You Will Be With Me in Paradise

It is not too late to be forgiven.  The thief on the cross asked Jesus for forgiveness hours before his death and He granted it.  He realized his sin, confessed it before God, and repented.  He knew there was nothing he could do to earn it.  Only by trusting in Jesus.  And that is what he did.  Jesus offers everyone a chance.  We are all like these thieves.  We are all guilty.  The question is which thief do you want to be?

Continue reading “You Will Be With Me in Paradise”

Forgive Them

Jesus’ words on the cross were profound.  I believe each of the seven phrases he spoke while on the cross had a specific purpose.  This whole event had purpose.  To take our sins away and declare us righteous before God.  For God’s glory.  For our salvation.  To do this, Jesus took our sins to the cross and paid for them, being forsaken (see previous post) and betrayed and mocked.  He endured all of this for us so that we may be forgiven. Continue reading “Forgive Them”

Encouragement from Hebrews

I am going through a great study in Hebrews right now and I realize there are so many words of encouragement to believers that we can have confidence and hope.  God always keeps His promises.  Jesus is our Savior, but He is much more.  Jesus, the Son of God, perfect in every way because He IS God, gave His life for us.  With His blood sacrifice, we now have access to the Father.  He is the Priest-King, who is our Intercessor and Redeemer, who offered Himself as a sacrifice, the prefect blood offering once for all.  It is the perfect sacrifice because He is perfect, no flaw, no sin, and He lives forever, giving eternal salvation to those who believe.

The book of Hebrews is written to the Jews of the early Christian church.  Many were true believers and some were seeking.  But the Jews from outside the church (and perhaps some from within) were trying to turn them from faith in Jesus Christ or draw them back to the Law.  The writer explains how the Law had been fulfilled by Christ and that there is a new, much better covenant that God had given all of us through His Son.  This covenant was promised through Abraham and all things throughout the Old Testament point to Jesus Christ.  The Law showed us our sin and the need for blood sacrifice, and the New covenant shows us God’s mercy and grace, that through Jesus, our sins are forgiven once and for all.  We are saved by faith in Him and our salvation is based on what Christ did for us, not on ourselves.  Thanks God for that, because all of us fall short!  I encourage you to read through the entire book of Hebrews to fully understand the reason for the law, the blood, the sacrifice and how Jesus fulfilled all of it and became our High Priest to be our sin offering. It also reminds us of His promise of eternal salvation and to encourage us to not lose hope, but to have boldness and confidence, trusting in Jesus Christ our Lord, living for Him, serving Him and others. Continue reading “Encouragement from Hebrews”

Jesus in Psalm 22

I was going through a study in Hebrews and the teacher described the quote in Hebrews 2 from Psalm 22.  I thought it was interesting how the first half of the Psalm depicts Jesus thoughts on the cross; the second half were His thoughts and the results of the cross after His resurrection.  Our salvation is dependent on both His death and resurrection.  It is through His death our sins are washed away; it is through His resurrection that death and sin are conquered and those of us who trust in the Lord will be forgiven and will live in eternity with Him. Continue reading “Jesus in Psalm 22”

Christ in Me

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My verse for today: Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ”

Many things in life I am ashamed of and regret, but thankfully that was my old self and Christ died on the cross so that I am forgiven of those things and when I decided to follow Him, He gave me the Holy Spirit to convict me and change me and I am a new person, living for Him with new desires. He has given me joy and peace and I know that although I mess up at times, He is there to lift me up so that I can continue to do His work…or I should say that He does His work in me and through me. Without Him I can do nothing. But, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). It is not I who does good things it is Jesus and He deserves all the glory.

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