VIDEO Where You There When They Crucified my Lord, sung by Tristan Alexander

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh were you there when they crucified my Lord?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Well, were you there when the stone was rolled away?
Were you there when the stone was rolled away?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble

[ This is a good reminder today which is Good Friday for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Sunday they will Rejoice Χριστός Ανέστη! ]

Original here

Why Jesus Needed a Physical Body

 

Theologian John Piper answers the question many people may have of why Jesus needed a physical body in an audio sermon.

In message posted to the website DesiringGod.org, the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota said that because Jesus was immortal, he needed a physical body so he could die for our sins.

“[Jesus] didn’t have any body. He could not die. And yet he wanted to die for you. So he planned the whole thing by clothing himself with a body so that he could get hungry and get weary and get sore feet,” Piper says.

The pastor goes on to say that it is important to understand the gravity of the gift of Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection for mankind.

“He needed to have feet so that there was a place for spikes. He needed to have a side so that there was a place for the sword to go in,” Piper says. “I just plead with you. When you are reading the Bible and you read texts like he loved you and gave himself for you (Galatians 2:20), you wouldn’t go too fast over it.”

“Linger, linger, linger. And plead with him that your eyes would be opened,” the pastor urges.

Piper stresses that it is dangerous to admire Jesus’ sacrifice for us from a distance; rather, we as Christians must remember the pain, suffering and effort he went through to die for our sins.

The well-known evangelical leader concludes his message by citing Galatians 2:20, which draws a strong connection between Christ’s crucifixion and living out a Christian faith.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who now lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh,” the verse reads.

In addition to explaining the significance of Jesus’ human body, Piper also delved into the topic of the sanctity of the human body and how this affects the understanding of burial versus creamation of the dead for Christians in a recent post.

“Glorifying God is what the body is for — in life and in death,” Piper wrote earlier this week.

“Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit […] Christ died to purchase us, including the purchase of our bodies, for himself […] Therefore our bodies do not belong to us to use as we please, but rather as he pleases […] Therefore, we should use our bodies to put the glory of God on display,” Piper added.

We must also remember that as Christians, our bodies will experience “resurrection glory” just as Jesus did after his death, and therefore our bodies should be prepared for such an event through a proper Christian burial, rather than cremation.

Evangelical author and speaker Eric Metaxas has also spoken on this Christian belief in bodily resurrection, writing in a 2013 column posted in The Christian Post that because Christians believe their bodies will be resurrected, how they treat their bodies in life and death matters.

“God’s purposes for our bodies don’t end with our final breath. On the contrary, something infinitely more glorious awaits us,” Metaxas wrote.

[ This is a good reminder today which is Good Friday for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Sunday they will Rejoice Χριστός Ανέστη! ]

 

BY KATHERINE WEBER
http://www.christianpost.com/news/john-piper-on-why-jesus-needed-a-physical-body-162925/

 

4,999 Pieces

Christ, who is our life… Colossians 3:4

The British newspaper The Sun recently ran a story about Jack Harris, 86, who spent seven long years working on a huge jigsaw puzzle of 5,000 pieces only to discover the last piece was missing. He was devastated, especially when he learned the puzzle was no longer in production and there was no chance of finding a replacement. It was a picture of French artist James Tissot’s 1862 painting, “Return of the Prodigal Son.” Fortunately, the public outcry caused The Sun to commission a perfect copy of the final piece, and photographers were on hand when Jack snapped it into place.1

How many of us are laboring away at life day and night, growing old, trying to piece together the puzzle of life? How many get to the end only to realize they’re missing the key to it all?

Christ is the central piece—and the central peace—of life. His pardon covers our faults. His promises ensure our future. His purposes give meaning to life. And His providence guides our steps. Christ’s providence reaches across the world, throughout all time, and into each of our lives. In Him we are complete.

We have only to be yielded, that is, willing, surrendered, and He will do the rest. He will make us according to the pattern for which, in His love, He designed us. Peter Marshall

God Is Omniscient

“Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” (Acts 15:18)

Although the concept of absolute knowledge is general to almost all ideas of God, it is perhaps the most difficult for any human being to understand. Most of us work very hard to obtain knowledge and, in most cases, even harder to retain it. The practical issue with this teaching is we forget that God does not forget!

“The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works” (Psalm 33:13-15). Deep in the heart of every man is the fear that God’s omniscience is very real, but we spend much of our waking hours attempting to override that concern.

Yet the Scriptures are absolutely clear. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: . . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

Ah, but the wonderful and encouraging side of God’s omniscience is that He does know. “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether” (Psalm 139:1-4).

