Good morning. It’s Sunday, January 18th, aka National Winnie the Pooh Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

Every story we grow up with teaches us the same thing.

Good guys win.

Bad guys lose.

Even when the villain is complicated, justice still looks like punishment. Someone has to pay. Someone has to lose.

The Bible tells a completely different story.

It starts by leveling the room.

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Not the worst people.

Not the loud ones.

All.

That verse alone ruins our ability to cast ourselves as the hero.

Then Romans 5:8 makes it even more uncomfortable.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While. Still.

Jesus did not wait for humanity to improve. He did not die for the future, better version of people. He died for people exactly as they were. Defensive. Selfish. Wrong.

That is not how stories usually work.

Isaiah saw this long before the cross.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray… and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Everyone wandered.

One person carried it.

Jesus said this was always the plan.

Mark 10:45 says He came “to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Ransom is not a soft word. It assumes someone is trapped. It assumes a debt that cannot be paid without help.

Even while being executed, Jesus refuses revenge.

Luke 23:34 records Him saying, “Father, forgive them.”

No conditions.

No speeches.

No delay.

Then comes the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15 reminds us that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised. The cross was not a tragic mistake. The resurrection proves the sacrifice worked.

This is the only story where the hero dies for the villain and then invites the villain into the family.

That changes how you live.

You stop pretending you earned grace.

You stop comparing your sins to someone else’s.

You stop obeying God to earn approval and start obeying because you already have it.

Every other story tells you to fight harder so you can win.

The gospel tells you the hero already died.

And somehow, that is the story that saves us.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: Jesus, true hero, perfect Savior, who loved enemies unto death.

Confession: I forget I was the villain You died to save.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for mercy, forgiveness, and grace I never deserved.

Supplication: Teach me to love others like You loved me first.

In Jesus name, Amen

“Joy Thief” by Jimmy Clifton

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Thanks for letting us be part of how you start your day with God.

See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God