freely You gave it all for us
surrendered your life upon that cross
great is the love poured out for all this is our God
lifted on high from death to life
forever our God is glorified
Servant and King
recued the world
this is our God
watch "this is our god" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2D0g4Kizto
I have been meditating and focusing on these lines from the song THIS IS OUR GOD by Hillsong. And since I first heard it and my heart really feels the heart beat and message of the song. The message of sacrfice. The message of a servant who died on the cross on my behalf. And the message of love. The love of Christ for all of us. Do you believe that Jesus loves sinners? Me? I do believe, for I am a sinner and I personally feel his unfailing love. The underserving love that I am only receiving from Him alone Jesus.
Song says Jesus freely and willingly gave His life for us or for the salvation of sinners. I praise Jesus for that!!!
Whenever I listen to this song...
...the image is very clear on my mind seeing Jesus hanging on the cross and being nailed to it...
...bleeding all over his body...
... and looking at me saying in a struggling voice because of lashes and pain He is bearing...
..."This is how much love I have for you, I could bear all the pain just to see you alive and with me in heaven"...
The heart beat and message of this post is to tell you that Jesus is for you and for me!! He came to this world not to give judgement but to give salvation to those who will believe in Him and especially salvation for the sinners that have been imprisoned for so many decades because of the deception of evil. Jesus brought assurance of heaven citizenship to us when He was on earth fullfilling the prophecy of a coming messiah. Man took the initiative of committing sin and it was God who took the first initiative of forgiving that sin. Came down from the heaven just to restore the broken fellowship of man with Him and freely gave up His own life on the cross to show that our sins are forgiven and He is willing to accept us no matter how much sin we have been going through.
"Take heart son, your sins are forgiven" - Jesus
-That Is Our God-
Can You Pray?
ReplyDeleteThe prayer isn’t magic; it’s not a spiritual secret formula. It’s a way of focusing on the important things about God and His desire to have a relationship with us.
“ Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for all my sins. As much as I know how, I ask you to come into my life and help me learn to know you, trust you, and love you.”
It’s a simple beginning. Notice it’s all about receiving. Lots of our promises to “turn over a new leaf” or “start living a new life” are relying on our will and determination to accomplish these things and are doomed to either fail or turn us into self-righteous judgers of others. This is about receiving His forgiveness for our past and the power to live out our future. It all comes from Him. That’s why it’s humbling and why we are all spiritually underprivileged when we come to God.
This, by the way, is what being “born again” is all about. This term is widely misunderstood today. Everyone is born once. We are born a second time by being born of God. This isn’t about starting over; it’s about learning a whole new way of living, depending on God for everything. It means having God born in us through His Spirit so we can begin to understand His purposes and find the power to do what He asks.
It is really important for a sinner to acknowledge what Christ has done on the cross for us!! He offered salvation all we need to do is accept Him wholeheartedly!! And If we ignore that precious offer of our Lord we will end up suffering in HEll... I have a book entitled "JUST GIVE ME JESUS" by Anne Graham Lotz. And she discussed in her book how hell looks like and how does it feel to be there. HEre I wrote it down so just read it if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteJesus spoke more often about hell than he did about heaven. but no one talks much about hell today. No one likes to think about hell, few even really believe in hell. But the bible teaches the hell is a real place, prepared for the devil and his demons, and those who refuse God's gracious offer of salvation. Through faith in Jesus Christ.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF PHYSICAL AGONY: mental suffering and emotional sorrow. Jesus described it as a gnashing of teeth and weeping.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF INSECURITY AND FEAR: the bible describes it as a bottomless pit, an abyss, imagine trying to desperately to grab onto something-anything-to stop the fall. Hell is a place where one lives with a constant, concious awareness of imminent danger.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF INSTABILITY: it is described as a lake of fire. a lake changes, fluctuates, with no firm surface on which to stand, Hell is a place lived in uncertainty.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF DARKNESS: It is totally devoid of light. Have you ever heard people quip that they want to go to hell to be with their friends? You might want to point out that while their friends maybe in hell, they will never be seen. It's pitch black in hell; there's nothing to distract people from their suffering and sorrows and fears and insecurities and instability. When we are sick, our suffering seems to intensify in the middle of the night. We long for the daylight to come. Somehow just the light of day makes us feel better. But in hell the dawn never comes.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF LONELINESS: Each person is there alone. He or she maybe able to hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth of others, but there is no one to talk to, no one to cry with, no one even to yell at. Each person is isolated in hate and bitterness and jealousy and pride and selfishness and meanness.
