From: Suzianty Herawati
"On Him they laid the cross, that He might bear it after Jesus."
--Luke 23:26
We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church
throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then,
Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a
cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts
you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in
Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross which we carry. When you are
molest ed for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings
upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how
delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after Him. You have blessed company; your path is marked
with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of His blood-red shoulder is upon
that heavy burden. 'Tis His cross, and He goes before you as a shepherd goes
before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow Him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the
opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole
of it. That is very
possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse
beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you;
you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it
gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while
at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love
the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works
out for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
CH Spurgeon
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From: Suzianty Herawati
"They took Jesus, and led Him away." --John 19:16
He had been all night in agony, He had spent the early morning at the hall
of Caiaphas, He had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod,
and from Herod back
again to Pilate; He had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither
refreshment nor rest were permitted Him. They were eager for His blood, and
therefore led Him out to die,
loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession! Well may Salem's daughters weep.
My soul, do thou weep also.
What learn we here as we see our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive
that truth which was set forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the
high-priest bring the scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head,
confessing the sins of the people,
that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease from the people?
Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the wilderness, and it carried
away the sins of the people, so that if they were sought for they could not be
found. Now we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounce
Him guilty; God Himself imputes our sins to Him, "the Lord hath laid on Him the
iniquity of us all;" "He was made sin for us;" and, as the substitute for our
guilt, bearing our sin upon His shoulders, represented by the cross; we see the
great Scapegoat led away by the appointed officers of justice. Beloved, can you
feel assured that He carried your sin? As you look at the cross upon His
shoulders, does it represent your sin? There is one way by which you can tell
whether He carried your sin or not. Have you laid your hand upon His head,
confessed your sin, and trusted in Him? Then your sin lies not on you; it has
all been transferred by blessed imputation to Christ, and He bears it on His
shoulder as a load heavier than the cross.
Let not the picture vanish till you have rejoiced in your own deliverance,
and adored the loving Redeemer upon whom your iniquities were laid.
CH Spurgeon
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From: Bayo Afolaranmi
Dear Beloved,
As we enter into the "Holy Week" today, let me resend an abridged version of
series of messages I once sent about the accomplishments of the atoning death
of Jesus Christ:
WHAT IS GOOD IN IT? (abridged)
(THE ATONING DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST)
"None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8, NIV).
I overheard a Muslim preacher one day accusing the Christians: "They call the
day 'Good Friday.' What is good in it? What is good in a day they crucified
their Savior? What is worthy of celebration in it?" I chuckled. What is good in
the Good Friday? Why should we Christians celebrate such a "horrible" day - a
day that our Savior and Lord was tried, sentenced to death by crucifixion,
flogged, molested, crucified cruelly and eventually died? Non-Christians may
not know, but every Christian knows what is good in it. If Satan and his
cohorts knew that the day would turned to become a good day for Christians and
anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord, they would do
everything possible to hinder the event of the day from taking place.
What is good in the Good Friday? What is the significance of the death of Jesus
Christ on the cross? This will lead us to the purpose of the first coming of
Jesus Christ to the world: to SAVE people from their SIN (Matthew 1:21; John
1:20; Acts 3:26; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 3:5, 8; 4:9, 10). Jesus Christ
accomplished this through His death on the cross (Romans 5:6,8; Hebrews
2:14-15; 10:5-10). This atoning death of Jesus Christ is related to our sins
(redemption); it is toward God (propitiation), and at the same time toward man
(reconciliation). In other words, Jesus Christ, through His atoning death, paid
the price of man' sin in order to remove the wrath of God and thereby reconcile
man to God. There is no doubt that the day Jesus Christ accomplished all these
is not only a good day, but one of the best days for Christians and everyone
who accepts Him as his personal Savior and Lord.
However, is Jesus Christ's death effective in your life? Have you been
reconciled to God? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so that His death will not
be in vain over your life. Accept Him today as your personal Savior and Lord.
You will experience the goodness of His death in your life!
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).
Note:
Send your comments and remarks on this message to me directly or copy
me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you need the full study, let me
know. God bless you!!!
==============================================
From: Bayo Afolaranmi
Dearly Beloved,
HOW TRUTHFUL ARE YOU?
(CAN YOU DO LIKE JOB DID? [Series 2])
"If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit- let God
weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless- if my steps
have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands
have been defiled, then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be
uprooted" (Job 31:5-8, NIV).
Job testified about his blamelessness in terms of falsehood and deceit in
verses 5-8. He said that he had not walked in falsehood neither had he hurried
after deceit. Falsehood is any untrue statement while deceit is deliberately
leading somebody to believe or accept something that is false usually so as to
get something for oneself.
These two closely related vices are common in the lives of many people today.
Many people find it easy to tell lies especially to cover up their wrongdoings.
Falsehood has become a norm for most of these people. They cunningly term
falsehood as art of diplomacy. Deceit too has made many people not to be
trustworthy nowadays. Such people can defraud other people of their valuables
at will. In fact, there are some that are professional defrauders today. They
specialize in duping people. Regrettably, many so-called ministers of God are
in this category of people.
Any art of falsehood or deceit is of the devil. The Bible says, "You belong to
your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was
a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth
in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies" (John 8:44, NIV).
Job was honest and trustworthy. He was ready for any consequence of being
otherwise. Who on earth nowadays can do like Job did – to be bold enough to be
able call people to challenge his/her integrity and fairness? How blameless are
we in terms of falsehood and deceit? How truthful are you?
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).
