

James reminds us that in retrospect, as we look back to the suffering saints of old, we consider them blessed who persevered through suffering, and he uses Job as an example. In other words, James says, “Get the big picture here. Look beyond your momentary pain and consider what God is doing through your suffering.”

Whether your suffering is a result of your wrong doing or someone else’s, or it’s just the hardships of life, it didn’t catch God by surprise, and he intends to use it for your good. He is not going to let go of you, so hang on and trust him. He is a trustworthy God.

Are you in a tough place right now? I want to encourage you to know that God will never let go of you. When we are born from above, the Bible teaches us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God won’t let go of you!

Think of Elijah. You remember the story found in 1 Kings 18, where Elijah challenged all the prophets of Baal, with great courage, and their pagan gods could not deliver them. Elijah triumphed over all that evil, proving that Jehovah God was the only true god. It was an incredible victory.

But the very next day, brave Elijah becomes a coward, fearful of one woman, Jezebel, who has threatened to kill him. And he starts running for his life. Elijah no doubt would have been diagnosed today as having a deep depression, even as being deluded, as he ran for his life. But God didn’t let go, and with great patience and kindness, he nurtured him back to strength, taught him some wonderful lessons, and brought him out of that deep funk an even better man of God.

Are you there today? Has your faith failed you; are you full of fear? Are you in that kind of deep depression where everything looks hopeless, you feel worthless, and you’re sure that life is coming to an end—at least life with any meaning? I want to encourage you today to know that God won’t let go of you. He will patiently guide you back to wholeness, as he did with Elijah.

How did Elijah recover? He needed some rest and some nourishment, first of all. You know, when you are physically depleted, it will affect you spiritually and emotionally. So God put him in a quiet place for some rest and nourishment. Then he reminded Elijah of who God is, he helped him get beyond the pity party he was having, and then he sent Elisha to be his companion and co-worker.

God never let go of Elijah, and if you are his child, he will not let go of you. David wrote: “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).

Years ago someone sent me this story, which illustrates a wonderful truth.

On a hot summer day in Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father saw what was happening, and he ran toward the water, yelling to his son. The little boy made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs.

That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father would not let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard the screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred and on his arms were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too, because my Dad wouldn't let go."

Maybe you can identify with that little boy. You have scars, too. Not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some are unsightly and have caused you deep pain or regret. But some wounds are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, he's been there holding on to you.

Think of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph didn’t deserve to be so terribly mistreated, but there he was, a slave and a prisoner in Egypt. But God never let go of Joseph, because Joseph never forsook his faith in Jehovah God. And he was used by God to deliver many people, including his own family, from starvation. I wonder how many times, as he sat in that prison, he just wanted to give up. It looked hopeless, but God didn’t let go.

If you’re in what looks like a hopeless situation right now, remember that God is not going to let go of you, if you are his child by faith in Jesus Christ. God won’t let go of you!