Beautiful Exchange

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

- John 3:16

Yes, it's the Easter Weekend.

Good Friday. When we are reminded of the most beautiful act of Love the world has ever seen.

We have read the bible verse above since ever we were small.

We were always thought about how Jesus died on the cross and has delivered us from our sins.

But, have we really felt how deep the meaning is?

Recently, I've been listening to the song Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong

I've never realized how much God has sacrificed for us that He gave His ONE and ONLY son so that we could live AN ETERNAL LIFE???

WHAT??? 

THESE PUNY LITTLE HUMANS? Does God really love us that much???

The answer is "YES!"

God created us according to His Image.

He loves us more than anything. God loves us no matter our circumstance, no matter where we come from. 

I love the version of John 3:16 in the MSG

"This is how much God loved the world:

He gave his So, his one and only Son. 

And this is why:

So that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life"

So, just because us humans have sin and should die, God gave his Son for us????

not to mention, DIED FOR US???

THAT IS JUST CRAZY??

But how do we believe in Jesus?

1. Romans 10:9

"If you declare with your mouth,"Jesus is Lord," and believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved"

All you need to do is just SAY IT WITH YOUR MOUTH AND BELIEVE WITH YOUR HEART.

2. Believe in the TRUTH.

John 14:6

Jesus Answered, "I am the way and the TRUTH and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

The TRUTH.

Sometimes, we only believe that because we are forgiven, we are able to sin again.

But the thing is, with the forgiveness and the grace of God, there is also another part.

It is called the TRUTH.

Jesus said He is the way, the TRUTH and the Life.

If Jesus is the Truth, that means we have to live in Truth!

So, What did God say to you on this Easter Weekend?

I am Independent, but I depend on God

Confusing isn't it?
All our life we have been trained by our teachers on How to live an INDEPENDENT life but The Bible teaches us a different thing.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight" 
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

God wants us to rely on Him. To trust Him
Not by might, nor by power, but by the spirit of God

I recently moved to Seattle,WA here in the US.
I honestly thought that I could make it. That I'm going to be strong enough to move away from my friends and family. But turns out, I wasn't.
After a few weeks here, I am already missing my closest friends, family, my home church back in Indonesia, my home and everything.

But here I learn about being Independent but at the same time depending on God.

Yes, I may have to be able to be strong and to go through this new chapter of my life.
But, where do I get my strength from? Where will I get my boost from? Who can I lean on?
Only One person can do that... Jesus Christ.
He took our burden on the cross and gave us the ease to carry life.
He was INDEPENDENT so that we can be DEPENDENT on Him.

I listened to Ps. Judah Smith's sermon the other day about Contentment, and found an interesting quote about Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Since we were small, we would always listen to this verse. A lot of people consider this verse as a verse where they get their strength. But do we realize the true meaning of this verse: "I acknowledge and am aware of WHERE MY SOURCE comes from"

I believe, everything we do, we are able to do it because of Jesus and only He can recharge us from our tiredness.

So, are you tired? Do you need strength?