Sunday, April 29, 2018

MOURN AND GRIEVE

Today’s Reading: Zechariah 11-12

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

The Altar area inside Saint Anne’s Church, next to the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda, Jerusalem. The message is that God’s altar is the Cross of Christ. Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:14,15).

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: Zechariah 12:10

And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

 

God is speaking through Zechariah. The words, “I WILL” make it clear that God is committed to the time when the people of Jerusalem will look on Him (GOD) “whom they have pierced.” This was written 500 years before Jesus was crucified, and while the people looked on Him as He hung on the Cross, it refers to a yet future time when Jesus will come again. They will see Jesus in His resurrected Body, in which the wounds of His crucifixion are visible. Other prophets wrote of the One Who was “wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5-6), and “They pierced My hands and feet” (only in crucifixion, and written centuries before any historical record of this method of execution). Read King David’s prophecy found in Psalm 22:16-18. To read one of the records of the crucifixion of Jesus, read John 19:34-37 and then read John 20:26-31 (prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and 13:6). Make no mistake about it! Nobody other than Jesus fulfills these prophesies. Dr. Mark Hitchcock, a former attorney and now a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, appeared on the 100 Huntley Street telecast with a message called, “The Shadow of the Cross.” He documents the impossibility of the words of the prophets, including Zechariah, coming to pass as they did by accident (click here for Dr. Hitchcock).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, my heart is so very sad as I think of how You must have grieved “as One mourns for His only Son.” As Jesus is there, one with You at Your throne, You can see the marks on His hands, His feet, and His side. You gave Your “only begotten Son, that whosoever [me included] believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). I pray that the scenes of Your Cross would continuously be before me. I believe “In Him” because You have shown me the One Who is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6a) through the words of the prophets, the Apostles, and Your Holy Spirit’s revelation to me. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You, Jesus!!! Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I first saw the gruesome picture (below) when Dr. Paul Maier was my guest on the 100 Huntley Street telecast. Dr. Maier has a Ph.D. in semitic languages from Harvard and is professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. The photo shows a nail which was embedded in the ankle bone of a crucified man, according to the archeologists. There must have been a knot in the wood into which it was driven that bent the point of the nail. Of course, the Romans crucified others, including the two thieves who died on the crosses on either side of Jesus. Dr. Maier’s book, Skeleton in God’s Closet, is based on the facts of Jesus’ crucifixion, and then a fictional story evolves when it is claimed that the bones of Jesus have been discovered. This book, in my opinion, is most captivating, stimulating, and well researched. I guarantee that readers will find it very difficult to put it down having begun to read (click here to purchase Skeleton in God’s Closet).

Yours to focus on the most important event in human history, prophesied by the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and fulfilled by Jesus only!!! (read with me 1 Peter 1:18-25),

David

In the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, this heel bone with a nail pierced through it is on display, giving evidence for the ancient Roman practice of execution on a cross. Oh Jesus, how I grieve over my sins. You suffered crucifixion so that I, and all who believe in You, could be forgiven, saved from eternal death, and given as a free gift, eternal life. The Cross of Jesus was God’s altar where His sacrificial Lamb was sacrificed in human time, but in reality was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

21 thoughts on “Sunday, April 29, 2018

  1. The thought of that nail being pierced into Jesus’ ankle bone is heart wrenching. We are free because of His sacrifice for us. Holding to Your love for us, Jesus, and ever thankful for Your grace. Wishing all saints a blessed day.

    Gracious Uncertainty
    By Oswald Chambers

    …it has not yet been revealed what we shall be… —1 John 3:2

    “Our natural inclination is to be so precise– trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next– that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.

    “Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life– gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God– it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, “…unless you…become as little children…” (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “…believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me”. Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in– but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.”

    My Hope Is In You by Aaron Shust with lyrics
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNZFctND4jY

    • Amen Beverlee Kay.

      1 PETER 1: 18-25 Is the most important event in human history!
      We are truly redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ!
      Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, love and grace for us all,
      in Jesus’ Holy Name, we believe and trust in Your Will, Amen!

    • Dear Beverlee Kay
      TY for the phone numbers, some are not working anymore…
      I simply fall down when I think of the guards nailing Jesus to the Cross. It brings tears to my eyes,
      I would not be able to give my child up for that purpose of nailing him on a cross, BUT God did give up His only Son, that whosoever believes, will have eternal life….
      Only God could have done this thing, in the choir there is a song “AIN’T THAT JUST LIKE THE LORD” TO DO WHAT CAN’T BE DONE, TO MAKE A WAY, WHEN THERE WAS NONE”
      Yes God did that for me, for you, for EVERY man, woman, child in the world,
      Lord I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, Word and deed;, I am sorry, please forgive me, I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour! amen

  2. I have been having some long seizures over the past month this week I went
    to my specialist Dr Tenderwood, and she is going to take me off one medications.
    In a couple of weeks I am going on a medication called Fycompa . I pray and hope
    this medication will work. When I was young, and started having seizures they were
    called uncontrollable the medication helps some.
    Beverlee thank you for uploading the song My Hope is in you it is good.

    • We pray for our dear sister-in-Christ, Lianne, Lord God, that this new medication she is about to begin will lead to a remarkable breakthrough in her healing and huge reduction in her seizures. Watch over and protect her, Lord. In Jesus’ precious Name. Amen, amen, and amen.

    • Dear Lianne
      I do pray for you during the days, I think about you and how you are managing and I ask the Lord to show you His presence, He is with us all the time, I talk to Him all the time!
      Lianne you also need to know that your blog has touched many people suffering from seizures also…..by sharing, it seems a bit more bearable and praying for one another is exactly what God says we are to do.
      Lord we trust You to look after Lianne, guide her and her doctor to the right medication, may they both see YOU AT WORK as you minister to Lianne, we thank you Lord and we ask that You, Lord, will give Lianne the energy to continue and may this new medication work very well for her..
      we thank you Lord for our daily bread, we thank you for the forgiveness of all our sins, we thank you that You not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
      For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever amen

  3. Oh! the pain and suffering, Jesus is incomprehensible! I cannot even imagine it!

    What Great Love!!!

    You “Paid a debt You did not owe; I owed a debt, I could not pay!!!

  4. May God release His Healing Spirit to you, Lianne. My sister is now controlled by medical intervention. Thank You Lord.

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