The truth was, that Jesus had come to take the place of sinners.
He was not just some helpless victim.
He laid down his own life willingly to die in our place.
They even released a criminal when they crucified Jesus.
A rebel and murderer who was supposed to be hung on the cross where they nailed Jesus on.
It was the perfect picture of how He came to die in our stead.
Those that rebelled against God’s reign and deserved to be put to death.
Which is all of us.
But that was never God’s heart for us.
He never wanted us to suffer and die because of our rebellion.
But justice needed to take place or we would never submit to him.
We would never see the importance of living according to his ways, his instructions He has given us through the scriptures, the bible.
We would never change if He just pardoned our sin without showing us what the rightful penalty for our rebellion would be.
And so He took our verdict upon himself.
He died the death we deserved to die.
They falsely accused him and He let them.
Because He was bearing the rightful accusations that were made to us.
It was really our indictment He underwent.
The rightful charges against us were falsely put upon him.
He was charged with treason against the roman empire.
They charged him of being a rebel, a threat to the roman reign which would be treason.
Non of those charges were true of him.
But they were true of us.
We all put ourselves in God’s place.
We all rebelled against his reign.
We all did what we wanted and deemed right instead of submitting to him and living in the ways He instructed us for our own well-being.
We made ourselves the god of our own life.
And He paid the rightful penalty for our high treason against the King.

So we did not have to suffer what was rightfully ours to suffer.
So we could be pardoned and forgiven.
So we could be united with our Father.
The One that never stopped loving us but provided a substitute when we rebelled against him.
So that we could learn his ways.
So that He could give us a new heart that wants to submit to him and live in love the way He intended life to be.
So that He could make us whole and healthy again by bearing the pain and sicknesses and grief we went through as a result of our rebellion.
Not necessarily all directly through our own rebellion, but through the rebellion of people nonetheless.
He really carried all our sorrows and pain and guilt when He was judged undeservingly.
Everything that was in the world because of sin came on Jesus.
So He could give us new life instead.
Life that was his very own.
First by laying his life down for us.
Then by giving us his Spirit, by giving us a new heart.
Making us a new person.
So we could be all we were made to be.

To be continued…

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I mentioned that justice needs to take place, a rightful penalty for rebellion against God, our sin, to protect the morality of society and to keep us all safe.
But I believe there is more to it.
When justice takes place the value of the victim is acknowledged.
When it is witheld on the other hand the worth of a person is not esteemed very high. It basicly says that person does not really matter.
That is why it is so important for the victims of crimes to get justice.
To see the offender punished in an appropriate way.
It does not only protect society and teaches the criminal what is right and wrong.
If justice is witheld the victim will feel unseen.
Like he or she is not important.

When Jesus died on that cross He showed us the worth of God.
We would never submit and cling to a God that would let himself be walked over.
We would not respect him at all and we would not feel safe to entrust our lives to him.
We want someone that is just to rule over us.
Even if that means that our own mistakes are not wiped away like they never happened.
The paradox is that in the end God does treath us like we never sinned.
But something took place before that happened.
It even looked like God did let himself be walked over when He let himself be taken captive, tortured and crucified.
Yet He did all that to show us the rightful consequence for our rebellion.
He showed us the tremendous value He has.
It is not that He started to feel insecure when people disobeyed him.
But we needed to be reminded of the worth of God.
The importance of him being above us.
So He can actually lead our lives in good order instead of letting chaos go rampant. Chaos that is the result of people not submitting to him and trying to do things their own way.
Only a God that consist of three persons, and yet is one being, can do all that at once!

