At the Cross

Matthew 27:46 
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Do you know that it was at the cross that Jesus addressed His Father as "God" for the first time? He had always addressed His Father as "Father". But at Calvary's tree, He addressed His Father as "God".

Jesus lost that Father-Son relationship when He was representing you and carrying your sins at the cross so that today, you can call God "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15) and have a loving father-son relationship with God forever. Jesus was forsaken by God and His world became very dark on that lonely hill so that in your darkest hour, God will always say to you, "I will never leave you nor forsake you!" (Hebrews 13:5)

At the time when Jesus needed God most, God turned His back on Him. God had to turn His back on His Son because His eyes are too holy to behold all the sin that was in His Son's body. And because God turned His back on Jesus, He will never turn His back on you. Instead, you will see God's face of favor shining on you all the time!

Jesus also took your place of no protection at the cross. For the first time, He gave up divine protection so that you can have it every day of your life! And because He became sin, He took your curse at the cross so that today, as you take His gift of righteousness, you receive only blessings from God.

Jesus received the full brunt of God's wrath in His body once and for all when He carried your sins. All of God's anger and condemnation fell on Him, consuming all your sins until God's wrath was exhausted.

Today, God is not angry with you. The body of Jesus absorbed everything - your sins, curses, and God's anger and condemnation. So live life expecting to see not the judgment, but the goodness and blessings of God!

Thought For The Day

Today, live life expecting to see not the judgment, but the goodness and blessings of God.

Not Judging

1 Thessalonians 5:9

For God appointed us not into wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

 

When you think of Sodom and Gomorrah, what comes to your mind? God's wrath and fiery judgment? The truth is that God was not all out to judge the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was not on a sin hunt. He was, in fact, on a righteousness hunt!

This is evident because if God was on a sin hunt, He would not have allowed anyone to stop Him. But we know that He let Abraham in on what He was about to do and even allowed Abraham to entreat Him.

Abraham asked God if He would destroy Sodom if He could find 50 righteous people there. God's reply was, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." (Genesis 18:26) Abraham then asked God if He would destroy the city if there were only 45... 40... 30... or 10 righteous. And each time, God's reply was that He would spare the place for the sake of the righteous.

Abraham stopped at 10. If he had gone down to just one righteous man, I believe God's reply would have been the same because He was on a righteousness hunt.

Now, if God was not all out to destroy then, how much more today, when God has already judged our sins in the body of His Son? At the cross, Jesus exhausted all of God's fiery judgments until there was no more fire of God's wrath left for us!

Today, God is not judging us for our sins because He has found the righteousness of the one Man - Christ Jesus. So do not let anyone tell you that God judges you for your sins and punishes you with cancer, car accidents, business failures or brokenness. God would be unjust if He punished the same sins twice - in Jesus' body and then in yours.

Beloved, God is not out to judge you but bless you today, not because you deserve it, but because Jesus was judged and punished in your place!

Thought For The Day

God would be unjust if He punished the same sins twice - in Jesus' body and then in yours.

Idols in our Lives

Judges 18:24

What do you mean, ‘What’s the matter?’” Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”

 

 

 

Micah made idols and hired a priest to run his personal religion. When the men of Dan took his idols and priest, nothing remained. What an empty spiritual condition! An idol is anything that takes God's place in a person's life. Some people invest all their energy in pursuing money, success, possessions, or a career. If these idols are taken away, only an empty shell is left. The only way to protect yourself against such loss is to invest your life in the living God, whom you can never lose.

Decisions

I have made my mind up to have peace whatever it takes, whatever i have to change and alter in my life...

I am going to have peace!

I have made my mind up that am going to enjoy my life.

Jesus you paid a  terrible price for my freedom, and am not going to sit by and allow the devil to steal  from me...  i will no longer sit by and make excuses when you have said this is "my inheitance"  my birthright..

I am making a decision that whatever it takes, I WILL ENJOY THE KINGDOM! I WILL HAVE RIGHTEOUSNESS PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLYGHOST.

Reach Out

Mark 5:34
He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.

“Who touched me?” This question came from Jesus as He was crowded by the multitudes trying to get close to Him. One little woman reached out in faith and touched Him, expecting to receive a tangible transfer of His anointing.

