“And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” Genesis 3:21 (ESV)

Adam and Eve could not have had it better. They lived in a perfect world created by the all-powerful hands of God where He lovingly provided for their every need. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God as a result of their deliberate choice to eat of the tree which God explicitly forbade them to eat from, the closeness they once shared with God was broken. Since God is holy He cannot tolerate even the slightest act of sin and as such He expelled Adam and Eve from the garden. Yet what is beautiful of this otherwise tragic episode in human history is how God shows His unfailing love. Despite Adam and Eve’s rejection of Him, God provides them with clothing to endure the harsh realities of their new lives in a fallen world. The animal skins foreshadow what Christ has done and will do for us by Him becoming the sacrificial Lamb for us so that through His death on the Cross we are forgiven and our relationship with God restored.

The love of God is unchangeable and inherent in His very nature. He has never been the God who oscillates between the angry God of the Old Testament and the loving God of the New Testament. Through a careful reading of Scripture His unconditional love and desire to restore His precious creations to Himself is made evident from the very beginning right through to the end. The difference between human love and God’s love is that our love is limited and can be overpowered by sin, while God’s love remains constant regardless of what we may do. He knows that no human being on this Earth can achieve His standards of righteousness and thus He will never withdraw His love and grace for us. Will we choose to accept his love so that we will no longer have to be slaves to sin and its consequences? When we allow Christ to enter our lives we will be able to experience His love as He breaks us free from our sinful nature and faithfully provides for us according to His perfect will. He will perfect His love in our hearts so that it will overflow and bring hope and life to those around us.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well.” 2 Corinthians 12:15a (NIV)

Most people would have looked at Paul’s dedication to the Corinthian church and thought he had lost his mind. Corinth was a city mired in sexual perversions of all stripes and it earned a reputation amongst Christians and non-Christians alike as a place where deviancy thrived. Sadly, even the church of Corinth found itself entangled in the sinful and destructive pleasures of their city. Yet Paul wrote to them saying that he was willing to spend everything on them, both his resources and himself if need be. We might ask why did Paul waste his time and what little wealth he had on these depraved people. But Paul was driven by the love of God which seeks to bring restoration and life through Christ to even the vilest of sinners no matter the cost.

All of us have people in our lives we would prefer to ignore. They are like the Corinthians to us; unlovable in their unwholesome attitudes and degenerate lifestyles. Contempt, perhaps even hatred, fills our hearts whenever they come to our minds and we do not want to have anything to do with them. But if such attitudes are entrenched in our hearts, the love of God is absent from us and we are not contributing to the solution. Being resentful and scornful towards them will not help them along the path to healing. Only the love of Christ can bring hope and renewal to the lives of others. When we have allowed Christ’s Spirit to enter our hearts and transform us by His love, we will want to invest everything we have into those we have deemed unlovable. While we were covered by sin and therefore repulsive in the eyes of a holy God, in His love He reached down to us so that by His blood we are washed clean of our sins and have new life through His resurrection. Compelled by the same love through Christ’s enabling, we will sacrifice all that we have for others knowing that our Saviour did the same for us.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” –Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

Being close to the Atlantic Ocean, Nova Scotia is a place with many boat owners. When I was working there one summer, it was a common sight to see many different boats sailing in and around the harbour. One day however, it was announced that the province would be experiencing a severe storm with very powerful winds. All of us had to get anything outdoors inside our homes and I heard of many boat owners scrambling to the docks to secure their vessels. The way they did this was remarkable. Using ropes and anchors they were able to ensure that their boats were not carried away by the storm. Granted the boats may have been rocked by the power of the winds, but they remained in one place; firmly moored to the docks.

How can we survive the storms of life? It is a question that often surfaces in our minds when we are in despair. We feel as if we are being tossed about by our circumstances, never knowing whether we will be able to endure it all. In our anguish we cry out for security and strength to live and we turn to all sorts of things in the hope of attaining what we seek. But what ends up happening is that when storms come, these cords which we have trusted in to keep us secure are prone to snap; leaving us at the mercy of the wind and the waves. Where then can we find that strength which will last us through the unendurable? It is only when we have rooted ourselves in Christ. When we have allowed Him to enter our hearts and submit ourselves to Him, He will lead us according to His perfect will. By living in obedience to Him and trusting in who He is, He will not allow us to be overtaken by the storms around us; empowering and sustaining us to preserve as He works through our situations for His great purposes.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’” –Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

I remember the first time that I had to leave home and be away from my parents. As part of an elementary school trip I would be away for one whole week at an outdoor camp. Though I was looking forward to the exciting adventures that were to be had, I was also nervous and afraid. A child’s imagination often runs wild and knowing that I would be spending the week in a heavily forested area, there was the fear of the dangers that could be lurking in the woods. But before I left my father recited this verse to me and it brought me so much comfort and joy. Knowing that the all-powerful God who created the Heavens and the Earth was going to be by my side was a huge confidence boost. Even to this day when I feel that I am stepping into the unknown, this verse comes back to me reminding me that God is with me wherever I go.

