Monday,
February 11.2002 "Daily
Devotions" Joh 19:17
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place
of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
"Golgotha"
Well, The greatest statement
ever made to the world was made on a hill called Calvary almost
2000 years ago and it is still as powerful today as it was then.
Telling the old, old story over and over never gets old and it
gets sweeter ever time it is told. God made more than one
statement form Golgotha, he made three statements, the most
important one was that he sent Love into the world in the person
of His darling Son The Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God shed
abroad in our Hearts, keeps the old story fresh and a new every
day.
1. The first statement made
was through His Son who gave his life, to pay the sin debt for
mankind. Romans
5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:
We
all owed a debt we could not pay and Jesus came into this world
born of a virgin,
lived 33 years and died on the cross of Calvary to pay that debt
for us. The bible says God is Love, and it also says Jesus is God,
for if one does not believe in the deity of Jesus, that is to say
if one does not believe that Jesus is God, then how could he
believe that Jesus could forgive sin, when only God can do that .Ro
5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For
if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of
God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ,
hath abounded unto many.
Ro 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the
gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free
gift is of many offences unto justification.
Ro 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one;
much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Ro 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
2. The second statement made
from Calvary was from the thief on his right hand, "All
Men can be saved" We hear of people who make death bed
confessions, and rightly so, I hope and pray that all of them are
in Heaven. If our Bible is right, and it is, then all who
made an instant confession before death are in Heaven with Jesus,
The thief on the cross made a statement to the world that last
till now and will last throughout out eternity. Salvation is by
Grace and is free to all men. All Have sinned and come
short of the Glory of God, But all can be saved by the grace of
God which is a free gift of God, God loves all mankind. so that
means one can be saved at the last minute, if he has time to ask.
I don't know how close the thief was to taking his last breath
when he Ask Jesus to save Him, but I would not want to take the
chance. Don't gamble your life with Satan you will lose the bet.
3. The thief on his left hand
made a statement to, "That all men are lost and in rebellion
aginst God" He rebelled right up to his death, And he died
and went to Hell, and I don't care what CNN or NBC or ACLU say He
went to hell. My Bible tells me that people who do not accept
Jesus Christ as their personal saviour goes to Hell, He lived his
life in sin right up to the very moment he died, Why would anyone
say he went to Heaven. He had the same chances the thief on the
right hand did, but never repented. We have so many in the world
to day who live in sin all their life, and then at the funeral in
order to please people we say well they are in Jesus' hands now
and we hope they are in Heaven. Not SO!!!1. if they died in their
sin they went to Hell. If a man lives his life in sin and then
kills himself, what in the world makes you or I think he went to
Heaven. Truth, Truth, Why not tell the truth of the word of God,
Jesus did !!!!!
WE have preached the truth of
God's word "Love" to so many sinners in this world today
that they believe they can do anything they like, live any way
they please and still go to Heaven when they die. I had a
lady tell me one time that here husband was a sinner and he was
going to Hell and she wanted to go with him. She does not have any
notion of what hell is like.
Three statements made at a
little hill out side the gate of Jerusalem 2000 years ago, that
are still prevalent in our world today. How long will the
statement that you make with your life last in this world. How
soon will people forget who and what you were. Something to think
on.........
The Potter's Clay
Jim Haga