With that kind of knowledge, it is no wonder that “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). HMM III

But God Seems Remote

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. —Ephesians 4:18

The reason we sense that God is remote is because there is a dissimilarity between moral characters. God and man are dissimilar now. God made man in His image, but man sinned and became unlike God in his moral nature. And because he is unlike God, communion is broken. Two enemies may hate each other and be separated and apart even though they are for a moment forced to be together. There is an alienation there— and that is exactly what the Bible calls that moral incompatibility between God and man.

God is not far away in distance, but He seems to be because He is far away in character. He is unlike man because man has sinned and God is holy. The Bible has a word for this moral incompatibility, this spiritual unlikeness between man and God— alienation.

Thank You, gracious Father, that You have provided the remedy for the alienation between You and Your children. Thank You for the blood of Jesus, whereby our blindness can be lifted and we can be brought near to You. Amen.

Demonstrate Your Faith Today, Show Me Don’t Tell Me

It is the spirit that quickeneth… the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

We know of many who have been deceived into believing that the learning and the memorizing of Christian doctrine is all-sufficient. They actually think that somehow they are better off for having learned the doctrines of religion.

God actually asks of us what He asked of Noah long ago! “Demonstrate your faith in God in your everyday life!”

It is evident that God did not say to Noah, “I am depending on you to hold the proper orthodox doctrines. Everything will be just fine if you stand up for the right doctrines.”

I have read a statement by Martin Lloyd-Jones, the English preacher and writer, in which he said: “It is perilously close to being sinful for any person to learn doctrine for doctrine’s sake.”

I agree with his conclusion that doctrine is always best when it is incarnated—when it is seen fleshed out in the lives of godly men and women. Our God Himself appeared at His very best when He came into our world and lived in our flesh!

Christ is your strength and righteousness

Do not be afraid, Christ is your strength and righteousness. A wave comes against the side of the ship, but it does not hurt the ship, it only drives the wedges in tighter. The Master is at the helm—will not that assure your heart? It has floated over so many billows—will not that increase your confidence? It must, indeed, be a strong billow that will sink it now; there never shall be such an one. Christ presents the perfect number of all his people to the Father in the last day; not one shall perish. The ark of our salvation shall bring all its living freight into the haven of everlasting rest.

VIDEO Satisfied In You

Feb 6, 2013

The Sing Team

This song is taken from The Sing Team’s 2012 release Oh! Great Is Our God. As referenced in the song title the lyrics of this tune were inspired by the words of Psalm 42, all about our soul longing for more of God, of which we often are most aware of during the times we feel far from God. A truly beautiful song flooded with God’s word that speaks so directly to us.

What You Will Get

I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go. —Jeremiah 45:5

This is the firm and immovable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him– “I will give your life to you….” What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. “…your life…as a prize…” means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life and nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in exhibiting things for others to see, not showing off property and possessions, but our blessings. All these things that we so proudly show have to go. But there is something greater that can never go– the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Are you prepared to let God take you into total oneness with Himself, paying no more attention to what you call the great things of life? Are you prepared to surrender totally and let go? The true test of abandonment or surrender is in refusing to say, “Well, what about this?” Beware of your own ideas and speculations. The moment you allow yourself to think, “What about this?” you show that you have not surrendered and that you do not really trust God. But once you do surrender, you will no longer think about what God is going to do. Abandonment means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you totally abandon yourself to God, He immediately says to you, “I will give your life to you as a prize….” The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything— they have not been given their life “as a prize.” The way to get out of that condition is to abandon yourself to God. And once you do get to the point of total surrender to Him, you will be the most surprised and delighted person on earth. God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, and He will have given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience in your life or your refusal to be simple enough.

—

We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L

OSWALD CHAMBERS

Special People

1 Peter 2:9-10

Whenever feelings of low self-worth threaten us with discouragement, we need to rely on the truth of God’s Word rather than on our emotions. Today we are going to examine four phrases that describe how the Lord sees every believer.

1. A Chosen Race. God chose you and me to be part of His kingdom and family because He wanted us. No one who has been specially selected by almighty God is insignificant.

2. A Royal Priesthood. As believers, we are children of God and, therefore, part of a royal family. In other words, we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Just as Jesus fulfilled the roles of both king and priest, so God has also entrusted us with priestly responsibilities of worship and intercession for others.

3. A Holy Nation. The church—or body of Christ—is a group of people who are holy, which means “set apart” for the purposes of God. Our lives are never meaningless, because living for the Lord is the greatest purpose one can have.

4. A People for God’s Own Possession. You and I are the heavenly Father’s personal possessions. (See Deut. 14:2; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9.) Because He sees us as precious, He sent His Son to die on the cross in our place so we could belong to Him.

Each of these descriptions shows the high value God places on you. Satan may whisper lies of condemnation and criticism, but he can’t change who you really are. Begin today to demonstrate the truth of Scripture by remembering your real identity and living out your high calling from the Lord.