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Jesus' Very Last Statement From the Cross - March 26, 2024
7) Jesus' Very Last Statement From the Cross
Luke 23:46: Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, ‘into your hands I commit my spirit’."
Jesus began His seven statements on the cross by praying to the Father and ended them the same way. Even though it seemed to Jesus that the Father had forsaken Him, He knew that He had a permanent connection and relationship with His Father. Regardless of what he sensed in His humanity, Jesus remained connected to the Father in Spirit and communicated to Him in prayer.
Several significant things happened the day Jesus was crucified that proved to those who witnessed the event that this was no ordinary man and certainly not a common criminal deserving of the harsh punishment He received. Just as the heavens and earth give glory to God in all their splendor, all of nature that somber Friday 2000 years ago groaned in agony giving testimony of who Christ was and the grief that He was experiencing at that moment.
From noon to 3 PM a physical darkness hovered over Golgotha’s Hill symbolic of the spiritual darkness that covered the earth that day (Matt. 27:45). When Jesus drew His last breath, the earth trembled and quaked in response. The ground shook violently and the rocks split (vs. 51). When the Pharisees finally silenced the voice of Jesus, the stones began to cry out as a witness for their Creator (see Luke 19:39-40).
Tombs broke open and the bodies of many deceased holy people were raised to life as a testimony that what was happening to Jesus on the cross was a significant event on God’s divine calendar (Matt. 27:52-53). Through the cross, Jesus conquered death so many may live. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus reigns victorious over sin, death, and the grave giving eternal life to those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
The Temple was damaged that day and the veil to the Holiest Place was split open for the presence of God was no longer to be contained in the inner sanctum of a building. God’s presence would soon reside in the hearts of people who would place their faith and trust in the risen Jesus and thus become members of the royal priesthood of believers (see 1 Pet. 2:9).
Lives were changed that day. Those present who witnessed the event began to realize who Jesus really was. The reality of what He had been teaching slowly began to sink in. The signs and wonders surrounding Jesus’ death confirmed to many who witnessed the moment that what Jesus taught for the past three years was indeed the Truth and they better take notice of what He said. The following is an account of some who did.
“When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matt. 27:54).
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Jesus Indicates That His Work on Earth is Done - March 22, 2024
6) Jesus Indicates That His Work on Earth is Done
John 19:30: In response to Jesus statement that He was thirsty, Roman soldiers soaked a sponge in a bucket of sour vinegar wine, put it on hyssop, and pressed it to Jesus’ mouth, apparently as the final insult in the death of an innocent man. As soon as He tasted the sour mix, He said, "It is finished!" (NKJV)
These three words represent a power-packed sermon in themselves. What was finished? His ministry on earth carrying the Good News to the world was finished (John 17:4). The discipling of His followers to carry on the work he started while He ministered on earth is finished (John 17:6-19). His agonizing suffering, paying the price for both our iniquities and infirmities, was finally complete (Isa. 53:4-6).
The payment for sin and the redemption of the world, the very purpose for which He came to earth, was finished. His act of obedience to the Father was finished. The fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures concerning His earthly mission was complete.
The OT methods of worship and the sacrifice of innocent lambs to atone for the sins of God’s people was finished. The Sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29) paid the supreme sacrifice in one final act of atonement for all our sins once and for all. The Resurrected Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5) became our Advocate who is faithful and just to forgive our sins when we repent and confess them to Him (1 John 2:1-2).
The former Levitical priesthood was finished when the veil of the temple was rent into the very moment Jesus drew His last breath (Matt. 27:51). No longer would a human High Priest have to enter the Holiest Place in the Temple yearly to be in the presence of God. That system was replaced by Jesus becoming our High Priest over the House of God (Heb. 10:21-22). Moreover, with Jesus’ completed work through His death and resurrection, those who would accept Him as Savior and Lord would be adopted into the Family of God and added to the priesthood of believers, all with direct access to God 24/4. (see 1 Peter 2:5-9)
Finally, and most significantly, the unrestricted actions of the enemy against God’s people were finished (Col. 2:15). Jesus went into hades and stripped satan of his power and authority to relentlessly attack and control His people. He was about to establish His Church on earth and Jesus had to ensure that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).
Going forward, Jesus gave those who choose to follow Him power and authority over all the powers of the enemy who cannot hurt nor harm His people as long as they take a faith/speech stand on His word (Luke 10:19) and resist the devil in the powerful name of Jesus (James 4:7).
Whereas Jesus’ physical ministry on earth and His purpose for coming was finished that day on the cross, His spiritual ministry remains alive and well by acting through the lives of those who have made Him Savior and Lord of their lives. When He ascended back into heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to continue His work in and through His people so that collectively they will continue His work but in greater measure (John 14:12).
John 16:5-15 is a very powerful scripture that clearly illustrates the transition of Jesus physical ministry on earth to continuing His ministry through the Holy Spirit sent to indwell Christians to lead, guide, enlighten, and empower them for Kingdom service.
He promised those who witnessed His resurrection that He must return to the Father but would not leave them comfortless or powerless. A few days after His return to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each of His followers. Read and meditate on the last three verses of this great passage of scripture:
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
Yes, Jesus’ physical work of atonement on earth was finished. But He continues His work from the Throne of Heaven through His people who are endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. It was time for the Body of Christ (His Ecclesia) to begin, to develop, and to grow exponentially around the world.
It was time for His disciples to take up the mantle and continue His earthly ministry, under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. It was time for His followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (the Good News) of Christ and share what He did on the cross for them, how He defeated sin, death, the grave, and the god of this world for each of them, and to extend to them Jesus' invitation to join His forever family.
The disciples’ lives were dramatically impacted and changed for the better when the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit, was sent to live in them and empower them for service in God’s Kingdom. Once unruly, feckless and fearful followers of Christ became bold, courageous, and very effective in sharing Christ even with those who were responsible for His death.
That same enabling power that caused such a dramatic change in the disciples to the point that they became positive difference makers in the lives of multitudes remains in each of us today. A question we each should ask ourselves is, “Am I taking full advantage of this awesome opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, enlighten, and empower me for Kingdom service so I can be a positive difference-maker in the lives of those in my area of influence?”
Jesus Responds to His Thirst - March 20, 2024
5) Jesus Responds to His Thirst
John 19:28: Jesus’s mouth was severely parched and dry as He hung on the cross dying a slow painful death. He suffered from extreme thirst in addition to all His other injuries. He knew that the end of His life was imminent as He cried out in distress, desiring some relief until He drew His last breath. In fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures concerning His death, He simply said, “I thirst."
Pause for a moment and let that simple phrase sink in. Here is the One who made all the bodies of water on the earth (oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, springs, along with the rain from moisture-laden clouds to replenish them) hanging willingly on a cross of shame asking for someone to give Him a drink of water. That has to the epitome of irony. But far more than that, it is the epitome of unconditional love for all mankind.
Many of you may know the gospel singer, songwriter, and comedian, Mark Lowry, who sang with the Gaither Vocal Band for several years and appears in most of the Gaither Homecoming videos. He wrote the classic Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know?”
Mark's mother was also a songwriter and she penned a song around this simple phrase of Jesus appropriately titled, “I thirst.” I can’t listen to that inspiring song without tears flowing as it stirs my soul emotionally to visualize my Savior, creator of the heavens and earth, crying out in thirst on that cruel cross, knowing that He was willing to endure the agony of physical thirst so that I could receive His gift of Living Water (the Holy Spirit) and never thirst again.
Here is the first verse and chorus of Mrs. Lowry’s song:
“One day I came to Him, I was so thirsty.
I asked for Water, my throat was so dry.
He gave me Water that I never dreamed of.
But for this Water, my Lord had to die.”
Chorus: “He said, ‘I thirst,’ yet He made the rivers.
