“For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:16-17
As I was praying this morning, the Holy Spirit placed something on my heart. I began thinking about Jesus and God. I began thinking about how Jesus was tortured through each mark on His body. I though of how his flesh was shredded and how His blood was pouring out of each wound. How he was slapped, spit on, kicked, and hit. I thought of him hanging on that cross. Then I began thinking about God. I thought of the hurt and sadness He felt while His one and only Son was here on this earth being tortured and crucified. I thought about God’s amazing love as He waited, as He watched and allowed this to Happened to His perfect only Son. His Son in who was well pleased.
Then I thought about watching one of my boys being tortured and crucified before my eyes. I don’t know if I could bear the thought of one of my sons being tormented and killed. Watching them suffer, seeing them in all the pain. I don’t think I could stand it. My heart breaks with the thought of what happened to Jesus. God allowed this to happened because He knew it was the only way to save us from our filthy sin. He knew our sin was so great that He would have to sacrifice something greater to save us. I thought about how much God loves us to allow this to happen. What an amazing God we serve! What an amazing love He has for us! God loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son…… AMAZING!
thedailylily.com 
And Jesus hung there on the cross and said: (Luke 23: 34) “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
CF, what a thanksgiving when we enter into a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus the Christ, and allow His Spirit to lead and guide us in our daily lives. He didn’t ask for our sons to be crucified. As the former pastor of Happy Home Church taught, it would have been for nought. He asked for our love in return by living a life of obedience to Him for the good of all. When we follow the teachings of Jesus and allow our lives to be part of His plan it brings about the beauty of The Lord’s prayer to earth.
The Lord’s Prayer Words
(traditional)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen
What I find so amazing is that God made life easy for us but we choose to make it hard for ourselves and those we love!
God knew that NO sacrifice was pure enough in all the earth except HIS precious son – Jesus Christ. Sin divides us from God. In Ezekiel 18:4, … The soul who sins will die.” In order that we are wired into heaven and have life, God sent Jesus to earth. With his death on the cross he made the connection between us and God. He took on our sins so that sin did not block our access to God. With Jesus taking our on our sins, we were again connected to God the Father. Death was lifted from our shoulders. Life was given us as Jesus’ blood split out for us. Oh Jesus!! His sacrifice made the connection.
We look at what happened in the Holy of Holies of the temple at Jesus’ death with the veil being rent In Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary it says about the Veil being Rent as mentioned in (Mt 27:51 NIV):
This was the thick and gorgeously wrought veil which was hung between the “holy place” and the “holiest of all,” shutting out all access to the presence of God as manifested “from above the mercy seat and from between the cherubim”-“the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest” (Heb 9:8). Into this holiest of all none might enter, not even the high priest, save once a year, on the great day of atonement, and then only with the blood of atonement in his hands, which he sprinkled “upon and before the mercy seat seven times” (Le 16:14)-to signify that access for sinners to a holy God is only through atoning blood.
The atoning blood – Jesus’s blood on the cross now gives us access to the HOLY OF HOLIES – GOD all Mighty. John 14: 6 Jesus saysNew Living Translation
… “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
We who are called by HIS name allow Jesus to make the connection between us and God. Although we are not worthy – It is a gift – grace connection. Thank you Jesus! We are unworthy, but you are worthy! May our connection make our light shine before men. May they choose the connection.
It is amazing to think on what Jesus did and that he did it willingly because He wanted to do what the Father wanted.
“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” John 10:17 -18 NLT
Not just dutiful, but His attitude toward the Father’s wants and our/others’ needs is a benchmark for us to follow.
At the Camp Meet Pastor Henry preached and taught on the precious blood of the Lamb Whose blood was spilled from His wounds….His hands, feet, scourged back, and from the crown of thorns on His precious head. Then Pastor Henry said that, like Eve (wife of Adam), was taken out of the side of Adam, so the Church…the Bride of Christ…was taken out of the Blood that poured forth from Jesus’ heart through His punctured side. That picture has stayed, vividly, with me since I heard it two days ago and I have thought about that, frequently.
Then this morning, wonder of wonders, and confirmation of the preached Truth, in a very recent book of prophetic writings by Dr. Gwen Shaw I read, “Just like Eve was taken out of Adam’s side, so you have been birthed through the Holy Blood that flowed from My earthen body, (like yours), to become My Bride, created in My likeness. My DNA is in you!!! I am “flesh like your flesh and bone like your bone.” ‘A Spirit hath not flesh and bones’… I told My disciples when I appeared to them in the Upper Room after My resurrection. So, My Beloved, we are “made for each other. Eve was made for Adam but I,THE BRIDEGROOM …I was “made” for Eve, (THE BRIDE).
Christ goes on to inspire Dr. Shaw to write….you may have companions and loved ones in this world but none can fulfill the GOD-VACANCY that is inside of you, because it is reserved for Me and Me alone. ‘Deep calls to deep.’
So, neither father, mother, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, grandparents…no one in this world can take the place of Jesus Christ in our lives. We were bought with a price and we are His. So we (both males and females in the Body of Christ) need to stop acting like the world and start living to please our ‘HUSBAND-To-Be’
I think Psalm 42:1,2 describes the longing for that ‘God-vacancy’ to be filled: “As the deer longs for streams of water,so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?”
I think longings for things other than God can be deceptive and lead us astray. Just like the expression, “The grass is always greener on the other side”…we can spend so much time and energy longing for something that is really an illusion…and when we get to the other side where we thought the grass was greener, we sorrowfully find out that it’s just as brown and dry as where we came from. And so we go looking and longing for another grassy spot…always longing but never satisfied.
Only the well that the Lord has for us to drink from can really satisfy that inner pull and longing.
I love the Bible verses of Galatians 5:22-23; it reminds us to be more Christ-like. But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, paience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. We all need to practice these 9 virtues daily.
Thank you for sharing these verses and this reminder Kay. Practice says to me to pay attention to doing it, keep at it, exercise diligently.
Thanks, Kay! Bringing the fruit of the Spirit into our day to day lives, not just when we are around God’s people but always….in our professional contacts, in school, in the market place….that’s the real test if we can display that inner virtue in everyday challenges. You are right. Practice, practice, practice.
Thanks, Kay, for the scripture in Ephesians. I’d like to share the footnotes, from my Bible, on these scriptures. Read with me, “The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control–we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our life to his (see John 15: 4,5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law–to love God and our neighbors. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you? Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-products of the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God’s law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.”
Thanks Kay for sharing that awesome scripture with us. It’s a wonderful scripture to keep on our hearts. We all need the fruits of the Spirit to grow in us.
Thanks Kay for reminding me. Your words made me think of this verse that I have been trying to hold on to….Psalm 119:7 NLT “A I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!”