An innocent man stands before a crowd. They scream and yell at him, calling for his execution. He has done nothing wrong, committed no crime, yet his fate is sealed. Now high on a hill they drive nails through his flesh into the boards of his cross and then raise it in the air. As his blood begins to drain from his body, the man thinks back to the life he led; a life of ministry, of love, of helping and healing the very people that condemned him to death. Hanging on that cross slowly dying, He lifts his head towards heaven and, of all things, he says “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiveness, he asks God to forgive the people who crucified him. In essence he said “This Blood is for you!”
This story is probably familiar to everyone here whether you believe it happened or not. It is the story of Jesus’ sacrifice for each and every one of us. But it’s not the whole story. Whether or not you choose to believe in Jesus’ life or what happened after his death is irrelevant, the fact is, Jesus died on that cross and 3 days later He was resurrected into a glorified body. He then spent time with his disciples and finally ascended to heaven. Believe them or not these are the facts.
Jesus led a fairly short life, about 33 years, and his personal physical ministry was only 3 years. However, after his death and resurrection a movement came out of Israel by his disciples and spread throughout the world; a movement of hope for the future and love for one another.
Jesus’ teachings have survived the test of time and they change more lives everyday than one can imagine. He taught two simple ideas. One is to love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the other is to love your neighbor as yourself. The word neighbor refers to the whole human race, regardless of color, gender, or sexual orientation. Jesus Christ is an equal opportunity Messiah.
It was these teachings, although kind and loving, that inevitably led to his execution. It seemed that He was too nice and the people loved him so much that jealousy arose in the church leaders and they sought to kill him. What was it about his ministry that people found so offensive? Today we have seen a rise in this trend of being offended by Jesus once again. His name has been X’ed out of Christmas, the holiday devoted to his birth. His image has been pushed aside and replaced by Santa Claus. On the day of his resurrection we see the image of a mythical egg laying rabbit instead. It is not even politically correct to wish someone a Merry Christmas anymore because the word Christ might offend them. I say that if Jesus offends you then you need to search your soul because that is not offense but conviction pulling on your heart.
Jesus was innocent, he had committed no crime and no fault was found in Him; yet he was slaughtered none the less. A man whose life was devoted to helping and loving others and he was executed for it. But remember, whether you believe it or not Jesus is alive today and his message is the same, hope and love. Ten years ago when I graduated from high school, I was on a path to destruction down the highway of drug and alcohol abuse. My life had no direction and no purpose my only goal was for my next buzz. Then, one day I found Jesus and his ministry came into my life. Now I have been drug free for 7 years, I have been happily married for 8 years, I have 2 wonderful kids, I survived 7 months in Afghanistan, a year in Iraq, and I’m finally in college where I should have been 10 years ago. All this is thanks to Jesus Christ, the sacrifice he made, and his ministry that continues today.
Thursday
Tuesday
Whose side are you on?
Gratification...Physical or Spiritual...That's all there is in life. One or the other. Everything we do in life satisfies one of these two desires. We work to make enough money to satisfy our physical needs and desires; and many of us participate in "religious" activities to satisfy the spiritual need. Here is the question...what do those "religious" activities consist of and are they truly capable of spiritual gratification? Are they able to fill us with spiritual satisfaction? Do we even know what spiritual satisfaction is...Do you?
Many of today's religions contain ritualistic behaviors that are meant to make the practicer feel more spiritual. But isn't that more of a physical act? Whether you are standing in a pentagram reciting an ancient incantation to connect you with some higher plane of existence, or kissing your prayer beads, crossing yourself, and saying "Hail Mary" a dozen times; aren't these just physical "rituals" that are used to make us feel more in tune with the "spirit" world? These practices seem to work because we are physical creatures. However, we also have a true spiritual side that needs a true connection with its creator. There is but one bridge between man and the creator...That bridge is Jesus Christ. Please don't stop reading if you disagree, hear me out.