He said, ‘I thirst.’ Yet He made the seas.
‘I thirst,’ said the King of the Ages.
In His great thirst, He brought Water to me.”
This song is a beautiful way to depict the message contained in the following Bible story - a message that will continue throughout the ages until Jesus comes again.
On one of His ministry journeys, Jesus and His disciples passed through a village in Samaria. There He met a woman at mid-day drawing water from a well in the desert. As He approached her, He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. Both the presence of Jesus and His question caught her by surprise for here was a strange Jewish man speaking to her, a Samaritan woman. Back in that day the Jews and Samaritans did not associate with nor talk to each other.
He shocked her even further by saying to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (This fascinating and inspiring story in its full context is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 4 and verses 1 through 42).
Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit that He promised would come and indwell all believers after His work on earth was completed and He ascension back to heaven. Holy Spirit would continue to carry out Jesus’ work on earth in the Church Age through enlightening and empowering all believers in Christ for service in the Kingdom of God and to carry out the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers before He departed the earth after His resurrection.
With Jesus’ finished work on the cross, every person who sincerely repents of his/her sins and accepts Him as his/her personal Savior and Lord is given Living Water (the Holy Spirit) that flows freely from the River of Life (Throne of God) to satisfy the spiritual thirst for truth and provide power for sanctified (holy) living by born-again members of the Body of Christ.
In addition to so many other painful inflictions on the cross, Jesus became physically thirsty. He was willing to endure such pain and suffering, so we can have our spiritual thirst forever quenched by His saving grace through His blood covenant and indwelling Holy Spirit who seals us for eternal life in heaven and helps us enjoy abundant living on earth on our way there.
Click on, or copy/paste into your internet browser, the following link and then click the Mark & Beverly Lowery tab and listen to them sing this great tribute to Christ's 5th statement from the cross, “I Thirst.”
Videos of Song Lyrics To I Thirst
bing.com/videos
Jesus in His Humanity Cries Out to the Father Feeling a Sense of Abandonment - March 18, 2024
4) Jesus in His Humanity Cries Out to the Father Feeling a Sense of Abandonment
Matthew 27:46: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (NKJV).
In the darkest hours of his suffering, Jesus felt a sense of separation and abandonment from His Father. At this point, Jesus bore the full weight of the sins of humanity and it was excruciating. This temporary sense of separation from His Father was understandable for God cannot look upon nor condone sin, especially when the sins of the entire world were piled upon His Son Jesus that fateful Friday some 2000 years ago.
Father God did not abandon His Son at that hour for He sent Him to perform a very important mission for mankind. But, no doubt, He had to turn His back while Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world.
This sense of abandonment by the Father showed Jesus’ humanity and only lasted for a moment for His divinity took over and allowed Him to fulfill His mission of defeating sin, death, and satan, and then He was resurrected in great power, authority, and glory.
No doubt each of you have felt a sense of abandonment by God at some point in your life but thankfully, that emotion is never permanent. Most often, it is a trick of the enemy to get us to believe that God has forsaken us but we know better for He promised to never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5) and to always be with us (Matt. 28:20). He is a God of His word.
At other times, our Lord may very well allow us to go through such a period of hopelessness, sense of abandonment, and even give satan permission to buffet us in order to test and perfect our faith, like He did for Job in the OT.
To be clear, I nor anyone else will never come remotely close to what Jesus experienced on the cross nor what Job experienced when God allowed satan to buffet him back in the day. That said, I felt a sense of separation and forsaking by my Lord during a very dark period of my life.
One evening in April 2015 I was lying in bed mulling over in my mind some troubling personal family matters and wondering what happened and how to properly deal with them. I suddenly heard in my spirit, “I did this to do a work in you and then I will restore it.” Previously, the Lord always guided me through His written word, His “still small voice,” or through impressions in my spirit. But this time, His voice was almost audible, very clear, strong, and kind. I felt a sense of great peace with His words and slept well that night. It would be the last peaceful night of sleep that I would have for three months.
Upon awakening the following morning, I immediately heard the same clear, strong, and kind voice say, “You will be just fine.” Later that day all hell broke loose in my life and I experienced a very intense spiritual battle that would last for three months. I came under attack in all five (5) pillars of human life – spiritual, physical, mental (emotional), social (relational) and financial (material). It was a very unsettling but an intensely instructional period in my life that stretched my faith to the limit. I now refer to that period as my spiritual warfare training bootcamp.
The Lord gave me two special lifelines to cling to just before this battlefield training began. The first was when I woke up from a nap a few days prior to the experience, the words to an old gospel song that I had not sung, heard, or thought of for years entitled, “Lord, Keep me Safe ‘Till the Storm Passes By” was streaming through my mind. The second was His comforting words, “You will be just fine” that He spoke into my spirit the morning of the attack.
I clung to these two lifelines during my faith-testing period where my Lord went silent on me and I could not sense His presence for the next three months. He allowed me, for a season, to have a glimpse into at least one aspect of what hell will be like. Satan went on the offensive and unleashed a strong series of accusations, condemnation, and mind attacks with personal losses evident in all areas of my life, both actual and perceived.
Satan only had limited authority to accuse me and attack me in an effort to weaken my faith and neutralize my witness and work for the Kingdom of God. As blood-bought children of the Living God, satan can never possess, control, or totally defeat us. As our adversary, he can only attack believers from outside our spirit. The battleground is our soul (our mind, will, and emotions). His desire is to gain control and influence over our souls through our minds. But he cannot be successful in that mission unless we allow him to do so.
From a spiritual position, we are “in Christ” and He is in us. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The Apostle Paul tells us in Eph. 1:13-14, “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Satan can never take these scriptural truths from us.
But for a few months, I was allowed a glimpse through my mind’s eye into only a very small but impactful portion of what hell will be like for those who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. I know that the real deal is far worse than what I was allowed to experience, but what I went through was enough to convince me that hell is to be avoided “at all costs” (or should I say “at all gain”).
Moreover, it gave me a better perspective regarding my witness for Christ and encouraging others to be sure of their commitment to Christ as opposed to giving mere lip-service to Christianity or going through the motions of being a Christian in Name Only (CINO) without a true change of heart.
It is my desire that all my family members and close friends truly know that they have taken that definitive step to make Jesus Savior and Lord of their lives by truly having a heart-felt commitment to and personal relationship with Jesus and not just a head knowledge of Christianity and Christ.
During this temporary ordeal, that seemed to last an eternity at the time, I sensed a very sad separation from a loving and compassionate God. For three months I sensed a total loss of everything I loved and cherished in life to include eternity in heaven with my Lord and loved ones when I died.
Why I was allowed to have this experience, I may never fully know and understand. Perhaps, it was God’s way of getting my attention for being somewhat more earthly-oriented than heavenly-minded. Perhaps He was disciplining me and pruning me to be more fruitful in His Kingdom. Perhaps He is calling me to a higher service and ministry of helping others who go through spiritual warfare attacks of their own and need a word of encouragement and ministry from someone who has been where they are, understands what they are going through, and can help them get through it to victory. Perhaps it’s a combination of these reasons. But this I truly know; He got my attention and I’ll never be the same as a result of it.
After three months of feeling abandoned and forsaken by my Lord, I reached a point of total absolute surrender to God no matter how I felt or what I will continue to experience. I prayed to the Lord words to this effect: ‘Lord, although I can no longer sense your presence, I still love you and will serve you for the remaining days of my life. Even if you reject and slay me, I will still believe in you and will continue to call you my Lord until my dying days Amen! (stated in the spirit of Job 13:15-16a)
About that same, satan was whispering his lies into my mind’s ear that I was totally lost spiritually, and God has abandoned me. I sensed in my mind’s eye that I had reached the edge of an abyss and was looking down into a bottomless pit from which I had a sense of no return.
