Fourth Sunday Of Lent
March 18, 2012
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My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I greet you in the Holy and Righteous Name Of Jesus.
Our Lord and Savior.
Inspiration
Grace is God's special surprise. Deserving punishment, we are pardoned. Our failures are offset by God's forgiveness. The human tendency toward sin is counterbalanced by the gift of salvation. Grace cannot be earned and is never deserved. Just when we need it most and expect it least, the grace of God floods our life. Our most appropriate response is to share this grace with others.
This is day the LORD hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
HEARING GOD'S VOICE
Eph. 2:4-10
2 Chronicles 36:14-23
Psalm 137:1-6
John 3:14-21
When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God sent a plague of snakes to punish the people for their rebellious attitudes. Those doomed to die from the snakebite could be healed by obeying God's command to look up at the elevated bronze snake and by believing that the power of God's promise would heal them if they did. Similarly, our salvation happens when we look up to Jesus, believing He will save us. The OT lesson was a preview of how God in love would one day let His Son be lifted up on a cross and how that Son's death would be the remedy for us to be healed of sin's deadly bite.
The entire Gospel lesson comes into focus in verse 16. God's love is not statiac or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love. He paid dearly with the life of His Son. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us.
People often try to protect themselves from their fears by putting their faith in something they do or have. But only God can save us from the one thing that we really need to fear-eternal condemnation. We believe in God by recognizing the insufficiency of our own efforts to find salvation and by asking Him to do His work in us. When Jesus talks about unbelievers, He means those who reject or ignore Him completely, not those who have momentary doubts.
Many people don't want their lives exposed to God's light because they are afraid of what will be revealed. They don't want to be changed. Don't be surprised when these same people are threatened by your desire to obey God and do what is right, because they are afreaid that the light in you may expose some of the darkness in their lives. Rather than giving into discouragement, keep praying that they will come to see how much better it is to live in light than in darkness.
DEAR FRIENDS, I invite each of you to trust your lives to God and His Son. Hand in hand we will walk through the dark valleys confident of their love for us. By the grace of God, we have a lot of victorious living to do.
We've a message to give to the nations-
That the LORD who reigneth above
Hath sent us His Son to save us
And show us that God is love.
PRAY- Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning, and though we have in no way deserved Your goodness, You still abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul. Give us, we pray, Your Holy Spirit that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness toward us, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
