2018-02 FebEng

CONTENTS
• John 3:16
• Make No Mistake
THE GOOD NEWS
• He Is Risen
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
A twenty-five-word parade of
hope: beginning with God, ending with
life, and urging us to do the same. Brief
enough to write on
a napkin or memorize
in a moment,
yet solid enough to
weather two thousand
years of
storms and questions.
If you know
nothing of the Bible,
start here. If
you know everything
in the Bible,
return here. We all need the reminder.
The heart of the human problem is the
heart of the human. And God’s treatment
is given in John 3:16.
HE LOVES—God loves you because
He chooses to do so: “God wasn’t
attracted to you and didn’t choose you
because you were big and important…
He did it out of sheer love” (Deut. 7:7-8).
God’s love for you depends on His goodness,
not yours. And since He is totally
good, you are absolutely loved. You
don’t need to win His love, you already
have it. And since you can’t win it, you
can’t lose it. He will love you forever.
You may step outside of His will, but
never His love. Mark it down. He loves
you. So much, in
fact, that…
HE GAVE—
He gave His one
and only Son. Jesus
is God’s “one and
only.” He is unlike
any other person in
history. Every quality
we attribute to
God, we can give to
Jesus. Jesus has an
eternal life span, unending wisdom, and
tireless energy. Most of all, Jesus is sinless.
When He lived on the earth, He
never sinned. “He never did one thing
wrong. Not once said anything amiss” (1
Peter 2:22).
We, on the other hand, do wrong
things daily. We stretch the truth. We
hurt people. We take advantage of the
weak and disrespect our family. What
should God do? He has made his position
clear. “Anyone whose life is not holy
will never see the Lord” (Hebrews
12:14). Where does that leave us?

P A G E 2
“No guilt in
life...no fear
It leaves us depending on the
3:16 promise: “God… gave his one
and only son.” Though sinless, Jesus
took our sin. God placed our sin on
His Son and punished
it. When
Jesus died on
the cross, He
died for us in our
place. Our response
to this
great gift is simple…
WE BELIEVE—We trust Jesus
to do what we can’t. We don’t trust
our own efforts to save us. We can’t
save ourselves. We don’t place our
trust in other people to save us. We
believe in Him.
We take similar steps of trust
daily, even hourly. Believing the
chair will support us, we set our
weight on it. Believing water will hydrate,
we
drink it.
Trusting
the work
of the
light
switch,
we flip it.
We have
faith in the doorknob, so we turn it.
We trust power we cannot see to do
work we can’t accomplish. Jesus invites
us to do the same with Him.
And when we do, when we believe…
of death”
WE LIVE—God gives us brand-new life. He gives us joy in this life
and the promise of eternal life with Him. We have joy because we have
His Spirit living within us. Little by little his Spirit changes us to be more
like Jesus. No guilt in life, no fear of death, He gives life now and eternal
life in Heaven where there is no anger or sadness, no tears or trouble.
Never weary, selfish, or defeated. Just unhindered joy in God’s presence.
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God!” (Romans 11:33)
Would you like to accept the 3:16 promise? Jesus awaits your
prayer. Believe in Him and you will not perish but you will have life,
eternal life, forever.
T H E
G O O D
N E W S

Have you ever wanted to
change something about yourself?
Have you thought that you might be
happier if you had different coloured
eyes, or if you were a different height
or weight? Perhaps you’ve wished that
you had perfect eyesight, that you did
not have diabetes, or that you could
walk without the aid of crutches or a
wheelchair?
But did you know that you were
created, just the way you are, by God?
The Bible says that every person—
including you—is “wonderfully made”.
God “formed” you and “intricately”
created you (Psalm 139:13-15). It also
says that each of us is like clay, and
God is the potter (Isaiah 64:8). Have
you ever seen a potter work with clay?
It can sometimes take hours of work,
with the potter paying very close
attention to each detail. Every inch of
the clay is carefully formed, not a single
part is missed, until the potter creates
a masterpiece. Even though
potters take great care in their clay
creations, God took even more care
when He created you!
Did you also know that the Bible
tells us that God is perfect (Matthew
5:48)? That means that He does not
make mistakes! You were created by a
loving and perfect God, and He made
you to be completely unique—you are
not like anyone else in the world! God
created you, He loves you, and you are
special to Him…make no mistake!
Even though God is perfect, we
are not. God knows everything about
us. He knows the good things that we
do and the bad things that we don’t
want anyone to know about. The Bible
says that we all have done bad things
(sins) and that we all deserve to be
punished for doing them (Romans
3:23, 6:23).
But you and I are so special to
God that He sent His very own Son,
Jesus, to die on the cross and take the
punishment we deserve. “For God so
loved the world that He gave his only
begotten Son [to die for our sins], that
whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life” (John
3:16). Then Jesus came back to life and
was seen by hundreds of people before
going home to Heaven (1 Corinthians
15:3-6)!
Isn’t that great news?! Jesus
opened up the way for you to have a
home in Heaven (where one day, everything
will be perfect)! But first, you
must agree with God that you’ve
sinned, trust that Jesus forgave you
when He was on the cross, and want
with all your heart to live in a way that
pleases Him. Those who believe in Jesus
like this become God’s very own
children (John 1:12). He wants you to
experience His love, be part of His
family and to help you every day—it’s
why he created you!
P A G E 3
“God
created
you, He
loves you,
and you
are
special to
Him”
T H E
G O O D
N E W S

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead is proof that He has conquered death and has
thrown open the door of everlasting life. Because
of Christ’s death on the cross, we can know the joy
of God’s forgiveness for our sins. And through His
resurrection we can have the assurance of everlasting
life. The living Savior promises: “I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
After the dark hours on the cross when Christ was judged by God for our sins, His body
was placed in a new tomb. His enemies set up a guard and sealed the tomb with a Roman seal
so that His body would not be stolen.
Three days later, on resurrection morning, an angel declared the triumphant news to His
followers: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here;
for He is risen, as He said.” (Matthew 28:5-6)
Jesus Christ arose from the dead! The Saviour who was “made sin for us that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him” was accepted by His Heavenly Father. The “Lamb of God
that takes away the sin of the world” had fulfilled the work of God for our redemption.
Because of Christ’s resurrection you can receive God’s salvation: “If you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
You can be assured that Jesus Christ is living for you. The living Saviour “is also able to
save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession
for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
Because Jesus Christ lives in Heaven today, those who trust Him for salvation will one day
be with Him. He promises: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he
may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
Melbourne
161-167 Peel St, North Melbourne
Saturday: 7—8pm
Sunday: 11am—12:15pm
Sydney
51-57 Kingsway, Kingsgrove
Sunday: 10—11:30am
Radio
3XY Melbourne (1422 AM)
Monday: 9:30—10pm
www.goodnewsmagazine.org.au
Good News Magazine
PO Box 248
Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039