Asking For It
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many.
(Heb 12:14-15)
When Jesus was on the cross, He said 7 things that I think its worth listening to and understanding it. It will change your life and attitude towards relationships especially between us and God and between people. You may disagree with me but can I say that I think, alot of negative reactions non-christians have towards the Church and Christians today is something that is self-inflicted. Christians have been over bearing, condensending and insensitive to the feelings of others. When sharing about Jesus to others, we have ignored the spatiality and have disrespect other view points and values.
At this point of time, we are on the cross roads of life. We often reach this point in our walk in God and I believe this are moments we need to take stock of our actions, speech, values..we need to examine ourselves first. The only thing we do when we are at the cross-roads of life..is to apply the cross on our wrong priorities, misplace judgments, etc and die to self !.
So lets see what did Jesus say and we will know how to respond when we are standing at the cross roads of life.
So the 7 things that Jesus said when He was on the cross
When Jesus was on the cross, He cried out loudly that "it is finished". He declared that through His own sacrifice, the curse of SIN has been destroyed. He declared that the condemnation of Satan is everlasting. He declared that His sacrifice for us...He is the propitiation of our lives back to God ! What does this mean to us ? It means that in our journey to succeed, to significance begins with dying to self. Most of the time, a new beginning only is birth when the old passes away. Isaiah declared, " In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. " The moment pride dies, the moment we stop trying to play God, we will see God. Only in Holiness, we will see God. Only when our character shines with Jesus, only then will people see Jesus in us. The power of Christ is in You. Because JEsus is in You...and that power is waiting to be unleash ! LET GO !
2) "...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 (NIV)
At the cross roads of life, sometimes God let us go through desert moments. It is as though nobody cares. Nobody bothers. Forgotten ? Eventhough it feels that way, it is far from the truth. God is always faithful to you. It is just that we fix our eyes on the wrong refuge.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.” (Psalms 142:4-5)
At times God will allow us to feel forsaken because your eyes are on things and people that cannot lift us and deliver us. He wants you have the right focus in life...Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith
(Heb 12:1)
3) "...Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing..." Luke 23:34 (NIV)
When Jesus was on the cross, in pain, in struggle against the ridicule of the crowds of people. His life slowly slipping away, what did He do ? Would you forgive those that don't even think they need to be forgiven ? Would you be loving while you are in pain ? Would you still have compassion on people eventhough your know how fickle and evil people can be ? . I asked God one day, why is it so painful when people decided to stop coming to church ? All Jesus said to me was this.."THIS IS HOW I FELT on the Cross..This is How I feel when people turn their backs on Me". Yet Jesus said, forgive them. He chose to not let bitterness set in. Bitterness and offenses is NUMBER 1 tool that the enemy uses to drag you out of the grace of God !. Jesus set the standard for us. Forgive and keep on loving. Hard to do..I can't do this..That's why we need to die to self !
4) "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 (NIV)
If Jesus did not walk through His calling and purpose on earth, He would not be able to bring us through it too. On the cross roads of our lives, we need to grit our teeth and praise God through it all. We need to keep the faith and keep walking through. It is guaranteed that you will come out better than before. In the midst of the mess, it is God's guarantee that He is working all things out for your good !...You love Him don't you ? You are called by Him right ?. So keep it. Because when you walk through, you can bring others through it too ! You will have the skill to help others reach Jesus too ! You will be able to coach others to overcome in Chris too !
5) "...Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.." Luke 23:46 (NIV)
Giving up to God is not giving in. Faith and trust is two different things. Faith comes by listening to the voice of God. It is doing what God said to do. If God said to wait..and you wait..it is because of faith too. Trust on the other hand is not faith. Trust is LETTING GO and LETTING GOD. It can be hard to decide when in life to trust and when to have faith when trust is letting go and faith is fighting on.Jesus' submission on the cross was both. He trusted God enough to allow His own death but had faith that God's plan was being fulfilled. When only God can fulfill the vision, we need to allow the death of our own will, in order for Him to do it.
6) "Woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." John 19:26-27 (NIV)
On the cross, Jesus considered those He left behind. How great is that ! This is how we gain compassion. Many people give when it is convenient and whenever they have. Learn to go into God and draw all that is needed to see people be blessed ! Our live is not just our own. We are not our own. Time to transfer ownership of our lives back to Jesus.
7) "...I am thirsty." John 19:28 (NIV)
Finally, we are 10% our own effort. 90% is found in our relating to others. As much as we do not depend on others for life, we need people as in relating and in connecting with others, we will discover our purpose and our talents and abilities are deployed effectively to aid others too ! In giving, we receive and am blessed ! Sow and receive !
We need to change !
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