I had a strong impression that I was about to tumble into the pit when my precious Lord suddenly came to my rescue and gently and lovingly reached out and took me by the collar, pulled me from the mouth of the pit, and led me out of the quagmire of spiritual attack. It was as if He said, ‘My son, you’ve experienced enough. Come with me. Let’s go home.’ Wow! What a glorious day that was! My victory in Jesus was instantaneous.
The Lord fully restored His sense of presence in my life that day and He has been doing a spiritual renewal work in me ever since. The horrendous satanic mental/emotional attacks and mind games were over for satan fled the scene when My Lord showed up and revealed Himself to me once again. Praise the Lord! God is so good! His promise to never leave or forsake us was proven true in my experience.
For several months after the experience was over, I performed a deep dive study in God’s written word to verify that what I very clearly heard in my spirit on those two days in April and what I experienced afterward was supported in scripture and it was, in spades. In 2016, I completed my research study and wrote a 96-page booklet about the entire experience.
Even though I could not see it at the time nor sense His presence, He was “doing a work in me” during the entire three-month spiritual warfare bootcamp. Then for the next three years, I eagerly spent my days in close fellowship with Him seeking what He wanted to do in my life. Those were some precious times.
My encouragement to all who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is this, if you ever have a sense of abandonment by your Heavenly Father or feel hopeless in anyway, embrace it and work through it in the spirit of Romans 8:28, for it shows that either (1) satan considers you a threat to his agenda and wants to eliminate that threat by neutralizing your effectiveness for Kingdom service or (2) the Lord is putting your faith to the test to grow and perfect it.
In either case, stay strong in your faith, grounded in God’s word, and trust His many covenant promises to you in the Holy scriptures for He will indeed keep you save ‘till the storm passes by.
Jesus Speaks to His Mother and His Close Friend - March 15, 2024
3) Jesus Speaks to His Mother and His Close Friend
John 19:26–27: When Jesus was on the cross, He looked down and saw His mother and the disciple in whom He felt a special bond standing nearby. Jesus was filled with compassion for the earthly needs of His mother and asked His friend, John, to take good care of her in His absence.
26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” (AMP).
This statement shows the compassionate love of Jesus. He cared about human relationships. He especially cared for his mother and the void that would be left in her heart after He is gone.
The Bible does not record if Jesus’ mother, Mary, said anything at His crucifixion. Because of the immaculate conception of Jesus as reported by an angel, she knew that her baby boy was sent by God for a divine mission. But did she know exactly what that mission was and how soon it would end? I believe she did, for she had the closest personal relationship with the One who came to fulfill the teaching of the Old Testament prophets.
Perhaps, as she stood gazing at her son on the cross, or even with her head down, as John held her gently, in reverent understanding that this moment was necessary, her mind went back to the day she and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple to be presented and dedicated to God as was the custom back in that day.
Simeon was a just and devout Jewish servant in the temple waiting for the “Consolation of Israel” (Christ to come as Israel’s Messiah to free His people). He was filled with the Holy Spirit who revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord, Jesus Christ.
When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the dedication ceremony, Simeon was on duty that day. He took baby Jesus into his arms and blessed Him. Then Simeon prayed to God thanking Him for allowing him to depart this earth in peace, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation” for he knew prophetically that Jesus would be the Light of salvation to both the Jews and Gentiles. Both Mary and Joseph marveled at these words as they were just beginning to understand that Jesus was not destined to be an ordinary child. (See Luke 2:22-33).
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’” (Luke 2:34-35)
I believe that Mary knew this day was coming and willingly held her tongue as she wept silently. Per the prophecy given to her by Simeon some 33 years prior, as the Roman soldier’s sword pierced Jesus’ side while hanging helplessly on the cross, Mary felt like a sword had pierced her own soul also.
That is totally understandable. Even though Mary knew that Jesus was on a temporary mission on earth and she was chosen by God to have a special role in that mission, she had the normal human feelings and emotions as a mother witnessing the execution of her child.
Jesus knew that His mother was hurting and wanted her to be comforted and cared for after He was gone. The Bible is silent on Mary’s husband and Jesus’ stepdad, Joseph. Perhaps, he had passed away at this point in time. This seems to be the proper assumption for there would have been no need for Mary to be cared for by John if Joseph was still alive.
The fact that the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 19:26b) was standing by Mary comforting her was no coincidence. John’s love for Jesus was so strong that he chose to stay with Him through His trial and execution. Most, if not all, of the others had become disillusioned and fled for their lives in fear.
Jesus spoke to both His mother and His beloved disciple, assigning the role of a mother/son relationship to each of them. “And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:27b ESV).
Today, Jesus has asked us all, nuclear families and church organizations alike, to take special care of the widows and orphans among us, those who are the most vulnerable in a wicked society.
Jesus’ statement to His mother and good friend also reminds us that all Christians are part of the Family of God. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. The world knows that we are Christians by the love we have for our Lord and for each other (John 13:35).
Jesus Speaks to One of the Criminals Being Crucified with Him - March 13, 2024
2) Jesus Speaks to One of the Criminals Being Crucified with Him
Luke 23:43: "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (NIV)
Of the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, one mocked and blasphemed Him and the other rebuked the blasphemer saying, “Do you not even fear God…we receive the due reward for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (vss. 40-41). Then He turned to Jesus and said, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom” vs. 42).
What a great statement of faith in Christ considering the circumstances! God’s grace was poured out through this man’s simple statement of faith in Jesus who, in turn, assured him of his forgiveness and salvation with His acknowledgement from the cross.
There have been countless testimonies of deathbed conversions since this one all throughout modern history. God does not hold a grudge for people who live for the devil all their life and, then as they are dying, cry out to Him for salvation. That’s how loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving He is.
It is by God’s grace and not man’s works that we can have eternal life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV).
It does not matter when the grace of God is given to a person for eternal salvation be it the tender age of 7 (as it was with me) or when an elderly person is in hospice care with a terminal illness and has time to reflect on his/her life on earth, life after death, and cries out to God for salvation, repenting of a lifetime of sin, and asking Jesus to come in and be his/her Savior and Lord.
Last Sunday, a testimony was given in our Sunday School class by a lady whose elderly Jewish mother never believed in Jesus as her Messiah. Her mom was adamant about people leaving her alone and not speaking to her about Jesus. She was raised to not believe in Him. The class had been praying for her mother to know Jesus and accept Him as her Savior because she was in hospice care nearing the end of her time on earth. Her daughter reported to the class Sunday that her mom finally agreed to pray the sinners’ prayer asking Jesus to come into her heart as her Savior. Shortly thereafter, she passed from this life to her heavenly home at the age of 102.
Whereas the thief on the cross, this centenarian Jewish mother, and countless others experienced glorious deathbed conversions, we must never put off making a commitment for Christ for instant death can occur at any time when we least expect it. None of us are guaranteed sufficient time for repentance and praying for God’s saving grace to be granted to us before we die. The Bible teaches that “today,” not “someday” is the dayof salvation (Heb. 3:7-8, 4:7; 2 Cor. 6:2).
What does this story teach us about God’s Plan of Salvation?
In God’s love and grace, He is willing to forgive and save the worst of sinners even when they call out to Him for forgiveness and acknowledge Jesus as their Savior while drawing their last breath on this earth. Though this criminal deserved condemnation and eternal death for how he lived his life, Jesus gave him total forgiveness and eternal life based on a simple statement of faith in Him. This story tells us that absolutely no one is beyond the reach of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness.
If there is anyone reading this post who does not know for certain that you will spend eternity with Jesus and your saved loved ones in Heaven, I urge you to consider the following “Romans Road to Salvation.” Read and meditate on these scriptures allowing the truth of each one to penetrate your soul. Then take Him at His Word and pray the suggested or similar prayer of salvation that follows them.
