Jesus Paid the Price in Full!

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God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful.

Colossians 3:12-15

Recently I spent most of a day with a friend who is Amish. At one point our conversation turned to how many evil things are going on in the world today. So I asked him how the Amish handle a situation where one Amish man sins against another. Who settles the dispute? He got quiet for a few seconds and then said, "That is where forgiveness comes in."

These verses in Colossians include the phrase "forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you!"

Jesus didn't wait until we asked for forgiveness and then pay the price for it. Jesus paid for our forgiveness before anyone ever asked!

This is a stumbling block for many people today. They assume that God forgives them when they ask for it. No not at all. God forgave them when Jesus died on the Cross. That is when the price was paid for the sins of the entire world. Then why does anyone go to Hell? Men and women who do not come to Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Savior do not receive the blessing of salvation that is fully funded and waiting for them to come and get it!

When the most heinous sinner turns his heart to Jesus there is nothing else that needs to be done on his behalf by God. It was all done on the Cross!

So here is another way you can be like Jesus. Make a list of all those who have offended you in any way, and forgive them. Forgive them all! Unless those you have forgiven come and are reconciled to you they will not be blessed by what you have done, but you can still forgive "anyone who does you wrong."

So here is the bottom line. Hell will be filled with men and women who have chosen to be there. Their decision not to be reconciled with God through the Blood of Jesus Christ is what will send them to Hell.

The Death of Dying!

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Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down  and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus' body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot.

The angels asked Mary, “Why are you crying?”

She answered, “They have taken away my Lord's body! I don't know where they have put him.”

As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was.

Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to him, “Rabboni.” The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.”

Jesus told her, “Don't hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But tell my disciples I am going to the one who is my Father and my God, as well as your Father and your God.”

John 20:11-17

From all the accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus you can see that the Resurrection made a big difference. It was clearly Jesus that they saw, but He was different. Jesus appeared to them, but apparently didn't stay with them for very long at a time. They were in a room with the doors closed and suddenly Jesus was there too. Some did not even recognize the Lord when they saw Him.

But none of the disciples were in despair after seeing the resurrected Jesus. Some were stunned, but hope came back and grew beyond anyone's imagination. Even death itself could not stop Jesus and He had told His disciples to take up their crosses and follow Him!

After you have been crucified with Christ, the life you live is a resurrection powered existence. Yes, your body will be changed the day you leave this earth to go to Heaven, but you are changed now into the image of Jesus. After you have been raised with Christ, who can harm you? After you have been raised with Christ, what need do you have that He cannot fulfill?

You will be tempted to despair if all you remember and focus on is Jesus as He died, hanging on the Cross. But if you remember and focus on Jesus after the Resurrection you will be filled with hope! Jesus conquered death and dying and promised that if you follow Him, you will do the same!

Let It Be Me!

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So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also can believe.) These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”  and “They will look on the one they pierced.”

Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.

John 19:32-41

The day before the Resurrection and the day after the Crucifixion was indeed a day of despair. There is no record of anyone, including the disciples of Jesus being filled with hope as they waited for Jesus to come forth from the grave. They did not expect it and even when they saw the empty tomb, the first response was to believe that someone had stolen His body!

That day was a Passover and should have been a time of celebration and hope. Jesus had told His disciples what would happen, but apparently none of them remembered His words and hoped for the resurrection.

Today is also a dark day on earth. There are wars and rumors of wars. There are famines and earthquakes. There are terrible storms and the fear of great waves washing over the land. There is the almost certain prospect of a terrible economic earthquake. Unless God Himself intervenes in the affairs of men there truly is no hope for the world to move on to better times.

But there is the greatest hope. Just as Jesus promised He came back from the dead and rose from the grave. And just as Jesus promised He will come back to this earth and gather His people to be with Him forever!

"Lord, if there is only one person expecting Your return today, let that person be me! Fill me with the hope of Your return and the courage to proclaim Your name to everyone I encounter this day. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen"

Don’t Worry–Trust God!

 

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Jesus said to his disciples:
I tell you not to worry about your life! Don't worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at the crows! They don't plant or harvest, and they don't have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. Can worry make you live longer?

If you don't have power over small things, why worry about everything else?
Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers.

God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith!

Luke 12:22-28

When my son became a sailor, the United States Navy took over the management of his life for four years. He did not have to worry about his food, or what to wear, or where to sleep at night. All he had to do was to be careful to be obedient to the commands that were given to him from above. When he obeyed there was nothing else to worry about.

Being a follower of Jesus Christ is the same. When you sign up to follow Jesus you give Him the management of your life forever! You do not have to worry about what to eat , or what to wear, or where to lay your head at night. All you must do is to be obedient to every command that comes down from above!

