SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Isaiah 53:1-10
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
MORE LESSON: Romans 5:1-8
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Wednesday, 3 September
Memory Verse: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35
The foundation of the Christian faith is the truth about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus came, died and rose from the dead is not a Christian. The Christian faith does not exist without this truth. Several people cannot accept this fact about the Lord because it sounds unbelievable to a natural man. It's incomprehensible to the carnal, natural man how the following things about Jesus Christ, the One and Only Messiah, could be true.
1. The Son of God could go through intense pain as described by the prophet Isaiah. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed: Isaiah 53:5. No one wants to be wounded, have bad cuts from which blood flows freely as Jesus experienced except for criminals, who go through such by force. Jesus unbelievably went through pain, so who is man not to? He was deeply wounded and scourged with the Roman whip used for hardened criminals of those days.
2. He died for ungodly and sinful men. But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Hardly will men die for a good man, but Jesus went ahead to die for sinners, making provision for even unborn men, who have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
3. Jesus became a substitute for us by taking our place, receiving God's punishment for our sin, though He was righteous and without sin. What love! That is why, having made such an excellent provision for man to escape damnation in hell, if anyone rejects this redemption package, there will be no mercy or remedy again after death. I urge you to reciprocate this unbelievable but free offer of God by entering a love relationship with Him.
4. He went to hell (sheol) to rescue men's souls as part of the redemption package. He collected the keys of hell and death from Satan.
5. He paid the price for us to have a change of status and position. We were no people, but have become members of God's family by the price Jesus paid on the cross (Ephesians 2:11-12). Now we are raised to sit at the same level with Christ in the spirit realm above all other spirits (Ephesians 2:6).
Through these acts of Christ, people can access all the goodness of God, both spiritually and physically, morally and psychologically, in every area of life. What a love! Incomparable love!
Prayer/Action
* Give God thanks for the suffering and pain he went through on your behalf so that you might be saved.
* Thank Jesus for His love towards you.
* Proclaim your love to God and promise to reciprocate His love to those around you.
TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Father, in this new month, I connect with the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and step into a greater me from generation to generation, in the performing name of Jesus.
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