Romans 3:10 & 23: As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’ …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Please do not feel that you are alone in feeling separated from God for all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards. All of us have been where you are and had to make the same choice that you face now.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The result of unconfessed, unforgiven sin is a hellish eternal death forever separated from God and the glorious home in heaven that He desired to give those who accepted His gracious offer of eternal life. God has made provision for us all to know Him and to become a member of His forever family by extending His hand of mercy and offering us His free gift of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten Son.
Romans 10:9: “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is a simple two-step action of faith in Christ. If you believe and confess that Jesus was raised from the dead by the Spirit of God after paying the price for your sins so you can have eternal life, you will be saved.
Romans 10:10: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
It is not sufficient to just intellectually acknowledge and accept these scriptures in our heads. We must truly believe them in our hearts and confirm our faith in God’s word by speaking them out loud with our mouth so that the spiritual forces in the heavenly realm will hear our confession of faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord and know where we stand.
Romans 10:13: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
It’s that simple. Once you realize that you are a sinner, repent of your sins, ask Him to forgive your sins, believe that He paid the penalty for your sins, and call on Him to be your risen Savior and Lord, then His promise to you is: He will forgive your sins, come into your heart, help you live as He designed you to live, and give you eternal life with Him in heaven.
A Simple Prayer for Salvation
Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and have fallen sort of your glory. I confess and repent of my sins and ask You to come into my heart as my risen Savior and Lord. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I may be considered righteous in God’s sight and live eternally in heaven with You. Thank You for saving me and making me part of Your forever Family. Amen!
If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the Family of God. You have just embarked on the most exciting journey of your life. Not only will you have eternal life in heaven but in John 10:10, Jesus promised that you can have an abundant and fulfilled life here on earth on your way there. God’s written word, the Bible, is chocked full of the vast benefits of becoming a child of the Living God.
When sharing with others the above “Romans Road to Salvation,” it can be best remembered by the acrostic A.B.C. using the scriptures as shown for each letter of the acrostic.
A – Acknowledge that you are a sinner and have fallen short of the glory of God and deserve eternal death, which you can avoid by accepting God’s free gift of salvation (Rom. 3:10; Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23).
B – Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sins so you can be made righteous in Christ and experience eternal life with Him in heaven (Rom. 10:9-10)
C – Call upon the Lord in prayer and Confess to Him that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and ask Him to come into your heart and grant you eternal life in heaven with Him (Rom. 10:9-10; Rom 10:13).
In summary, Jesus’ second message from the cross demonstrates that accepting His free gift of eternal salvation is as simple as ABC – Acknowledge you are a sinner separated from God, Believe Jesus died for your sins so you may be reconciled to God and have eternal life, and Confess your sins and Call on Him to forgive them and ask Him to come into your heart as Savior and Lord.
Jesus Prays to the Father to Forgive His Executioners - March 11, 2024
Jesus’ Final Words of Ministry from the Cross
March 11, 2024
Hi B2T Family. My name is Gary Billions. I have been following and being blessed by the B2T ministry for about a year and a half and was an active participant last year in the Impactor for Truth course taught by Rick. While in that course, I established my profile in the “Neighbors” tab of neighborhood.social. You can read about who I am and my gifts, calling, and interests in my profile rather than me taking up space in this post for an introduction.
I have been blogging for another faith-based social media site for the past three years. Rick has asked me to do the same for B2T. We agreed to start by covering the Final Words of Ministry of Jesus from the Cross. I sensed in my spirit that this was where I should begin since we are in the season where we commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As our Lord hung dying on the cruel cross of Calvary atoning for our sins, He made seven final statements. These would be His last words of public ministry before being resurrected in His glorified body.
These phrases offer a glimpse into the depth of Christ’s suffering to provide redemption for you and me. His utterances between the time He was nailed to the cross and when He drew His last breath reveal the depth of both His divinity and His humanity. His words spoken on that fateful Friday over 2000 years ago provide impactful teaching principles for us as His followers today; spiritual principles, attributes, and attitudes that are examples of how we should live today.
Jesus’ statements from the cross were short and succinct but powerful and impactful. My normal blogging tempo is once per week with perhaps shorter content midweek. But to cover all our Lord’s statements by Good Friday, I will post about three per week and then perhaps one or two per week thereafter on other topics of my B2T Blog banner of Taking God at His Word.
1) Jesus Prays to the Father to Forgive His Executioners
Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing” (NIV).
This prayer of Jesus was spoken out of a spirit of love and compassion for those responsible for His death. All throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His disciples to love and forgive their enemies. In His inaugural Sermon on the Mount, He taught us, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44 NKJV).
Now some three years later, in His final Sermon on the Cross while in the midst of excruciating pain and suffering, the heart of Jesus focused on others over Himself as He continued to practice what He had been preaching, even while gasping for breath.
The Apostle Peter had similar words of advice for us to follow today. He said, “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another for it covers a multitude of sin” (1 Peter 4:8) including conquering hurts, hatred, and the spirit of unforgiveness for what others do to you or members of your family.
I realize that it’s hard to forgive people who have hurt us but we must forgive them if we expect God to forgive us for hurting Him in similar fashion with our actions and words. As hard as it may be to apply, God is very serious about the spiritual principle of forgiveness as Matt. 6:14-15 so vividly states, 14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses. Therefore, we must take it seriously as well.
Getting angry, holding grudges, and not being willing to forgive those who hurt us, only causes harm to us and not the offending party. I saw this up close and personal many years ago when a close relative of mine was egregiously offended by another person. He was so hurt, angry, and embittered by what this other person did to him that he said he could never forgive that person even after much time had passed since the incident.
As a result of his unforgiving attitude and inability to control his emotions, I sadly watched as my relative’s health began to decline with one issue after another until he eventually died a premature death, in my opinion. His acts of unforgiveness, anger, and bitterness hurt only him and not the offending person who is alive today. I honestly believe, if my relative had been able to truly forgive in a spirit of love and grace and cast his cares and hurts regarding the matter on Jesus, he also would be alive today.
As bad as my relative’s situation was, it paled in comparison to what the religious leaders and Roman authorities did to our Lord. Yet, He chose to forgive them for falsely accusing Him, mocking Him, blaspheming Him, stripping Him naked or near naked in public, beating Him unmercifully until His body was almost unrecognizable, and hanging Him on a humiliating cross reserved for the worst of criminals to die a slow, painful, agonizing death.
Unforgiveness is a cancer that eats away at every fiber of your being. But when you forgive, truly forgive, others of any and every wrongdoing against you, you are set free from the bondage of your pain and you gain great peace and rest in Him. I have personally experienced this in my life and attest to its truth.
The relationship between love and forgiveness is intertwined in the spiritual realm. Love ranks first in the order of Christian attributes with forgiveness following close behind, especially when the spirit of love is breeched.
Jesus taught us in Matt. 22:36-40 that loving God and loving each other is the greatest commandment of all. Why would He consider this to be the greatest commandment? Because when love prevails, none of the other commandments would ever be broken for true love would not allow it. Moreover, when love prevails, forgiveness falls in line behind it.
Unfortunately, our display of love is often flawed and we sin against God and each other. When this happens, Holy Spirit convicts us and reminds us of our need to repent, forgive, and be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15). After Jesus died to atone for our sins and was raised in powerful victory over sin, death, and hell, He returned to His place in heaven where He became our advocate before the Father for the forgiveness of our sins (1 John 2:1-2; Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-22).
Love is the foundational spiritual principle that enables us to forgive those who hurt us, which leads to the healing of those hurts and overcoming and being set free from any physical health-damaging and emotional bondage caused by the grievance.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to follow Jesus’ example on the cross by bearing with each other, being kind and compassionate to one another, and forgiving the offences of others as Jesus does for us all each and every time we ask Him (Col. 3:13; Eph. 4:32).
