Putting the Good News/Gospel Message at the Forefront in Tauranga, New Zealand

If you find it hard understanding or explaining how the message of the gospel relates to us today, we hope the following short stories and articles will help. See also goodnewsunlimited.com

You can read the stories and articles while enjoying the peaceful music of Robert Evans.

Why our Creator Came to Earth in the Form of a Man

Many, perhaps you, still struggle to relate to why the Creator would come to earth in the form of a man. A good story I once heard about a flock of geese might help:

A man always told his wife she was stupid for believing the Creator would lower Himself to come to earth as a man (as Jesus). He just couldn’t relate to the idea. One day some blind, lost and dying geese, which should have finished their flight south for the winter, were caught in a nasty storm and accidentally bumped into the man’s house a few times.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to save them. He had a barn, so he decided to risk his own life in the terrible storm and get them safely into his barn. He tried everything to get them into the barn, but nothing worked. Realizing they would not follow a human, he thought to himself 'if only I were a goose', I could save them. He cleverly decided to appear to be a goose by carrying his one and only goose in front of the geese and gently releasing it toward the barn. The stray geese then followed his goose to safety in the barn.

At that point he remembered how he had told his wife she was stupid for believing the Creator God would lower Himself to save His blind, lost and dying creatures by becoming one of them. The idea no longer seemed so strange to him.

Relating to the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ sacrifice does not meet our expectations because it shows us God loves us more than we deserve. We would never have imagined our Creator doing such a self-sacrificial thing. Perhaps a story about the wisdom of Solomon will help us understand why Jesus dying on the cross shows the love of the true God in a truly special way.

You might remember the Bible story in 1 Kings 3:16 where two prostitutes sleeping in the same house each had a baby. One awoke to find her baby dead because she had laid on him. She swapped her dead baby with the other woman’s living baby while this poor woman slept. An argument over the living baby arose and the women wanted King Solomon to decide who the true mother was.

 King Solomon knew how he would handle this sad case. He called for a sword and said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” Of course, the true mother loved her child more deeply than the other woman did, and to save her child’s life she immediately told the King to give the child to the other woman. Therefore, King Solomon knew who the child’s true mother was.

Just as King Solomon was able to know who the true mother was by her willingness to sacrifice to save her child’s life, we may know who the true God is by His willingness to suffer and sacrifice to save His creation. When I often hear people criticize God by saying “why doesn’t He step in and do something about all the suffering in the world,” I say, “He has; just understand the cross.”

The sacrifice of the ANZACS

Consider how important in most cultures remembering the soldiers who died in battle is. In Australia and New Zealand, apart from Christmas and Easter, the most important day of the year is Anzac Day. It’s a day of remembering the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for us as heroes so we can live in peace and freedom. It’s treated as a holy day. If anyone dare speak against the way the day is observed they are treated like blasphemers. Those who go overseas to celebrate the day are not seen as tourists, but rather pilgrims. Also, the battle most remembered and revered – Gallipoli, was not a battle we won, but a terrible loss or suicide mission where many brave Kiwis and Aussies lost their lives. Lest we forget their sacrifice for our freedom and salvation.

The idea of Jesus sacrificing Himself for our salvation and freedom from sin and its terrible consequences should not sound so strange to Australians or New Zealanders, or any nation who honours the sacrifice of its heroes and rejoices in the freedom we still enjoy.

Lest we forget the Son of God’s sacrifice at the cross which opens the door for all mankind to be cleansed from sin, to be free forever and to live forever. The battle might have appeared lost when Jesus died, but in fact He was resurrected, and it was the greatest victory of all with the greatest consequences for those who by faith accept Christ’s loving sacrifice on their behalf.

A Father's Sacrificial Love

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening.

In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the pacific coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story, "grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not.

The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. "As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!' he threw out the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us?

Our heavenly father sacrificed his only begotten son that we could be saved. "I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line he is throwing out to you in this service." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.

The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up his son for me. You see --- I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."  unknown author

Does the good news message of salvation through trusting in Christ’s sacrifice at the cross rather than your own goodness or good works seem strange to you?  

Consider how one can change citizenship. There are so many rules and restrictions. One way is through marriage. Maybe you will meet the right person and become one with them through marriage. But if you want to marry someone, especially someone from another country, there are all kinds of intercultural considerations. In some cultures there is a price to be paid (a dowry). Permission from the Father or parents must be gained. The bride needs to be pure. In western culture, love is the main thing.

You can relate this to the cross of Christ. There are two kingdoms (countries), the heavenly and the earthly. The Bible says the way to become a citizen of heaven is through faith in Christ and God’s grace. Christ is the groom and His followers are His bride. The good news of Jesus dying for us and rising again is all about the Father paying the bride price and cleansing or purifying us to be one with Him through His Son’s sacrifice so we can be citizens of His kingdom. The dowry, the Father’s permission, purity and love are all there. It’s all taken care of in God’s great plan which relates to all cultures. Ephesians 5:25 says:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 

To be with God forever is like simply agreeing to marry someone who not only loves you more than anyone, but who is also the kindest, smartest and richest person you will ever meet.

