Versaday

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89:1

The Justice of God is perfect and cannot overlook any offense. But the satisfaction of this justice was perfect when Jesus paid the price of all the infractions and violations God’s perfect law. I can praise the JUSTICE  God. But oh, the MERCIES of the LORD: Let me sing of them. The Bible says that the mercy of the LORD Is great above the heavens; His mercy endures forever; His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Let us fly to His mercy now and then join the chorus of the vast multitudes that is singing and will continue to sing of the  mercies of the LORD forever. Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Amen

Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shat thou be in the field. Deuteronomy 28:3

The passage continues: “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground,” etc. and “Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” See what a good God we serve. These blessings apply only to those who honor the LORD with their lives, and who walk in obedience to His precepts; to those who surrender to Jesus, have their sins washed away by the blood of Calvary , and live daily striving to please Him.

The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Psalm 103:19

God’ s throne is established over all, with fixed laws of truth and righteousness. Only sinful man is at variance and out of harmony with our merciful, loving and righteous heavenly Father. This disharmony  is a temporary thing. God has appointed a day in which “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. Psalm 119:19

The old song says : “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” We are like tent-dwellers in the desert;   suddenly one day the tent is gone and there is not a trace left ;  nothing but sand. I am a stranger HERE, but thank God I am not a stranger THERE. Jesus knows me by name and is building me a mansion, as is the case with every born-again believer. Here in this world as strangers and pilgrims, we need a map, or guidance and instruction on the pathway. So the Psalmist continues, “ hide not thy commandments from me.”   God’s Word is “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Pilgrim, you need to be in the Word every day for instructions on the pathway. That’s the plan, so  I’ll meet you up there at journey’s end.

He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 1 Chronicles. 16:14

No, Mr. William Ernest Henley, you are not “the master of your fate, the captain of your soul, “ as you say in your poem Invictus: and neither am I nor anyone else.  “Know ye that the Lord, He is God, it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” All of the instinct and intelligence PROGRAMMED into us and all animals, insects and creatures did not result from a  huge explosion of rock millions of years ago. It was PROGRAMMED; and where you have a program, you have a PROGRAMMER. He is thy LORD and honor thou Him. His judgments are in all the earth, whether floods, earthquake, and famines, or good health, a pay increase or happy, virtuous children. Honor Him by honoring His Son Jesus Christ who was crucified, entombed,  and rose from the dead for our salvation.  

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:6

Jesus had repeatedly  stated that he would be killed in Jerusalem and rise again the third day. It seems that few had understood or believed him, but now like Samson carrying the gates, bar and all, He has risen, victorious over death and the grave. “O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?”  Jesus told John in the Revelation, “ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen. What does this mean for you? “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.” Romans 10:9.

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. John 19:28

Toward the end of his crucifixion, having become our sin bearer, Jesus said, “I thirst.” Even the small gratification of a drink of water was denied him as they filled a sponge with vinegar and offered it to him. After this he said, “It is finished”, bowed his head and gave up the ghost. After he was dead and placed in the tomb, Pilate gave permission to roll a large stone to seal the tomb and to set a Roman guard to make sure that he STAYED in the tomb; and that was the end of the matter…………….or so they thought.

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mark 15:34

At that moment all of our sins in all their filth and evil were placed on Jesus. Paul said that He was made to be SIN for us, and that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a CURSE for us.” Gal. 3:13. This moment that God judgmentally accepted Christ as bearing ALL the sins of the world was the horror of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed alone in the garden. This was the dreaded cup that he must drink to the dregs.

This was the shadow of Calvary that had haunted him all his life. From all eternity Jesus had enjoyed blessed fellowship and closeness to the Father. He was daily His delight. He had said,  “ I and my Father are one.”  In Isaiah 42:1 God says of Jesus that He is “mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.” Now as Jesus is made sin and a curse, the Father turns away and Jesus cries out in horror and agony at the rejection, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Jesus endured this out of love to you and me. What do you think will be the fate of those who never come to Jesus and surrender themselves to Him after He endured all this for us? The anguish and torment of eternity will be the consciousness of having rejected Him who is “altogether lovely”.

And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. Mark 15:33

This was the culmination of Jesus’ ministry. He had said, “For this cause came I into the world.” As our sins were being placed on him, the skies were darkened as though nature itself, horrified at the foul deed,  could not bear to watch the crucifixion of the Lord of Glory. “And can it be, upon the tree, my Savior died for me?”  Yes, and for YOU, and all mankind.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43

Now being crucified, and as he was hanging on the cross between the two thieves, one of the thieves railed on Him, but the other confessed his guilt and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus’ kingdom was established, and in this manner showed his faith. Jesus was in excruciating agony, the sins of the world were being placed on Him and you might think that he would have ignored or rebuked the thief. But my Savior never turned away any sincere sinner. Hear the gracious reply: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. Do you think He will hear YOUR plea? He would sooner bankrupt heaven than to turn away one sincere soul that is reaching out to Him.  Only call out to Him. No matter where you are, what you’ve done, how hopeless it seems, Jesus will save YOU. That was His WHOLE PURPOSE in coming into this world to die on the cross: to save sinners. Are YOU a sinner? His arms are outstretched.