Sacrificial Love
Hey guys! Pastor Ryan here ...
Today is Good Friday! It's the day we remember the greatest sacrifice, the darkest hour and the love that was poured out for the healing of this world. As I said yesterday, in order to get to the resurrection, we must journey through the crucifixion. Death brings forth life!
The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, spoke of the this day hundreds of years prior to the crucifixion:
"... he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed." - 53:5
I encourage us to spend extra time today slowly reading through the Passion narratives in the Gospels. Pace with Christ... walk in his footsteps, and meet him on the cross!
Read & Feed: The Passion Narratives: Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19
Journal: Spend time writing down your thoughts about this amazing sacrifice!
Jesus became obedient to the bizarre status of a "Suffering Servant." He was asked to drink the cup of wrath, which was to be poured out for the judgment over the nations of the earth due to sin. Wrath is not a popular term in many churches. God has righteous feelings for this world, and when people are abused, his indignation/wrath comes out! I have a hard time saying this, but this world deserves the wrath of God to be quite honest. The wages of sin is death. Nobody is guilt free!
In the scene at Gethsemane before he was sentenced to death, Jesus asked the LORD to take this "cup" from him: the cup of wrath! But he finished the prayer with, "not my will, but your will be done."
Jesus could have called down a legion of angles to wipe out the Roman Empire! But he chose to drink the cup of wrath. He chose the greatest form of love. He was beaten for you and for me. Christ becomes the perfect sacrifice who was slaughtered on our behalf. And, it is by his wounds that we are saved!
THAT IS HOW MUCH HE LOVES US!
We cannot forget this story. We have to speak of this story. This story is for the healing of the nations. It's about the peace that comes straight from our heavenly Father. The movement from orphans to sons, slavery to freedom ushers in a new movement of love in a dark world. Yes, this world is broken, indeed! But the LORD loves us way too much to keep it that way, which is why the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ is imperative to our life stories today. He emptied himself so that we might be filled with the fullness of His love. Jesus died, so that we could live!
Pray: Father, we thank you for sending your Son as the perfect sacrifice for the world! Jesus, thank you for your ultimate sacrifice, and for showing us what it means to live a life of freedom. Help us receive you a new today. Give us the boldness and the love to spread this news to a world that is in need of your goodness and healing. We are grateful for you, and we love you from the bottom of our heart. Amen
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Lord, You are calling me to express this same kind of sacrificial love to my brother and his fiancee and to Maria. I've received your forgiveness for the YEARS of neglect and avoidance of Brandon and Maria. However, I will not be under condemnation, nor will I allow seeming consequences to scar what can be a great future in You for both of them, for Anthony, Junior and his family, Alex and Tawana and her family, my mother and my father, and Jonathan and Kay. This is a family -- maybe Tawana will be part of it, maybe she won't. Your mighty will be done. For now, I'm gonna extend an olive branch, through your power. I will love my brother as I've been directed to in Your word. I will endeavor to lift him and all those concerned with him in prayer - especially over the next few months.
I speak holiness and blessing over Brandon and all those connected to him, in the mighty and precious name of Jesus. I loose healing, wholeness and a thirst and hunger for the things of God, for intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I bind the enemy's attack upon Brandon and his attempt to use Brandon to cause pain and anguish to those connected to him. I bind, in the mighty name of Jesus, any demonic possession in Brandon - DEMONS FLEE, In Jesus' name! Lord God, the Spirit of You lives in me, and greater things am I able to do through the Spirit, as You mightily declared, so I stand on Your word and I believe that Brandon is set free! I thank You that You will move his heart to attend church, even this Sunday. I thank You for restoring his relationship with my mother and evidence of a changed heart and Life! I thank You for restoring his relationship with Anthony, Junior, Alex and above all Maria. I thank You for blessing and healing Tawana and keeping her and her grandchildren and her daughter. And I come to You, in the mighty name of Jesus, speaking LIFE over her daughter and I cancel the enemy's attack against her, keeping her addicted to drugs and under lock and key. In Jesus' name, she is loosed! from the ties of evil that bind her and set free to live for Christ! Even NOW, I give praise for all she has gone through and all that has come against her and offer You praise for the healing work that only You can do. I give You PRAISE, HONOR, and THANKSGIVING, for all the many wide roads that Brandon, Tawana, Maria, Junior, Alex, myself, Anthony, my mother, my father, and Kay have traveled over the course of our lives - thanking You that You have used each one for Your absolute PERFECT WILL AND PLAN for our lives. I declare, Lord God, in the name of Jesus, that change is afoot and that Your mighty power is working and effective even this very hour as we remember the great sacrifice, the scourging, the torment, and the painful death of our King Jesus! who laid down His life for us so that we can have ETERNAL life, and a life that is full and abundant here - a life of blessing, service and honor to our Father and to our fellow man. Lord, move, move, move in this family. Move, move, move as only You can.
MOVE!!!
In Jesus' name, I pray, AMEN.
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