This month’s articles are from April 2019. A few of the readers asked about the reflections I ran during the Easter Season, so I am re-running these articles at their request. Enjoy and Happy Easter!
“But God demonstrates His love for us by the fact that the Messiah died for us while we were still sinners.”
– Romans 5:8
This year, April 17, 2022, is Resurrection Sunday (Easter). Let’s take a journey together in prayer through a series of meditations as we examine ourselves and thank God for the gift of Jesus.
Each meditation will end with a reflection and a short statement to encourage spiritual reflection as you think about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You will also be urged to reflect on the greatness of God’s love for you. For it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, or what you’ve experienced, what you’ve thought about yourself or what other people may have said about you – GOD LOVES YOU! In fact, God loves you so much that God gave His Son, Jesus to die on the Cross for you!
Thus, the Cross is God’s statement of just how much He loves you! Many have missed entirely the point of Jesus’ death on the Cross. It is not only to provide forgiveness for sins and eternal life, it does that! But more than that, Jesus desires to bear our sins “so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:24b.) That’s what you call an Amazing Love! What makes this love so amazing is that it is highlighted against the backdrop of a debt that each one of us owes. Also, at the core of God’s being is God’s holiness. In order for us to have any kind of relationship with God, we have to find a way for our sins to be forgiven. The problem is there’s nothing we can do to accomplish that – it’s too big of a debt. God’s holiness demanded that sin be paid for…and then God’s love found a way. God sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, because God knew we were worth saving!
During this meditation journey, partner in prayer with someone who is a nonbeliever or who has strayed from the path of spiritual understanding. As you open yourself to the value and power of prayer partnership, you will be blessed by the benefits it will bring to your spiritual life and to the person with whom you partner.
Beloved, Jesus endured great agony, pain and suffering and was willing to set aside any privilege of deity to provide a path to salvation through His sacrifice because Jesus thought you were valuable enough to die for! This is Good News and certainly worth celebrating!
This Week’s Reflection: As you think about the crucifixion of our Lord, spend a few moments in prayer, and ask yourself: What sins have you not asked God for forgiveness? As the Holy Spirit brings the sin(s) to your mind, ask for forgiveness. This might be painful, but the good news is as soon as you ask for forgiveness, 1 John 1:9 says, “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.” End your time of prayer and meditation, thanking God for His mercy and endless love.
Next Week: Continuation
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