*HELL IS A PLACE OF DISSATISFACTION: Jesus described it as a fire. It may be literal fire that creates sensation of burning or just an overwhelming yearning for God, for love, for joy, for peace, for life that will never be. it must be the equivalent of being intensely thirsty yet never having a drop of water or intensely hungry with never a crumb to eat.*Hell is a place of eternal separation from God. Each person who goes to hell will be separated forever from the source of life, the heart of love, the very One for whom he or she was created.
God doesn't SEND anyone to hell. You send yourself there when you refuse his gracious offer of salvation: "for God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" -John 3:16.
But if you refuse to believe, you will perish. You will go to hell.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS.
Our desperate need for eternal life is met in Jesus Christ, all you and I need to do is receive Him. Jesus also meets our need for life. Because of the sinful condition which we are born. We are not only separated from God now but also comdemned by our sin to an eternal separation from God. Which the bible calls hell "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already becasue he has not believed in the name of God,s one and only son"
- John 3:17-18
I pray that all of us would see each other in Heaven..
GODBLESS
Freedom isn't free at all, that it comes with the highest of costs. The cost of blood. - Queen Gorgo (300)
ReplyDelete"Our little time of suffering is not worthy of our first night's welcome home to Heaven."
ReplyDelete- Samuel Rutherford
"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
- Abraham Lincoln
"We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them."
- Charles West
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
- John Shedd
"The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you'll ever get to God."
- Max Lucado
"If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?"
- Stephen Levine
The Nail-Pierced Hands - written by Eddie Cloer
ReplyDelete"'See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh
and bones as you see that I have'" (Luke 24:39).
"If you had risen from the dead and wanted to show your friends that you were really alive, how would you demonstrate your resurrection to them? In the upper room on that first Sunday evening after His resurrection, Jesus used two lines of evidence to prove that He was alive after being dead—the proofs of feeling and fellowship.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples on this occasion, those who had not yet seen Him since His resurrection thought that they were seeing a ghost. Reading their thoughts, He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself . . ." (Luke 24:38, 39). John said that He then "showed them both His hands and His side" (John 20:20a). At this invitation to touch Him and confirm that He was really present with them, the disciples were filled with amazement. They did not fully comprehend the truth of His physical presence.
Luke said, "They still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement" (Luke 24:41a). It was then that our Lord utilized His second line of evidence, that of physical fellowship. He asked for something to eat, and they gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He ate it before them. By physically touching His hands and feet and by watching the Savior eat before them, they received overwhelming proof of His resurrection. None of them could deny it.
Can you imagine what this scene must have been like? Can any of us picture what it would have been like to touch the nail-pierced hands of Jesus? According to the Gospel records, His scars were the only things Jesus showed His disciples after His resurrection. To look upon them would have been sufficient, but to touch them was the privilege of all privileges.
What did the nail-scarred hands of Jesus say to those who beheld them? What do they say to those of us who have read about them? Jesus never hid the scars of His crucifixion from His disciples. He let His companions see the scars and learn from them.
First, the nail-pierced hands of Jesus proved His crucifixion. Jesus had been physically nailed to a cross. He had remained upon the cross until most of His blood had drained from His body. His side had been punctured by a spear. In the worst kind of execution, He had offered Himself for our sins. When Jesus reached out to His disciples with His pierced hands, He was saying to them, "I am the One who died upon the cross. You may confirm that this is true by touching the prints of the nails in My hands." He allowed His disciples to see and touch the marks of the passion in His body. His hands proved His crucifixion!
