God loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus, as a man, to die so you can be whole and have life now and eternally. Read about how much God loves you in this Message translation of the Bible.
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Give thanks this Easter for the life He has given you. You can be completely whole in spirit, mind and body because Jesus died for you.
I don’t know about you but for most of my life I have been influenced by what I read and hear in the news and books and magazines about what I should be doing to care for my body and how to be in good health. It seems that not a week goes by that another expert isn’t writing another book or article that includes a piece of advice on these matters. Amazon.com maintains a listing of “The Top Ten Most Popular Health Books.” Most of these books tell us things we should be doing to lose weight, feel younger and love yourself.
All the advice and “rules” in the world do not compare to the power that comes from God, through his Holy Spirit. I am learning that the real power God wants us to have is the power that comes from letting go and surrendering to Him. Even though I know Jesus in a personal way, I often tend to try to make things happen as I apply my knowledge of God and His principles. I belief God wants me, and all of us, to step aside and allow His special powers to lead the way in all the changes we are trying to make in our lives. This can only happen when we choose through our will, deep in our soul, to give up self-control of our efforts to God. And then we must trust that He will be the one empowering us and leading the way.
Our body, soul and spirit can only work together seamlessly when we believe this to be true in the core of our being. If we have any unbelief in this truth, then we are susceptible to emotions that will contribute to diseases in the long haul. Unbelief will open the door to doubt and anxiety. This is a form of fear… and fear is not of God. Fear is the opposite of peace. God wants us to experience peace and we can have this deep, genuine peace when we believe the truths of the Bible and when our behaviors are in alignment to the principles found there.