Sometimes men or women in the military are "absent without leave," AWOL. When they do that they must start worrying again about what to eat, what to wear and where to sleep at night. Sometimes followers of Jesus do the same. When a Christian quits being obedient, he is also AWOL and suffers the consequences.

If you have ceased being obedient to the commands of Jesus and are absent without leave, now is the time to come back to God, turn yourself in and be restored to your proper place in the service of Jesus Christ!

Here is a huge difference in service in the military and service to Jesus. When an AWOL military soldier turns himself in there is usually serious punishment. When an AWOL Christian comes back to active duty there is a great celebration like when the prodigal son returned home.

Don't Worry - Trust God!

Citizen of Heaven!

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Turn to the [Lord]!
He can still be found.
Call out to God! He is near.

Give up your evil ways
and your evil thoughts.
Return to the [Lord] our God.
He will be merciful
and forgive your sins.

The [Lord] says:
“My thoughts and my ways
are not like yours.

Just as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
are higher than yours.

“Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don't return
without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant
and grain to eat.

That's how it is with my words.
They don't return to me
without doing everything
I send them to do.”

Isaiah 55:6-11

When you go to another country to live, you must learn the language and culture of that country. Words have meanings, but actions do as well. It may take a long time, but the goal is to learn to think and act like a citizen of that new country. It is only from the perspective of living in one culture that you can objectively evaluate the culture from which you came.

The thoughts and ways of God are not like ours. They are higher, much higher than ours. When you begin to think and act like God you can look back at this world and see it for what it is. But from the perspective of this earth we cannot even grasp much of what God is like and what it will be like to live in Heaven with Jesus.

But on earth is where we begin the process of changing into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Our job here is to learn the thoughts and ways of God. After a long life of following Jesus here we really have only just begun the process of becoming like Him. A miraculous transformation of our hearts and minds enables us to act and think like citizens of Heaven.

"Lord Jesus teach me today one more way of acting like a Citizen of Heaven. Show me one of the ways of Heaven that those of us here on earth do not know. And Lord, give me the courage today to act like I belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen."

God’s Kamikaze!

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“Our people defeated Satan
because of the blood
of the Lamb
and the message of God.
They were willing
to give up their lives.

“The heavens should rejoice,
together with everyone
who lives there.
But pity the earth
and the sea,
because the devil
was thrown down
to the earth.
He knows his time is short,
and he is very angry.”

Revelation 12:11-12

When you give up your life for Jesus you lose nothing. The secret weapon that we have in the struggle against the devil is that we cannot lose even if we die in the battle.

The most dangerous enemy is one that is willing to die in the war. In World War II they were called Kamikazes, today we call them suicide bombers. When men and women are willing to give up their lives in the war, it is very difficult if not impossible to stop them.

In your own struggle against Satan where is safety on your list of priorities? Are you willing to do anything for Jesus as long as it is safe? Do you have limits on your obedience to God? Or have you signed up to be God's Kamikaze? The Japanese word "Kamikaze" can be translated "Divine Wind."

If you are God's Kamikaze, the wind of the Holy Spirit blows you into every encounter of the day and accomplishes His purpose even if you lose your life here on this earth in the process.

A most quoted thought about the war with Satan is this: I have read the end of the Book and we win! So we win with Jesus even if we die in the battle. A profound truth is this: All of the soldiers in God's army are called to die to this world before they ever enter fray! We die before the battle starts and then no one, even Satan can harm us!

God’s Sacred Highway!

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A good road will be there,
and it will be named
“God's Sacred Highway.”
It will be for God's people;
no one unfit to worship God
will walk on that road.
And no fools can travel
on that highway.

No lions or other wild animals
will come near that road;
only those the [Lord] has saved
will travel there.

The people the [Lord] has rescued
will come back singing
as they enter Zion.
Happiness will be a crown
everyone will always wear.
They will celebrate and shout
because all sorrows and worries
will be gone far away.

Isaiah 35:8-10

It is very discouraging to discover that you are on the wrong road! The trip has been going well and then one wrong turn and pretty soon you are lost, don't know where you are or really where the road you are on will take you.

If the sun is up it is sometimes easy to figure out that you are going east instead of west. But in the darkness it might take a long time before you know you are going the wrong way.

The parallel is not perfect, but in some ways the Bible is God's GPS. The Word of God can tell us where we are, which way we are going and how fast we are traveling in that direction. When I get off track in my car the GPS frequently tells me to make a u-turn and go in the opposite direction. That is what the Bible says as well.

If you are not on God's Sacred Highway and are lost, not knowing where you are or where you are going, stop, pray and open up the Bible while asking for directions! Jesus has promised that if you seek Him, you will find Him!

I especially like the part about happiness, singing and celebrating because all sorrows and worries will be gone away while traveling that road! If you are not there now, turn your heart and life over to Jesus and get on God's Sacred Highway!