7) Jesus' Very Last Statement From the Cross
Luke 23:46: Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, ‘into your hands I commit my spirit’."
Jesus began His seven statements on the cross by praying to the Father and ended them the same way. Even though it seemed to Jesus that the Father had forsaken Him, He knew that He had a permanent connection and relationship with His Father. Regardless of what he sensed in His humanity, Jesus remained connected to the Father in Spirit and communicated to Him in prayer.
Several significant things happened the day Jesus was crucified that proved to those who witnessed the event that this was no ordinary man and certainly not a common criminal deserving of the harsh punishment He received. Just as the heavens and earth give glory to God in all their splendor, all of nature that somber Friday 2000 years ago groaned in agony giving testimony of who Christ was and the grief that He was experiencing at that moment.
From noon to 3 PM a physical darkness hovered over Golgotha’s Hill symbolic of the spiritual darkness that covered the earth that day (Matt. 27:45). When Jesus drew His last breath, the earth trembled and quaked in response. The ground shook violently and the rocks split (vs. 51). When the Pharisees finally silenced the voice of Jesus, the stones began to cry out as a witness for their Creator (see Luke 19:39-40).
Tombs broke open and the bodies of many deceased holy people were raised to life as a testimony that what was happening to Jesus on the cross was a significant event on God’s divine calendar (Matt. 27:52-53). Through the cross, Jesus conquered death so many may live. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus reigns victorious over sin, death, and the grave giving eternal life to those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
The Temple was damaged that day and the veil to the Holiest Place was split open for the presence of God was no longer to be contained in the inner sanctum of a building. God’s presence would soon reside in the hearts of people who would place their faith and trust in the risen Jesus and thus become members of the royal priesthood of believers (see 1 Pet. 2:9).
Lives were changed that day. Those present who witnessed the event began to realize who Jesus really was. The reality of what He had been teaching slowly began to sink in. The signs and wonders surrounding Jesus’ death confirmed to many who witnessed the moment that what Jesus taught for the past three years was indeed the Truth and they better take notice of what He said. The following is an account of some who did.
“When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matt. 27:54).
6) Jesus Indicates That His Work on Earth is Done
John 19:30: In response to Jesus statement that He was thirsty, Roman soldiers soaked a sponge in a bucket of sour vinegar wine, put it on hyssop, and pressed it to Jesus’ mouth, apparently as the final insult in the death of an innocent man. As soon as He tasted the sour mix, He said, "It is finished!" (NKJV)
These three words represent a power-packed sermon in themselves. What was finished? His ministry on earth carrying the Good News to the world was finished (John 17:4). The discipling of His followers to carry on the work he started while He ministered on earth is finished (John 17:6-19). His agonizing suffering, paying the price for both our iniquities and infirmities, was finally complete (Isa. 53:4-6).
The payment for sin and the redemption of the world, the very purpose for which He came to earth, was finished. His act of obedience to the Father was finished. The fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures concerning His earthly mission was complete.
The OT methods of worship and the sacrifice of innocent lambs to atone for the sins of God’s people was finished. The Sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29) paid the supreme sacrifice in one final act of atonement for all our sins once and for all. The Resurrected Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5) became our Advocate who is faithful and just to forgive our sins when we repent and confess them to Him (1 John 2:1-2).
The former Levitical priesthood was finished when the veil of the temple was rent into the very moment Jesus drew His last breath (Matt. 27:51). No longer would a human High Priest have to enter the Holiest Place in the Temple yearly to be in the presence of God. That system was replaced by Jesus becoming our High Priest over the House of God (Heb. 10:21-22). Moreover, with Jesus’ completed work through His death and resurrection, those who would accept Him as Savior and Lord would be adopted into the Family of God and added to the priesthood of believers, all with direct access to God 24/4. (see 1 Peter 2:5-9)
Finally, and most significantly, the unrestricted actions of the enemy against God’s people were finished (Col. 2:15). Jesus went into hades and stripped satan of his power and authority to relentlessly attack and control His people. He was about to establish His Church on earth and Jesus had to ensure that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).
Going forward, Jesus gave those who choose to follow Him power and authority over all the powers of the enemy who cannot hurt nor harm His people as long as they take a faith/speech stand on His word (Luke 10:19) and resist the devil in the powerful name of Jesus (James 4:7).
Whereas Jesus’ physical ministry on earth and His purpose for coming was finished that day on the cross, His spiritual ministry remains alive and well by acting through the lives of those who have made Him Savior and Lord of their lives. When He ascended back into heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to continue His work in and through His people so that collectively they will continue His work but in greater measure (John 14:12).
John 16:5-15 is a very powerful scripture that clearly illustrates the transition of Jesus physical ministry on earth to continuing His ministry through the Holy Spirit sent to indwell Christians to lead, guide, enlighten, and empower them for Kingdom service.
He promised those who witnessed His resurrection that He must return to the Father but would not leave them comfortless or powerless. A few days after His return to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each of His followers. Read and meditate on the last three verses of this great passage of scripture:
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
Yes, Jesus’ physical work of atonement on earth was finished. But He continues His work from the Throne of Heaven through His people who are endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. It was time for the Body of Christ (His Ecclesia) to begin, to develop, and to grow exponentially around the world.
It was time for His disciples to take up the mantle and continue His earthly ministry, under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. It was time for His followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (the Good News) of Christ and share what He did on the cross for them, how He defeated sin, death, the grave, and the god of this world for each of them, and to extend to them Jesus' invitation to join His forever family.
The disciples’ lives were dramatically impacted and changed for the better when the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit, was sent to live in them and empower them for service in God’s Kingdom. Once unruly, feckless and fearful followers of Christ became bold, courageous, and very effective in sharing Christ even with those who were responsible for His death.
That same enabling power that caused such a dramatic change in the disciples to the point that they became positive difference makers in the lives of multitudes remains in each of us today. A question we each should ask ourselves is, “Am I taking full advantage of this awesome opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, enlighten, and empower me for Kingdom service so I can be a positive difference-maker in the lives of those in my area of influence?”
5) Jesus Responds to His Thirst
John 19:28: Jesus’s mouth was severely parched and dry as He hung on the cross dying a slow painful death. He suffered from extreme thirst in addition to all His other injuries. He knew that the end of His life was imminent as He cried out in distress, desiring some relief until He drew His last breath. In fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures concerning His death, He simply said, “I thirst."
Pause for a moment and let that simple phrase sink in. Here is the One who made all the bodies of water on the earth (oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, springs, along with the rain from moisture-laden clouds to replenish them) hanging willingly on a cross of shame asking for someone to give Him a drink of water. That has to the epitome of irony. But far more than that, it is the epitome of unconditional love for all mankind.
Many of you may know the gospel singer, songwriter, and comedian, Mark Lowry, who sang with the Gaither Vocal Band for several years and appears in most of the Gaither Homecoming videos. He wrote the classic Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know?”
Mark's mother was also a songwriter and she penned a song around this simple phrase of Jesus appropriately titled, “I thirst.” I can’t listen to that inspiring song without tears flowing as it stirs my soul emotionally to visualize my Savior, creator of the heavens and earth, crying out in thirst on that cruel cross, knowing that He was willing to endure the agony of physical thirst so that I could receive His gift of Living Water (the Holy Spirit) and never thirst again.
Here is the first verse and chorus of Mrs. Lowry’s song:
“One day I came to Him, I was so thirsty.
I asked for Water, my throat was so dry.
He gave me Water that I never dreamed of.
But for this Water, my Lord had to die.”
Chorus: “He said, ‘I thirst,’ yet He made the rivers.
He said, ‘I thirst.’ Yet He made the seas.
‘I thirst,’ said the King of the Ages.