To be continued…

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Included in the recompense that Jesus made for our sin was the harm we do to others.
Interesting is that many of the instructions God gives us to live by are about how we treath other people.
When we do others wrong it is called sin.
Sin against God.
He cares for us so much that He takes it personally if someone wrongs us.
And so when Jesus died He paid the full penalty for all the cruelty that people do to each other.
Every crime, all hate, every slander, gossip, neglection of children and really all evil you can imagine.
And by doing so his death does not only show us the worth of God but our own worth as well!
Jesus paid the full rightful penalty for every single wrong that was ever done to you or that will be done to you in the future.
Because you matter to God.
He sees you and you are important to him.
No one should do you any harm.
But the truth is that people do hurt each other and Jesus paid the full punishment for that.
This frees us to forgive others, which delivers us from the bitterness and sicknesses that are the result of an unforgiving heart.
It opens our heart to receive healing from all the wrong that is done to us.
Unforgiveness though can keep us from receiving the healing that God made available for us on the cross.

To be continued…

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Because of Jesus sacrifice for us, his death on the cross, God is now willing to forgive us and wipe our slates clean.
Because a restitution was made.
The rightful price for our sin was paid.
One of the results of this is that we can be healed.
Both physically and emotionally.
Sickness came into the world after the first people rebelled against God.
It gave satan access to their lives which he used to bring destruction.
We need to be careful of just blaming the devil for sickness and disaster because he only has access to our lives if we give it to him. Originally.
We may need to surrender something in our lives back to God in order to get healed and to close the door to the devil.
I believe that by giving ourselves to God without reservation we give him permission to invade our lives and heal us.
We also need to be careful not to see sickness as punishment from God for a specific sin.
I do believe that a certain sin can be the root of a certain sickness.
Like the bitterness of unforgiveness can make people very sick.
Yet that does not mean that the sickness is punishment.
But it is an inroad for that disease.

People may be sick for various reasons.
I am not saying that God cannot or will not make people sick but if He does his reasons may not always be clear to us.
It could very well be to prevent something or to prevent someone from doing the wrong thing. And even that would be an act of love. Whether to that person or to others that are affected by it.
But the good news is that when Jesus died for us He did not only bear our sin but also our sicknesses.
He bore the full consequences of our rebellion against God.
When we give our lives to God and accept Jesus death on our behalf healing is available for our body and soul.
The devil has no rightful claim on our lives anymore because a recompense for our sin was fully made.
It was the blood of Jesus, that left his body when He was tortured and hung on the cross.
Remember that I explained that God gave us new life.
The bible teaches us that life is in the blood.
So when Jesus died his blood, which is his life, was poured out on the earth for us.
He took part of our death and his life was made available to us.
Because Jesus died in our place we can be healed of any sickness or disability.
This does not mean that God only heals believers.
On the contrary He often heals unbelievers to show them his great love.
And sometimes, as believers, He takes us through a journey in our own heart before we get healed.
I believe that when we truly open ourselves up for the love of God and stop resisting it and putting up all kinds of objections of why He would not love us, we are open for his healing.
Because healing is an expression of God’s love.
If we accept God’s forgiveness we open ourselves for his healing as well.
In any case, healing was made available for us on the cross and it is connected to forgiveness.
Whether receiving it or giving it to others.

To be continued…

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If you are ready to be united with your Maker you can pray this prayer:

Dear Jesus,

I am so sorry that I rebelled against you
That I put myself in your place
That I did not acknowledge you as Lord over my life

I repent from my rebellion
I accept you as my Lord and Savior
The one who died to take my place
So that I could be forgiven

Fill me with your Holy Spirit
So that I will be able to obey you
And with your help
I turn from my life of sin
And I completely give it to you

I give you access to every part of me
So you can change me
And make me the way you intended me to be
Show me your ways
And help me to hear your voice
So I will never turn from your side
Lead me in the plan you have for my life

By your ability I surrender my whole life to you
And live for you from now on

Amen

Tetelestai

(Finished)

It is done
Paid for
Every part
To the last penny

Every sin
Every crime
Every pain
Every shame

Nothing left over
Not one single stain

You are now pure
You are forgiven
You are made whole
You are redeemed

The price for your life
Fully being paid
A sacrifice was required
It has been made

A life for a life
A tooth for a tooth
Blood for blood
It was the blood of God

To be continued…

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