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About-Him.Com Devotional 02-28-2004
From all that I hear, the movie The Passion of the Christ is having a very good effect on it's viewers. I'm for anything that will make people think about the price that Jesus paid for our salvation. I'm sure that the movie stirs pity and emotion and this is good, when it causes us to reflect and repent. The thing that is most necessary is for us to realize that Jesus took the wrath of God in our place. It was we who should have been crucified! I've been singing this old chorus all day Do you remember it?
Calvary, Calvary. Where Jesus bled and died
Grace so free, for you and for me
Flowed from His wounded side
Calvary, Calvary, oh what agony
He bore it alone, all my sins to atone
On a hill called Calvary
125: Defection of Some of the Disciples Jn. 6:60-71
John 6:60 ¶ Many therefore of his disciples, when the heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
In His Discourse on the Bread of Life, Jesus claimed a prior existence as God (John 1:1,14). He refused to be the Messiah that met the carnal expectation of the Jews of that day. His was a spiritual kingdom. It would be necessary for Him to die and ascend back up to heaven, where he would pour out His Spirit upon all who would receive it.
66 Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Many who had followed Him to see signs and miracles, now chose to totally desert Him. They simply had never been called of the Father to receive eternal life, else they would have believed.
Jesus then turned to His immediate disciples, and asked, “Are you going to leave me also?”
67 Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would ye also go away?
Peter spoke up and stated that they had nowhere to go. They had seen instant healing, the dead raised and the seas calmed, all by a simple word. They were convinced that he indeed was the Holy One of God.
68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God.
Sadly, unbelief had penetrated the inner circle of twelve chosen disciples. Jesus simply stated, “One of you is a devil.”
Conclusion and Application:
Has Jesus ever failed to meet our preconceived expectations? Yes, He usually exceeds them. Has he promised a bed of roses? No, just the opposite, He promised a cross of suffering. However, we have the promise that if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him (II Timothy 2:12).
Seemingly, we in the western world have been immune from suffering. We have an over abundance of material goods and have come to think of this as our due. We have freedom of religion which we take for granted. I often wonder how strong my faith would be if I was illiterate and lived in Haiti amidst constant hunger and disease? I’ve never been taken to jail for preaching, but many in the former Soviet Union spent years in Siberian labor camps for preaching the gospel. This didn’t stop them. Upon release, they picked up where they left off. I wonder, what I would have done? What are my expectations?
I have no way of knowing how I would react under such conditions, but I am confident of one thing. Jesus, and Jesus alone, has the words of eternal life. I have no where else to go!
Almost Scripture
Blessed is he who expects nothing for he won't be disappointed - II Donald 3:16
In About-Him
Easter Flash Movie His Blood Still Flows http://about-him.com/risen.swf . We don't care much for effeminate angels, so this movie features a red headed angel with a mustache. Weird, eh?
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Humor
One night, a lady stumbled into the police station with a black eye.
She claimed she heard a noise in her back yard and went to investigate. The next thing she knew, she was hit in the eye and knocked out cold.
An officer was sent to her house to investigate, and he returned half an hour later with a black eye.
"Did you get hit by the same person?" his captain asked. "No," he replied. "I stepped on the same rake."
Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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