2 passages I have been meditating on lately...
Matthew 27:45-54
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
Romans 8:31-39
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A picture I took this past month at Golgotha,
the hill outside the city walls in Jerusalem
where Jesus was dragged and crucified...
Oh just think about the love that is ours found in the life and death of Jesus our Lord, the son of God. May it be our heart's sole desire to understand him and know him more and to make him known to others! His Word is marvelous and the humility in his death is astounding (Phil 2:5-11). The fact that we went from sinners, the extent of our vision ending in death and nothing more, to an ability to spend all eternity with our Savior is something that should make us ever thankful and full of gratitude for receiving that which we have nothing in us to deserve. The earth shook and the veil was torn, and we again were (and are) in communication with the God the father! We were separated from the one thing we needed, and the Lord had mercy on us - his creation - and our guilt, sin, and shame was pardoned once and for all. And the same Jesus who died for us is now sitting at the right hand and interceding for us to the Father, and nothing can separate us from that love. How do we respond to such a message? I am not anything other than a character, I do not know more than any of you. What I do know is we were bought by the blood of our creator - which makes no common sense. We were brought into a relationship with our creator that we did everything NOT to deserve - which for those who know relationships, also makes no common sense. So just ask yourself: What can separate you from the love of Christ? It's beautiful, wonderful, and so rich and full of mercy - that God would turn his back on his only son to save us...his creation. We had fallen so far but God redeemed us and now we have him interceding on our behalf to the father and the opportunity to know him better and tell of him to all he brings into our life...and that is our mission, our vision. May these passages inspire you as you study his word, may this short message encourage you, and may you always ask yourself: How great is the mercy and grace that God our Father had on us? How great is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ? May the reason we breathe be to sing of his glory, to glorify him in everything we do, to tell others of what he has done.
Go. Serve.
Eph 3:19
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