Consider Jesus
Message of Hope
The only universal message that will and can meet the needs of all mankind is embodied in a Person, and that Person is Jesus Christ. Most people think that ultimate truth is found in great precepts, principles or teaching. Others think truth is found in ideologies, creeds or dogma. Still others think they hold the wisdom of the ages because of greater intelligence or learning -- hardly anyone can conceive that all truth is a Person. Amazingly this universal message is not primarily proclaimed by words - but through the actions of God-led people and the direct revelation of the Creator.
Jesus Christ is God’s everything! He is the mystery hidden for ages and generations, finally made manifest. This mystery, Jesus Christ, is the supreme message for the world. Think about this: God has revealed Himself throughout the ages in many, many different ways. But, when the fullness of time was come, God chose to communicate Himself to the world in the only language that the world could fully understand - in the body of a Jewish carpenter, born of a virgin, in Bethlehem. Scripture says, All the Godhead bodily dwells in Him - this Jewish carpenter. Imagine what it would have been like to be present when Philip said to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. You can almost feel the pain in Jesus’ voice when he says, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. A Jewish carpenter said that! He went on to say, The words I speak are the Father’s ... the works I do are His.
If you want to know what God is like, you have to look at Jesus. If you want the world to hear what God is like, you have to tell them about Jesus. The author of Hebrews begins his epistle, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son ... If you want to hear God speak, you must listen to Jesus.
What does he have to say? John was quite precise in opening his Gospel: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God! The accent is not on the word “was”. The emphasis is upon “God”. The Word was God! This Jewish carpenter was and is God’s Word. He is what God has to say to the world. For God has allowed us to know the secret of his purpose, and it is this: He plans in His Sovereign Will that all human history shall be consummated in Jesus Christ, and that everything that exists in heaven and on earth shall find its perfection, its fulfillment, its completion in Jesus Christ. There is no fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, individually or collectively. He is our fulfillment! Everything God had in mind when He made His promise to Abraham thousands of years ago is consummated in Jesus Christ.
We were made by Christ to belong to, to be possessed by and to be owned by Christ. Everything in heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfillment in Christ: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Listen to the Gospel according to Mark
Who Killed Jesus
There's been a lot of interest, even in the secular world, around the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Maybe you, too, are interested or curious about Jesus of Nazareth life, death, burial and resurrection and are fascinated by the idea of a man who rose from the dead. Maybe you wonder, who killed Him to begin with?
The answer can change your life forever.
You might have heard of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Israel who sentenced Jesus to death despite no evidence against Him (Matthew 27:22-26). There were also religious leaders who wanted Jesus killed because He claimed to be the Messiah the Savior of the world and didn’t adhere to their laws (John 5:18). Then there was Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, handing Him over to the very people who wanted Him crucified (Luke 22:3-6).
But we can’t place the responsibility of Christ’s death on any one person or group. It was our sin, all the things we do that go against God that made His sacrifice necessary. It was God’s plan for His Son Jesus to die on that cross and it happened just as He intended.
Jesus knew He would be killed. He even warned His disciples in advance, saying, “… The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again” (Matthew 20:18-19).
Jesus willingly sacrificed His life. He stayed on the cross to prove God’s love for us. Then, showing God’s true power, He rose from the dead three days later to claim victory over death just as He said He would.
God loves us, and He doesn’t want us to be chained by sin. It separates us from Him and leads to spiritual death, hell and judgment. That’s why He came from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ to bear all the sins of humanity, to hang, and to die on the cross. Because of His sacrifice, we can be unchained from our sin and the death that it brings.
We don’t need to blame those we think killed Jesus. Instead, believe in the One who knew He would be killed and willingly allowed it to happen because of His love for us.
Jesus is alive today and loves you more than you know. Will you repent, believe, and accept His love for you?
God loves you and has a plan for you
“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). Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” a complete life full of purpose (John 10:10). But there's a problem..
Man is sinful and separated from God
We have all done, thought or said bad things, which the Bible calls sin. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The result of sin is death, spiritual separation from God (Romans 6:23).
God sent His Son to die for your sins
Jesus died in our place so we could be reconciled, have a relationship with God, and be with Him forever. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). But it didn’t end with His death on the cross. He rose again and still lives! “Christ died for our sins. … He was buried, He was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).
Would you like to receive God’s forgiveness?
We can’t earn salvation; we are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9) All you have to do is confess you are a sinner, believe that Christ died for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. Repent or turn from your sins. Jesus Christ knows you and loves you.
Pray to accept Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. I know I can't do this myself and I trust you to help me to do your will.
