Note from Jesus

Dear Precious Disciple,

While many things in life are complicated, the basis for saving faith shouldn’t be. I want you to know that your faith is on solid ground. My apostle Paul gave a very clear summary of the solid ground of your faith. The gospel, the good news by which you are saved, is solid ground on which to build your life. Notice the key ways Paul emphasizes the trustworthiness of the gospel in a letter to disciples in Corinth:

• Paul had “received” the gospel message as the authoritative truth.
• He had “passed down” this same message as authoritative truth.
• The message is “the good news” that Paul “preached” to the disciples.
• It is “the essential message” that they had “taken to heart”.
• They could “base” their lives upon this gospel that had saved, or “liberated,” them from sin and death.

Bottom line: Paul went to great pains to emphasize that the message they believed was the authoritative message of good news and of the true salvation that can be found only in Me.

So what is that message?

What is the good news that brings salvation and liberation from sin and death?

The good news message is that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead… for you… to forgive your sins… and to give you victory over sin. This gospel should be life-altering for you and other Christians, but the facts of the gospel are simple. Because of My sacrifice and your faith, your life matters. The things you do in My name and for My glory will always be remembered. Furthermore, when everything in your life on earth is said and done, you will share in My victory!

Yes, I died for the sins of the world. Yes, I died at the hands of sinners and asked My Father to forgive them. But at the foundation of the good news, there is this one great reality that you must accept: I did this for you!

Verses to Live

Don’t let folks make the truth of the gospel complicated. Realize that I died, was buried, and rose from the dead. I was victorious over sin and death, for you and all who will build their lives upon this truth!

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He [Jesus] appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned. Last of all, He appeared to me; I was like a child snatched from his mother’s womb. You see, I am the least of all His emissaries, not fit to be called His emissary because I hunted down and persecuted God’s church. Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me — it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it was I or the other witnesses who brought you the message. What matters is that we keep preaching and that you have faith in this message.

…

Sin came into this world, and death’s sting followed. Then sin took aim at the law and gained power over those who follow the law. Thank God, then, for our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King, Who brought us victory over the grave.

My dear brothers and sisters, stay firmly planted — be unshakable — do many good works in the name of God, and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God.

(1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:56-58)

Response in Prayer

Almighty God — Father, Son, and Spirit — I confess to You that I sometimes lose sight of all that Jesus did and all that He did for me. I know it wasn’t for me only, but it was undeniably for me. He loved, cared, and died for me. He was raised from the dead and is now interceding for me. He has called me to follow Him as I base My life on what He did for me. I ask for courage to live my life in a manner worthy of Jesus’ great sacrifice for me. In His name, I pray. Amen.

‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware.

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.