A Better Place

"But he [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement [punishment] for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."1

On a much greater scale the world today is a better place because on Good Friday 2,000 years God the Father gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cruel Roman cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind. Thank God that includes you and me. And now, because of Jesus' death, all who put their trust in him will live forever in Heaven with God where there will be no more sickness, sadness, sorrow or death.

Thus Good Friday and Easter Sunday—when Jesus rose from the dead—are two days that changed the world forever.

1. Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV).

Acts International : Daily Encounter

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HE WALKED

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify, crucify". He could hear the hatred in their voices, these were His chosen people. He loved them, and they were going to crucify Him. He was beaten, bleeding and weakened. His heart was broken, but still He walked.

He could see the crowd as He came from the palace. He knew each of the faces so well. He had created them. He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear. But now they were contorted with rage and anger. His heart broken, but still He walked.

Was He scared? You and I would have been. So His humanness would have mandated that He was. He felt alone. His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed Him. He searched the crowd for a loving face and He saw very few. Then He turned His eyes to the only one that mattered. And He knew that He would never be alone. He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting at Him, throwing rocks at Him and mocking Him and He knew that because of Him, they would never be alone. So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd. The sounds of His cries echoed even louder, the cheers of the crowd, as His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow. Loudest of all was the still small voice inside His heart that whispered "I am with you, my son", and God's heart broke. He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end His suffering, but instead He asked God to forgive. Not to forgive Him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting Him.

As He hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death, He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd, but also, the face of every person yet to be, and His heart filled with love.

As His body was dying, His heart was alive. Alive with the limitless, unconditional love He feels for each of us. That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me, I remember His walk.

When I wonder if I can be forgiven, I remember His walk.

When I need reminded of how to live like Christ, I think of His walk.

And to show Him how much I love Him, I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to Him, and I walk.

AllWorship : Author Unknown

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Was Jesus Ever Politically Correct?

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."1

It's amazing how, in our day and age, so many are afraid to stand up and be counted when it comes to taking a public stand for that which is morally correct, based on biblical principles and the Judeo-Christian ethic, for fear of not being politically correct. To bash Christianity, the Ten Commandments, the Word of God and even Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" has become acceptable (and even popular) among certain circles, but try condemning gay marriage or other religions such as Islam and it becomes a different story.
But did Jesus Christ ever allow himself to be so controlled? Hardly.
Jesus was a man of passion. He hated the abuse of God's house so he drove out the money changers with a whip. He hated evil and sin, not simply because these were opposed to his Word but because they were, and are, damaging to those whom God loves—us. But he always loved sinners and was against anything that hurt them, kept them in bondage, or hindered their growth. And he was hated for his stand.
"In Jesus' case, we have the story of the holiest man who ever lived, and yet it was the prostitutes and lepers and thieves who adored him, and the religious who hated his guts."2

Why? Because he loved people and was opposed to religious dogma and programs that kept people in bondage and used them for their own ends rather than helping them to grow.
"People were offended with Jesus because he violated their understanding of religion and piety. The religious of his day were particularly incensed that he deliberately healed on the Sabbath…. They accused him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having tacky taste in friends. As Gene Thomas is fond of saying, 'Jesus was simply not your ideal Rotarian.' It is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this planet and one of the chief complaints against him was that he was not religious enough."3

In other words, Jesus was totally committed to people's spiritual and personal growth and was strongly opposed to anything that stopped or hindered that growth. Political correctness was never ever a part of his agenda.
As an English Bishop once said, "Wherever Jesus went there was either a revival or a revolution. Wherever I go, they serve tea."

Question: Do we, the members of our church, want to start a revival or a revolution? Or do we just prefer to serve tea?

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the courage to stand up and be counted as a true follower of Jesus Christ and never be afraid to state clearly, in love, what your Word, the Bible, teaches—and help me to live it first. And help me never to allow myself to be controlled by today's politically correct nonsense. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 2 Timothy 4:1-3 (NIV).

2. Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World (Downer's Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1979), p. 39.

