Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, changes take place each day. Children grow up, teenagers become adults, young adults seek a career and/or life partner. Change is a part of our daily life, but there is one thing that does not change and that is the love that hung on the Cross. 2000+ years since the crucifixion and that Cross still stand high for each and every sinner. The love of Jesus is still extended to many a soul that tonight is calling out for help.
John 3:16 says "for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He sent His Son for you and me and because of the sacrifice that Jesus paid on Calvary, the Cross still stands as a symbol of the price that has been paid.
I am thankful that the Cross still stands tonight!
"And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not." Mark 16: 1-11
He is not here, but has risen! My Lord did not stay in the tomb, but He conquered death.
We see the young man commanding the women to go and tell what they had seen. Some of them were frightened and told no one, but Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples. Her Lord had risen and she couldn't contain herself! How am I? Does the glory of the empty tomb and the reality of my risen Lord prompt me to tell others about Him?
Or do I hide in the corner, scared to share? Or am I like the disciples, full of unbelief?
My Jesus has risen! There is an empty tomb, with graveclothes inside to prove His power of conquering death. He is alive! Someday I will see Him face to face! What a promise for the Christian!
Do you know the Jesus who not only paid my price, but also conquered death and the grave?
My mind wondered as I pondered the meaning of Good Friday. My heart broke with the gratitude as the reality of Good Friday once again sank in. A day designated to commemorate the the finished task. With the words, "it is finished", the sinner's debt was paid. I am filled with trembling at the thought of what He did for me, who deserved to die. He paid it for me, because He loved me!
JESUS PAID IT ALL!
He paid my debt! He has paid your debt! Will you accept the gift?
Blessings to all!
Andrea
PS. My blog and I have been quiet over the last week. The winter flu caught up with me. Thanks to all who prayed for my health.
Here we find the Psalmist committing Himself to the Lord and what
He has planned for His life. This is not the only time we find this particular
commitment in the Bible. We also find it in the lives of at least two others in
the Bible.
We encounter it as Jesus hung on the cross:
“And when Jesus had
cried with a loud
voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit:
and having
said thus, he gave
up the ghost.”
Luke 23:46
And also Stephen uttered these last words as he was stoned
to death:
“And they stoned
Stephen, calling upon
God, and saying,
Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit.” Acts
7:59
In all three occasions, we find complete surrender. In two
of the three occasions we find surrender, even in the face of death: my Lord
and Stephen. Such a commitment is a complete surrender, no matter the costs.
David was committed because his spirit had been redeemed. To him, his
redemption was of great value. A value that was so great, it required a full,
complete surrender.
So what about me, what about you? Jesus has paid the
ultimate price for redemption – his life of the cross. What does that mean to
you and me? We have been redeemed when in reality, we were doomed to die and we
deserved every bit of our punishment. But amidst the punishment we deserved,
God looked down on His people, His heart filled with compassion for the dear
ones that He had intricately created. Each individual soul meant so much to Him
and it hurt Him to know that without a Redeemer, each one would die…but the
story doesn’t end there. Praise God!
He sent a Redeemer. His beloved & Only Son!
I tremble when I recognize what I deserved, but by the grace
of God, I have been saved. Seeing this, I realize that my daily life needs to
be in complete surrender to the One who redeemed me. Such surrender is a daily
moment by moment surrender to the perfect Will of God. My cry should equal that
of the Psalmist:
“Into thine hand I commit my spirit:
thou hast redeemed me,
O Lord God of
truth."
Psalms 31:5
Am I committed to God’s story? Or am I determined to have my
own story?
My heart's cry - I surrender all!
Blessings as you surrender! Pray for me! I am praying for you! Andrea
To me, it is laying my head down at night and sleeping.
To me, it is reading God's Word and basking in His tender mercies.
To me, it being able to step back from the cares of the day and reflect in what has taken place and realize that God was there with me all day.
Rest is a vital part of my life, in the physical, spiritual and emotional sense.
Without my physical rest, many times I am unable to function efficiently in my daily duties.
In spiritual sense, without proper rest I struggle to live a victorious Christian life.
Emotionally, lack of rest makes it impossible to function rationally.
To live victoriously, sufficient rest is vital and I desire to find the "happy medium."
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back to Lisa-Jo and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
It has been a little over a week since I have posted, but God has been good. It's in times like these that I am reminded of "Why did I ever doubt that He would be there for me"? God has been speaking to me through my surroundings, many of which I have captured through my photographic lens.
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24
Oh what a blessing to get up and see the sun come up - realizing that God has given me one more day this side of eternity to serve Him, to praise His name, to see His beauty, to share His love. Why wouldn't I desire to praise Him?
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:" Ecc. 3:1
As I stepped outside the other day, I found that the trees are pushing new buds due to warm weather. In looking at the picture later, I was challenged in my daily walk with Christ. Does my life show new growth? Or does it appear to be dying?
"A time to be born, and a time to die...
a time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted." Ecc 3:2
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:" Isaiah 55:10
Just as rain watereth the ground, so is God's Word to my soul. Do I look forward to meditating in His word each day? Do I drink His promises in like a parched soil? Do I accept His rebuke and apply the remedy as one applies fertilizer to the soil?
Blessings to all! Andrea
And yes, I am still going through the Psalms. Lord willing, I will post on what He has been teaching me later in the week, maybe the weekend.
This song spoke to me in a new way as I heard it sung by a group last night. The "touch" that means so much to me, do I truly cling to it? My life is kept by that touch, a touch that is unique to each one of our lives. He cares so much about me to have a distinct touch for my life. Do I fully grasp that? In the human mind, it is impossible to fully grasp that, but we serve a God who is bigger, who cares about little me! I was challenged anew to fully cling to that Hand that guides me through the unknown, so that He may be known.
