Thank God I'm Forgiven! That takes on an extra special significance on this Good Friday. Meditate on that today as you begin your quiet time and worship in Spirit and Truth. Come back to this often today as you remember and worship.
Good Morning Saved-By-Faith, Loved, Forgiven, Redeemed of the Lord! Thank You Jesus! Amen!
Good Friday is always a day where I seem to be extra still, extra thankful, more contemplative as I remember the love of God and the beating and sacrifice of Jesus that my sin caused. Forgive me! Cleanse me! Restore me! Thank You Lord!
The crushing heaviness is almost overwhelming as I remember and meditate. Then my thoughts go to what the disciples and followers must have been experiencing right now as they have betrayed, denied, run away, hid, were confused and as some stood by and watched Jesus die on that cruel cross. Father, forgive me! Thank You for Your love! Jesus, words cannot covey the heaviness and gratitude of You standing in and dying in my place! I love You! Help me to die to self, take up cross daily and lay down my sin and my life as I follow You. Thank You! Amen! "It is finished"!
I've been sitting here in worship, prayer, meditation and stillness for almost three hours. What blessings we know as we dwell in Christ's loving presence and what blessings we know lie ahead for us who are saved by grace! Amazing love has been poured out in red just for you! Jesus is looking into your heart right now saying, "Come! I did this for you!"
I am just going to attach our devos for today and give you space to remember and worship today. Thank God I'm Forgiven! What extravagant, lavish, expensive love God has shown you! Meditate on that today and just worship...
Charles Stanley:
Our Daily Bread:
Jesus, Our Substitute
Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
READ 1 Peter 3:13–18
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A wealthy twenty-year-old was drag-racing with his friends when he struck and killed a pedestrian. Although the young man received a three-year prison sentence, some believe that the man who appeared in court (and who subsequently served a prison sentence) was a hired surrogate for the driver who committed the crime. This type of thing has been known to occur in some countries where people hire body doubles to avoid paying for their crimes.
This may sound scandalous and outrageous, but more than two thousand years ago, Jesus became our substitute and “suffered once for [our] sins, the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:18). As God’s sinless sacrifice, Christ suffered and died once and for all (Hebrews 10:10), for all who believe in Him. He took the penalty for all our sins in His own body on the cross. Unlike a person today who chooses to be a substitute for a criminal to get some cash, Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross provided “hope” for us as He freely, willingly gave His life for us (1 Peter 3:15, 18; John 10:15). He did so to bridge the chasm between us and God.
May we rejoice and find comfort and confidence in this profound truth: Only by the substitutionary death of Jesus can we—sinners in need—have a relationship with and complete spiritual access to our loving God.
By Marvin Williams
REFLECT & PRAY
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How has Christ’s substitutionary death changed your life? What does it mean for you to have access to God and eternal life because of Jesus' death on the cross?
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying in my place so that I might have access to God.
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In 1 Peter 3:13-14, the apostle encourages believers in Jesus to “do good,” even if they suffer for it. Believers in Christ aren’t to fear but are to trust in God and be prepared to witness for Him. Peter reminds us that Jesus suffered unjustly and died for our sins, “the righteous for the unrighteous” (v. 18). His was a once-for-all sacrifice. Whoever believes in Him as their Savior and repents of their sins receives His forgiveness. Our salvation doesn’t guarantee we won’t suffer; today’s passage and other Scripture passages tell us something quite different. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18); also, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (v. 20). And Paul tells us, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Alyson Kieda |
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Upper Room: Good Friday
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” - 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (NIV)
I awoke on Good Friday thinking of the introduction to our church’s Communion services: “On the night he was betrayed . . .” During Communion and Good Friday services, Christians tend to focus on the physical pain Jesus experienced during his trial and crucifixion, sometimes forgetting the excruciating emotional pain he endured.
For three years, Jesus had loved and taught his disciples. Yet they turned away after his arrest, as did many others who had once applauded him. (See Mk. 14:43–15:15.) Those following Jesus betrayed him for different reasons — Judas disclosed Jesus’ location for 30 pieces of silver; Peter denied him out of fear; the crowd chose instead to release a rebel insurrectionist named Barabbas. Betrayal can come in many forms and for various reasons, but it is always emotionally painful. Those who have experienced betrayal know the deep emotional wounds it causes.
During Communion services, we are reminded of the betrayal Jesus experienced. These services offer us time to think about those who betrayed Jesus and the significance of Jesus’ body and blood being sacrificed for those very people. Jesus’ death reminds us that we are all called to love our betrayers as Jesus loved his.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help us to follow your example and extend forgiveness and love toward those who have wounded us emotionally. Amen.The Word for You Today:
Harvest Prayer Prayer starters:
- Praise God as the Creator who makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).
- Give thanks for his power to bring even the most deadened souls to life in Jesus— including your own (Eph. 2:1-5).
- Confess those times when you have lost faith in God’s power to renew and restore.
- Commit yourself to renewing your mind every day in prayer and in reading God’s Word.
- Ask God to teach you what it means that you are now God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (2:10).
- Pray that those who are outside of God’s family may be made new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
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