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What has God planned for us? In the Bible God is revealed as holy, almighty in power, perfect in wisdom, righteous in judgment, and overflowing in steadfast love. He created the heavens and earth to reflect his power and authority and people were created to reflect his character and nature. People were also created to have a relationship with him and because God wanted us to love him voluntarily, he gave us a free will. We can choose to obey or disobey him, accept or reject him. But God made it clear, rejecting him meant we would die, while loving him meant we would live and enjoy his favor forever. In spite of his favor and love, people, from the beginning, chose to disobey God As a result sin became part of human nature and we are all enslaved by the power of sin and death. We all have a tendency to reject God, to exchange the truth about God for lies, to worship and serve ourselves rather than God and we are un-able to overcome the power of sin by our own strength. Did this come as a surprise to God? Not at all. God knew before creation that people would reject him. It was part of his plan to create a people who would turn against him so he could win their affection by overwhelming them with his love. In the middle of history God demonstrated his amazing love by sending his Son Jesus to earth to die for our sins. Now, as we believe in the historical death and resurrection of Jesus and trust that it was for us, we are saved by God's amazing grace. He sets us free from the power of sin and death and gives us eternal life. Having paid the price we now receive his salvation as a gift, by faith. It is not something we can or need to work for. In prayer we ask for his forgiveness, we ask to be adopted into his family, and we ask him to transform our lives. That's what happens when we believe. We are forgiven, he becomes our father and, as we get to know him through the Bible and prayer, he transforms our nature so we become like him. While we still have troubles in this world he helps us through them filling us with hope, peace, and joy. He promises to give us new bodies and bring us into a new heaven and earth when he returns. Though we don't understand how he does all this we know by his death and resurrection that he has the power and authority to do it. We have also experienced his power changing our lives. If you would like to read more about it but don't have a Bible, stop by the church for a free copy. Or stop by the church just to talk with us about it. Click
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