The people who made the greatest impact on the world were those who were totally focused on fulfilling their God-given mission. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, once said, 'If I had three hundred men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ and him crucified, I would set the world on fire.' Jonathan Edwards, whose ministry sparked the Great Awakening in America, made this his life's motto: 'Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.' C.T. Studd, one of England's greatest athletes, shocked the world when he gave up fame and fortune to be a missionary to China. 'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him,' he explained. Missionary Jim Elliot, who died as a martyr in South America, said, 'He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.'

We are each called to, 'get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us' (Hebrews 12:1-2 CEV). And Jesus is there right beside us.

So what now? The day you were born, God had a track for you to run on. So, get rid of the things that weigh you down or trip you up, and run! You are called to make your own unique impact for Jesus!

Jesus said, 'If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles' (Matthew 5:41 NIV). In Jesus' day, Roman soldiers were permitted to force a Jew to carry a burden a mile for them. They treated Jews as tools to be used.

What do we do when dealing with difficult people? Jesus invites us to take the high road. A Roman soldier like these could be quite young, a stranger there, probably poor himself. All he receives is local resentment. So, we finish the mile and say, 'You look tired. Can I help you some more? Can I carry it for you another mile?' That would blow the soldier's mind. Nobody ever asked that! That's what we're called to do! When someone takes advantage of us, we want to think of them as unlikable rather than a real person with their own story.

It's said that a friend offered to introduce English essayist Charles Lamb to a man who Lamb had disliked for a long time. 'Don't make me meet him,' Lamb said. '"I want to go on hating him, and I can't do that to a man I know.' But, Jesus asks us to instead give the gift of empathy, remembering that the person we don't like is also a human being.

So what now? Choose to put yourself in a difficult person's shoes; imagine how they feel, what they've been through and how life has treated them. When you do that, it opens the door to extend the grace of Jesus.

When we set our hearts on something and it doesn't happen, it's only human to experience disappointment. In those moments, here's what to keep in mind: (1) At best, we're always working with limited information. We may know the end result we desire, but God knows what's best for us, and he plans accordingly. 'I am God...declaring the end from the beginning...saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure"' (Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV).

(2) Trying to work outside of God's will is like trying to dig our way through a solid wall with a fork. Instead of digging our way out of a prison, we dig our way into one when we demand to get what we want. Do we really want to carry out a plan God hasn't blessed? Can we depend on him to know what's best for us? 'The Lord, the God of battle, has spoken - who can change his plans? When his hand moves, who can stop him' (Isaiah 14:27 TLB)? It's better to be disappointed temporarily than end up with something we can't handle.

The story of Israel reads like this: 'He...redeemed them from the hand of the enemy...Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel...and tested God in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul' (Psalm 106:10, 12-15 NKJV). The Israelites were quick to forget how trustworthy their God was!

So what now? Trust God, and he'll give you what's best for you.

There are plenty of good leaders around. Here's how to recognise them: (1) Flexibility. True leaders have a teachable spirit and a servant's heart. They rejoice in our growth and aren't threatened by our development. They won't try to 'keep us in the nest' when it's clear that we're ready to fly. (2) Inclusivity. A good leader can acknowledge and connect with other people and appreciate their uniqueness. Look out for the 'only we are right' attitude. Leaders who are exclusive are generally paranoid about losing their status. (3) Servant-heartedness. Here is God's standard for leadership: 'Not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve' (1 Peter 5:2 NIV); and 'worthy of double honour' (1 Timothy 5:17 NKJV). Look out for leaders for whom financial gain is their main measure of success. (4) Accountability. No matter how gifted we are, we all have blind spots and need to be confronted and counselled from time to time. Solomon said, 'Pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up' (Ecclesiastes 4:10 NIV).

Here's what Jesus said about the religious leaders of his day: 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit' (Matthew 15:13-14 NIV). Let's not choose blind guides.

So what now? When choosing a leader, seek those who are flexible, inclusive, servant-hearted and humble. You need a leader with a servant's spirit who honours all.

We can imagine the victory laps Satan and his demons were doing the day Jesus was crucified. They really thought they'd stopped the greatest mission in history. They were convinced they had snuffed out the salvation plan of the Father. Lying in a cold dark tomb was their evidence - God's only Son, broken, bruised, beaten.

But Satan the deceiver was deceived. As Philip Yancey writes in The Jesus I Never Knew, 'In the most ironic twist of all history, what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good. Jesus' death bridged the gap between a perfect God and a fatally-flawed humanity. On Good Friday God defeated sin, routed death, triumphed over Satan and got his family back ... He took the worst deed of history and turned it into the greatest victory ... Between the cross and the empty tomb hovers the promise of history: hope for the world, and hope for each of us who lives in it.'

At the cross, Jesus cancelled the record of wrongs against us, nailing them up (see Colossians 2:13-15). And he disarmed the devil and all the spiritual rulers and authorities at his command, nailing them down. He comprehensively triumphed over Satan. In fact, it was a victory planned in Heaven: 'The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work' (1 John 3:8 NIV). Now who's doing the victory laps?

So what now? As you celebrate Jesus' resurrection, remind Satan of Jesus' victory over him and his works in your life. And thank Jesus that you are free indeed (see John 8:36).

Reconciliation = restoring relationships. That's what the cross does. It changes everything. The moment we give ourselves fully over to God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, life changes completely. Nothing will ever be the same again. And if we think that stops at us, we're totally wrong. What starts in our individual lives has a ripple effect out into the lives of others.

Pastor Matt Chandler puts it like this: 'Think of the Gospel as a stone landing in a pond. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the cause of many ripples; they are the epicentre of God's work in the world.' And he reckons the ripples go out like this: the first one restores our personal relationship with God; the second helps us restore and create human-to-human relationships to make up the worldwide Church; the third ripple happens when we move ourselves out and take the message of Jesus to those who are not yet a part of the Church.

Essentially, Pastor Chandler is saying that God 'reconciles' us to himself, and that makes us able to go out and let him use us to restore other people's relationships with him. Once we're brought into beautiful relationship with God, it makes sense to share it with those around us.

So what now? Thank Jesus for the cross, the pivotal point in history where he came down to live with us as humans, and reconciled the world to himself. Thank him for doing this for you!