THE
COST OF A SOUL
BREAD
23 For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans
3:23 (NIV)
23 For the wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans
6:23 (NIV)
21 God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned
to his own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He
was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did
not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:6-7 (NIV)
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and
familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely
he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him
stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5
(NIV)
10 Yet it was the LORD's
will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he
will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he
will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous
servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah
53:10-11 (NIV)
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium
and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on
him,
29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.
30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.
31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:27-31 (NIV)
29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.
30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.
31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:27-31 (NIV)
36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written
charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two robbers were crucified with him,
one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those
who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to
destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from
the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In
the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked
him. 42 “He saved others,”
they said, “but he can’t save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come
down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him
now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the robbers who were
crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Matthew
27:36-44 (NIV)
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel
of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone
and sat on it. 3 His appearance was
like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they
shook and became like dead men. 5 The
angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is
not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you
will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb,
afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his
feet and worshiped him. 10 Then
Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my
brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, 11 and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians
2:5-11 (NIV)
1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive
God's grace in vain. 2 For he
says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I
helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of
salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (NIV)
20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though
God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be
reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV)
BUTTER
“I simply argue
that the Cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on
the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not
crucified in a cathedral between two candles; but on a cross between two
thieves; on the towns’ garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they had
to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek... at the kind of place where
cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where
He died. And that is what He died about. So, that is where church-men ought to
be and what churchmen ought to be about.” Rev.
Dr. George McLeod, Minister, Church of Scotland, 1895-1991
“Faith
in Jesus crucified is the way of peace to the sinner; so faith in Jesus risen
is the way of daily salvation to the saint.”
Hudson Taylor
“To
have one foot on the land of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will
involve a terrible fall and a total ruin.
Christ will be all or nothing.
God fills the whole universe, and hence there is no room for another
god; if, then, He reigns in my heart, there will be no space for another
reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus
crucified, and live alone for Him? Is it
my desire to do so? Is my heart set upon
so doing? If so, blessed be the mighty
grace which has led me to salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad
offence, and unite my heart to fear Thy Name.” C. H. Spurgeon
“God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son at a place three
days distant. The word ‘love’ appears for the first time in the Bible in that
command. Of course He didn’t allow him to go through with it. On
the third day Abraham retained his son alive. Two thousand years later on the day Israel
celebrated the sparing of sons Jesus of Nazareth was executed by slow torture. Maybe God wanted Abraham to exhibit a pattern.
Maybe He wanted to teach a principle. Or maybe God wanted Abraham to
know what it felt like to be God. Instead of slaying his son Abraham sacrificed a ram.
He was able to catch the animal because his horns were entangled in the thicket. CAUGHT BY A CROWN OF THORNS. There were lots of startling coincidences like
that. It's almost as if the thing were
planned…” Ronnie Stevens
“The resurrection of Jesus was a hidden event. Jesus didn’t
rise from the grave to baffle his opponents, to make a victory statement, or to
prove to those who crucified him that he was right after all. Jesus rose as a
sign to those who had loved him and followed him that God’s divine love is
stronger than death. To the women and men who had committed themselves to him,
he revealed that his mission had been fulfilled. To those who shared in his
ministry, he gave the sacred task to call all people into the new life with
him. The world didn’t take notice. Only
those whom he called by name, with whom he broke bread, and to whom he spoke
words of peace were aware of what happened. Still, it was this hidden event
that freed humanity from the shackles of death.” Henri Nouwen
“The
necessary ingredients for a work of salvation are a dead sinner, a loving
Father, a crucified and risen Saviour, a life-giving Spirit, and last, but by
no means least, the faithful communication of the Gospel. Without it how shall
people hear, believe in the Lord and call on him (Romans 10:14)? Remember the God-ordained
route to saving faith (Romans 10:17).” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Why was Job born? He was born for the same
reason Adam was created. He was born for the same reason the earth was created.
He was born, in part, for the same reason Christ was born and suffered and was
crucified. We all exist to glorify God. On the Day of Judgement, when the
mangled, burned, corrupted, and crucified limbs of God’s faithful are
resurrected and made new, and when voices that died crying in pain are restored
singing in praise, even Satan himself will bow in submission to the Lord who
deserves all praise. This life is no simple
matter of little lives living private dramas. We are, since Eden’s loss, united
in celestial warfare with eternal consequences. We were born to stand; we are
armed to fight. The good news is just
that, through faith in Christ, we were born to win.” Frances Poston Bennett
HEART SAVOR
·
I am a sinner in need of a Savior and thank God I have One.
·
My attitude is to be the same of Christ Jesus - selfless.
·
Believers are all called to be Christ’s ambassadors as
though God were making His appeal through us.
