Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

In John 13, we read about Jesus preparing for Calvary. He met with His apostles and washed their feet. He shared His last supper with them. Then, Jesus assured His apostles that He would give them anything they needed in order to carry out their work of the gospel (John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-24, 16:26). His best promise was of our continued relationship with Him and a deeper relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).

 

Jesus guaranteed His disciples a home in heaven, and prayer as a tool of communicating with Him, the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth, His future return for His Bride and then His second coming with His Bride. After the last supper, Judas left the room on his way to fulfill his destiny of betrayal, impetuous Peter made a bold statement of faith in Christ, and Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times.

The same Jewish people, who lauded Jesus as King when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, insisted on His crucifixion and death. They ultimately did not recognize Him as their Messiah. However, the fact that Jesus is God is indisputable (Hebrews 1:4-14). Eye witness accounts and even secular historians document the fact that He lived, died and rose again in order to free us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Now, He fulfills the role as our High Priest in Heaven (Hebrews 2:17,3:1).

Jesus already went through the veil of death. He can sympathize with every trial and temptation we ever experience on earth, because He already suffered these same issues (Hebrews 2:5-18). Even living back in His glory in Heaven, He is always involved in our daily life, because He lives in us (Acts 7:55; Colossians 1:27). Jesus is the first fruits of the children of God (James 1:18). We are coheirs with Him of the glory of God (Romans 8:17). He ministers in Heaven on our behalf as our advocate (1 John 2:1).

This all gives us confidence in our faith, because He provides us with His mercy and grace (Hebrews 11:1). Jesus described his relationship with us as the Vine and the branches (John 15:1-8). His life flows through us each moment of our life. He did not leave us helpless on this earth, but provided the Holy Spirit to comfort and indwell us (John 14:16,17). The Bible is full of prophecies and promises about and by Jesus that give us hope for our resurrection.

 

We stake our spiritual life on these prophecies, and we live in abundant life because of His promises (2 Peter 1:4). God also gave us His Word to settle disputes of dogma (Matthew 21:42). He uses it to increase His spiritual influence in our life, and to give us hope for the future (Mark 11:17; Jeremiah 20:11). His Word is a light and a lamp, which gives us direction and clarifies our walk in Him (Psalm 119:105). His Word endures forever (1 Peter 1:25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the assurances You gave Your apostles comforted their fearful hearts when You promised that their sorrow at Your loss would soon turn to joy (John 16:20).  After a time of agonizing prayer in the garden, You concluded with the words, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Your submission to the Father is an example to us of how to live a life of victory and joy, regardless of our circumstances. As we submit to our Father’s will for our own life, we will gain eternal life through You.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus employed the Bible to resist temptation and He gave us this example to employ in our life as well. - Matthew 4:4,7,10

 

 

 

A Luxury We Cannot Afford

There are many opportunities in life to cling to bitterness to try to assuage the pain of some betrayal, unkind word, abuse or rejection. It feels so good to grip this anger, revenge and unforgiveness and to send evil thoughts toward the person who mistreated or exploited us. We like to tell anyone who will listen about the incident and paint the picture of our nemesis in dark, evil colors.

The problem with availing our self of this luxury is that bitterness, and all negative emotions, are a root, which when planted in the soil of our soul – our mind, will and emotions – start to grow like a weed. They displace any good fruit of the Spirit, which already grow there (Hebrews 12:15). Bitterness causes us to miss out on the grace of God. It robs us of our vitality in our spirit, soul and body (Job 10:1). It tarnishes our reputation and spreads a bad attitude to others as well (Hebrews 12:15). We suffer the most when we do not forgive our offender.

Most of us experience wounds at some time in our life. Our parents, coaches, school chums, teachers, friends, neighbors, mate, church leaders, doctors, grocery clerks, employer, or any other member of our community that we love, trust, respect and want to gain their approval may have ridiculed, embarrassed, undermined, criticized or discounted us in some way or another. We feel hurt, which triggers anger to protect our self. If we cannot express that anger outwardly, we nurse it inwardly and it turns to depression, resentment, bitterness, complaining and irritability (Job 7:11).

Avoiding the offender for a while may help us to heal quicker. If we happen upon the offender, we may feel the pain all over again, but we can choose to forgive again. If the offender passed away or moved out of our life, reconciliation may be impossible; however, our willingness to resolve the issue sets us free from the bondage of unforgiveness. We can always expect people to act humanly. If they do a human thing and offend us, we can forgive them simply because we are human also.

Forgiveness is the only way to heal these negative emotions, attitudes and behaviors consuming our life. We have a choice to allow the seeds of bitterness to take root in our soul, or to avail our self to the grace of God and allow Him to love that offensive individual through us. This strengthens Christ’s power in us. We relinquish our role as victim and free our self from the power the offender had over our life. We do this by first putting our self in the offender’s shoes. Why did he/she act this way? Would we do the same thing in a similar situation?

We probably will not forget the incident, we may have to forgive that person often, but it leads to a better understanding of human nature, empathy for their shortcomings and compassion for others who suffer injury. Forgiveness restores our unity with God, helps us to foster healthy relationships, puts us in a better frame of mind, heals our body and lowers our risk for addictions. Forgiveness enhances our physical, mental, emotional, behavioral and spiritual welfare.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, remind us that forgiveness is obedience to You and does not depend on our feelings or on the one who offended us. They may never change or even repent of their behavior, but forgiving them will change our life. Forgiveness takes that person off the throne of our life and away from the center of our focus and replaces You in that lofty position where You belong. You keep all of our tears in Your bottle and you record the cause of them in Your journal (Psalm 56:8). Your love for us overcomes every slight or devastation we can ever experience in life.

Thought for the Day:

Showing mercy means that we release our self from the bondage of unforgiveness. - Ephesians 4:31

Unreserved Forgiveness

Read: Hebrews 12:14-15  

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:32

When someone hurts me, I want to strike back. I often struggle to forgive the offense, until I remember that forgiving does not have to include forgetting. The memory of the painful affront may linger in my heart, but I can still make a conscious decision to absolve the offender, just as God readily forgives my sins against Him. Whether the assault is a major event such as rape or physical violence, or if it consists of less abusive, habitual impositions such as lies and betrayal, we can still forgive.

Even though we should erect boundaries to keep ourselves safe from continued abusers, forgiveness means to pray for those who hurt us and to show them kindness (Matthew 5:44). We can only do this through God's love for them, which dwells in us. It is only by sincerely wishing them the best, that our healing is complete.

Prayer:

Lord, make me a vessel of Your peace; when I am reviled, help me to bless; when I am wounded, help me to forgive the offender.

Thought for the Day:

Bitterness is a boomerang that harms no one but me.