All posts filed under: Gospel

It is finished: Shout heaven and earth, this Sum of good to Man


When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit John 19:30 It is finished! I have executed the great designs of the Almighty When God made man and put in him a free will, all the angels thought He was out of His mind. He had a plan. A plan, from the foundation of the earth, to reconcile the world through Jesus His Son. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be Holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4). That plan was accomplished today, 2000 years ago. I have satisfied the demands of his justice God is holy and just. His nature demands justice. The wages of sin is death and somebody had to pay for our rebellion. Jesus answered that call. The LORD was “pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper …

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani: A Commentary on Matthew 27:46


And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is the point of no return in Jesus’s mission to reconcile man back to God. At that point, all of humanity’s sin fell on Jesus. God the Father placing and seeing all the filth and sinfulness of man caused Him to turn away from Jesus His only begotten Son. In that moment there was a separation between father and son. Something that broke the heart of God and left Jesus crying – “Eli Eli, lema sabachthani – my God my God why has thou forsaken me?” What did Jesus really mean by this and how significant is it for us today? My God, My God: In quoting Psalms 22, Jesus declared His fulfillment of that prophecy, in both its agony and it exultation. The Psalm goes on to say, You have answered Me. I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. (Verse 21 says – “Save me from …

How did this world get so messed up?


Do you sometimes wonder what life is all about? Why were you born? How you can obtain true happiness? If you have ever asked these questions, then this very long post is just for you to get all you questions answered. QUESTION # 1: How Can You Know The Truth? Science, History and Observation You can learn many wonderful things about the world and its people through science, history, and observation. However, you cannot learn the answers to many of the great questions of life from these sources. They do not tell us how life began, what its purpose is, and what the future holds. The Bible Only the One who made the world can tell you how He did it and why. He tells us the truth about these things in His book, the Holy Bible. It is a book of instructions for living in this world and is proven to be historically reliable! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Bible, Genesis 1:1) Through him all things were made; without …

The lost and found column: The lost son


Part 3 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this third column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to …

The lost and found column: The lost coin


Part 2 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this second column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15-8-10 The love of God is relentless. It never ceases. It goes on and on until it finds what it is looking for. God …

Lost and found column: The lost sheep


Part 1 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this first column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. Then Jesus told them this parable:“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who …

12 Powerful words or phrases that command heaven’s attention


Part 2 The next six words or phrases I find powerful and commanding are from the very lips of Jesus. On each one of these occasions, something extraordinary happens after his declaration. Here are six of them: 7. It is finished… When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit… And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. John 19:30; Mark 15:38 8. Lazarus come out… Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone… he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out…” The man who had died came out… John 11:40-44 9. I am He… Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said …

Hudson Taylor Part 1 (Compelled by the Spirit)


  I don’t know about you… I love it when God put other people on my heart to pray for them. Sometimes it come to me through a dream, other times it comes it is like a heavy burden or an uneasiness that just drops you to your knees in prayer… especially when you want to sleep and can’t close your eyes because you have this person or thing on your mind. Or you find yourself just thinking about this person and situation incessantly with a strong desire to pray or at least reach out. I humbly report that I have seen vision and heard the audible voice of God concerning these things, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that deep. I am sure you have found yourself thinking about somebody during your day and you called them – so you called them and your call was right on. You found out that it was a marriage under pressure, a kid out of control, a medical report that is devastating, a robbery on the way. God …

I don’t know why Jesus Loves me!


One of the greatest mysteries of all time is the Love of God. It is so vast that we can’t get around it, it is so deep we can’t get under it and it is so high that we can not get over it. People from all walk of life are seeking daily to understand it. I love how the song writer puts it – “I don’t why Jesus loves – I don’t know why He cared – I don’t know why He sacrificed His life – oh but am glad – am glad He did.” We wonder why God would love a world that is so hostile and arrogant toward Him. Despite our arrogance and rebellion – the bible tells us that we are very special – in fact that is the very reason He created us. Here are a few ways God demonstrates his love toward us: 1.Through creation. He has giving us the following: the ability to think (Isa. 1:18) the ability to choose (Josh. 24:15). the ability to love (Mark 12:30 – 31). …

Yes! He is God.


I grew up going to the kingdom hall. My entire family used to be Jehovah’s Witnesses. So the very first question I asked the Jesus when I got saved was this – “Are You God?” His answer was a resounding “yes!” From the day he showed me John chapter 1, it has remained one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. The bible talks about the beginning. The beginning of Genesis 1:1 – when God created the heaven and earth. It is not talking about the beginning of God – because God has no beginning. Therefore since God has no beginning but exist from eternity to eternity and the word was with Him in eternity the ‘Word’ (Jesus) could not have been created. In fact the bible says, the ‘Word’ was with and the ‘Word’ was God. This ‘Word’ stepped out of eternity into time in the person of Jesus – the Christ – the Son of the living God – which happens to be a technical term used for Jesus. He has always been …