04/18 1 Peter 3:18
18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
ALIVE
Jesus is alive. He is seated at the right hand of God. He is alive and lives in you and me. He guides us, trains us and calls us to His service-Love God with all your heart and mind and soul and love others as yourself.
04/17 John 19:30
30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
WILLINGLY
Jesus knew what His role was to be and He willingly went to the cross. He died willingly. He gave up His spirit willingly. He loves you and me. He calls us to come to Him, receive forgiveness for our sin and begin a relationship with Him.
04/16 Matthew 27:46-54
46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 47Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.” 50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. 54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
AMEN
JESUS IS LORD!
04/15 Amos 8:2-3
2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.” Then the LORD said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. 3 In that day the singing in the Temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”
PUNISHMENT
People talk about who God is and how God does and refute the idea of punishment. There is punishment and it is coming when Jesus comes back. He is coming back in judgment. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
04/14 Isaiah 53:3-5
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
TOOK
He took my place. He took your place. While we were dead in our sins Christ died for us, once for all, the perfect for the imperfect, paying a price we could not pay, to give us a relationship we could not earn. Jesus is Lord and yet He willingly died for you and me. He took our place.
04/13 Luke 23:33-34
33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
FORGIVE
His call to each one of us is to forgive. Forgive mean people. Forgive, forgive, forgive. As you pray today, ask the Lord to show you how to forgive what seems to be unforgivable. Forgive. That is Christ like.
04/12 Matthew 27:26
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
PAIN
He took the pain we deserved for our sin. He suffered, the just for the unjust. Without a word he was beaten almost to death even while we were in our trespasses and sin Christ suffered and died for us. Turn to Jesus. He loves you. Ask Him to come into your heart and forgive you of your sinful, selfish ways. He will and He is faithful and righteous to save us.
04/11 Nehemiah 9:17-19
17 They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, 18 even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.
19 “But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night.
FAITHFUL
Our Lord is not like us. He is faithful. He is with us. He is long suffering. We need to take stock of where we are and repent and return to Him. Jesus is Lord. Keep short accounts with God.
04/10 Ephesians 5:25-26
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.
CHURCH
The Church belongs to Jesus. We are called to be a part of and do our work for Him in His church. Love the Church. Love Jesus. Love one another. Jesus is Lord.
04/09 Luke 6:35
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
DIFFERENT
This command changes us. We are different than the world. We are short-lived creatures who are called to love one another even those that don’t love us. We are to live like Christ. Jesus is Lord.
