Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach

Jesus Followers’ Personal Relationship with Jesus Comes from Humility as Sinners Through Seeking God’s Mercy in Prayer

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  We do not deserve it; but we able to come to God, in a Personal Relationship with Him, because of His Mercy. We are all sinners. As Paul tells us in Romans 9:18: “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.". With God’s Justice without His Mercy and His resulting Grace, you would face only eternal death as Justice for your sins. We can never enter God’s presence for prayer when we are in our pride with our focus on ourselves. Also, Paul reminds us, in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, that, in your Salvation through God’s Grace, Jesus makes us “boast” only in the Grace provided us by God: “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”. We can only enter God’s presence when we humble ourselves in Jesus. Humility and penitence before God invite His presence – here I am, Lord; just as I am; have mercy on me a sinner.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Inconsistencies. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Faithfulness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 18:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:29-31; Isaiah 19:22; Psalms 44a:1-13.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Follower’s Greatest Witness for the Gospel of Jesus, in a Hurting World, is for Others to See Jesus in Them

MESSAGE SUMMARY: You need to live the Christian life in whatever you do – at home; in your job; in the way that you drive; and in the way that you treat your friends. We live in a hurting world, but God wants more for you. To achieve God’s desire for your life, you must stay in fellowship and communion with God; and you must let Him work in your life. In Colossians 3:17, Paul challenges us: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”. If you live your life, in all places and situations, in the name of Jesus, you will live a better life in our hurting world. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.". Remember, the greatest witness for the Gospel, as a follower of Jesus, that you can give is for others to see Jesus in you.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Inadequacy. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Abundance. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Colossians 3:16-17; Matthew 21:21-22; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalms 43:1-5.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

“For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time . . . but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)

MESSAGE SUMMARY: The Lord disciplines his children; therefore, so should we. Our discipline can take many forms, for example: 1) teach children a lesson, even hard lessons; and 2) it is OK to take away children's privileges. The Lord's discipline is out of love; and our discipline, for our children, should, also, be out of our love. Nobody likes discipline -- we do not like it; our kids do not like it. However, discipline works to bring righteousness and peace, and discipline brings fruit to us and our children down the road. In Hebrews 12:7-10, the author of Hebrews succinctly describes the Biblical perspective regarding discipline: It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as {His} sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God’s} holiness.".

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to be still and to wait patiently for you in silence. In Jesus’ name, amen.      Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 125). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I want to know Him better. (Philippians 3:10). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Samuel. 7.13-15; 1 Corinthians. 11:32; Ephesians. 6.1-4; Psalms 42:1-11.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Followers Can Influence and Lead a Return to God by Our People, Churches, and Nation Through the “Five Exhortations”

MESSAGE SUMMARY: In the Bible, you can find five exhortations, from the God, that are right on point for our times of uncertainty in America: 1) Do not fear; 2) Continue to tithe; 3) Get out of debt; 4) Help our brothers and sisters in need; and 5) Pray. The people in Malachi’s day were withholding what was God’s, and they were paying a price. But even in those conditions of the nation’s sin and faithlessness, God said to the nation, in Malachi 3:7, “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’.”. God does not change – God today is the same faithful Creator of the Universe as He was in the time of Malachi. Return to God, both as individuals and as a nation; and see how God will bless us!

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Forgive me, Father, for at times treating you as if you were my personal assistant or secretary. Your ways are unsearchable and beyond understanding. Help me to put my trust in you and not in my circumstances. In your presence, I am silenced. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 87). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Anxiety. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:7; Malachi 3:16-18; Psalms 41:1-13.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Followers Maintain a Constant Presence of Jesus in Their Lives Through Prayer and a Focus on Their Personal Relationship with God

MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you must maintain a constant conversation, through prayer, with Jesus; and you must look to see how God is involved in the events surrounding your daily life. If the Lord is in your life, then your life’s circumstances will relate to Him. The Psalmist tells us, in Psalms 100:2-5, that God is with you because He made you to: “Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to generations.". Therefore, practicing the presence of Jesus in your life helps you to stay in tune with Jesus’ influence in your life. Being in tune with Jesus’ presence, in your life, is like listening to an FM radio station – you must tune into the right station and then listen. Tuning into the right station, for the presence of Jesus, requires that you maintain an awareness of your circumstances and their relationship to Jesus.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, amen.       Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Loneliness. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Presence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Corinthians 4:13-15; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalms 104a:1-13.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Followers’ Righteousness Will Flow, with the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, from Their Heart Through Their Personal Relationship with Jesus

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  You are called, as a Christian, to live a life that is deeply righteous and not shallow, superficial, or hypocritical. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.". Your righteousness, as a Jesus Follower, should flow from your heart and from being in communion with the Holy Spirit. You should allow the Holy Spirit to create a clean heart and a pure heart within you. The righteousness of a clean heart is the righteousness that Jesus wants of His followers, as the Psalmist tells us in Psalms 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.".

