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Key Bible Verse: He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19). Bonus Reading: Colossians 2:13-15

At the height of his stardom, Mel Gibson had achieved everything he ever hoped for—except a sense of purpose. Gibson felt he was drowning in fame, wealth, drink, and despair. This led the one-time "sexiest man alive" to his knees and back to God. In a Reader's Digest interview, Gibson told Peggy Noonan, "I was really searching, asking 'What's on the other side? Why am I here?' I might have looked like I'm living the high life, making movies and jetting around the world, but true happiness resides within. I was spiritually bankrupt. It was like a spiritual cancer starting to eat its way through. I simply had to do something or it was going to take me."

This 12-year pilgrimage led Gibson to the Gospels and the passion of Christ. He realized what Jesus did on the cross. Gibson described it to Noonan this way: "The purpose of the sacrifice [of Christ] was to expiate the transgressions of all mankind. The testimonies from the Gospels speak of love, of ransom, and a complete forgetting of self for the sake of all others, which is really the height of heroism. Jesus became the whipping boy so that we have a chance, because we can't make it on our own."

—Matt Neace in PreachingToday.com

My Response: I'll thank Jesus for becoming the "whipping boy" for my sins.

Thought to Apply: Once I was lost … and now I am found. And the difference is the Gospel.—WALTER BRUEGGEMANN (professor)

Adapted from PreachingToday.com (4/4/04) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Thank You, Father, that through Christ Your power can and does save anyone.

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