God Uses People: Joseph and Mary

I was talking to a good friend recently, and we were lamenting that it was becoming increasingly difficult to believe what our political leaders would tell us. Sometimes, it is obvious they do not understand what they are talking about; sometimes, we get the distinct impression that we are being lied to, even though we cannot prove it. To emphasize that this has happened before, I mentioned a report that recently came out regarding our government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in the spring of 2020. The report clarified that many mistakes were made, including false information being passed on to people. Because of this, even more mistakes were made, and people began to lose faith in "the system." The commentator who reported on this then mentioned, almost casually, that it would be long before the people's trust would be gained.

Once you lose someone's trust, it is tough to gain it back!

 

There are many passages in the Bible where God promises to us.

 

Sometimes, He promises a blessing if one follows a particular pattern of behavior; other times, He promises to act in certain ways and work to bring about a specific outcome. Whenever He promises to us, He always follows through! God may not do things according to our timetable, but He always makes good on His Word.  

 

The story of Jesus' crucifixion is just such a word. God promised us, in many ways and times, that He would send an anointed one, a 'Messiah,' to come and save humanity from sin. This Messiah would offer himself up as a sacrifice and, in doing so, would pay the price for our sins and make our salvation possible. One such promise comes through the prophet Isaiah: "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging, we are healed." 53:5  The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth over 750 years later, wrote of the fulfillment of this promise of God: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures." 15:3  God kept His word! This has happened hundreds of times in Scripture. Christians often speak of God keeping his word to care for them, protect them, and give them encouragement and strength - just as He promised in a biblical passage.

 

This week, we will remember Jesus' crucifixion on the cross and be reminded that it fulfilled one of God's promises to us all.

God is a God of His Word! You can trust Him with your life and believe what He says in Scripture. You can base your life on it!

 

Please join us for worship and praise every Sunday starting at 10:30 AM. We are located at 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO.

 

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Thank you for listening. We will see you next week!