Tag: crucifixion

Scripture for Thursday, November 23 ~ Gratitude for the Greatest Act in the History of Mankind

On By In Inspirational, Saved from hell, Thanksgiving2 Comments

The scripture for today, November 23 (11/23), is 1st Corinthians 11:23ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ “

How the hearts of Jesus and his closest friends must have been breaking that night. How the apostles must have struggled to hold back the tears. They all knew the religious leaders in Jerusalem were plotting to execute Jesus. They knew he was taking his life in his hands to be in the city ~ their lives too. How could they part with the one they now knew was the Son of God but also the Son of Mankind ~ their dearest friend?

When we take the communion every Sunday, where are our thoughts? What we’re going to do after church? What someone sitting near us is wearing? How the person in front of us is blocking our view?

How many of us during the communion weep as Jesus’ apostles must have wept ~ and perhaps even as Jesus himself wept?

Oh, Jesus, it was my sins that caused you to go through that horrible death!  My punishment! I fall at your feet. I worship you with undying gratitude.

 

Scripture for Saturday, September 30 (9/30)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Inspirational, Life of Christ, Saved from hell, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 30, is Luke 9:30f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”

Hebrews 5:7 says something very startling to most people. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.”

Jesus did not look forward to going to the cross, even though many thousands of others had died that way. Why was it different for him? Because he had to take on all our sins as though he had committed them himself ~ every lie we’ve told, every time we cheated, every insult, every slander campaign against another, every adultery, every murder ~ everything ~ all our sins! The sins of the whole world! How could he bear it?

Not only that, but he had to experience both physical and spiritual death. Spiritual death means being separated from, being forsaken by God. What a terror to experience!

And so, a few weeks before his crucifixion, as he prayed on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to him and they spoke about his death. They surely gave him the courage to do what had to be done to save you and me who deserve hell.

The crowning glory of this conversation with Moses and Elijah is that God reassured him by announcing, “THIS IS MY SON! WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN! LISTEN TO HIM!”

Jesus was to fulfill the Law and Prophets all the way to the cross. He had promised people, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). He was determined to keep that promise.

Indeed, on the cross, he said, “It is fulfilled.”  By the time Jesus returned to heaven, he had fulfilled the Old Law introduced by Moses by living it perfectly ~ something no man had ever been able to do. And by the time he returned to heaven, he had fulfilled every prophecy about his birth, life, and death, the first such prophet being represented by Elijah.

Oh, the things Jesus went through to try to save us from hell. Do we do yard work or go shopping or a picnic or a club gathering on his day ~ Sunday?  Let us instead fall at his wounded feet and worship him.

 

Scripture for Sunday, September 24 (9/24)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, faith, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Saved from hell, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 24 9?24), is Luke 9:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Romans 6 explains this phenomenon best. We are to put our old self to death ~ to crucify that part of us that sins and doesn’t care, that part of us that puts ourselves first (verse 7) ~ in imitation of Jesus dying. Once we decide to put that part of ourselves to death, we are buried, just like Jesus was buried (verse 3 & 4a).

And then, “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (verse 4b). Why? “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (verse 5). Having been “brought from death to life” (verse 13) through baptism, we have been born again!

Jesus’ physical death on a physical cross had a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death. We understand that. Our watery death has a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death also. There is another spiritual death called the second death in Revelation 21:8. If we go through the first spiritual death at baptism, we will not have to go through the second spiritual death in hell. We will have lost our life of sin and in the process saved our souls.

Only a spiritual mind understands this. And how amazing it is.

 

 

Scripture for Friday, September 22 (9/22)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Inspirational, Saved from hell, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 22 (9:22) is Luke 9:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Songs-First 140-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“And he [Jesus] said, ‘The Son of Man[kind] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Jesus did not look forward to his death. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death….” Loud cries!

Yet, in today’s scripture, shortly after he announced to his apostles that he would be killed in Jerusalem, over in verse 51 it says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

Jesus had to use every bit of self-determination he could muster to face that terrible death he had to suffer for us. What kept him pushing forward instead of doing something else? He knew he would be saving us from hell by taking our punishment for us. Then his work would be done ~ all would be fulfilled ~ and he could return to heaven and his Father.

Is it difficult for you to get up on Sunday morning to go to church or would you rather be doing something else? Is it difficult for you to read the Bible every day or would you rather be doing something else? Is it difficult for you to invite a friend to church with you or would you rather be doing something else? Do you love Jesus as resolutely as he did and does you?

 

Scripture for Thursday, September 21 (9/21)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, power, Satan, Saved from hell, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 21 (9/21), is Hebrews 9:21f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“In the same way, he [Moses] sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

We may not murder or steal, but do we omit going to see someone who is sick or needs our help? Do we sin by attitude with impatience on the highway or grocery store line, or jealousy? Sin in the Bible is always associated with blood.  When we sin, Satan celebrates by paying us all that he is and has ~ death.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). This is what we earn for sinning.  This is what we deserve for sinning.  Death means separation. In a physical sense, we are separated from people living on earth. In a spiritual sense, we are separated from God in heaven. God is life, and cannot dwell with death. It is not in his nature.

When we sin, Satan holds us hostage and dares anyone to redeem us from our slavery to him. He wants blood. Satan was not bargaining for anyone to be stronger than him. God sent his own Son to do the job. Jesus gave Satan what he wanted ~ his blood, and collected the death wage. Then he tricked Satan.  Jesus broke free.  He came back to life.  He destroyed Satan’s power over us! He not only broke free of death,  he was willing to take us with him if we will follow him out.

What power! What a mighty God we have! On Sundays, do we even care?

