Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Day of Destiny; Day of Deliverance.


This week Michael writes: Cataclysmic events mark our destiny as nations and as individuals. D-Day was such a day in the history of the world.  Were it not for the soldiers who stood in the gap at the beaches of Omaha and Normandy, the whole world would have been under the oppressive boot of tyranny of Germany and the Axis powers. A plan must be laid, a commitment must be made, a price must be paid. More men died in World War II between D-Day and VE Day than died in the years prior to that short ten month period. Did we in our own strength confide, our battle would be losing.  If God had not intervened, the history of the world would have been different. D-Day is the day of deliverance. 

The death of Jesus was the most cataclysmic day in the history of the world.  Psalm 22 is a Psalm of David and a prophecy of God's mission, his battle plan for the deliverance of the world through his only begotten son. Jesus Christ was God's plan for redemption.  A price must be paid.  Jesus was the priceless Lamb of God who redeemed us with his precious priceless blood. A commitment must be made. Jesus said that we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow him. He leads by example and never asked his followers to do what He himself had not done. He said to follow in his footsteps. The definition of a leader is one who gives his life for his troops. The leader has a clear vision of the mission and the purpose for which he has been called to serve.

God called his men and women to be warriors on the front lines of the spiritual battle. Our peace in the midst of the battle is Jesus Christ.  Our power is in His strength alone. The challenge is to subjugate our will to His will. Not my will but thy be done. Meekness and humility are the requirements for becoming a disciple, a disciplined follower. Jesus said to count the cost to build the tower. Is the cost of forsaking our will in service to him, worth the value of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory?

On the cross, Jesus quoted Psalm 22, My God, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"  Jesus knew that He was God's fulfillment of this prophecy. The context of this verse concludes with "our fathers trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them." The theme of this quote is not God's "forsaking" but rather the destiny of God's delivering through the redeeming sacrifice of his son. There can be no victory without a battle. The greater the conflict of the battle, the greater the victory. There can be no resurrection without a crucifixion. 

The Jews expected the Messiah to come as King of kings and Lord of lords. They did not expect a suffering servant. They had read in the scriptures about the glory of the Lord. However the Jews forgot that this verse is also about the sufferings of Christ that precede the glory that should follow. The justice of this world has been perverted where political correctness calls evil good and good evil. The Founders intended that those accused of a crime were innocent until proven guilty. However in our times, the mere accusation of wrongdoing is often all it takes to ruin a good man's reputation and to smear his good name. The justice of God is greater than the injustice of man. We cannot seek to cleanse our carnal nature. God has created within us a new spiritual nature.  We have been washed by the precious blood of the lamb. Even though we receive the scorn of the world, we can rejoice not in our flesh, but in the righteousness of the spirit of God in Christ in us.

Jesus said, "In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Therefore, be not weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. On the day of the crucifixion, they did not kill my Lord. No man could have killed the son of God. He laid down His own life willingly  in our stead and endured the suffering of the cross for the joy that was set before Him ... His joy was in those whom he would redeem by the shedding of his precious innocent blood. The fulcrum of history was marked by the cataclysmic event of His Story ... “He who knew no sin became the sin offering for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

For Jesus Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us. This was the day of destiny and the day of deliverance. Jesus' cry of triumph was "My God, my God, for this purpose I was spared."


My God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

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