In His great thirst, He brought Water to me.”
This song is a beautiful way to depict the message contained in the following Bible story - a message that will continue throughout the ages until Jesus comes again.
On one of His ministry journeys, Jesus and His disciples passed through a village in Samaria. There He met a woman at mid-day drawing water from a well in the desert. As He approached her, He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. Both the presence of Jesus and His question caught her by surprise for here was a strange Jewish man speaking to her, a Samaritan woman. Back in that day the Jews and Samaritans did not associate with nor talk to each other.
He shocked her even further by saying to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (This fascinating and inspiring story in its full context is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 4 and verses 1 through 42).
Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit that He promised would come and indwell all believers after His work on earth was completed and He ascension back to heaven. Holy Spirit would continue to carry out Jesus’ work on earth in the Church Age through enlightening and empowering all believers in Christ for service in the Kingdom of God and to carry out the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers before He departed the earth after His resurrection.
With Jesus’ finished work on the cross, every person who sincerely repents of his/her sins and accepts Him as his/her personal Savior and Lord is given Living Water (the Holy Spirit) that flows freely from the River of Life (Throne of God) to satisfy the spiritual thirst for truth and provide power for sanctified (holy) living by born-again members of the Body of Christ.
In addition to so many other painful inflictions on the cross, Jesus became physically thirsty. He was willing to endure such pain and suffering, so we can have our spiritual thirst forever quenched by His saving grace through His blood covenant and indwelling Holy Spirit who seals us for eternal life in heaven and helps us enjoy abundant living on earth on our way there.
Click on, or copy/paste into your internet browser, the following link and then click the Mark & Beverly Lowery tab and listen to them sing this great tribute to Christ's 5th statement from the cross, “I Thirst.”
Videos of Song Lyrics To I Thirst
bing.com/videos
4) Jesus in His Humanity Cries Out to the Father Feeling a Sense of Abandonment
March 18, 2024
Matthew 27:46: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (NKJV).
In the darkest hours of his suffering, Jesus felt a sense of separation and abandonment from His Father. At this point, Jesus bore the full weight of the sins of humanity and it was excruciating. This temporary sense of separation from His Father was understandable for God cannot look upon nor condone sin, especially when the sins of the entire world were piled upon His Son Jesus that fateful Friday some 2000 years ago.
Father God did not abandon His Son at that hour for He sent Him to perform a very important mission for mankind. But, no doubt, He had to turn His back while Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world.
This sense of abandonment by the Father showed Jesus’ humanity and only lasted for a moment for His divinity took over and allowed Him to fulfill His mission of defeating sin, death, and satan, and then He was resurrected in great power, authority, and glory.
No doubt each of you have felt a sense of abandonment by God at some point in your life but thankfully, that emotion is never permanent. Most often, it is a trick of the enemy to get us to believe that God has forsaken us but we know better for He promised to never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5) and to always be with us (Matt. 28:20). He is a God of His word.
At other times, our Lord may very well allow us to go through such a period of hopelessness, sense of abandonment, and even give satan permission to buffet us in order to test and perfect our faith, like He did for Job in the OT.
To be clear, I nor anyone else will never come remotely close to what Jesus experienced on the cross nor what Job experienced when God allowed satan to buffet him back in the day. That said, I felt a sense of separation and forsaking by my Lord during a very dark period of my life.
One evening in April 2015 I was lying in bed mulling over in my mind some troubling personal family matters and wondering what happened and how to properly deal with them. I suddenly heard in my spirit, “I did this to do a work in you and then I will restore it.” Previously, the Lord always guided me through His written word, His “still small voice,” or through impressions in my spirit. But this time, His voice was almost audible, very clear, strong, and kind. I felt a sense of great peace with His words and slept well that night. It would be the last peaceful night of sleep that I would have for three months.
Upon awakening the following morning, I immediately heard the same clear, strong, and kind voice say, “You will be just fine.” Later that day all hell broke loose in my life and I experienced a very intense spiritual battle that would last for three months. I came under attack in all five (5) pillars of human life – spiritual, physical, mental (emotional), social (relational) and financial (material). It was a very unsettling but an intensely instructional period in my life that stretched my faith to the limit. I now refer to that period as my spiritual warfare training bootcamp.
The Lord gave me two special lifelines to cling to just before this battlefield training began. The first was when I woke up from a nap a few days prior to the experience, the words to an old gospel song that I had not sung, heard, or thought of for years entitled, “Lord, Keep me Safe ‘Till the Storm Passes By” was streaming through my mind. The second was His comforting words, “You will be just fine” that He spoke into my spirit the morning of the attack.
I clung to these two lifelines during my faith-testing period where my Lord went silent on me and I could not sense His presence for the next three months. He allowed me, for a season, to have a glimpse into at least one aspect of what hell will be like. Satan went on the offensive and unleashed a strong series of accusations, condemnation, and mind attacks with personal losses evident in all areas of my life, both actual and perceived.
Satan only had limited authority to accuse me and attack me in an effort to weaken my faith and neutralize my witness and work for the Kingdom of God. As blood-bought children of the Living God, satan can never possess, control, or totally defeat us. As our adversary, he can only attack believers from outside our spirit. The battleground is our soul (our mind, will, and emotions). His desire is to gain control and influence over our souls through our minds. But he cannot be successful in that mission unless we allow him to do so.
From a spiritual position, we are “in Christ” and He is in us. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The Apostle Paul tells us in Eph. 1:13-14, “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Satan can never take these scriptural truths from us.
But for a few months, I was allowed a glimpse through my mind’s eye into only a very small but impactful portion of what hell will be like for those who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. I know that the real deal is far worse than what I was allowed to experience, but what I went through was enough to convince me that hell is to be avoided “at all costs” (or should I say “at all gain”).
Moreover, it gave me a better perspective regarding my witness for Christ and encouraging others to be sure of their commitment to Christ as opposed to giving mere lip-service to Christianity or going through the motions of being a Christian in Name Only (CINO) without a true change of heart.
It is my desire that all my family members and close friends truly know that they have taken that definitive step to make Jesus Savior and Lord of their lives by truly having a heart-felt commitment to and personal relationship with Jesus and not just a head knowledge of Christianity and Christ.
During this temporary ordeal, that seemed to last an eternity at the time, I sensed a very sad separation from a loving and compassionate God. For three months I sensed a total loss of everything I loved and cherished in life to include eternity in heaven with my Lord and loved ones when I died.
Why I was allowed to have this experience, I may never fully know and understand. Perhaps, it was God’s way of getting my attention for being somewhat more earthly-oriented than heavenly-minded. Perhaps He was disciplining me and pruning me to be more fruitful in His Kingdom. Perhaps He is calling me to a higher service and ministry of helping others who go through spiritual warfare attacks of their own and need a word of encouragement and ministry from someone who has been where they are, understands what they are going through, and can help them get through it to victory. Perhaps it’s a combination of these reasons. But this I truly know; He got my attention and I’ll never be the same as a result of it.
After three months of feeling abandoned and forsaken by my Lord, I reached a point of total absolute surrender to God no matter how I felt or what I will continue to experience. I prayed to the Lord words to this effect: ‘Lord, although I can no longer sense your presence, I still love you and will serve you for the remaining days of my life. Even if you reject and slay me, I will still believe in you and will continue to call you my Lord until my dying days Amen! (stated in the spirit of Job 13:15-16a)
About that same, satan was whispering his lies into my mind’s ear that I was totally lost spiritually, and God has abandoned me. I sensed in my mind’s eye that I had reached the edge of an abyss and was looking down into a bottomless pit from which I had a sense of no return.
I had a strong impression that I was about to tumble into the pit when my precious Lord suddenly came to my rescue and gently and lovingly reached out and took me by the collar, pulled me from the mouth of the pit, and led me out of the quagmire of spiritual attack. It was as if He said, ‘My son, you’ve experienced enough. Come with me. Let’s go home.’ Wow! What a glorious day that was! My victory in Jesus was instantaneous.
