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“If
any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes
astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and goes and
search for the one that has strayed. And if it turns out that he finds it,
truly I say to you, He rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine
which have not gone astray. Thus
it is not the will of the Father who is in heaven that one of these little
ones should perish."
Before you were born, God knew and cared for
you. Even when you acted like lost sheep, God found you, and showed His
love for you.
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At
the
home of Mary and Martha, while Jesus was teaching, Mary sat at Jesus’
feet and listened while Martha was distracted by all the preparations that
had to be made. Martha came to Jesus and said, "Lord, tell her to
come help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord replied, 'You are
worried and upset about many things. Mary has chosen what is better, and
it will not be taken from her." (based on Luke 10:38-41)
God brought people into your life, like
parents, Sunday School teachers, youth counselors, and preachers. They
taught you about goodness and righteousness. Sometimes you listened,
sometimes you turned a deaf ear, but still God continued to love and care
for you.
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As a certain man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and
went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down the
road, and saw him and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan came
upon him and felt compassion, and bandaged his wounds and put him on his
own donkey and took care of him.
God gave you opportunities to help others, to
be His hands and feet here on earth, and to show his love for those in
need. And, when you were in trouble, God sent help to you – sometimes
through people you’d never known, and sometimes through His own angels.
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Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears
my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with
him, and he with me. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish by have eternal life. This
is the will of the Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in
him should have eternal life. (Rev 3:20, Jn 3:16, 4:40)
When your heart was ready for His love, He
knocked on the door of your heart. He offered you the free gift of
salvation. All you had to do was open the door and let Him in.
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Jesus
came with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them,
"Sit here while I go over there and pray." And taking with him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
He said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death, remain
here and watch with me." Then he went a little ahead of them, fell on
his face on the ground, and prayed, "Abba, Father, all things are
possible for Thee; if thou art willing, remove this cup from Me, yet not
my will, but thine be done."
Even for the Christian, life has never been
without challenges, pain and disappointment. When the tough times came,
God listened for your prayers. When you talked to Him and sought His
answers, he gave you wisdom and comfort.
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After three days, Mary went and looked in the tomb,
but Jesus’s body was no longer there. She turned, and beheld Jesus
standing near her. He said to her, "Why are you weeping? Go and tell
my brethren I have ascended." The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
and there they saw him and worshipped him. And they remembered Jesus
teaching, when he told them, "I am the resurrection, and the life, he
who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."
Death is not a final defeat. When you accepted
Christ into your heart, He adopted you into His family, and shared with
you His own inheritance of eternal life. To show His own power over sin
and death, Jesus allowed himself to be killed on the cross. Then after
three days, He rose from the dead and lives today.
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After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to a host of
witnesses, speaking to them about the kingdom of God. He instructed his
disciples to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all the
nations, teaching them all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age." Then Jesus led his disciples
out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up his hands and blessed them, and
while they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud received Him out
of their sight.
In the final day of judgment, those who have
refused God’s love will be lost forever, but those who have accepted him
will celebrate the final victory of life. We will meet him in the sky,
with a host of angels, and will live forever with Him in heaven.
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Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God,
believe also in me. In My father’s house are many mansions. If it were
not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you. And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to
Myself, and where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus welcomes everyone with open arms. His
salvation is free. You cannot earn it or deserve it, you can only come to
him just as you are – as a sinner in need of help. When you come to Him,
he gives you an assurance of new life through His Holy Spirit.
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