News Flash! News Flash! Read All About It!

Perhaps you have heard or not, but all of us were created to be loved. The "makeup" of our hearts is such that we are not complete until we are living in relationship with the One who loves us with a perfect, unconditional kind of love. The famous French philosopher Blaise Pascal recognized this incompleteness when he wrote, "There is a vacuum in the heart of every person that cannot be filled by any created thing."

This perfect and unconditional love is something that does not demand anything in return, but loves you only for you. Not because you do good things. Not because you act correctly. Not because you know the right people or say the right words. Not because you're rich. Not because you were born into the right family. But just because of you. No strings attached. And this is the love that God has for us. A love which has no limits, a love which is totally unselfish, and a love that is crazy about us. So God’s pours out His love on us because He desires to have a close, living, growing relationship with us (whether or not we decide to love Him back).

But! There is a problem. No, not with God but with us. What’s our problem then? Well, since the beginning of time, we have rejected a relationship with God in exchange for us to be God. We want to determine what is right and wrong since we think we know what is best for us. We want our independence. We want to seek and fulfill our selfish desires. We want everything to revolve around us. And this kind of attitude is flat out rebellion against the kind of relationship God desires. This is what the Bible calls sin and Adam and Eve chose sin rather than God. As a result, everyone throughout history has made and continues to make that same decision.

A good description of this is in Isaiah 53:5, “all of us are like sheep who have gone astray; each of us has turned to our own way.” Also, Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” What this means is that everyone, both by nature and choice, cannot do and be what God wants they to do and be until they are reconciled to God. Also, Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death.” This death is a spiritual death, an eternal separation from God. Below is a picture of what this looks like:

This person is you and me and the only way we think to get across is to jump. It looks pretty far away but we think to ourselves, “I am a good person.” So we jump and we fall short of getting to God. Sure, a mass murderer only jumps 12 inches and they fall. A person who just bought some excellent jumping shoes will jump further, but they will still fall. A person who has followed rules, regulations, and traditions thinking they are doing it for God might jump a little further, but they will still fall. A person who jumps based on their kids turning out great will fall. A person who jumps based on believing the right things but those beliefs have yet to make it to the heart will fall and still miss out on a relationship with God.

So how do we get across? Well, we know its not jumping because we have tried that and falling to the ground each time is no fun. So the answer to the question is: let us ask God Himself. God says in the Bible in John 3:16 that, “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.” Go ahead and substitute your name in replace of the word “world.” In response to this separation, God sent Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. As a result, God died on a cross to take our place. He died instead of us. The wages of our sin is death, but Jesus took the inevitable penalty and consequence of our sin upon Himself. Not only did Jesus take the penalty for our sin but when He rose from the dead three days later, He also completed the disarming of sin and its power over us. Remember how we said that from our birth, independence from God is at the core of our nature and that we are powerless to solve our problem? On the cross and through His resurrection, Jesus broke the power of that independent and rebellious spirit. The Bible puts it this way in Colossians 1:13-14, “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Also, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that He has reconciled Himself to us. That means that from His standpoint, the barrier that separated us from Him (that big gap that we try to jump across that was caused by our selfish and rebellious ways) has been taken removed. From His standpoint, there is no longer anything between us that would keep us from having the close and personal relationship He has always wanted with us. He has taken the first step toward restoring our relationship with Him.

And yet, it remains to be seen whether or not we will reciprocate, and take the next step and reconcile ourselves to Him. While God has made clear His desire for relationship with us, it is up to us to accept His invitation. It looks something like this:

To walk or not to walk – that is the question facing humankind. By walking across the bridge we are acknowledging a few things like:

• We are reconciled to God by His doing. Jesus is our all sufficient Savior. He paid the penalty in full, not 90 percent God and the rest us or any combination between God and us. (Romans 11:6; Eph 2:8-9).



• We truly want to live our lives in such a way that pleases God. This will mean adjustments, for some big adjustments, to our beliefs and behaviors because we are letting our Creator, the God of the Bible, take over the driver’s seat. And when things come in to our lives to distract us from pursuing a growing and healthy relationship with Jesus, we will want to deal with that distraction so our eyes are always fixed on the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).



• We recognize that this commitment to Jesus Christ is a lifestyle, not an insurance policy or to make someone happy. It is a life-long commitment to pursuing God’s transforming love and grace so that you become the person that He wants you to be.

If this expresses the desire of your heart then tell people. Tell God, your friends, and your family. In fact, tell everyone who know because you just have been reconciled to God. There are no hoops to jump through or magical prayer to say because it is about your relationship with God Himself. John 1:12 says, “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God; children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

By trusting in Jesus Christ alone you have become a child of God. If you have not already, stop reading this, and talk to God about what He has just done for you. Just express your heart. Don’t worry about the words because God looks at our motive behind the words. That is what is crucial. If necessary, below are some words to help you express your heart but feel free to change the words and make them your own.

“Father in Heaven, this is all new to me but I’m thankful that You sent Your one and only Son on a rescue mission for me. Thank you that the price had already been paid in full by Jesus. I know that He was fully God and fully man. Thank you for pursing me and never giving up on me. I know there were times when I said no to you because I wanted to do it my way. But God, I do not want that anymore. I want to do it your way. Guide me in the areas that need to change in my life. Guide me to a group of Christians who will help me live for You. I desire that. God, you have my life so do with it as you see fit. I love you! And I say all these things to You because I can through the relationship I now have through Jesus Christ. Amen!”

Questions? Contact Pastor Travis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .