The plan of God is not without trials and tribulations, not without problems and pitfalls, not without degradation and disappointments, but at the end of the plan, it says, “And the third day, He will rise again.” And it is not just speaking about Jesus.

Jesus was willing to follow the plan of God. Although He had committed no sin and although His crucifixion would be the greatest miscarriage of justice of all times, Jesus was willing to accept crucifixion because His death on the Cross would fulfill the plan of God to save the souls of all of those that believe in Him.

Our entrance into Heaven does not depend upon how well we compare to other people, but how well we compare to the absolute standard of sinlessness. But God, in His wisdom, developed the sacrificial system, and Jesus Christ’s sacrifice satisfies the sentence of every single sinner. God will not condemn Christians regardless of what sin we commit, as long as we believe in Jesus Christ and do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

These Jews have had their trial before God. They thought that they were trying Jesus, but the fact is that God is trying them, as He is trying all of us. The evidence for the Messiahship of Jesus Christ is before all of us, and all of us have to vote to either accept or reject Jesus’ statement that He is the Christ. It’s not just the Jews that have to vote on Jesus; we all have to vote.

All of us are sinners, and we have all earned eternal suffering for our sins in Hell. But just as God made a way for the Israelites in Egypt, God has made a way for us.

We ought not pray only when we have trials, but we should recognize that every decision that we make, regardless of how trivial it may be, is a better decision if it is covered with believing prayer.

God wants to be our friend. God wants to commune with each of us personally, on a daily basis, not just to give us instructions, but to both talk to us and listen to our inmost thoughts.

The Holy Spirit is the intelligence of God that is always looking for ways to bring life, meaning reconciliation, to man from God. Those filled with the Spirit of God focus on salvation and reconciliation, just as Jesus brought salvation to reconcile us to God, not condemnation to the world for sin.