Forgiven

John 3:16; Psm119: 105-112

Easter is upon us and we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The celebration of victory over death and new life given to us through His sacrifice. Generations past looked forward to His arrival...the arrival of their Messiah, the one who takes away the sins of the world. His genealogy, His life, His death and His resurrection...all predicted and recorded. He did this to let us know He, the creator of the universe, loves us, wants to save us from death and wants a personal relationship with us now and through all eternity.

My grandchild came to me this week. The christian preschool is talking about Easter. It is a little scrambled in her mind but the essence is there. We were making a craft, as we often do, of a bunny. Make believe is always part of our crafts so after the monkey, the yellow bird and the bunny met, she said this:

"Nana we need to tell the bunny about Jesus."
"What should we tell him"
"That Jesus died for us"
"Why did He die for us?"
"Because of Satan...Nana, he's the bad guy."
"Oh...so should we tell the bunny to ask Jesus into his heart?"
"Nana...He is already in our heart."

So we helped the bunny know about Jesus and how he saved us from the bad guy.
Let me tell you about Jesus and how He has saved you from the bad guy.

The genealogy of Christ includes many questionable personalities. No one in this world is perfect so God used imperfect people. David, one who lied, murdered and committed adultery, Rahab a prostitute and Ruth a foreigner to the faith are just a few of those people (check out the genealogy of Christ.) I bring this up because so many people feel they have to be perfect to come to Christ or remain perfect after they come to Christ. I hear phrases like... 'I'm not good enough or I've made too many mistakes, or no one in our family has ever believed this stuff." None of this matters. The scripture says 'who so ever believes'. That means anyone who hears the story, who's heart softens to His call, who repents and invites Him into their life, He saves from the bad guy.

It's a done deal. If you have had this experience and back-slid from the faith, don't panic. You still belong to Him regardless of where you have been or what you have done. It's called grace. He is a breath away, a prayer away. Just repent and come home.