Jesus freed us all from death and destruction.

Tags

Death, Freedom, Jesus, Lord, Messiah, Satan

We are made of flesh and blood. Jesus, the Messiah, came in flesh and blood, just like us, to rescue us from the curse we have on us.

Jesus came to rescue us from death. He actually embrace death for us. He took it on Himself. He made it His own.

Because Jesus defeated death, He destroyed our enemy Satan’s hold on death. He freed us all who have been scared to death of death.

Jesus went to all of this trouble for us humans. He had to enter into every detail of human life for us. He experienced it all. Birth, life, death and resurrection. No detail missed at all.

Jesus lived by not missing God’s plan so that we can be freed from missing the mark and live a life with God. He went through all the pain and test for us.

Jesus is qualified to help when help is needed.

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“Think of yourselves the way the Messiah Jesus thought of himself.” ~Apostle Paul

Tags

Apostle Paul Sayings, Death, Humility, Jesus, Messiah, Obedience, Philippians 2, Resurrection, Selfless

The birth of Jesus has special meaning. We must see it from the eyes of Jesus, our Messiah. We should think of why Jesus gave up the glory of heaven and humbled himself to come to earth as a man. He became a slave for us. Jesus humbled himself.

Forget about the baby and see the man on the cross, dying for us. Jesus didn’t come to give us Christmas trees filled with gifts. Jesus came to give us a cross and an empty tomb.

Above all else, Jesus humbled himself to be obedient to God, his father. His obedience led to his exaltation.

It wasn’t about the manager. It was all about the cross, the empty tomb and his mighty resurrection.

All honor and glory to Jesus, our Messiah.

Think of yourselves the way the Messiah Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus the Messiah, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

Source: Philippians 2:5-11 MSG – Think of yourselves the way Christ – Bible Gateway

“I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out.” ~Apostle Paul

Tags

Apostle Paul Sayings, Death, Good News, Jesus, Life, Messiah, Philippians 1

Eternal Life

I know the end of the story. I know that Jesus is the anointed one of God and is in charge. Victory is his and will be mine as well.

Life vs. Death?

It doesn’t matter. It is not even the question.

It is life vs. more life!

So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, the Messiah is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!

And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus the Messiah, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make the Messiah more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m the Messiah’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.

Source: Philippians 1:21 MSG – So how am I to respond? I’ve decided – Bible Gateway

“It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other.” ~Apostle Paul

Tags

Accountable, Death, Jesus, Life, Romans 14

Accountable

Who do I answer to? Is it the minister, my wife, my boss or my children?

It is a simple answer. I will be held accountable to my Master Jesus. That is it. I am not accountable to others. I am accountable to Jesus.

And, his standard is all about love.

Will he find me faithful?

What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

Source: Romans 14:8 MSG – What’s important in all this is that – Bible Gateway

“When the Messiah died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free.” ~Apostle Paul

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Death, God's Goal, Jesus, Life, Messiah, Romans 7, Sin

Freedom

I have died with the Messiah Jesus. I am free from living a “rule-dominated” life. That way of life is dead as well. I am living a “resurrection life”. My faith brings me into right relationship with God. Jesus made all of this happen. I had nothing to do with it.

I have the old way of death or I have the new way of life. I choose the new way of life.

I was living a “rule-dominated” life. I was not free. I was bound to the habit of missing God’s goal for me. That way of life had me all tied up.

Jesus has called me to freedom. Freedom to love God and love others. That type of liberty is stunning.

So, my friends, this is something like what has taken place with you. When the Messiah died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free to “marry” a resurrection life and bear “offspring” of faith for God. For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, missing God’s goal (sin) was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we’re no longer shackled to that domineering mate of missing God’s goal (sin) , and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we’re free to live a new life in the freedom of God.

~Apostle Paul – Romans 7:4-6 (The Message Bible)

“Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.” ~Jesus

Tags

Choice, Death, Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Life

New Life

Jesus is clear that bad things happen to good people. That isn’t the issue.

Jesus is focused on letting me know that there is a life or death issue to be concerned about. I must turn to God. I must change my mind (repent). I must allow Jesus to be my Master.

If I turn to God I will have life. If I don’t turn to God, I will have death. It is my choice. God lets me decide.

The main issue and God’s goal for me is to focus on what Jesus wants me to do. It is not about what I want. It is all about what God wants.

About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.”

Source: Luke 13:1-5 (The Message Bible)

Am I willing to suffer and mature? Will I rejoice and be happy?

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Death, Hebrews 5, High Priest, Jesus, Maturity, Pain, Resurrection, Son of God, Suffering

Jesus, the Son of GOD, came to earth and suffered for us. Imagine that. Take a minute to think about it.

Jesus felt everything we, as humans feel. Anticipating His death for us, he cried in the pain of anticipation. He offered up prayers as He got ready for this awful sacrifice.

They were the prayers of a priest.   Jesus is now the most High Priest. Because He is GOD’s Son, God answered His prayers and honored His sacrifice for us. In GOD’s world, we are all now a nation of priests. We intercede, with Jesus, on behalf of all who are in need of Him.

Now get this, he was God’s very own Son. He didn’t have to do any of this for us. He came to earth and learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered. He didn’t have to suffer.

