"Just Believe"

 "Wherefor he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25 KJV)

  ""Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep."" (John 10:9-11 NLT)

 Yesterday, I was thinking about something that really cut into my soul; I almost felt like I needed to pull over and park my truck, because my eyes were tearing up and I was beginning to cry. It was the portion of Scripture when Jesus explains how He came to fulfill the law, (Matthew 5:17). We might not have any ability to fulfill all of God's law; but Jesus most certainly did! He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill all of its commands, and after doing that, He paid the price for all of us, taking on the punishment for our inability to fulfill the requirements of the law.

 Again, when someone might ask you why God needed to come and die on a cross for us, it is easy to say a very quick answer: "Because He is the only One that could pay the penalty for our sins!" There needed to be a perfect sacrifice; and only God is perfect! Which is most likely why the J.W.'s say that Jesus sinned when He lost His temper and drove everyone out of the Temple; because they are trying to make Jesus out to be a sinner, just like all of us.  

 I am totally and completely convinced that Jesus is, was, and always will be God! I believed that the very moment that I was saved, when that Preacher said, "All that we see, and you and me, have a Creator; and I am here today to tell you: "That Creator is Jesus Christ."" I was stunned and immediately, in my mind, pictured Jesus on the cross, and my heart was broken! 

 Which reminds me of something that I heard, about how Jesus died, and why they did not need to break His legs: He died from a broken heart! Just like that, He exclaimed, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hand!", and His heart did burst, and He breathed His last! Yes, He died from a ruptured heart! Which is why when they stuck a spear in His side to see that He was dead, both water and blood poured out; which proves that His heart had ruptured. 

 There are several guesses to the reason Jesus wept just before He was going to raise Lazarus from the grave; most of which have to do with us and why death is such a bitter moment for everyone to have to go through. When God flooded the earth, He declared six times, "And all that had breath through the nostrils, died." So, we should know that death is not what He wanted, but was what needed to be done, because the sinfulness of all mankind was out of control.  

 He was grieved for what had to done, but it had to be done! Just as there was grief when Jesus died on that cross, with both the Father and the Son! But it had to be done...

"Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave. But it was the LORD'S plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD'S good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied." (Isaiah 53:4-11 NLT)