We have a choice to make in life. That choice is to seek one of these two forms of gratification. Here is a story of a man that made his decision and developed a religion based on that decision. This man was an organ player for a carnival back in the mid 1900's. He watched men lust over scantily dressed carnival girls on Saturday night and then show up for a Church service on Sunday and ask for forgiveness only to be back the next Saturday. Later in his life he became a crime scene photographer. During his three year career he saw people shot or stabbed by their own "friends" and children splattered by drunk drivers. In this time he questioned "...where is God in this twisted world?" That is a legitimate question but instead of seeking the answer he made a decision how he was going to allow these events affect his life. He decided that mankind would always seek physical gratification. He became angry with God and chose the other side. He developed a religion based on physical gratification. His philosophies are actually quite prevalent in our society today. It is common practice to achieve success in the business world by stomping on the competition and only being kind to those who "deserve" it. Vengeance is prevalent in our world. These are but a couple of examples. The man I speak of is Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan.
LaVey was dealt a difficult hand in life and he made his decision how he would react to it. He chose a side whose future is written. LaVey chose to side with the devil and his goal was to take as many people with him as possible. In the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, one can read for oneself about the fate of the devil and his followers. The devil knows his destiny but he doesn't want to go alone. As they say misery loves company. LaVey died in 1997 at the age of 67, he made his decisions and he will be judged for them and it is too late for him to change his mind.
Please don't take this post the wrong way. I am not trying to "scare the Hell" out of you. I am merely laying out the facts of our world. Each one of us is faced with the difficulties of this life and we have to make a decision. If one chooses Jesus, there is a spiritual connection that can be made with him. That connection is true spiritual gratification, it can only be felt not achieved by rituals, or chanting. Some would say that Jesus is just a crutch, but when you are crippled by the pains of life, then a crutch is just what you need.
Many of today's religions contain ritualistic behaviors that are meant to make the practicer feel more spiritual. But isn't that more of a physical act? Whether you are standing in a pentagram reciting an ancient incantation to connect you with some higher plane of existence, or kissing your prayer beads, crossing yourself, and saying "Hail Mary" a dozen times; aren't these just physical "rituals" that are used to make us feel more in tune with the "spirit" world? These practices seem to work because we are physical creatures. However, we also have a true spiritual side that needs a true connection with its creator. There is but one bridge between man and the creator...That bridge is Jesus Christ. Please don't stop reading if you disagree, hear me out.
We have a choice to make in life. That choice is to seek one of these two forms of gratification. Here is a story of a man that made his decision and developed a religion based on that decision. This man was an organ player for a carnival back in the mid 1900's. He watched men lust over scantily dressed carnival girls on Saturday night and then show up for a Church service on Sunday and ask for forgiveness only to be back the next Saturday. Later in his life he became a crime scene photographer. During his three year career he saw people shot or stabbed by their own "friends" and children splattered by drunk drivers. In this time he questioned "...where is God in this twisted world?" That is a legitimate question but instead of seeking the answer he made a decision how he was going to allow these events affect his life. He decided that mankind would always seek physical gratification. He became angry with God and chose the other side. He developed a religion based on physical gratification. His philosophies are actually quite prevalent in our society today. It is common practice to achieve success in the business world by stomping on the competition and only being kind to those who "deserve" it. Vengeance is prevalent in our world. These are but a couple of examples. The man I speak of is Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan.
LaVey was dealt a difficult hand in life and he made his decision how he would react to it. He chose a side whose future is written. LaVey chose to side with the devil and his goal was to take as many people with him as possible. In the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, one can read for oneself about the fate of the devil and his followers. The devil knows his destiny but he doesn't want to go alone. As they say misery loves company. LaVey died in 1997 at the age of 67, he made his decisions and he will be judged for them and it is too late for him to change his mind.
Please don't take this post the wrong way. I am not trying to "scare the Hell" out of you. I am merely laying out the facts of our world. Each one of us is faced with the difficulties of this life and we have to make a decision. If one chooses Jesus, there is a spiritual connection that can be made with him. That connection is true spiritual gratification, it can only be felt not achieved by rituals, or chanting. Some would say that Jesus is just a crutch, but when you are crippled by the pains of life, then a crutch is just what you need.
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