"Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." (Hebrews 7:27 KJV)
"My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing." (PSALM 22:14-18 NLT)
I hope there was nobody offended by my post yesterday, because there really is something important about the way we tithe and give offerings. Most of all, we must decide how much we should give, and then we make every effort to give cheerfully, which basically means hilariously! Look it up for yourself, and maybe you will get the hint.
Obviously, we know why Jesus had to come and sacrifice Himself for our sins; just about everyone who is truly a Christian knows perfectly well that He did it to cleanse us from our sins; something we could never do for ourselves. But why did it need to be so brutal? Why did His own people turn their backs to Him, mock Him, and completely hate Him? More importantly: Why did Jesus ask the Father to forgive them?
Think about what God has done for us and try to remember what you might have thought about Jesus before you were shown God's marvelous love. It is really hard to remember what our heart was like, knowing now what it was that changed us and gave us new life. I don't mean to say we can't remember our old life, because I know, I certainly do; but what I am talking about is our disdain for Christ, as if you once wanted nothing to do with Him; mostly because you did not want to be changed!
There is something very special about the way Jesus was crucified; one thing in particular is the fact that He was cursed to hang on that cross, as the Scripture says: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Maybe we don't realize this, but we were cursed the moment we were born into this world. Yes, it is true; from the moment you took your first breath, you were cursed to end up dead; all because of one man, Adam, who sinned against God, making everyone born after him to be cursed, just like him!
But God had a plan to remove the curse! And it had to happen through a virgin, because a man would still have continued the curse, if his seed was what made the child born in her! Don't let anyone try to tell you that it happened any other way!
By the way, Adam might be listed as the father of death; but he named his wife "Eve", which means, the mother of all living! Look it up for yourself, and maybe you will get the hint...
"So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." This way of faith is very different from the law, which says, "It is through obeying the law that a person has life." But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
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