SO THANKFUL FOR THE CROSS

Psalm 79:13 NLT Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.

If it wasn’t for the Cross we wouldn’t be able to be one of the sheep of His pasture, but praise God we are.😊

Today is a special day to be thankful and remind ourselves Jesus gave His life on the Cross for our sakes, to bring us into close relationship with His Father, to be part of His family, to rescue us from judgement and an eternity in Hell separated from God forever. 

What a Saviour we have, and how thankful we are for Jesus being willing to shed His life blood so we can be forgiven, we can be called righteous and holy and seen as blameless in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. It boggles the mind, especially when we know we don’t deserve any of it, but it’s true!

There was a raid by the soldiers, on the Garden of Gethsemane that night, and it led to the road that led to the Cross and Jesus walked every step for you and for me. Maybe we need to walk that road to the Cross again today and remind ourselves of all Jesus has done not only for us, but for every person on the planet who will receive it.

He paid the debt we owe in full, and His grace is now overflowing into our lives. What a Saviour!

How wonderful it is to know we can come to the throne room today and find mercy, His forgiveness, the abundant overflowing of His grace, and receive the gift of His righteousness.😊

God is encouraging us to come and receive all that He offers us, to enter into all that is now ours, and be so thankful for the Cross, thankful for the shed blood, thankful for all Jesus is to us and praise His greatness, today and forever, from generation to generation. Glory to Your name Lord. 

And if you have never invited Jesus into your life, or if you have wandered away, know God loves you and offers you His forgiveness. This is a lovely opportunity to open your heart, repent of your sin, and let Him rescue you and give you His gift of right standing with Him and His new life today. Just come.😊 Amen.

Photo by Daniel Joshua on Unsplash

PRESENCE, PASSION AND PURPOSE

Psalm 16:11 NKJV You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

‘Oh, to be in England, now that April’s there’. That famous line is from a poem by Robert Browning in 1845 when he longed to be in England. We may all long to be somewhere at different times in life, especially if we’re far from home, but the Psalmist had a different longing. 

He longed to be in Gods presence because he knew that’s where he would find fulness of joy. Since we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we’re always in God’s presence now, but we may forget, or don’t always recognise He’s with us. Sometimes it’s good to stop and just be aware of His presence, especially when life is challenging, and let Him give us His supernatural joy!😊

God has such a zeal and a passion for the lost that it caused Jesus to go to the Cross in our place to reconcile us to His Father. God wants to release that passion in us so we’ll go and bring back to Him those who are lost and need a Saviour, so He can give them His forgiveness and love.

That is our purpose in life, to find joy in His presence, that releases His passion in our souls and motivates us to do what God calls us to do and be all He calls us to be. 

It may be to witness to someone in the shopping queue, or to tell a neighbour God loves them, or to text someone who needs encouraging, or to write a blog.😊 

God’s heart, His passion is to find the lost, to heal the brokenhearted and the sick, to bring peace to troubled hearts, to set captives free, but most of all to bring them into His presence, His family, and save them from the judgement to come. 

Lord, may we live in the joy of Your presence, fill us with Your passion, and help us to fulfil the purpose You have for each of our lives. In Jesus name. Amen.