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Mark 15

Good Morning Love Receivers.  Today we dive into Mark 15 - the greatest act of love ever know - but first a little background.  All of creation, including us, was meant to Glorify God Himself.  How do we do that?  When we who are surrounded by sin and temptation willingly choose Him and His ways, despite so many sinful possibilities - we bring Glory to God.

We were designed to remain in constant fellowship with God - to do life with Him.  We need Him whether we realize it or not.  If you’ve ever tried to do life on your own, you know it’s empty.  When we choose to sin it breaks our fellowship with Him - Like stabbing a friend in the back.  We cannot have a relationship with Him without dealing with our sin.  “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬. This death is not just physical, it’s spiritual.  Our default destination because of our sin is NOT heaven. Our sin has to be paid for.  Because Jesus was fully man and lived His life without sinning, (despite being tempted in all the ways we are Hebrews 4:16) and because He was fully God, He was a valuable enough sacrifice to pay for the sin of the entire world.  The price has been paid in full by Jesus.  The only way to get to heaven is by receiving the payment Jesus made on the cross for our sin.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When Thomas was confused and asked Jesus how to get where He was going “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can’t fix it our sin problem - only Jesus can.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So how does it work?  We make a conscious decision to accept Jesus payment for our sin.  We ask forgiveness and turn away / repent from it - demonstrating our decision is real with physical action.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

True belief results in emotional, spiritual, and physical action.  Demonstrating real belief means you actually look like you believe.    You can acknowledge what God is doing in your heart with a simple prayer of response.  

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s not about fancy words, raising a hand, or walking an isle - those things all simply demonstrate what He is doing inside.  It’s not about getting all “cleaned up” first, He does the cleaning from the inside out.
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬. It’s acknowledging what He did on the Cross, and admitting you need Him to make you who He designed you to be.

Got that anxiousness in your gut - feeling like The Holy Spirit is tugging on your heart?  Don’t resist anymore - quit fighting Him.

Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and I believe Jesus died on the Cross to pay for my sin.  Please forgive me of my sin, come into my life and be Lord of it.  As I turn from my sin please give me strength - make me into what you want me to be. - Amen

If that’s your heart - your debt is paid in full,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you have recently received Jesus please reach out - we’d love to help get you started as you walk with Jesus.

Dig in to the Word.  Let The Holy Spirit mold you through it.

Love you all.