COME DOWN vs. IT IS FINISHED

 "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" Mark 15:29-30 NIV

"He's the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him." Matthew 27:40

"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice-Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? -which means, My God, my god why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-46 NIV (from noon to 3p.m.)

Luke and John record the death and happenings but especially when the Jews yelled out, "Crucify Him!"

But the do not record the base of the cross and the jeering, insulting comments of the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him.

Friends,

Let us approach this cross and examine the attitudes of the leaders. I repeat the soldiers, romans, the Jews all mocked and hurled insults to our Savior.

We are now on the other side of the cross. Would we ask such a thing, "Come down!"

I just sit now staring at the cross with humble, complete sadness that God thought of me that He let His son die for me. He had to go to death to come to new LIFE.

We would not cry out, "Come down"!

He was the final sacrifice. Every Jew must know that sacrifice with the spotless lamb must be done yearly, but God was saying stop!, no more, my son finishes it all.

Therefore, Jesus cries out, "It is finished!"

It is finiahed!

I thank God that it is finished and we know the whole story and I live in the victory fully knowing that Christ is the Savior!

Friend right now pray:

I pray for_____who needs to understand the work of God and the finished story of the cross. His wonderful love and grace! Open the eyes of their hearts so they can see. In Jesus name!

He could not come down from the cross to show He was the son of God! They needed no more proof.

It was finished! Amen

GREEN WITH ENVY

"I'm proud to tell you my friend will be spending a month away fulfilling her life dream!", declared the post on a persons Facebook post.

I had been good about blocking out Facebook, but sometimes I have to go on and then I saw the above post, I was green with envy. I felt it hit my gut and my own imagination of dreams came to the forefront of my mind.

OCD, obsessive comparison disorder, It's a Snare to Compare, the cute sayings I always passing on to others, comes to my mind. "Do not envy", a biblical truth. I ran to Jesus. 

Lord can I ask you to help me with this reaction. I don't want to loose my joy and what you are doing in my life. 

I'm in my own personal time out! Asking God to restore, renew, help me.

I find a worship song! Hallelujah Our King by Jordan Feliz. 

My grateful cry for this song and the worship of  Spirit and truth this song brings. 

My commitment to the Lord is real. My walk Lord define.

Only God, only God can grab, change, open, restore.

My heart is His.

Focus on the here and now I hear in my head.

A verse, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Does that mean a trip, a high paying job, an adventure. I don't have that answer.

In Nehemiah 6 some mean were trying to distract Nehemiah by wanting to meet with him. They gave some story of why they should meet. Nehemiah being a leader knew what God had him doing at the time of this request and he felt inside that meeting with these men was not a good enough reason to take time out to stop doing what God had given him to do. (build the wall) Four times he told these men that and they persisted to try and get him to stop. Their motives were not genuine. It was tempting for Nehemiah to stop but he finally, directly said to the men, "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head."

These men were jealous trying to get Nehemiah off track. But Nehemiah prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."

Friends when we see a post that is a status and we react to it, we must go to the Lord and ask Him about it. 

What are we doing with our time, talents?

Lord give me some assurance. As I looked up the word imagine the Nehemiah 6:8 popped up so I renewed my mind with this story. I originally was looking for the verse, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

Let's go to prayer:

Lord forgive me for reacting, Lord thank you for helping me to hear from you. Now strenghten my hands just as the Lord did for Nehemiah. What a good prayer. Help me. Amen.