IT IS FINISHED! “It is finished.” —John 19:30 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. —Isaiah 53:4-5 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. —I John 2:2 The physical brutality taken out on Jesus could be seen, but the spiritual torment for sin we cannot truly fathom. Not only did He…

HIS SERVANTS “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “ ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’ ” —II Chronicles 36:23 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing. —Ezra 1:1 This is…

BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. —John 18:36-38 “What…

HE CAN! Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly. —II Chronicles 29:36 Quickly? Surely God can bring about quickly anything He desires. Let us take great hope in this. Situations can change quickly to accomplish what the Lord desires in a people and for a people. People, places, circumstances, attitudes, actions, direction, ability can be changed quickly by our Lord God Almighty. In the above verse the people had been prepared by the Lord to keep the Passover and the Lord brought about the celebration quickly. He was the one that did this. As we seek…

GLORY! And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. —John 17:5 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. —John 17:24 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with…

OVERCOMERS “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33 Jesus wants us to have peace. We will have trouble in this world, but in that trouble we can have peace in Him. He overcame the world and we also are overcomers through faith in Him— “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (I John 5:4-5).…

SAFE IN THE ALMIGHTY Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. —II Chronicles 20:6 Take heart, God is at work in this world. He is accomplishing what He desires. There may be times when we wonder about what He is doing, but we do not have the bigger picture of His overall plan. We do know the end result. We do know what He desires us to be. We do know what He desires us to be about. We do…

BEAR FRUIT BY REMAINING “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;…

MY HOME IN HEAVEN! “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the…

ABANDON AND BE ABANDONED This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you… —II Chronicles 12:5 God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts… —Romans 1:24 God gave them over to shameful lusts… —Romans 1:26 God gave them over to a depraved mind… —Romans 1:28 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. —I John 2:15-16 Prayer, Bible reading,…