The Lord fully restored His sense of presence in my life that day and He has been doing a spiritual renewal work in me ever since. The horrendous satanic mental/emotional attacks and mind games were over for satan fled the scene when My Lord showed up and revealed Himself to me once again. Praise the Lord! God is so good! His promise to never leave or forsake us was proven true in my experience.
For several months after the experience was over, I performed a deep dive study in God’s written word to verify that what I very clearly heard in my spirit on those two days in April and what I experienced afterward was supported in scripture and it was, in spades. In 2016, I completed my research study and wrote a 96-page booklet about the entire experience.
Even though I could not see it at the time nor sense His presence, He was “doing a work in me” during the entire three-month spiritual warfare bootcamp. Then for the next three years, I eagerly spent my days in close fellowship with Him seeking what He wanted to do in my life. Those were some precious times.
My encouragement to all who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is this, if you ever have a sense of abandonment by your Heavenly Father or feel hopeless in anyway, embrace it and work through it in the spirit of Romans 8:28, for it shows that either (1) satan considers you a threat to his agenda and wants to eliminate that threat by neutralizing your effectiveness for Kingdom service or (2) the Lord is putting your faith to the test to grow and perfect it.
In either case, stay strong in your faith, grounded in God’s word, and trust His many covenant promises to you in the Holy scriptures for He will indeed keep you save ‘till the storm passes by.
3) Jesus Speaks to His Mother and His Close Friend
March 15, 2024
John 19:26–27: When Jesus was on the cross, He looked down and saw His mother and the disciple in whom He felt a special bond standing nearby. Jesus was filled with compassion for the earthly needs of His mother and asked His friend, John, to take good care of her in His absence.
26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” (AMP).
This statement shows the compassionate love of Jesus. He cared about human relationships. He especially cared for his mother and the void that would be left in her heart after He is gone.
The Bible does not record if Jesus’ mother, Mary, said anything at His crucifixion. Because of the immaculate conception of Jesus as reported by an angel, she knew that her baby boy was sent by God for a divine mission. But did she know exactly what that mission was and how soon it would end? I believe she did, for she had the closest personal relationship with the One who came to fulfill the teaching of the Old Testament prophets.
Perhaps, as she stood gazing at her son on the cross, or even with her head down, as John held her gently, in reverent understanding that this moment was necessary, her mind went back to the day she and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple to be presented and dedicated to God as was the custom back in that day.
Simeon was a just and devout Jewish servant in the temple waiting for the “Consolation of Israel” (Christ to come as Israel’s Messiah to free His people). He was filled with the Holy Spirit who revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord, Jesus Christ.
When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the dedication ceremony, Simeon was on duty that day. He took baby Jesus into his arms and blessed Him. Then Simeon prayed to God thanking Him for allowing him to depart this earth in peace, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation” for he knew prophetically that Jesus would be the Light of salvation to both the Jews and Gentiles. Both Mary and Joseph marveled at these words as they were just beginning to understand that Jesus was not destined to be an ordinary child. (See Luke 2:22-33).
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’” (Luke 2:34-35)
I believe that Mary knew this day was coming and willingly held her tongue as she wept silently. Per the prophecy given to her by Simeon some 33 years prior, as the Roman soldier’s sword pierced Jesus’ side while hanging helplessly on the cross, Mary felt like a sword had pierced her own soul also.
That is totally understandable. Even though Mary knew that Jesus was on a temporary mission on earth and she was chosen by God to have a special role in that mission, she had the normal human feelings and emotions as a mother witnessing the execution of her child.
Jesus knew that His mother was hurting and wanted her to be comforted and cared for after He was gone. The Bible is silent on Mary’s husband and Jesus’ stepdad, Joseph. Perhaps, he had passed away at this point in time. This seems to be the proper assumption for there would have been no need for Mary to be cared for by John if Joseph was still alive.
The fact that the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 19:26b) was standing by Mary comforting her was no coincidence. John’s love for Jesus was so strong that he chose to stay with Him through His trial and execution. Most, if not all, of the others had become disillusioned and fled for their lives in fear.
Jesus spoke to both His mother and His beloved disciple, assigning the role of a mother/son relationship to each of them. “And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:27b ESV).
Today, Jesus has asked us all, nuclear families and church organizations alike, to take special care of the widows and orphans among us, those who are the most vulnerable in a wicked society.
Jesus’ statement to His mother and good friend also reminds us that all Christians are part of the Family of God. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. The world knows that we are Christians by the love we have for our Lord and for each other (John 13:35).
2) Jesus Speaks to One of the Criminals Being Crucified with Him
March 13, 2024
Luke 23:43: "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (NIV)
Of the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, one mocked and blasphemed Him and the other rebuked the blasphemer saying, “Do you not even fear God…we receive the due reward for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (vss. 40-41). Then He turned to Jesus and said, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom” vs. 42).
What a great statement of faith in Christ considering the circumstances! God’s grace was poured out through this man’s simple statement of faith in Jesus who, in turn, assured him of his forgiveness and salvation with His acknowledgement from the cross.
There have been countless testimonies of deathbed conversions since this one all throughout modern history. God does not hold a grudge for people who live for the devil all their life and, then as they are dying, cry out to Him for salvation. That’s how loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving He is.
It is by God’s grace and not man’s works that we can have eternal life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV).
It does not matter when the grace of God is given to a person for eternal salvation be it the tender age of 7 (as it was with me) or when an elderly person is in hospice care with a terminal illness and has time to reflect on his/her life on earth, life after death, and cries out to God for salvation, repenting of a lifetime of sin, and asking Jesus to come in and be his/her Savior and Lord.
Last Sunday, a testimony was given in our Sunday School class by a lady whose elderly Jewish mother never believed in Jesus as her Messiah. Her mom was adamant about people leaving her alone and not speaking to her about Jesus. She was raised to not believe in Him. The class had been praying for her mother to know Jesus and accept Him as her Savior because she was in hospice care nearing the end of her time on earth. Her daughter reported to the class Sunday that her mom finally agreed to pray the sinners’ prayer asking Jesus to come into her heart as her Savior. Shortly thereafter, she passed from this life to her heavenly home at the age of 102.
Whereas the thief on the cross, this centenarian Jewish mother, and countless others experienced glorious deathbed conversions, we must never put off making a commitment for Christ for instant death can occur at any time when we least expect it. None of us are guaranteed sufficient time for repentance and praying for God’s saving grace to be granted to us before we die. The Bible teaches that “today,” not “someday” is the dayof salvation (Heb. 3:7-8, 4:7; 2 Cor. 6:2).
What does this story teach us about God’s Plan of Salvation?
In God’s love and grace, He is willing to forgive and save the worst of sinners even when they call out to Him for forgiveness and acknowledge Jesus as their Savior while drawing their last breath on this earth. Though this criminal deserved condemnation and eternal death for how he lived his life, Jesus gave him total forgiveness and eternal life based on a simple statement of faith in Him. This story tells us that absolutely no one is beyond the reach of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness.
If there is anyone reading this post who does not know for certain that you will spend eternity with Jesus and your saved loved ones in Heaven, I urge you to consider the following “Romans Road to Salvation.” Read and meditate on these scriptures allowing the truth of each one to penetrate your soul. Then take Him at His Word and pray the suggested or similar prayer of salvation that follows them.
Romans 3:10 & 23: As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’ …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Please do not feel that you are alone in feeling separated from God for all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards. All of us have been where you are and had to make the same choice that you face now.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The result of unconfessed, unforgiven sin is a hellish eternal death forever separated from God and the glorious home in heaven that He desired to give those who accepted His gracious offer of eternal life. God has made provision for us all to know Him and to become a member of His forever family by extending His hand of mercy and offering us His free gift of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten Son.