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, help me to grab hold of you today. I need you. Set me free to begin reorienting my life around you, and you alone. Help me to pay attention to and honor how you have uniquely made me. Thank you for the gift of rest. In Jesus’ name, amen.            Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 122). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 5:6; Matthew 5:10; Psalms 112:1-6; Psalms 39:1-13.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!” at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Was Crucified and Died Yesterday; Today, We Wait For His Resurrection Tomorrow - Easter

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

As we wait on this Holy Saturday, what does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?  

While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. It is through Jesus’ death and Resurrection that we are able realize God’s Grace of Salvation from our sins and to gain our Eternal Life. Holy Week is all about God’s Grace; Jesus’ death on the cross; Jesus Resurrection; and our Salvation. All sinners need what Jesus did on the cross for us.

Jesus was dead. He was crucified on the cross because He claimed to be the Messiah, and the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. The Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead because he claimed to be a king. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried and sealed in a tomb under watch by Roman guard unit.

On the Sunday of Holy Week, some of the women go to Jesus’ tomb; but they find the seal broken; the stone rolled away; and the tomb empty. An Angel in the tomb tells the women that Jesus is no longer dead; He has risen. The women tell Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb to find it empty. After Peter and John leave, the women return to the tomb and find two Angels in the tomb; and then Jesus appears to Mary who, initially, does not recognize Jesus. Jesus tells Mary to go tell the other Apostles that He is alive.  Jesus appears to two people traveling the road on Sunday; and then Jesus appears again, after the Resurrection, to the Apostles in a closed room. The Apostle Thomas is not present, but Jesus reappears to the Apostles with Thomas present; Thomas proclaims to Jesus after doubting Jesus’ Resurrection: “my Lord and my God!”.

Over next forty days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people.  Lastly, Jesus appears to the Apostles, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave them the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus appearances to people, after His death and Resurrection, proved to these people that He was who He said He was – the Son of God and the Messiah. With Jesus’ Resurrection, He arises from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”.

Sometime later and after His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus where Saul was going to continue his retribution against followers of Jesus. Saul is converted to a follower of Jesus and Saul the persecutor becomes the great Apostle Paul, and Paul had several encounters with Jesus over the years. Jesus is alive!

While people did not expect Jesus’ Resurrection, whenever He spoke of His impending death, Jesus always mentioned His Resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Even after Jesus’ three predictions of His death and Resurrection, the Apostles did not understand or accept Jesus predictions – the Resurrection was unexpected. The Resurrection did occur because Jesus was alive, and His life after His Resurrection is well documented. However, if there were no Resurrection of Jesus, there would be no Christianity, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.". What is the point in following Jesus without His Resurrection? However, there was a Resurrection of Jesus, and His Resurrection is the point!

Fast forwarding two thousand years to today, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? The primary implications of the Resurrection on us and humanity today is the forgiveness of our sins – we can be forgiven only because of God’s Grace and the Resurrection, which made Jesus’ death matter and provide us a path to a continuing personal relationship with God.

Jesus is alive on this Easter and since His Resurrection. Jesus has been alive for us through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit who permits our personal and eternal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe.  However, these incredible gifts necessitate our sin confessions and our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was Resurrected from death as the Passover Lamb, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”, as the Apostle John tells us in John 1:29-30: “The next day he {John the Baptizer} saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’".

 

TODAY’S PRAYER Lord, I praise you because your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I have squandered. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.           Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Faithfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22; Matthew 20:18; Acts 4:2; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:14-19

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/.

