Discover Hope International

Day 12, March 17, 2019

Jesus died so you would belong to Him

1 Corinthians 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

You now belong to God, bought and paid for with an expensive cost. If we are bought and paid for, then it would stand to reason that we are now owned—owned by God. The best part about this news is that if your owner is the Almighty, then you have access to blessings beyond imagination. We own 2 pups--we feed them , we groom them, we buy them toys, and we maintain their health! They are not just wild, ambling, surviving from meal to meal; no, the are loved and cared for. You to are loved and cared for!

Day 11, March 16, 2019

Jesus died to make you the temple of the Holy Ghost

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

In the Old Covenant the temple was made of stone and mortar. It was the place where man could meet God and interact in a safe, yet distant way. It was a temporary remedy until the full remedy could be applied. That remedy was cross. Upon the death of Christ Jesus, the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn in half because God could now dwell within His people. At our conversion, we become the temple where God abides within us. We are now the temple of the Holy Ghost interacting with mankind! What a great privilege; what a great responsibility!

Day 12, March 17, 2019

Jesus died so you would belong to Him

1 Corinthians 6:20  

Day 10, March 15, 2019

Jesus died to reconcile you to God.

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

God has a deep and abiding love for His creation and a desire to restore all things. As such, He desires to reestablish the relationship with mankind that was interrupted and broken at the fall. This is the basis of reconciliation, to be able to reconnect, to reunite, to restore relationship-yet this was impossible before the work of the cross. Sin kept us separate—a Holy God versus a sinful people. The gulf could only be mitigated in the Old Testament by a provisional sacrificial system which allowed some relationship between God and man but could not provide for a full reconciliation. However, the perfect sacrifice, freely given by Jesus was the offering that allowed our relationship to be recovered and restored fully. Now we can approach the throne boldly (Hebrews 4:16)—as boldly as Adam and Eve walking with God in the cool of the evening.

Day 9, March 14, 2019

Jesus died to give us His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Before you were born again, you were a sinner. Sinners can sometimes do good things as we witness regularly in world, but a sinner can never achieve righteousness. Righteousness comes from being totally innocent, which we know we are not. One might do some good things, but we also commit sins and break the laws of God. An example would be a murderer who gives to charity or volunteers for the needy. The fact that this person has done something good does not negate the crime(sin) that was committed. It would be no defense to bring up all the good this criminal has done to try to get an innocent verdict…because he is still guilty. Before salvation, you stand guilty before God for all sins committed, but….good news! Jesus took our sins away, paid the sinner’s penalty so that He could trade His righteousness for our sins. If we make this exchange by being born again, we stand clothed in His righteousness or in right standing before God, because God sees us as new creations…we’re no longer sinners, not even sinners saved by grace, but now we are the righteousness of Christ Jesus! This is our position before God, the one who is the Judge! Innocent, not guilty, the old man has passed away (died) and we have become new in Christ Jesus

Day 8, March 13, 2019

Jesus died to give you eternal life.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ecclesiastes 3:11, says that God has placed eternity in the human heart. We instinctively know and believe that there is more than this finite time and space—which is why almost everyone will acknowledge there is a god/higher being somewhere. As a result of the God given spark of belief, we acknowledge that there must be something after death, something that is eternal. You see, God never created mankind to experience death, but rather to live eternally in a blessed union with Him. However, the fall in garden brought in the curse and physical death—separation from God. After the fall, we were condemned already (John 3:17), but Jesus…There we are again….BUT JESUS…made it possible to come out of the curse and to gain eternal life! . Sadly, some will choose to remain under the curse, refusing to put their trust in Jesus, they will suffer in eternity. But you, you should choose to be one of the “whosoevers” that believes on Him! Make no mistake, eternity is real and eternity is long…your only decision is to choose where we will spend your eternity…heaven or hell.