Romans 10:9: “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is a simple two-step action of faith in Christ. If you believe and confess that Jesus was raised from the dead by the Spirit of God after paying the price for your sins so you can have eternal life, you will be saved.
Romans 10:10: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
It is not sufficient to just intellectually acknowledge and accept these scriptures in our heads. We must truly believe them in our hearts and confirm our faith in God’s word by speaking them out loud with our mouth so that the spiritual forces in the heavenly realm will hear our confession of faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord and know where we stand.
Romans 10:13: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
It’s that simple. Once you realize that you are a sinner, repent of your sins, ask Him to forgive your sins, believe that He paid the penalty for your sins, and call on Him to be your risen Savior and Lord, then His promise to you is: He will forgive your sins, come into your heart, help you live as He designed you to live, and give you eternal life with Him in heaven.
A Simple Prayer for Salvation
Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and have fallen sort of your glory. I confess and repent of my sins and ask You to come into my heart as my risen Savior and Lord. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I may be considered righteous in God’s sight and live eternally in heaven with You. Thank You for saving me and making me part of Your forever Family. Amen!
If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the Family of God. You have just embarked on the most exciting journey of your life. Not only will you have eternal life in heaven but in John 10:10, Jesus promised that you can have an abundant and fulfilled life here on earth on your way there. God’s written word, the Bible, is chocked full of the vast benefits of becoming a child of the Living God.
When sharing with others the above “Romans Road to Salvation,” it can be best remembered by the acrostic A.B.C. using the scriptures as shown for each letter of the acrostic.
A – Acknowledge that you are a sinner and have fallen short of the glory of God and deserve eternal death, which you can avoid by accepting God’s free gift of salvation (Rom. 3:10; Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23).
B – Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sins so you can be made righteous in Christ and experience eternal life with Him in heaven (Rom. 10:9-10)
C – Call upon the Lord in prayer and Confess to Him that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and ask Him to come into your heart and grant you eternal life in heaven with Him (Rom. 10:9-10; Rom 10:13).
In summary, Jesus’ second message from the cross demonstrates that accepting His free gift of eternal salvation is as simple as ABC – Acknowledge you are a sinner separated from God, Believe Jesus died for your sins so you may be reconciled to God and have eternal life, and Confess your sins and Call on Him to forgive them and ask Him to come into your heart as Savior and Lord.
Jesus’ Final Words of Ministry from the Cross
March 11, 2024
Hi B2T Family. My name is Gary Billions. I have been following and being blessed by the B2T ministry for about a year and a half and was an active participant last year in the Impactor for Truth course taught by Rick. While in that course, I established my profile in the “Neighbors” tab of neighborhood.social. You can read about who I am and my gifts, calling, and interests in my profile rather than me taking up space in this post for an introduction.
I have been blogging for another faith-based social media site for the past three years. Rick has asked me to do the same for B2T. We agreed to start by covering the Final Words of Ministry of Jesus from the Cross. I sensed in my spirit that this was where I should begin since we are in the season where we commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As our Lord hung dying on the cruel cross of Calvary atoning for our sins, He made seven final statements. These would be His last words of public ministry before being resurrected in His glorified body.
These phrases offer a glimpse into the depth of Christ’s suffering to provide redemption for you and me. His utterances between the time He was nailed to the cross and when He drew His last breath reveal the depth of both His divinity and His humanity. His words spoken on that fateful Friday over 2000 years ago provide impactful teaching principles for us as His followers today; spiritual principles, attributes, and attitudes that are examples of how we should live today.
Jesus’ statements from the cross were short and succinct but powerful and impactful. My normal blogging tempo is once per week with perhaps shorter content midweek. But to cover all our Lord’s statements by Good Friday, I will post about three per week and then perhaps one or two per week thereafter on other topics of my B2T Blog banner of Taking God at His Word.
1) Jesus Prays to the Father to Forgive His Executioners
Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing” (NIV).
This prayer of Jesus was spoken out of a spirit of love and compassion for those responsible for His death. All throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His disciples to love and forgive their enemies. In His inaugural Sermon on the Mount, He taught us, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44 NKJV).
Now some three years later, in His final Sermon on the Cross while in the midst of excruciating pain and suffering, the heart of Jesus focused on others over Himself as He continued to practice what He had been preaching, even while gasping for breath.
The Apostle Peter had similar words of advice for us to follow today. He said, “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another for it covers a multitude of sin” (1 Peter 4:8) including conquering hurts, hatred, and the spirit of unforgiveness for what others do to you or members of your family.
I realize that it’s hard to forgive people who have hurt us but we must forgive them if we expect God to forgive us for hurting Him in similar fashion with our actions and words. As hard as it may be to apply, God is very serious about the spiritual principle of forgiveness as Matt. 6:14-15 so vividly states, 14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses. Therefore, we must take it seriously as well.
Getting angry, holding grudges, and not being willing to forgive those who hurt us, only causes harm to us and not the offending party. I saw this up close and personal many years ago when a close relative of mine was egregiously offended by another person. He was so hurt, angry, and embittered by what this other person did to him that he said he could never forgive that person even after much time had passed since the incident.
As a result of his unforgiving attitude and inability to control his emotions, I sadly watched as my relative’s health began to decline with one issue after another until he eventually died a premature death, in my opinion. His acts of unforgiveness, anger, and bitterness hurt only him and not the offending person who is alive today. I honestly believe, if my relative had been able to truly forgive in a spirit of love and grace and cast his cares and hurts regarding the matter on Jesus, he also would be alive today.
As bad as my relative’s situation was, it paled in comparison to what the religious leaders and Roman authorities did to our Lord. Yet, He chose to forgive them for falsely accusing Him, mocking Him, blaspheming Him, stripping Him naked or near naked in public, beating Him unmercifully until His body was almost unrecognizable, and hanging Him on a humiliating cross reserved for the worst of criminals to die a slow, painful, agonizing death.
Unforgiveness is a cancer that eats away at every fiber of your being. But when you forgive, truly forgive, others of any and every wrongdoing against you, you are set free from the bondage of your pain and you gain great peace and rest in Him. I have personally experienced this in my life and attest to its truth.
The relationship between love and forgiveness is intertwined in the spiritual realm. Love ranks first in the order of Christian attributes with forgiveness following close behind, especially when the spirit of love is breeched.
Jesus taught us in Matt. 22:36-40 that loving God and loving each other is the greatest commandment of all. Why would He consider this to be the greatest commandment? Because when love prevails, none of the other commandments would ever be broken for true love would not allow it. Moreover, when love prevails, forgiveness falls in line behind it.
Unfortunately, our display of love is often flawed and we sin against God and each other. When this happens, Holy Spirit convicts us and reminds us of our need to repent, forgive, and be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15). After Jesus died to atone for our sins and was raised in powerful victory over sin, death, and hell, He returned to His place in heaven where He became our advocate before the Father for the forgiveness of our sins (1 John 2:1-2; Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-22).
Love is the foundational spiritual principle that enables us to forgive those who hurt us, which leads to the healing of those hurts and overcoming and being set free from any physical health-damaging and emotional bondage caused by the grievance.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to follow Jesus’ example on the cross by bearing with each other, being kind and compassionate to one another, and forgiving the offences of others as Jesus does for us all each and every time we ask Him (Col. 3:13; Eph. 4:32).
Howdy Neighbor, I am happy to have you in this wonderful neighborhood. Keep reaching out and making friends! These guys and gals are wonderful! Lots of love and support for all! Blessings to you and ... View More
Hi Gary, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. I just noticed you are interested in the Fall of the Cabal. Have you watched the series? I have to watch it is small doses.