TRUE SACRIFICE

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” ~ Romans 5:6
 
REFERENCE:

Romans 5:6-11

Happy Good Friday! That is what we say today, but it was not ‘happy’ over two thousand years ago when Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a rugged wooden cross. It was a painful sight as the Son of God was hanging on the cross, almost naked, bloodied, and insulted by passersby. Was he hanged like a criminal for an offense He committed? NO! It was for an offense He did not commit. You and I committed the offense, but he got punished. That is true sacrifice.

It was a sacrifice, not because He was lied against by false witnesses, leading to His conviction, or because He was tried and found guilty by a kangaroo court. NO! It was a sacrifice because He said, “No one takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself…” It was a choice He made to die for you and me. The sacrifice is even more distinguished because He did this for us when we were in sin, guilt, cursed, ruled by satan and the flesh, and cut off from the covenants of God.

By His sacrifice, Jesus broke every curse working against you, redeemed you from the power of sin and satan, provided your bodily and emotional healing, and gave you access to total-life prosperity (Soteria). He secured all this for you on the altar of sacrifice; He became the scapegoat, the sacrificial lamb, and the ransom for your redemption. That is true sacrifice.

A dying girl’s only hope was to receive blood from someone that had recovered from a disease like hers. The doctor got her family together, explained the situation, and knelt by the girl’s little brother. He said, “Son, you recovered from this disease several years ago and now your sister needs your kind of blood to make her well. Would you be willing to give your blood so she can live?” The family stood quietly around the little boy waiting for his answer.

After a few moments, the boy said he would give his blood. They laid him on a bed and began taking blood from his arm. For a while, he said nothing, just quietly watching the blood flow from his body. Finally, he looked up at his parents and asked: “When do I die?” That’s when the family realized the extent of the boy’s sacrifice. He was willing to die so his sister could live.

The essence of Good Friday; is that Jesus was willing to die so you could live, be bound so you could be free, and become sin so that you would be God’s righteousness. That is true sacrifice.

PHOTO QUOTE

 
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

John 10:17-18, Galatians 3:13-14, and John 15:13

PRAYERS:
+ Thank God for sending His only begotten Son to die for you on the cross of Calvary.
+ Thank Jesus for ‘going all the way to Calvary’ and not quitting halfway. Thank Him for His ultimate sacrifice.
+ Declare that you will experience all the benefits of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.