Situations will come along our path that make us quake in fear. Uncertainty grips our minds and our hearts sink with despair. We wonder how we will ever pull through these situations in one piece. In desperation we cry out for strength and the wisdom to navigate through the storms which we find ourselves sailing into. However, there is hope! No other navigator will suffice expect for Christ Himself. When we have allowed Him to enter our hearts, He will strengthen us in our hour of need. By staying in tune with His Spirit He will guide our steps towards the fulfilment of His perfect plan for our lives. With Him as our Captain, we will have nothing to fear resting in the assurance found in Romans 8:31 that “If God is for us, who can be against us?”. We will be able to stand fearless before our situations and circumstances knowing that it is God who gives us victory and who in His omnipotence will work all things together for good.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“…but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’” –Luke 24:5-6 (NIV)

At the centre of humanity is the resurrection. It is what believers in Christ on Easter have celebrated throughout the ages, and it is what continues to be celebrated around the world by those who proclaim Christ to be Lord. Without the resurrection, the redemptive mission of Christ loses its power and His sacrifice becomes irrelevant; bearing no transformative implications for our lives. While Christ died for our sins and we are forgiven and made right with God through His death, His sacrifice becomes a convenient excuse to continue living in sin if the story was just left at His crucifixion and burial. The purpose of Christ’s coming was not simply to cleanse us of sin, but to give us life and freedom from it.

When Christ arose from the tomb, there was something markedly different about Him. His resurrection resulted in Him gaining two things; a new body and a new nature. This nature was characterized by the righteousness which comes from God and it shone forth for all to see.  The old sinful nature was dead and buried, and God raised Jesus up to bring Him into newness of life and clothed with His holiness. But how does this relate to us? When we accept Christ and allow Him to come into our hearts, we become like Him in His resurrection. Through Him our old sinful nature has died and we are clothed by the righteousness which comes from God. Though we were once slaves to sin, we are now freed by becoming slaves of righteousness as we allow His Spirit to help us live according to the new nature He has given us. Have we become dead to our sin and entered into new life with Christ? In doing this we will find freedom from the destructive consequences of sin and allow Christ to raise us up; unshackling us from our depravity so that we will find liberty, hope, and life eternal in Him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” –Romans 6:4 (NIV)

Rarely do we give a second thought to the burial of Jesus. In the wider Easter story the two main events are His death and resurrection. Yet when we come to the burial of Christ, how often do we treat it as a mundane detail of the story? On the surface there does not seem to be anything extraordinary about Jesus’ burial and we think nothing of it; anticipating the glorious resurrection soon after. But nothing that God does is devoid of meaning. To understand the significance of Christ’s burial is of prime importance in understanding the meaning behind His death and His resurrection. The burial is a key part of God’s plan of redemption and how we are to view our personal salvation.

When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become like Him in His death, burial and resurrection. The sins of humanity were laid upon Him so that through His death the penalty for each and every one of our violations of God’s holy standards is paid in full. By His blood we are forgiven and stand cleansed before God. However, Christ was buried to show that through Him our old nature of sin has passed away to make room for the new nature of righteousness that is bestowed upon us from God in Heaven. Have we truly become like Christ in His burial? Have we left behind our sinful nature, or do we continue to return to it? When something is dead and buried, it is dead and buried for good. True repentance in Christ is only when we have asked for the forgiveness of our sins and, by identifying with His burial, not returning to them again. Doing this we will find real freedom from our slavery to sin; living instead in the joys and blessings which come form having our new nature through Christ.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’” –Like 22:42 (NIV)

Why did Jesus have to die? As we reflect on Good Friday and its meaning, our minds immediately turn to Him. We see images of Him being rejected, scorned, flogged, and finally executed by crucifixion, the most humiliating and excruciating of deaths. But why? Was there not another way to bring about the salvation of mankind? He was God so He could have certainly done so in a less painful and tragic manner. However, to understand why He endured the anguish of the Cross for us we must first understand man’s relationship with God. It is only when we have grasped this fact that we are able to understand the significance of Christ’s sacrifice for humanity and why it shows how much He loves us.

From the time Adam and Eve disobeyed God, man has been corrupted by sin. Even today we see evidence of the fallen nature of man all around us. Since God is holy He cannot tolerate sin. Thus the once intimate and close relationship we had with Him has been severed because of our deliberate choice to indulge in what is depraved. The penalty for sin is death according to the holy standards of God and when measured against His standards not one of us can honestly say that we are not guilty before Him. Yet God knows this full well and in His love He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on our behalf. Christ voluntarily chose death to give us life. Through His blood shed for us on the Cross, the penalty of our sin has been paid in full and we have the hope of living in a restored relationship with God. But will we take hold of Christ’s sacrifice for us? Will we allow Him to carry out His redemptive work in our lives? When we have allowed Him to enter our hearts, His blood will cleanse us of all our sin. But this is only half the story and in the coming days there is much to follow.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.