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| "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." - Opera Star, Beverly Sills |
I think of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, as he carried the cross, bowing beneath the weight. There was no shortcut to redemption.
There is no shortcut to heaven. There is no shortcut to God. There is no shortcut to solving our problems.
We Christians make it a hard, rough road. It seems is uphill, all the way. Sometimes we fall beneath the weight of the cross we have taken up to follow Christ.There is a better way.
As soon as we let that cross weigh us down to the point where we realize that we can't carry it ourselves, and we surrender the cares and woes of this life to Jesus; then we discover the whole point of the Gospel. It is the finished work of Jesus Christ; wherein He suffered, died, and rose again to life for all our sin--past, present, and future.
Salvation is not just a ticket into an "afterlife" and a "get out of hell free card". We are redeemed from the curse--of sin, sickness, poverty and so much more.
God poured out His holy wrath against sin and all it's effects on Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God. That's the Gospel (the-almost-too-good- to-be-true-news*), the good news that God is not mad at you anymore. He exhausted his entire wrath on Jesus. Jesus took it all, Jesus paid it all-the entirety of the penalty for sin for the human race. Jesus did it all!
Salvation is not just a ticket into an "afterlife" and a "get out of hell free card". We are redeemed from the curse--of sin, sickness, poverty and so much more.
God poured out His holy wrath against sin and all it's effects on Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God. That's the Gospel (the-almost-too-good- to-be-true-news*), the good news that God is not mad at you anymore. He exhausted his entire wrath on Jesus. Jesus took it all, Jesus paid it all-the entirety of the penalty for sin for the human race. Jesus did it all!
Get a revelation of the fact that there is nothing that we can do or not do that will change how much God loves us. Then we can acknowledge that it is a work of Grace, not any works of man. That is how we humble ourselves--give it all to God. Realize that you are accepted and dearly loved by God.
If you don't get everything I said today, it's OK! I was just encouraging myself mostly; but you might want to think about it.
"Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you." I Peter 5:6,7 KJV
Have a great day, and remember who and Whose you are.
Brenda Quimby Smith
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Jude v. 24 KJV
* That's what Andrew Wommack of Andrew Wommack Ministries calls the Gospel. Check out his teachings at: http://www.awmi.net/
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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