Imagine living in the poorest country in starvation and danger. Then imagine that you and the leader of the richest country fell in love and he was willing to do anything to marry you and have you become a citizen of his country. Of course you would happily accept his offer.

Are you willing to accept an even greater offer than that? Will you come to know Christ, freely accept God’s love at the cross, and give yourself to Him forever? You will find no greater lover than Jesus. He will always treat you well and will never leave you. He already loves you with an everlasting love. You don't have to earn His love! You can't.

God’s Plan for Ending Suffering

When we’re feeling upset about the terrible suffering in the world and God’s patience towards it, it’s useful to consider what God’s options are for putting an end to it. In my limited mind I see God basically has four options.

He could choose to step in every time someone is about to do something hurtful to another. How many of us would like a God who stepped in every time we were about to do something He didn’t like? How many of us would complain about Him being a terrible ‘Big Brother’ figure?

Secondly, He could destroy all who sin, since greed, lying, stealing, adultery, murder, and all manner of self-centered attitudes and actions are by far the main reasons for why suffering exists. We probably wouldn’t like this option very much, as we all have attitudes and actions that are against God’s will. Who would be left?

Thirdly, God could turn us all into robots who have no free will, and who always do exactly what they’re programmed to do. I’m sure this option does not sound all that good either.

The remaining option, as I see it, is to try and turn our hearts away from doing the wrong thing by loving us so much we would never wish to hurt Him or others again. That’s the approach God took through the cross of Jesus. It’s the heart of God’s plan to bring about the world we all desire where there is no more pain or suffering.

Becoming an atheist or becoming an agnostic has rarely, if ever, turned anyone away from crime, but millions have been turned away from lives dangerous to themselves and society through turning their lives to Christ. Love changes hearts better than anything. This is one of the greatest things about God’s plan.

Sadly, however, because most are still not responding to His love, God will have to bring this world to a close, and apply the second option to all those who refuse to accept His gracious free gift of eternal life through trusting in His Son. For now, we can just praise the Father and the Son for their patience, their love, and their free-will-respecting plan for ours and the world’s salvation.

Do sin and guilt weigh you down? – Just CROSS them out! 

When I was at school I remember my handwriting mistakes and how I would use my saliva and a rubber to rub them out. Sometimes I would even make holes in the page while doing this. Trying to cover up my mistakes in an effort to look good usually made things look worse. My teachers were not impressed and told me “just cross out the mistake and move on”

The gospel message reminds us how God has given us a way to have our mess cleaned up by Him through the cross of Christ. Our own efforts to clean up our mess often make things worse, so let us leave our sins and guilt at the cross of Jesus and move on. Just let them be CROSSED out by the cleansing blood of Jesus.

The Highest Ransom Ever Paid

Content from Alan Smith's Thought for the Day

A few years ago there was a true story about a man in New York City who was kidnapped. His kidnappers called his wife and asked for $100,000 ransom. She talked them down to $30,000.

The story had a happy ending: the man returned home unharmed, the money was recovered, and the kidnappers were caught and sent to jail. But don't you wonder what happened when the man got home and found that his wife got him back for a discount?

Calvin Trillin was the writer of this story. He imagined what the negotiations must have been like: "$100,000 for that old guy? You have got to be crazy. Just look at him! Look at that gut! You want $100,000 for that? You've got to be kidding. Give me a break here. $30,000 is my top offer."

I can sympathize with the kidnapped man because I wonder how much the people in my life think that I'm worth. But I am flattered beyond description to realize that I was worth enough to God that He was willing to pay the ultimate price for my ransom, my redemption. As Peter put it:

"You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (I Peter 1:18-19)

Ultimately, the value of something (or someone) is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it. A piece of art that may be worth millions of dollars to someone else may be worth less than a hundred dollars to me. The worth of something is determined by how much we're willing to pay for it.

What that means is that we are of tremendous value to God. He didn't quibble about the price, but was willing to pay the full ransom amount -- the highest ransom ever paid!

Alan Smith (used from http://www.rubelshelly.com/content.asp?CID=19625)

Atonement

Jesus cries out in his last painful moments on the cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And what do you do God? You actually forgive them. You regard Jesus’ sacrifice as an acceptable payment or atonement for the sins of all.

People of that day better understood the significance of sacrifices for sins. This may seem strange to us in our culture because we no longer have sacrifices for sin – or do we?

Perhaps we’ve wronged a loved one and felt the need to make it up or atone for what we’ve done, but our efforts have fallen short in our own minds or theirs. I know people who when they do evil also feel they need to make things up to a God they don’t know or don’t really believe in. They try to do good to make up for the bad things they have done.

You God, however, have provided us a perfect way of atonement to be reconciled to yourself. It used to be by the blood of bulls and goats, but now it is by accepting the perfect once for all sacrifice of your Son.

Sometimes we know there is nothing we can do to make up for the things we have done wrong. The cross provides us all a wonderful way to be free from all guilt. Can you believe it and accept it.

(if you are having trouble believing this great message I encourage you to read FAITH-LIFT which you can find on this site under Books/Articles and send for COUNTDOWN TO FAITH at churchofgodslove4@gmail.com)

Have a great day!