You heard right, He needs us to know.. WE put Him on death row. Like every criminal, of course He insisted His innocence. And just as ordinary incarcerated criminals often wear patterns of contrasting stripes, He was no exception.. well, the only exception is that He wore stripes without being afforded the shirt others get to display theirs.. because the stripes He wore - He BORE upon His back.. not printed, but ENGRAVED. He called up His Father & explained how desperately He willed if it were possible for justice to be paid, but only another way, and then followed that by saying.. nevertheless, Father you know what must be. No one takes my life, I lay it down freely as a ransom for the captive souls of mankind.. my spirit is willing but my flesh grows weak, so not my will, but your will. And reluctantly, but resolutely His Father gave a firm reply intent on not revealing His Sorrow, & expressed to His Son that He wouldn't bail Him out for the great need that He look justice in the face, accepting the sentence to settle all the charges He was up against. When the day of His execution come, people were invited to see it carried out & among them were some who loved & some who hated Him. The opportunity for final public statement had come & by what He said it was clear that He held no ill-will against another but instead He fully accepted all blame on Himself, all by His simple statement: "My Father.. (Their Judge).. find it in your heart to forgive them as I, because they don't know the weight of their error." Then, although the extreme pain He was under could be seen with every bodily reflex and facial expression.. not once did He even remotely seem to try & draw sympathy in anything He said lowly or loudly.. not once pleading for mercy from the pain. He took it like a man.. & it wasn't His to take.. but He did it with His whole heart, thinking of others pain ahead of His own.. til His final breath. Thunder began to clap, the ground began to quake.. & the sky let the rain drops flow as if Heaven was sobbing & creation itself travailing in pain along with Him. But it's no surprise, because the Hands they'd nailed to the cross were the same Hands that had shown all of creation the TLC it needed to survive & thrive.. so that in concert all at once the earth & skies temporarily seemed to come unglued. I also think of it as vehicle shocks or a buffer, if you will. Where God the Father was able to disseminate some of the righteous indignation/anger He'd held back.. it's as if this commotion served a sort of purpose to absorb the natural inclination of a Father's Fury over His own. Though misdirected, it was directed appropriately.. again another sign of His great, GREAT mercy!
With all the evil things going on in the world lately, let this serve as a reminder that God keeps his covenants and fulfills his promises!! Watch as an ancient river is reborn in about 2 minutes in the heat of a dry, Israel Desert, just as Prophesied in Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." Trust that a Red Sea moment is just around the bend.. What a Awesome God! (have some more thoughts on this I'll add in comments)
FREE RESOURCES (PERSONAL FAVORITES)
New Christian Starter Kit (tons of tools) (https://ufile.io/6bmbh8p5)
Ever Increasing Faith eBook https://ufile.io/f83mkjw2
Faith That Prevails eBook https://docdro.id/tlly3GJ
The Prayer of Faith eBook https://docdro.id/4uRUUyN
Faith’s Checkbook: 365 Daily Devo https://docdro.id/mtsOiyw
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer https://ufile.io/m6x3fz1l
The Power of the Word of God eBook https://ufile.io/yq9hzlau
How to Study the Bible eBook https://ufile.io/zh6wo610
20 Minutes a Day Bible Reading Plan https://ufile.io/205ynfgf
Bible Study Self-Guided Worksheet https://ufile.io/qa42oqr1
Bible Study Notes - Interactive Sheet https://ufile.io/h3iqgck9
RESOURCES FOR YOUR LITTLE ONES:
Inspiration & Hope Coloring Book https://ufile.io/08iwr78q
52 Interactive Bible Stories (Awesome) https://ufile.io/kx4r4os4
More resources will be added, ongoing, to strengthen your Shield of Faith & sharpen your Sword of the Spirit!
Footage collected a while ago of a dry riverbed spring back to life after centuries in the Negev Desert of Israel, near the Ramon Crater. The Prophet Isaiah said this in Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."
This site is in the region referred in scripture as Beersheba, which means "Well of Seven." Abraham called the place Beersheba because it was there that he entered a covenant agreement for a well of water for posterity and marked the event by offering seven lambs.
Years later, Philistines buried the well because it was dry but Abraham's son, Isaac, came to reclaim the well and water began to flow for him again. The Philistines wanted the well for themselves once water sprang up for Isaac so they took it and Isaac moved a short distance down and claimed another spot in which a well sprang up. Each time Isaac allowed the Philistines to take possession of a well,...
One day a young man got a letter from an attorney stating his grandmother left an inheritance for him. To his astonishment, it was $50,000 as well as "my Bible & all it contains." He was thrilled to get the $$$, however, he knew what the Bible contained & because he rejected religion he wouldn't open it, but put it up on a high shelf. He lost the money gambling & the next 50 yrs he lived as a beggar, scraping for every meal. Eventually he became so destitute that he had to move out of his house. As he cleaned out his room he reached up to get the old Bible he'd stored away on a high shelf & as he took it down it fell on the floor open, revealing a $100 bill between every page. He'd lived as a beggar all because of his own prejudice & disregard to His Creator.. all while thinking he knew what the Bible "contained." Hosea 4:6 says My people perish for a lack of knowledge.
Keep your head up & your faith strong!
-Pastor Kenny
