Jesus the Savior

The crowd cried "Crucify Him"! Pilate washed his hands and said "I find no fault in Him".  Isaiah, the prophet of old, gives an amazing prophecy in Chapter 53. "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised and we esteemed Him not" (v3).

Easter is now over for us for the last time this century.  We will remember Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the glorious resurrection services of the Easter season. (Did you attend a sunrise service?") It certainly brings us closer to God to think on these things. I pray that the emphasis we put on the Easter services may move us to repent of our sins, dedicate our lives to God, and be faithful to the church for fellowship, growth and winning the lost.

Matthew Mark and Luke all tell us " The stone that the builders rejected, the same is become the chief of the corner" (Mt. 21:42, Mk. 12:10, Lk. 20:17). This makes me realize that I must make a choice. I can reject Jesus as the builders did, or I can make Him the Chief Cornerstone of my life. (Eph. 2:20, I Pet. 2:6) Remember Jesus talked about a man who built his house on a Rock? That Rock is Jesus! We want to build our house with the Rock, Christ Jesus, as our foundation.

We know enough of the world and sin. We know the results of living apart from the Savior. Now let's become acquainted with Him. I don't know why God so loved the world that he gave His only Begotten Son, but I know He did.  When Jesus died on the cross, two thieves died with Him that day. One rejected Jesus. Did he go to Heaven? One believed in Jesus. Did he go to Heaven? You say,  "Well, nobody knows until we get there." Well, Jesus said to the man the who believed, "Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." (Mt. 23:43) What a wonderful promise. When Jesus died on the cross He paid for the forgiveness of all our sins; and He took upon Himself all the punishment of eternity in Hell. So there is no sin or punishment that Jesus did not bear. And we know that God accepted Jesus as the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." (Jn. 1:29) by the powerful resurrection. What a wonderful story! I  pray that each of us will obey the exhortation of Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

We close with Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Your Friend in Christ,

 Rev. Walter Ray