We sometimes wonder, why do we have to suffer? Well, we join in the ministry of Jesus by sharing in suffering,  just as Jesus did. By suffering, Jesus arrived at the full stature of his maturity. Imagine the Son of God having to mature. He did as a man on earth. In that maturity and perfection, Jesus became our priest. In his death and resurrection,  he became the source of eternal salvation to all us who obey him.

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. (Hebrews 5:7 The Message)

"The simple moral fact is that words kill." ~~Jesus

Tags

Death, Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Love, Matthew 5, Words

Jesus warns us to be careful about what we say to others. Our mandate is to love. Anything other than that is not acceptable. Our words to others is a reflection of life or death. This is stark but Jesus gives us a whole new way to live through His Holy Spirit.

In God’s world (Kingdom) there is no loving your friends and hating your enemies. It is only love. What we say to others should reflect that. Jesus demands it. Jesus is clear. We are not to think we are righteous because we don’t murder or physically hurt other people. Our thoughtless hurts others and is the opposite of love.

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.(Matthew 5:21-22 The Message)

” God, your God, is God.” ~~Moses

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Commandments, Covenant, Death, Deuteronomy 7, Faithful, God is God, Jesus, Love, Moses Sayings, Slavery

I am God

God is God. That is all there is to it. We can count on it, day by day. God is loyal in all he does. God loves like we have never known love before. God has made an agreement with us that he will always love us. God’s goal for us, all that expects of us, is that we love God and his son, our Master, Jesus.

We didn’t do anything to deserve God choosing us. It has completely been God’s decision. We haven’t done a thing to deserve God’s love. God loves us no matter what. It is completely God’s decision to bring us out of the slavery of missing God’s goal for our life. God chose to send his son Jesus to completely redeem us from that life. God chose us out his goodness and it is his gift to us.

God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn’t slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time. Deuteronomy 7:9 The Message (MSG)

Here are the key ideas:

1. We are nothing. God is everything. God chose us. We didn’t have anything to do with it.
2. God’s goal is for us to love him and his son Jesus.
3. God is God. We can’t understand why he chose us but he did.
4. God is in a good mood because he loves us.
5. God is great because he can turn slaves into mighty warriors who take the promised land.

"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Character, Death, Martin Luther King Jr., Mind

Character

We need to have character.

We need to know what God wants us to do.

We need to do it.

This applies to us as individuals and as a nation.

We can”t be soft minded. We need to God-minded.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

"When the wicked die, that’s it—the story’s over, end of hope." ~~King Solomon

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Death, Hope, King Solomon, Proverbs 11, Wicked, Wise Sayings

Hope

We are a people of hope. We serve a God who gives us hope. We live in the present and look forward to the future.

We know we are living in a new world under Jesus’ new agreement with God. God’s goal for us is to hope. We should be filled with the anticipation of what is going to come in His future for us.

Not so, however, for everyone else. For them, death is the end of the road.

“When the wicked die, that’s it— the story’s over, end of hope.” ~~King Solomon (Proverbs 11:7)

"Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die." ~~King Solomon

Tags

Death, Evil, Life, Loyalty, Proverbs 11, Servant, Wise Sayings

Community of Faith

There is a way to live and there is a way to die.

Living comes from aligning myself with God and His loyal servants. God has called us to a community of service. Being loyal to that community gives us alignment with God himself. That is so very powerful.

Death comes from a phantom life of evil and their friends. Evil is a phantom. It is a real life. It is the way to death.

Wisdom knows the difference.

God’s goal for me is that I align myself with the faithful and live.

I will take a stand with God’s faithful. That is the way to life. That is the way of Wisdom.

“Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.” ~~King Solomon (Proverbs 11:19)

Where is the sting of death?

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1 Corinthians 15, Death, Easter, Lord Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Sin, Victory

Where is the sting of death? Jesus is Risen

Death has no power. It has been swallowed up whole by the triumphant resurrection of our Master Jesus. This is reality. Does death have the last word on things? Not hardly. No way. Jesus has seen to that. It is over.

Who should be afraid of death knowing what we know? No one. Certainly not me.

It was not following God’s plan that gave death it’s leverage. It doesn’t have that hold now. Jesus has given me, in one single victorious stroke of life, a life free from guilt. A life free from sin. A life free from death. The old life of trying to live up to all the rules is gone. How destructive was that? Way too much guilt for sure. But it is gone in His redeeming power of His death and the victory of His ressurection.

May I experience that gift every day. May I experience it today for sure!!!

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is missing God’s goal, and the power of missing God’s goal is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Master Jesus the Messiah. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

 

What was the end in Jesus’ mind? The day death died.

Tags

Crucifixion, Death, Glory, Good Friday, Jesus, John 12, Messiah, Mind, Sorrow

Jesus knew why He was here. He knew how it would end. He knew He would go through the worst time possible. God’s goal for us is to be redeemed into a right relationship with our Father. We have missed God’s goal. Jesus died to pay that price for us. He is resurrected to prove the power of God through that redemption.

What was the end in His mind? Not the sorrow or the crucifixion. It was the glorification. He knew what He had to go through to get to the glorification and for the sheer joy of it, he endured.

And so, we benefit from God’s new plan. We have gone through it with Him.

Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. ‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. John 12:23-27