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LORD JESUS GAVE HIMSELF

Passage of ReferenceGal 1:4 who gave himself for our sins

Apostle Paul in the very introduction of his epistle to the Galatians draws an important point with the above few words. The epistle of Galatians is written to believers who were 'active' in 'doing' things for God. This went too far that they even kept the law of Moses which Christ made obsolete when He died to it. Eventually, these believers started to look at what they have done and not what Christ did, to ratify their salvation.

 God made no provision for flesh in Salvation. All boasting is excluded. Paul in this epistle had to graciously remind his readers that the phase of Man 'doing' and 'giving' things to God is over. The old testament marked by weak, erroneous, insufficient, imperfect efforts that man could give to God is of no avail. The old was all about what man could give to God; what he could give in exchange for his dying, dammed, & disdainful soul. Though the law did make provision for man to give, nothing what man could give including the blood of countless offerings was good enough.

 And this is just when light shinned through. When man is at the end of the law, grace takes over. When man could not give anything for his redemption, how wonderful that GOD GAVE! It was God who should have demanded anything from us, but He gave everything required for our salvation. And Paul in these few words illuminates this wonderful grace that Lord Jesus GAVE Himself.

 Yes Lord Jesus gave Himself. That's quite a powerful statement. Because this was only the beginning of all 'givings'. Because with Him, God has given us freely all things. Out of all the gifts that God has given, He is the indescribable gift. The gift of gifts, all other gifts in one. And all of this giving was under the backdrop of the law which demanded man to give. Just like God always does, He himself fulfilled what man couldn't.

God had envisaged the incapable, sinful nature of man to give anything in return to God. For when God decided to give, He gave even before the world began. And Isaiah the prophet wrote in this way "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is GIVEN".

The Lord himself tried to explain this to Nicodemus. Nicodemus understood the Lord as a "teacher come from God". But the Lord said something more profound, "For God so loved the world, that He GAVE his only begotten Son." With these words, The Lord drew strong lines differentiating Himself from all the prophets of the old. The prophets and teachers were all sent of God or come of God. But that's a whole lot different when God GAVE the very delight of His heart- His one and only Son. Words would fail to describe what it was for the Father to give His beloved.

The majesty of this grace shines even brighter with the next words Paul had to say - "Who gave Himself FOR OUR SINS." For when Christ sacrificed Himself, when he held back nothing and even sacrificed his unapproachable glory; it wasn't for something more precious than He himself is(for there's nothing), not even at least for the preciousness of gold or silver; but it was for the very same obnoxious and abominable sins of His eyes. Yes, his Everything for our Sins!!!

I can't possibly understand how the Lord of Glory and my shameful sins should be brought to the same pedestal? How the Father should even turn down the agonizing cry of His Son for a sinner like me? For "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Its an exchange quite un-comprehendible : JESUS for our SINS. Stark but yet true. 

Mat 20:28 -The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to GIVE his life as a ransom for many.”

King Asa and God

* 2 Chron 15: 9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel *when they saw that the**Lord his God was with him.*

Many people joined the revival because of a single man ASA. When they saw Asa, His life, His behavior, his godly discipline, his pursuit of holiness and subjection of his enemies: they couldn't help but see that the LORD God was with him. It was not simply Asa, but they along with Asa were looking at God. His life became the evidence of things not seen. Through a visible Asa, the people saw the invisible God. This led to people to respond in faith and and revival was born. 

The people lived in a period when they realized no God, no teachings of priest or no law.(v3) Things they knew about God was simply vague or just on paper or in head. 

All changed when they saw the life of Asa. His life became the substance of things hoped for. His faith in God could not be evaded. His faith led others to believe. He was the light pointing out to a city build on a hill, an eternity and a world to come, another kingdom. His life became what people otherwise would not see.

*they saw:* Gen_39:3; 1Sa_18:28 ; 1Ki_3:28 ; Zec_8:21-23; Act_7:9-10, Act_9:31

For me as a Christian, I see that the Lord is not simply with me, but in me. Over the new testament, it becomes more powerful and an imperative for me as a Christian to live like Asa. It's no more me, But CHRIST IN me. Lord Jesus came to be WITH us -Emmanuel, but when He left this world, He sent His Spirit to dwell IN me. Paul says that Christ in You, the Hope of glory.  And so people around me should see Christ and the glory of eternity I hope for.  My life ought to be the evidence of things not seen and substance of things hoped for.  My transformation from one glory to another glory, even the glory of the Image of God Lord Jesus Christ should be visible. 

1 may read the bible, 99 may read Christian.- D. L Moody

You Won't Stop Sinning till you start Hating.

You’ll never stop until you begin to see the monstrous nature of the sin you’re committing. You’ll never stop until the sin is more horrifying to you than the commission of the sin is enjoyable. You’ll need to hate that sin before you can find freedom from it. That means you need more grace. You need to cry out to be changed and to see the monstrous nature of this sin. And then you need to behave in faith that God will meet you with grace as you act to cut off the porn and begin the reset. - Tim Challies

He Created Me, He saved me

He didn't even lift His finger to CREATE the stars and galaxies. But he stretched His two arms to SAVE me. #praisethelord
— Abraham Koshy (@abbykoshy) May 26, 2013

Overcoming Temptations by God's Help

“God’s promises to us are more powerful and effectual for the mortifying of sin than our promises to God.”

