The
Jews proclaimed Jesus as King; and then, a short time later, they demanded His
crucifixion. Many humans are fickle at best, and easily persuaded to change
their mind with the flow of popular views.
However,
the real culprits in this story are you and me. Our sin caused Jesus Christ to
leave His home in glory, live a hard life of many sorrows, suffer torture, and
submit to His death on the cross. Our pride, rebellion and unbelief is what
inflicted all of that pain on our Savior.
I
cry every time I think of what I did to Him. I have a nativity set in every
room in our home, which reminds me to praise Him continually for His ultimate
sacrifice on my behalf. He is so worthy of all of our praise.
We
inadvertently injure others by our thoughtless words and actions as well. When
I am tempted to complain about the moments in life that I feel broken,
confused, crushed, fearful, strained and abused, I just think of the cross.
What
Jesus did for us is monumental. We endure an imperfect life on this earth,
ruined by the ravages of sin in us and to us by other sinners. However, none of
us have ever suffered what Jesus did for us (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Jesus'
resurrection ensured our joy and eternal glory, as well as His continual
comfort during our lifetime on this earth, if we simply maintain a spirit which
is continually humbled and contrite (Psalm 51:17; Matthew 5:4).
He
came to heal the brokenhearted by the anointing of God's Holy Spirit in His
humanity (Luke 4:18). We are free from discouragement, despair, brokenness, abandonment
by God, etc. because of Jesus' obedience to our Father's will (2 Corinthians
7:12; Psalm 34:18).
Prayer:
Father
God, teach us to live in humility and obedience to the direction of Your Holy
Spirit each moment of the day. We want to rest on the Rock of Christ and enjoy
Your peace and joy continually, regardless of our circumstances (Luke 20:18;
John 3:16-18). Thank You for including Gentiles in Your plan of Salvation along
with Your chosen Jewish nation (Romans 11:19, 25; John 15:5; Matthew 12:20;
Revelation 7:4).
We
look forward to serving You in Your Kingdom for eternity (2 Timothy 2:12). Draw
our family, friends, neighbors and associates to Jesus for salvation, and
continue to show us Your great and mighty works that You prepared for us before
You even created the earth (Jeremiah 33:33). Thank You for Your sanctifying
work in us as we completely surrender to Your will.
Thought
for the Day:
We
so often resist the love and grace of God, and many forfeit His blessings for
most of their life because they do; but if we allow our self to be broken and
humbled, He will fill us with His presence and continually provide for us each
moment of our day.
-
Matthew 26:7; John 10:18; Hebrews 10:19-22
