The Marvelous Message

He was despised by righteous pretenders Abandoned by His own followers Betrayed with a kiss so cruel Bartered for a guilty criminal Rejected in His home town Thrust with a thorny crown Whipped till He could stand no more Derided by scoffers and callous spectators Nailed upon an inglorious, wooden cross It was a moment in time, when all hope seemed lost Yet still love and grace flowed from His lips A dying thief would find forgiveness In the midst of thunder and an endless dark cloud, a shaking earth and a fearful crowd, though some would gamble His garments away, one Roman soldier in astonishment would proclaim “ Truly, this man was the Son of God!” Hope began when He shed His blood He was the Spotless Lamb, the perfect sacrifice Through His death, He gave us eternal life And in rising again, ascending up to glory He gave us power, through the Spirit, to walk in victory!

There are times when we try to complicate the simple call of following Christ. Rather than faithfully heeding to His Word in humble obedience, we are like Naaman who just couldn't believe that to be healed from his leprosy meant only to exercise trust in God's command and wash in the Jordan river seven times. He sought to question why it was such a little demand and he wanted to be the object of some grand spectacle. It is so imperative as believers in Christ to remember that it is not about us! Oh how often we either try to add “how-to-get-spiritual-quick formulas” to our faith, or we attempt to throw in sneaky loopholes to whole heart commitment, so we can appear to be chest deep in the fruits of the Spirit, when all the while we're just grazing the surface of the Christian walk. This is what Saul did in 1 Samuel 15. Rather than stay focused on carrying out God's command to entirely wipe out the Amalekites, he started to come up with his own assumptions of what seeme...

For the past several weeks, we have studied about King Saul's behavior and foolish choices found in 1 Samuel 13-14. In these chapters, you will see that self reliance, pride, and impatience would begin to control Saul's steps. Probably though, the most glaring testimony of his fall from being a godly king and a faithful servant of the Lord is recorded in 1 Samuel 15. There is no set time-line given as to when this took place during Saul's reign. Only that from the very beginning of the chapter, Saul is commanded by God, through the prophet Samuel, to completely destroy the Amalekites. Not a single person or livestock were to be kept alive. Because of their cruel and wicked treatment of the Israelites, during the days of Moses, God had declared that judgment would fall on the people of Amalek. There were no spoils to be had in this battle, only that Saul would, “. ...claim everything they have for God by destroying it (1 Samuel 15:3 / GWT)” Upon hearing the Lord...

On the cross Jesus bore our sins, so that we might be free from our sin. (Colossians 2:13-15) He experienced rejection that we might receive everlasting redemption. (John 1:11-12) He was abandoned by His followers that we might be adopted into His family. (Matthew 26:56) Jesus died suffering thirst that we might have “rivers of living waters” flowing through us. (John 7:38) His body was beaten, bloodied, and bruised that He might fashion one glorious body, His bride, the Church. (Romans 12:4, Philippians 3:21) He was despised by many that He might bring delight to all and be the desire of nations (Haggai 2:7). He was the persecuted, innocent lamb that He might be the perfect intercessor of the saints. (Hebrews 7:25) He was lifted up in agony, but would ultimately ascend into glory. (Philippians 2:8-9) On the cross, one of His first cries in utter pain was “Why hast thou forsaken me ?” but His final cry in ultimate power was, “It is ...