When she did…she was healed! Why? She believed what she heard about Jesus healing the sick. The thought of receiving a “touch” from Jesus sparked insight and faith. “When she heard about Jesus…” (Mark 5:27).

She spoke the truth again and again in her heart. Mark 5:27-28 says, “She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’”

She didn’t give up…she pressed on. She could have given up, but she touched Jesus and received His healing. We are to act in faith just like this woman did. Do you need a tangible transfer of His anointing on your life? Reach out to Him in faith.

When the woman reached out, a tangible transfer of power took place. She came into the Lord’s presence and touched His anointing and power…and was healed...all because of her faith!

 

Rod Parsley Devotion

My Healer

I was feeling a bit low today,  more like unsure of what is happening around me. One thing i know is that God never leaves his own. I read this on Joseph's Devotional, and it was just what i needed. Thank you Lord!

 Isaiah 53:4
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Imagine the dreadful disease leprosy eating a man alive. The poor leper in Matthew 8:2 could stand his suffering no longer, so he came out into the open to look for Jesus. He needed to know if Jesus was willing to heal him. When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and said, ‚"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.‚" (Matthew 8:2) The Son of God looked at the outcast with love in His eyes, reached out His hand, touched him and said, ‚"I am willing; be cleansed.‚" (Matthew 8:3)

Perhaps you are suffering from some disease and wondering if God is willing to heal you? You are not sure if He is willing because just as you have seen people get healed, you have also seen people not get healed. My friend, don't look to people's experiences. Look to the cross! As surely as Jesus bore away your sins, He also bore away your diseases!

I want to give you a solid foundation today for believing this truth. In Isaiah 53, the chapter on our Lord's crucifixion, it says in verse four: ‚"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows‚". Now, let's learn a little Hebrew. The words ‚"griefs‚" and ‚"sorrows‚" here mean ‚"sicknesses‚" and ‚"pains‚" in the original Hebrew text. So Isaiah was referring to physical healing.

Once, I asked a Jewish friend to read this verse in his Hebrew Bible and tell me what it means. He told me that his Bible says clearly that Jesus has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.

If that is not enough, look at Matthew 8:16-17: ‚"... they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'‚" Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4, saying that Jesus took our ‚"infirmities‚" and bore our ‚"sicknesses‚". The context here refers to physical healing.

My friend, if you will just believe this truth, your days of sickness will be over. You will walk in greater health because the One who has surely borne your sick- nesses and carried your pains says to you, ‚"I am willing, be cleansed!‚"

Thought For The Day

As surely as Jesus bore away your sins, He also bore away your diseases!

Great News

Psalm 11:4

Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

There's big news. Actually, it's huge news. Mind-blowing, in fact. It isn't the political unrest and instability that's all around us. It isn't a killer flu outbreak that threatens to immobilize us. It isn't the crime that's spinning out of control. And it isn't the latest headlines concerning the weather, the economy, the environment, or any of the other fragile systems that seem to be coming apart at the seams.

So what's the news? Just this: The Lord is in His holy temple, and the Lord's throne is in heaven. No matter how much bad news there may be out there, and no matter how much worse it seems to be getting day after day, none of it changes the fact that God is still on His throne and in control.

Yeah, but do you know how bad our federal deficit is? Yes, but God is still in control. Yeah, but have you read the latest forecast from the Center for Disease Control?

Yes, but God is still in control. Yeah, but have you heard what kind of weapons are floating around out there? Yes, but God is still in control. Yeah, but...yeah, but...yeah, but.... The great fact remains, despite our world's crumbling condition, God is still in control. And that's great news!

So the next time you open a magazine, log onto the Web, or tune into the nightly news...the next time you hear a headline that makes your gut clinch and your heart ache...the next time you feel fear welling up and rising in the pit of your stomach...the next time that happens, remember this: The Lord is in His holy temple, and His throne is in heaven.

Mighty and Sovereign Lord of all, keep reminding me that You're in control of everything that comes my way-today and always!

What does this passage reveal to me about God?

What does this passage reveal to me about myself?

Based on this, what changes do I need to make?

What is my prayer for today?