—	Matthew Henry

Hand of God

Rolling Thunders, Folding Clouds,
Smoking Mountains, Fiery Sky
Enflames the horizon and thus shudders the soul.
Heavy Hearts, Feeble feet,
Knocking Knees, Shivering Hands,
Rumbles and Tumbles, Pandemonium air
And Nerve Wreaking din, as Sinai goes up in flames
In the Presence of Almighty.

The Hand of God is Here Below
Only but for a line to draw,
A Line Betwixt God And Man
To Mark a Sinner and Whose Not.

And so toindite the 10 Commandments
Did the hand on the mount appear;
But, but, but,No Sooner given
than the very first broken!
Law Given, Sin Committed,
Death Empowered, 3000 slain,
Judgment Outpoured, Fury Busted,
Who can stand Justified
Before this Holy God?

But then the hand Appeared!
Touching Lepers, Healing sick,
Calming storms, Silencing Critics,
Embracing the Depressed, Encouraging the Deprived
Empowering the Weak, Enriching the Poor,
Raising the dead and Found of little children.
Yes! 'Tis the same hand!
The same that flung stars into place
and the same did the Decalogue pen.
A hand so Righteous, A Hand divine
Yet nailed to a tree, to save sinners indign.
Hands outstretched wide and cruel nails to assist;
Oh let those nails fall down, for His Love would have held Him!!

The hand of God is here below,
Only but to take us beyond the line
andmake us one with God!
For who shall separate us now?

But then the hand will Appear,
with a Rod of Iron, aScepter of Righteousness;
To Dash in pieces His enemies,and to reign gloriously.
For the Psalmist Declares:-" The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD does valiantly. "
But, But, But, Through allthe glory and all grandeur ,
would I gaze, stare,
And long for nothing but for,
A sight of those cruelnail prints!
Nail prints of Love, in the Hands of God

Who killed Jesus

Christmas in the prison

Following is a letter written by Bonhoeffer from the Nazi prision to his parents  explaining how he understands  the meaning of Christmas.

Viewed from a Christian perspective, Christmas in a prison cell can, of course, hardly be considered particularly problematic. Most likely many of those here in this building will celebrate a more meaningful and authentic Christmas than in places where it is celebrated in name only.

That misery, sorrow, poverty, loneliness, helplessness, and guilt mean something quite different in the eyes of God than according to human judgment; that God turns toward the very places from which humans turn away; that Christ was born in a stable because there was no room for him in the inn — a prisoner grasps this better than others, and for him this is truly good news.

And to the extent he believes it, he knows that he has been placed within the Christian community that goes beyond the scope of all spatial and temporal limits, and the prison walls lose their significance. . . .

With great gratitude and love,

Your Dietrich

Suffering

Martin Luther says, “God can be found only in suffering and the cross.”3 It is in the suffering of the Son of God that we find God.

From his birth in a despised manger, to his death on the cross, the Son of God suffered. Christ was acquainted with pain (Isaiah 53:3). And because Christ was familiar with it, we too are made familiar with suffering (2 Corinthians 1:5, 1 Peter 4:13). - Desiring God ministries

Singing unto the Lord

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord-Psalm 89:1

Mortifying sin

"God’s promises to us are more powerful and effectual for the mortifying of sin than our promises to God."- Matthew Henry

I AM WHAT I AM

I AM WHAT I AM

I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient!

I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! 

I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection.

 

Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, 

I can truly say, I am not what I once was; ---- a slave to sin and Satan; 

And I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge,

 "By the grace of God I am what I am."

--John Newton (Hymn writer- Amazing Grace)

Keith Green

"If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence? You’d be bored to tears in heaven, if you’re not ecstatic about God now!!" — Keith Green

"The only music minister to whom the Lord will say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant," is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One has to be a minister's most important goal!!!" — Keith Green

The World's Bible

The World's Bible

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today;
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way;
He has no tongue but our tongues to tell men how He died;
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read;
We are the sinner's gospel, we are the scoffer's creed;
We are the Lord's last message, given in deed and word;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?
What if our tongues are speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him and hasten His return?
-Annie J Flint

The Pale Blue Dot

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by theVoyager 1 spacecraft from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles) from Earth, as part of the solar system Family Portrait series of images. In the photograph, Earth is shown as a tiny dot (0.12 pixel in size) against the vastness of space.^[2] The Voyager 1 spacecraft, which had completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System, was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and to take a photograph of Earth across a great expanse of space, at the request of Carl Sagan.

CAN YOU SPOT THE PALE BLUE DOT IN THIS PHOTO?

"From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

—Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, 1997 reprint, pp. xv–xvi

Release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Prayer brings God.

"There is no power like that of prevailing prayer, of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat of blood.  Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is the cost of passion unto blood.  Such prayer prevails.  It turns ordinary mortals into men of power.  It brings power.  It brings fire.  It brings rain.  It brings life.  It brings God."  ----Samuel Chadwick 

More Amazing than the Incarnation of Christ is the Reason Why

Never Give Up Praying for Your Loved One's Salvation - Don Johnson