Second, they proved His victory over death. Jesus stood before them in a physical body that had mortal wounds in it, yet He was alive. For Jesus to stand among them and say, "Come, feel My hands and feet" was the most convincing evidence of His resurrection and His triumph over death.
Some of those in the upper room had witnessed Jesus' crucifixion. They had seen much of the ghastly, horrible, pain-filled affair! A few, no doubt, had remained at the cross until He was dead. Luke said that some of the women even followed Joseph and Nicodemus as they carried His body to the new tomb (Luke 23:55). There could be no doubt, no misunderstanding. The One standing before them was the Jesus whom they had seen crucified. His nailed-pierced hands were clear demonstrations of His victory over death. He had died, but He had walked out of the tomb and now was standing before His disciples!
Third, these nail-scarred hands proved His authority as our Savior. These hands gave full evidence that Jesus' word was good. Every promise He had made could be relied upon and completely trusted. He had told His apostles that He would be crucified and that He would rise on the third day (Matthew 16:21). His hands said, "I have kept My promise." He was the true and living Savior of the world; His resurrection from the dead proved it.
After convincing them that He was alive from the dead, Jesus began to tell them what He wanted them to do and what would happen next. He confirmed His authority with His nailed-pierced hands and then began to command them. They did not argue with Him. They did not say, "How can we evangelize the world? We are just a small group." The evidence that Jesus had given them was so complete that they knew that this One who had just risen from the dead could empower them to do whatever He needed them to do.
Fourth, these nailed-pierced hands proved that salvation came at a sacrificial price. There is no cheap salvation. Eternal life can only be procured through nail-pierced hands, nail-scarred feet, and a punctured side. Anyone who has seen the nail-printed hands of Jesus can never be the same. Paul wrote, "And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:15)
The cross not only presents to us the way of salvation, but it also helps us to visualize the true nature of the Christian life. The cross dynamically motivates us to be devoted to Christ and our service in His kingdom. Jesus only needs to show His scars, and people become martyrs for His cause. Perhaps the disciples did not understand this truth until they saw His wounded hands. He had told them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). Did they understand His words? Did they see their importance? Surely, they did after they had seen His nailed-scarred hands. Later, Paul would write, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Colossians 1:24). Paul knew that following Christ often meant suffering; it might mean laying down one's life to give the message of salvation to others. Let us remember that Jesus' invitation to follow Him may very well be an invitation to suffer for His name's sake. Salvation does not come easily or without pain. Whenever a soul is won to Christ, a drop of blood can be found nearby.
Lord, when I am weary with toiling,
And burdensome seem Thy commands,
If my load should lead to complaining,
Lord, show me Thy Hands—
Thy nail-pierced Hands, Thy cross-torn Hands,
My Saviour, show me Thy Hands.
Christ, if ever my footsteps should falter,
And I be prepared for retreat,
If desert or thorn cause lamenting,
Lord, show me Thy Feet—
Thy bleeding Feet, Thy nail-scarred Feet,
My Jesus, show me Thy Feet.
O God, dare I show Thee
My hands and my feet?1
With His scars, Jesus convinced the ten apostles and the other disciples who were present of His identity and His resurrection life. A week later, His scars moved Thomas from unbelief to belief, and he cried, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Jesus' hands, feet, and side tell us of the peace between heaven and earth that He has won for us. They issue His wonderful call to follow Him in service, sacrifice, and devotion. Think today of all that is bound up in the phrase "He showed them both His hands and His side" (John 20:20a)."
v- v- v- v- v
If you are not convinced that Jesus is the Christ, or if you do not know what your mission is, just look at His nail-pierced hands.
1Brenton Thoburn Badley, "Show Me Thy Hands"