Day 7, March 12, 2019

Jesus died to remove all condemnation from you.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The most common use of the word condemn in our culture is when a criminal is condemned to a particular punishment as a result of being found guilty of a crime. We might hear on the news that a criminal is condemned to life in prison to pay for his/her criminal acts. With this definition in mind, you can realize that where there is transgression, there is a penalty to be paid. However…Good News… Jesus took your penalty on the cross so that there is no penalty left to be paid. And …more Good News… No condemnation can be made if the accused is found not guilty (see previous posts). When Christians labor under condemnation, it is because they living a lie. The lie is that somehow some part of the penalty must be paid by the sinner; the truth is that Jesus paid it all.  Isn’t is amazing God removes the guilt of sin from us at every stage—from the charge of sin, from the guilty verdict, and now even from the sentencing phase! How complete is Jesus’ work on the cross!

Day 6: March 11, 2019

Jesus died to justify you.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

When you accept Jesus as your Savior and become His disciple, it not only brings you salvation, but it also justifies you before God. To be justified is more than to be simply forgiven. When you are forgiven, you are simply “let off the hook”. You no longer must pay the penalty of your crime or sin. To be justified means that it is as if you never committed the crime or sin in the first place. You are declared innocent before the courts of heaven and returned to your former innocence (as in the Garden of Eden). My Pastor always said it is “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned---which is this concept in a clever nutshell.  If we are justified, we can be like Adam and Eve communing with God in peace.

Day 5: March 10, 2019

Jesus died to ransom you.

Matthew 20: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

When you think about the word ransom, you probably imagine a kidnapper who is demanding payment to return a person or a group who has been captured. This is an accurate representation of what was happening in the Spiritual realm between Jesus and Satan. The devil had captured humanity (including you) through the lure of sin at the Garden of Eden, and the price would have to be paid by forfeiting your own life….but Jesus. But Jesus!!! Jesus knew that He could act as a substitute and give His life for ours; this was the exchange at the cross. Jesus paid the price so that you could be free from your captor (Satan). Many will complete this exchange by placing their faith in Jesus. It’s your choice, either remain in captivity or accept freedom.

Day 4:

Jesus died to make you Holy

1 Timothy 1:9 & 10 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel!

Through the work of Jesus on the cross, He paid the price for your sin through grace. He has given His grace which is how God now relates to us—through the blood of Jesus. God the Father now sees us as sinless if we have exchanged our life for the life of Christ by yielding to Jesus and receiving His great sacrifice for us. One interesting meaning of holy is to be set apart for the worship of God. That’s a great calling on your life, to be a worshipper. Another important meaning of the word holy is blessed. As we follow Christ our capacity to worship and to live a blessed life increases!

Day 3: March 8, 2019

Jesus died to bring you to God

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Jesus’ primary focus of ministry was to reveal the Father to us, and then to bring us to the Father. It is an amazing revelation, that God sought us out so that we could be brought back into relationship with Him! What an honor was given to you (and to me). Yet, we often esteem it a small thing, taking it lightly that the Creator of the Universe, the most powerful being to exist went searching for you in order to bring you back to himself.

Day 2: March 7, 2019 --Jesus died to offer us forgiveness of sin.

Acts 13:38 "Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins”

The same pleading phrase is still valid today. The primary reason Jesus came to die for you is so that yours and my sin can be forgiven. In fact, the entire world has access to this forgiveness from Jesus. He did His part, now we must do ours. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:21)! You can believe today and call on the name of the Lord!

Inspired by a book I own, 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, I thought we would explore the 40 reasons came to die for you during this lenten season. Follow with us as we do a deep dive into the many reasons Jesus died for you and me!

Day 1: March 6, 2019 Jesus Died to reveal His love to us.

Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Jesus had such great love for you, that he was willing to pay any price at just a chance at reconciling with  you. His greatest hope for you is that there could be a relationship established between himself and you. That is a tremendous and selfless love! In fact there is no greater love than this, to lay one's life down for a friend (John 15:13). And this is personal---Jesus not only died for the whole world, specifically, He died for you....He loves you....He wants to be with you. What is your answer? How will you respond? For truly this kind of heroic action on His part would compel an action on your part. Receive him today as your Savior, commune with Him, respond to His great love with a heart full of love for Him.