Rick Warren's Blog, page 629

Salvation: What Needed to Be Done Has Already Been Done

If you were to ask 50 random people walking along the sidewalk, “How do you get to Heaven?” you’d get a lot of different answers. But basically they would all be summarized by the idea that you’ve got to earn your way to Heaven. You’d hear things like, “Try to be good, and do your best” or “Do more good things than bad things in life.” It’s all based on works, not grace.

Reach Out and Reach Up in Suffering

Every person who reads this will face tragedy at some point in your life. You’ll have loss — major loss — in your life. None of us can escape tragedy.

Jesus, God’s Son, sure didn’t.

Confused? Remember God’s Promises

It’s hard to imagine how the disciples felt on the Saturday before Jesus’ Resurrection and the day after his Resurrection. They had watched their Messiah, the Son of God, crucified by the Romans. They had seen him raise the dead and heal the blind. They knew Jesus could have come down off the cross. But he didn’t.

God Will Never Let Go

You were made to last forever. One day your heart will stop beating. That’ll be the end of your body but not the end of you.

God made you in his image, and you were made to last forever.

It’s Your Call

There are more than 7,000 promises in the Bible from God to you. They’re like blank checks just waiting to be cashed by you. And with every promise, there’s a premise.

In the Bible’s most famous promise, John 3:16, Jesus tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV). God promises we won’t perish if we believe in him.

God’s Great Gift

The greatest gift you’ve ever been given wasn’t bought in a store. No cash exchanged hands. It wasn’t even wrapped.

Yet it cost the Giver everything.

Standing Strong on God’s Extravagant Love

Everything in life changes — relationships, jobs, fame. One minute you’re a hero; the next minute you’re a zero. There’s only one thing in the entire universe that won’t change: God’s love.

Get Back to the Basics

God doesn’t want you to doubt your salvation. He doesn’t want you to worry about it. He doesn’t want you to fear being without it. He doesn’t want you to wonder whether you’ll be in Heaven with him.

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Grace is the gift that keeps on giving, because one of the benefits of grace is eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (NLT, second edition).

Have you ever wondered what Heaven is going to be like? The Bible tells us that Heaven is going to be these four things:

Five Things You’ll Leave Behind in Heaven

Popular culture tells us many myths about what Heaven will be like. Much of it isn’t grounded in the Bible. The truth is, describing Heaven is beyond the capacity of the greatest writers. It’s just far more amazing than mere words can describe.