Today is Good Friday, and all day I have been thinking about the sacrifice that Jesus paid for my sins when He died on the Cross for me. So, I decided to do my Bible Journaling on this. I referenced Isaiah 53:4-6, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried, Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being, fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way, But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (NASB)
While I was doing my Journaling, the thought came that Jesus is our Sacrificial Lamb! Before Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, a blood sacrifice of a spotless lamb was required. Because of Adam’s sin, God instituted the blood sacrifice to cover sin, and the sacrifice had to be perfect, no spot, nothing broken, no imperfection at all! The sacrifice was made in our stead. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. The Bible says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21 KJV) Jesus was that perfect Lamb!
As I write this I am playing the song, O the Blood, by Gateway Worship. This song has been running through my mind all day. It is so hard for me to understand the great love God has for me, to allow His Son to be the sacrifice for me, to take my place, and die the most gruesome, awful death, for my sins. It is such an awesome thing to think of, that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. Jesus went willingly to the Cross for me!
Isaiah says we are like sheep. Have you ever seen sheep? They are not the brightest animal on the planet! They need someone to lead them, they need a Shepherd. Left on their own they can get themselves into all kinds of trouble. That’s not too unlike us! We need a Shepherd to guide us, and because of our sin we can go astray, just as those sheep. Isaiah says, “Each of us has turned to his own way.” Left to our own devices we can royally mess things up! But God … what an awesome phrase! But God had a plan! From the foundations of creation, God had a plan!
God designed our salvation from the very beginning. All we need to do is accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us, repent of our sins, ask Him to forgive us, and promise and endeavor to live for Him for the rest of our lives. We must make Him not just Savior of our lives, but also Lord and Master. Then from that moment on, live for Him, the evidence of our salvation must show through in our lives. Salvation isn’t complicated. God made sure that it was so simple that a small child could come to Him.
I encourage you, if you have never asked Jesus into your heart, the Bible says, “now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2 KJV) It will be the best decision you will ever make. Just talk to him, just like you would a friend, and that is what He is really, a friend.
Then on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, you can rejoice even more, for He is Risen and has completed the work He came to do!
donnasmusings 