 

Scripture for Monday, September 18 (9/18)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, death, Inspirational, judging, Scripture, truth, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 18, is Leviticus 9:18ff as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

changes-in-worship-cover-medium“He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar on all sides. But the fat portions of the ox and the ram ~ the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver ~ these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering, as Moses commanded.”

The Law of Moses did not have just Ten Commandments. It did not just have tithing and meeting on the Sabbath. It had over 600! They were intricate commands that had to be kept exactly. The above is just a small portion of what they were supposed to do for a particular sacrifice.

James 2:10 says, if someone keeps all 600 but breaks one, he is guilty of breaking the whole Law. We have to stone people for adultery and kill animals when we sin. Yet some religious leaders continue to dip back into the Old Law to copy showy types of worship ~ priestly clothing, candles, choirs, trumpets, tithing,  incense, etc. ~ all commanded. But if they do that, they must keep all of the Law of Moses. They can’t just pick and choose which ones they like.

Jesus said it would pass away when all was fulfilled, and he fulfilled it by being the only one to ever keep it perfectly, and fulfilling all the prophecies about him. Hebrews 7-8 say the Old Law passed away and Jesus introduced a New Law.

Old Testament worship was showy and elaborate. New Testament worship is just the opposite.

Mark 14:26 says that after Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper/Communion, “When they had sung a [single] hymn, they went out…”

Acts 2:41-42 says, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Acts 20:7 says, “On the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people…”

I Timothy 4:13 says, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.”

Nothing complicated about it. Just simple worship. Worship the way Jesus and his apostles worshiped. The way  God showed us to worship him. Are we worshipping God or ourselves?

Scripture for Friday, September 15 (9/15)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Saved from hell, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 15 (9/15), is 2nd Corinthians 9:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Can you imagine dying in the place of your enemy?  Taking your enemy’s punishment for the wrong your enemy did against you? Now try to imagine making your child die in the place of your enemy ~ your sinless, innocent child.

 It is indescribable.

     It is unimaginable.

         It is unthinkable.

             But God did exactly that.

How can we thank Him for his indescribable gift?

We fall silently at His feet and worship.

Scripture for Thursday, September 14 (9/14)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Satan, Saved from hell, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 14 (9/14), is Hebrews 9:14f as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

“How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts [sins] that lead to death so that we may serve the living God! For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant [testament] that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance ~ now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant [testament].”

This is a very interesting passage. Just previous to this, the author was talking about the blood of bulls and goats being sacrificed for sins under the old Law of Moses [Testament]. But now that the Son of God, the Lamb of God, had been sacrificed for our sins, we no longer need any more blood sacrifices.

Further, Jesus’ sacrifice was retroactive! It reached back to the faithful who lived under the first/old covenant [Testament] and set them free from their sins too.

Aren’t you glad God did away with the old Law of Moses with all its 600+ rules and regulations, and its requirement for animal blood sacrifices, and brought us a law of grace? What a God! What a Savior! Jesus did all this to save us from hell.

What a God!

What a Savior!

He paid the ransom of death.

Jesus did all this to save us from hell.

Have a day of gratitude.

 

Scripture for Thursday, August 17 (8/17)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn blessings, good works, Inspirational, persecution, Thanksgiving1 Comment

The scripture for today, August 17 (8/17), is Romans 8:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Medium-“Now if we are children, then we are heirs ~ heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (see also Galatians 3:16)

I Peter 4:12-14 says we should not be surprised when persecution happens, “as though something strange was happening to you.” If we are insulted because of Jesus, we are blessed.

Notice, we are co-heirs with Christ IF we share in his suffering. Have you shared in Jesus’ sufferings lately? Have you ever in your entire life shared in Jesus’ sufferings? If not, you haven’t told very many people about Jesus loving them or stood up for Jesus when people around you were making fun of him or using his name as a swear word.

Are you sinning by omission? Do you huddle with your church friends all the time and brag that all the friends you have are Christians? Jesus didn’t. Jesus went out to “seek and save the lost.” Are you seeking?

Sometime today, say something to someone about Jesus ~ someone in a store, at work, a neighbor, a fellow passenger on a bus. They probably won’t insult you. This may be exactly what they’ve been looking for. But if they do insult you, accept it graciously. Then go on your way feeling honored to be a “co-heir with Christ” by “sharing in his suffering.”

Try it. I dare you!

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Scripture for Sunday, July 23 (7/23)

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, judging, Satan, Saved from hell2 Comments

The scripture for today, July 23 (7/23), is 1st Corinthians 7:23 in the New Testament of the Bible.

REV-Cover-Kindle“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Where were you bought from?  Hell.  Romans 3:23 says everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. God, who is perfection, cannot dwell with us. It would be like light dwelling with darkness. It cannot be done.

But God loved you so much, he figured out a way to make you sinless and escape hell. He sent his son, Jesus, to live that perfect life that is impossible for you to live.  In the Garden of Eden, God said, “The moment you sin, you die.”  Yes, our souls die. Now, Satan holds us for ransom. Who can possibly pay it?  Only the perfect Jesus can and did. He took the blame for all your sins onto himself and died spiritually and physically in your place to buy you out of hell.

Then God told the world through his Bible that, if you will believe this really happened and follow his will for you, he will consider you perfect too. Until that happens, you are a slave to what men tell you to do ~ and of Satan and of hell.

You were bought at a great price ~ the blood of Jesus Christ.

.

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monthly newsletter+free book……http://bit.ly/katheryn

 

#hell, #ransom, #satan, #purchase, #slavery, #sin, #punishment, #death, #soul, #crucifixion