3. Ibid, p. 40.

Daily Encounter : Tuesday, April 7, 2009

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Relationship with God

The preaching of the Word is the primary means of grace by which we get to know God. Public worship is vital for spiritual growth. Of course, there are other important means as well-such as personal prayer, Bible reading, and meditation-but knowing God involves daily private worship that is guided and built up by weekly public worship.

We too have a relationship with God because of his grace alone, in Christ. God gives us faith to bind us to him, and he invites us to get to know him intimately through Jesus, who freed us from our slavery to sin.

Prayer:

Lord God, may your people get to know you better as they hear your voice through your Word. May we be listening everyday as we learn to live faithfully for you. In Jesus, Amen.

Today.

TIME ALONE WITH GOD

Have you ever seen a couple and thought, "Wow, they look like siblings?"
If given the opportunity to spend a little time with them, you may find that not only do they look alike, they think and act alike.
They speak the same language, have the same purpose, visions and goals. They are simply in sync. They have found their "rhythm", if you will. I witnessed36 of the 52 years my parents were married (until death he did part) and they made it a priority to serve, learn, get to know and spend time with one another.
Ephesians 5:25 admonishes husbands to go all out in their love for their wives, exactly as Christ has done for us. A love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love for us makes us whole and so should a husband's love toward his wife.
His words should evoke her beauty. Everything He does and says is designed to bring out the best in her which is to his advantage since they are one, striving for that harmony.
Our fellowship with God is parallel to the marital relationship. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become the mirror image of Him. We willbegin to think, act and speak like Him.
Spending time with God should never be a task or chore. It's not the next bullet on your to do list or a quick consult when you're either in distress or looking for answers.
Our time with Him is our existence. It's where we receive instruction, get clarity and direction.
It gives us the opportunity to know Him and become of like mind. We become aligned with His will, His purpose and His plan for our lives. Our time with Him teaches us to love unreservedly. It heals the wounds of our past and makes us whole.
His words spoken during our time alone affirms and builds confidence while at the same time demolishing fear and inferiority. It establishes trust so we can undoubtedly know His character and rest boldly in His abilities.
It disconnects us from confusion, frustration and our daily emotional roller coasters. It gives us access to His peace and puts us in the calm of it all.
Our time with God exposes our hidden motives, impure hearts, and personal agendas, which help keep us in a place of humility, thereby bringing us all to repentance that we may experience 'the refreshing from His presence'(Acts 3:19).

by Pastor Latrice Pace Allworship.com

Yeah, we should spend more time alone with God!

Thank God For My Shoes

Thank God for my shoes--they fit only me. I woke up one day and I realized that there were many things about my life I was not satisfied with.

And I said to myself, "Why should anyone envy me and want to be in my shoes." They don't know how far I've come, they don't know what lies ahead of me, and neither do they know how dissatisfied I get with myself from time to time.

People don't know the troubles that you've had or the price you had to pay to get to where you are. All they know is that they wish they were like you.

Why should you wish you were in anybody's shoes when you don't know how they fit? When you've worn your shoes for a while, they take the shape of your feet and align to the way you walk. If you were to wear my shoes, you will not be comfortable in them. So I stopped wishing that I am in someone else's shoes because they might not fit. Rather I thank God for my shoes, because they fit!

I have learned to be the best in what I do, and I know no one can replace me anywhere. I am an original. God is not in the cloning business. He makes originals. Make the best of what you do. Besides, you have this beautiful life to live only once.

Live it to the fullest.

-- an anonymous author in Nigeria

"...........for in the image of God has God made man." Gen9:6

What's Up? I Love You!

Words That Feed Us

When we talk to one another, we often talk about what happened, what we are doing, or what we plan to do. Often we say, "What's up?" and we encourage one another to share the details of our daily lives.

But often we want to hear something else. We want to hear, "I've been thinking of you today," or "I missed you," or "I wish you were here," or "I really love you."

It is not always easy to say these words, but such words can deepen our bonds with one another.

Telling someone "I love you" in whatever way is always delivering good news. Nobody will respond by saying, "Well, I knew that already, you don't have to say it again"! Words of love and affirmation are like bread. We need them each day, over and over. They keep us alive inside.

Henri Nouwen Daily Meditation