Women Arise Weekly Devotional (April 12, 2009)

Women Arise Weekly Devotional (April 12, 2009)

 

He Is Risen!!! (read through the book of Leviticus, Luke 22:39-24:53, Hebrews 9 and 10 for further detail)  

 

Jesus Christ was tortured and hung upon that cross on Calvary on that 'horrific' day! Tortured far beyond what we could ever imagine! He took upon Himself the sins of the entire world! Not only the sins of His twelve disciples. Not only the sins of those standing there that day. Not only the sins of those alive in the world on that day. He took upon Himself ALL sin- past, present and future! Thus He took upon Himself MY sin, and YOUR sin. Yes, your children's sins, your parent's sins, your spouses' sins-even your enemies' sins! And ALL who would receive Him as their Savior would spend eternity with Him in His Kingdom! 

 

But many people ask WHY Jesus had to endure such great punishment?! Well let's go back to the Old Testament, back to the Law. The Law required that a blood sacrifice be made for sin. Thus, the Israelites, whenever they sinned, had to sacrifice (kill) an animal like a goat, bull or lamb, and offer it to God as atonement (forgiveness) for their sin. The animal had to be perfect, without spot or blemish or defect, and it stood in the place of the person who had committed the sin. See, God is so holy that He cannot just look upon sin and let it go! He is a God of mercy, but He is also a God of judgment! He is a fair God, Whose ways are PERFECT! Also, since the Israelites were God's 'chosen' people, He could not allow sin to go unpunished! If one person saw that someone else had 'gotten away with' a sin, then they would feel they could do the same thing, or worse and get away with it. Thus, the whole nation would have become infected! So like a Father does His children, God disciplined them and taught them the importance of obeying His commands! He taught them that He knew best even when they didn't understand it! He showed them that He was indeed GOD-the ONLY real and true God and that there was no other! 

 

What's even greater my friends, even through the sacrificial system that God set up, He showed mercy! Imagine telling a 'little white lie' to someone and just dropping dead! Well that's what could've happened had God not shown mercy through the sacrificial system! (There were 5 offerings or sacrifices the people could perform, but today our focus is on the sin offering.) But God had the ULTIMATE PLAN set in motion! See, only ONE could meet God's perfect standards! ALL (except ONE) had fallen short and would fall short of the glory of God! (MY PARAPHRASE)...So God looked around and said, "Whom shall I send?", and Jesus Christ stood up and said, "Here I am, Father! Send me!" So God looked down upon the fallen state of man and had so much pity upon us. He knew that we were but dust and no matter what, we would continue to sin if left on our own! So in His great love and mercy towards us, He made the FINAL, the PERFECT Sacrifice. The GREATEST Sacrifice ever!  God in His great love and mercy decided to offer up His very own Son, Jesus Christ! (John 3:16) For those who would accept and receive this Perfect Lamb as their Lord and Savior, they would receive eternal life!  For those who would reject Him, eternal separation from God in hell!

 

So God did what HAD to be the most difficult thing ever! He sent His ONLY begotten Son to earth in human form to die on that cross! He had been mocked, spit on, beaten, rejected, despised, ridiculed, misunderstood, and nailed to that cross! God sent Him to die in MY place, in YOUR place, in OUR place on that fateful day! He died, yes He did! He was buried...yup..! BUT THREE DAYS LATER.....THREE DAYS LATER, my friends....HE ROSE to eternal life and is now seated at the right hand of God!!!!! The tomb is EMPTY! He defeated death! Death no longer has any power over those who believe!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!! So just as He rose again, all who believe in Him shall rise again to eternal life! 

 

I just want to say that this should make each and every one of us think really hard before indulging in any type of sin! No matter how 'small' or 'insignificant' a sin may seem, it goes against the very  nature of God, and therefore ends in death-eternal separation from God! Sin is sin in God's eyes! For example, I could tell a lie to a friend and someone else could have murdered their neighbor, but sin is sin! We both would end up in hell-apart from Christ! So think, (as I know I will be), about all of those 'little' compromises we make daily. Those compromises that opens up the door to Satan and displeases our HOLY God! Remember what Jesus endured on that cross! He endured our 'little white lies', our cheating, our gossip, our judging others, our greed, our hatred, our stealing, our NOT spending time with Him, our NOT obeying His commands, our NOT owning up to our responsibilities, our NOT putting Him first and submitting all to Him...He endured the sins of not only what we have done, are doing and will do, but those sins of NOT doing what we should...Not only speaking when we shouldn't, but NOT speaking when we should. He endured it all! What WE think is big and what we think is too large for Him to forgive! NO SIN IS TOO GREAT THAT HE WILL NOT FORGIVE US, IF WE JUST OPEN UP OUR HEARTS AND LET HIM IN!

 

***If there is anyone reading this who doesn't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and would like to know more, please don't hesitate to CONTACT ME! I will be happy to share more info with you and send you some materials if needed!*** 

 

P.S. The Lord just put this upon my heart to share with you. For all those who are hurting and going through some type of hardship: "Give it to Me! Lay it down at the cross! I won't promise you that your life will be pain or struggle free, but I will promise that your burdens will be so feather-light and the problem will prove to be much smaller than you thought when you bore it alone!" GIVE IT TO ME! I see your struggles, I see your pain...I am right there in the midst of the storms of life with you! I will not allow your 'boat' to go under! I AM! Nothing is too hard for me, Daughter! Trust Me, trust Me, trust Me!!!!!!! I am the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! I am the same one Who has gotten you to where you are today and I am the one leading you into tomorrow! GIVE IT TO ME! LET IT GO!!!! You cannot carry this alone, child! You need ME! I am the ONLY one capable of understanding the rejection, the hurt, the fear, the pain, the loss, the worry! ONLY ME! Why not trust Me? It hurts Me to see you go through so much unnecessary pain when You could just give it to ME! I love you, _______________(insert your name) I love you! I love you! Submit it all to me!" What  better time to lay it all at the foot of the cross then this Resurrection weekend? 

 

The Lord showed me a while ago during a very intense time of struggle in my life, while I was whining and complaining and crying out: "Until you have endured all that I've endured on that cross, you really haven't been through anything!" Think about that! When He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was so troubled in spirit, that He was sweating out great drops of blood! Have you ever been there? I think not! GIVE IT TO THE ONE WHO IS ABLE! God bless you, HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY and I love you all!

 

LaTanya Scott