You Can't Be A Self-Made Savior

Jesus Christ rescues us … by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God’s plan is that we all experience that rescue!” Galatians 1:4 (MSG)

David was one of Israel’s greatest kings – powerful, smart, wealthy. He could have anything he wanted and yet he knew he was unable to truly save himself. Only one person could rescue him: “I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for you to rescue me. For salvation comes from you alone” (Psalm 62:1 LB).

There is no way we can work our way, buy our way, or earn our way into heaven. When it comes to salvation, we are unable to save ourselves. The government can’t save us. Our popularity can’t save us. Our level of success can’t save us. “There is no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your boot straps. The cost of rescue is beyond our means” (Psalm 49:7-8 MSG).

If you didn’t need a savior, God wouldn’t have sent one. But he knew that your spiritual condition was much worse than any physical condition you will ever face. That’s why he sent Jesus to rescue you.

There is no way you can get into a perfect heaven on your own. There is no way you can pay for your salvation. The cost is beyond your means. So Jesus paid for it by coming and dying for you on the cross. He made that ultimate payment with his life.

by Rick Warren

Problems Force Us to Depend on God

I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing: make something of me! You can do it; you've got what it takes God. Psalm 40:17 (Msg)

"I am in deep trouble Lord! Rush to my aid, for only you can help and save me." Psalm 70:5 (LB)

Jesus warned us that we’d have problems in the world. No one is immune to pain or insulated from suffering, and no one gets to skate through life problem-free. Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one, another one is waiting to take its place.

Peter assures us that problems are normal, saying “Don't be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you.” (1 Peter 4:12 LB) God uses these problems to draw you closer to himself. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NLT)

Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days -- when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you’re out of options, when the pain is great, and you turn to God alone. It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heart-felt, honest-to-God prayers. When in pain, we don’t have the energy for superficial prayers.

Joni Eareckson Tada notes, “When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating him and quoting him and speaking of him. But only in suffering will we know Jesus.” We learn things about God in suffering that we can’t learn any other way.

God could have kept Joseph out of jail, kept Daniel out of the lion’s den, kept Jeremiah from being tossed into a slimy pit, kept Paul from being shipwrecked three times, and kept the three Hebrew young men from being thrown into the blazing furnace, but he didn’t. He let those problems happen, and each of those people were drawn closer to God as a result.

Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves. Paul testified to this benefit: “We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us ….” (2 Corinthians 1:9 LB) You’ll never know that God is all you need until God is all you’ve got.

God's love endures forever

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
To him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-4 (NIV)

At the end of a Passover meal, they sang a hymn. They sang the same hymn at the end of every Passover meal and they've done it for thousands of years. It is Psalm 136. 

The disciples sang this with Jesus. One of the Gospels says they sang a hymn and they went out. We know what hymn they sang because this the one you sing at the end of a Passover meal.

They sang, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lord's, his love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, his love endures forever.”

As we celebrate the fact the Jesus sets us free, let's, say this as a prayer to him:

You left your throne in heaven,
Your love endures forever.
You lived a perfect sinless life,
Your love endures forever.
You endured the humiliation of a trial,
Your love endures forever.
You went to a cross and willingly died,
Your love endures forever.
You were in the grave for three days,
Your love endures forever.
And on the third day you rose again,
Your love endures forever.

The celebration in heaven is going to be an amazing thing and Jesus invites you to be a part of it. How does that happen?  You accept the gift that he's given you, the gift of forgiveness and life.

by Tom Holladay

Who Could Use Your Encouragement Today?

So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. Romans 14:19 (HCSB)

"Is there someone who could use your encouragement today? Don't wait until later! Encourage them now."

As Pastor Rick prepares us for the Decade of Destiny, remember to support those around you who are preparing too.

• God wants us to build one another up -- The word support literally means to increase one another’s potential. It carries the idea of strengthening one another, to make one another more able to face the challenges of living for Christ. “We are in this fight together” (Philippians 1:30 NLT). We cannot afford to lose anyone. To succeed, you need the strength supplied by the Body of Christ, just as they need you.

• God wants us to stand along side one another -- “Encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 11:25, NIV). God does this for us. He “supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others, in every hardship of theirs because of the encouragement that we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:14). We’re created to stand along side one another.

• God wants us be patient with one another -- When we support one another, we express unconditional love. Even after we grow close enough to each other to learn one another’s quirks and annoying little habits, we will stick by each other’s side. “With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love” (Ephesians 4:2 NJB).

Is there someone who could use your encouragement today? Don’t wait until later! Encourage them now.

by Jon Walker

You Matter: God Knows You

Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name, ‘Zacchaeus!’ he said.” Luke 19:5b (LB)

"Zacchaeus was anything but pure. And yet Jesus, calling Zacchaeus by name, was saying, "Hey, pure one, I'm coming to your house today." Jesus was affirming what he saw in Zacchaeus, not what he was."

All of Zacchaeus’ life he’d been ridiculed and rejected, first for his appearance and then for his sinful life. But Jesus not only looked at him -- by calling Zacchaeus by name -- Jesus showed that he knew him. Imagine the shock Zacchaeus must have felt! How did he know his name?

God not only knows where you are, he knows who you are. He knows what you’re going through, why you’re going through it and how you feel about it. He knows you better than you know yourself. He cares about you personally.

The name Zacchaeus means “pure one.” That’s the last thing you would think of when you think of a corrupt government official. He was anything but pure. And yet Jesus, calling Zacchaeus by name, was saying, “Hey, pure one, I’m coming to your house today.” Jesus was affirming what he saw in Zacchaeus, not what he was.

You may be afraid to get close to Jesus because you think he’s going to scold you for all the things you’ve done wrong. But Jesus wants to affirm you. He wants to let you know how much he loves you.

“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a  child she has borne? Even if that were possible, I would never forget you! See, I have engraved your name on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16 NLT).

When Jesus died on the cross, stretched out his arms, and the soldiers put nails through his hands, your name was engraved there. When you get to heaven, there will be no scars on anyone except Jesus. He’s going to have those scars for eternity to remind us how much he loves us, to say, “Do you think I could forget you? Not a chance! This is how much you matter to me.”

by: Rick Warren

Nurturing Quiet as You Pray

My heart is not proud . . . I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother. . . . O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. Psalm 131:1–3 (NIV)

Psalm 131 teaches us to --

• Keep our hearts humble. A humble heart means we know our position in Christ, and so we stop being responsible for the things of which we were never responsible. This frees us to live like God intended and allows us to make uncluttered choices that will move us closer to God.
•   Show the maturity of a weaned child. We quietly center ourselves on God, peacefully, without agitation and anxiety, and trust God is actively supporting us. We trust God even when the answer to our prayers seems a long way off. It’s the nursing child who demands attention now, but the weaned child trusts and is content to wait.
• Hope in the Lord with confident expectation. God’s Word says God will answer our prayers; he will respond to our needs; he will pave the path before us now and forever (Psalm 18:36).

by Jon Walker