Coming Alive

Posted in Thank You! on March 19th, 2008 by Administrator| | .

“Jesus included everyone in his death so everyone could be included in his life.”
2 Cor. 5:15(NLT)

There are two times a year (Christmas and Easter) that people are open to the good news of Jesus Christ. Christmas is about giving. John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.”God is a Giver. Therefore, he expects us to give. At NorthStar we take the spirit of giving at Christmas to a new level. We fully support programs such as “Adopt A Family”, “Shop With The Kids”, “Tackle Hunger” and other giving programs.

Easter is about coming alive. The question I ask here is “Do we fully embrace the coming alive season as we do the giving season?” What Easter traditions do we embrace to help us get into the spirit of coming alive? I mean, we really don’t draw names to exchange Easter baskets or go Easter caroling over at someone’s house. Easter is about coming alive. The problem is that we are short term thinkers. We act like this life is all there is. We spend our time, money, energy and effort acting like this life here on earth is all we have. We are so busy trying to keep up with the great quality of life that we have here in Cobb County that we really don’t think about eternity. Jesus came to earth to tell us that there is something better.

“Jesus included everyone in His death so everyone could be included in his life. A far better life than people lived on their own.” 2 Cor. 5:15 (MES)

At NorthStar we are doing a series based upon the most well-known verse in the Bible -John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosover believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (KJV)

God didn’t just talk about his love; He showed us how much he loved us by coming to Earth and taking the punishment for our sins on the cross. He stretched his arms out on the cross and showed us how much He loved us. Max Lucado, in his book, 3:16, writes that Jesus, on the cross, shouted out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.” Jesus said those words so that we would never have to. That is why we should live in a constant state of gratitude. We should come alive this Easter season out of shear gratefulness and appreciation for what Jesus did on the cross. He earned it. Our mission statement at NorthStar starts with “We exist to show God’s love…” Like Jesus did, we are not just to talk about it but to show it. Jesus showed us just how much he loved us by dying on the cross. My prayer this Easter season is that we truly come alive this Easter season and show God’s love to so many who need it.

Marlon

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