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB – Jesus Walking in the Way of the Cross (VIDEO)

LYRICS TO MUSIC:

Go on brothers lay him down Go on brothers lay him down

Wrap his body with a clean white shroud Roll that stone leave him in the ground Go on brothers lay him down

Go on sisters cry for him Go on sisters cry for him

But wipe your eyes and dry your skin

The crying will be done in three mornings Go on sisters cry for him

Hold on children wait and see Hold on children wait and see

The death that’s come is a death too weak Can’t take my Jesus cannot take my King So hold on children wait and see

Oh glory glory won’t you come for me Glory glory won’t you come for me

I know your slumber is a momentary sleep I feel you rising up from the deep

Oh glory glory you will come for me

MESSAGE SUMMARY: 

    Some of the most expensive, elaborate, and impressive structures in history are tombs. Throughout humanity great energy has been spent constructing a final resting place for the prestigious and powerful. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, the pyramids of Egypt, and the terra cotta army in Xi’an, China are some of the most notorious. They stand as feats of architecture, design, and craftsmanship - each fueled by countless hours of work by a vast number of humans. Some of these structures are still visited today by hundreds of thousands each year.

  Jesus too was laid in a tomb. And though purchased by a wealthy disciple, it seems to have been no more than a small, man-made cave. When Joseph of Arimethea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body, his request was surprisingly granted. After being wrapped in linen, Jesus was placed into a room ‘cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid’ (Luke 23:53).

  Today, there remains uncertainty as to which specific site held the body of Jesus. Notwithstanding this fact, many travelers still seek out Christ’s tomb. Unlike many of the famous burial monuments however, those who make this journey do not come to be amazed by the architecture or awed by the craftsmanship. The spectacle itself is rather unimpressive - no more than a small hole cut into the side of a hill, void of any adornment.

  Despite Jesus’ position, despite his seat ‘at the right hand of God’ (Mark 16:19), he was buried in a common tomb. Despite the ‘riches’ of his glory and grace (Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 2:7), Jesus’ body was laid to rest in a cave. How he continually clothed himself in humility!

  So why then do countless Christians travel across the world each year to see where Jesus walked? Why spend the time and effort to visit a hole in the ground, that quite possibly Jesus’ body never actually entered? People come because of who Jesus was, not any place where he may have laid. They come to gain perspective. They come to refresh their spirits. They come because Jesus was real, and most critically, that three days after his death, the tomb stood empty.

  Hallelujah! Death was beaten as God’s perfect plan for his Messiah was fulfilled. The tomb could not hold him. “He has risen, just as he said,” (Matthew 28:6), and he is alive now and forever!

Written by Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper golgothamusic.com // poorbishophooper.com // Second edition ©2022 Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Praise Jesus for his death and resurrection.

Ask Jesus for a fresh revelation of what the empty tomb means for you today.

Thank him for how he has saved you.

Pray for those who do not yet know the One who has conquered death, and do not understand what Jesus’ resurrection means for their lives. Give thanks that God’s perfect plan was fulfilled in

Jesus Christ, and that his love for you is unfailing and everlasting

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mark 15:42-47: “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.”. Further Reading: Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Isaiah 53:9-12.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Contemplating the Mighty Acts – Palm Sunday and Holy Week”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Jesus Followers Are Expected to Serve the Needs of Others and to Reflect Jesus to Others as We Serve their Needs – “To Serve is Christ”

MESSAGE SUMMARY:  You will never be more like Jesus than when you are serving others; and your best way to witness to non-believers is for them to see Jesus in you. Your best example of service is Jesus. To serve is Christ. Jesus instructed us, regarding serving others, in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”. Jesus, the Son of Man, did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. If Jesus came, lived, and died on earth as a servant, why would you, as a Jesus Follower, not realize that you are expected to serve? If, as Paul tell us in Romans 8:28-29, we are being conformed into the image of Jesus, then we are being taught how to serve: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.". To serve is to live as a reflection, to others, of Jesus in you.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Evil Ways. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Goodness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 8:28-29; Romans 14:18-19; Daniel 4:17; Psalms 38a:1-11.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Contemplating the Mighty Acts – Palm Sunday and Holy Week”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS – Jesus Walking in the Way of the Cross (VIDEO)

LYRICS TO MUSIC:

From the sixth hour it came

A darkness like no man had seen

The sun’s light failed and through the black A voice that held all breathing

As his friends stood distant still

His thirst the wine his pierced side fulfilled Bowed his head the innocent

He left his life his spirit

And he cried ‘my God my God Why have you forsaken me’…

The veil was torn from the top to the bottom The tombs opened and the holy ones rose His murderers saw what they had done

A soldier spoke what he had come too late to know

‘Truly this was the son of God’…

MESSAGE SUMMARY: 

    The physical miracles that surround the death of Jesus are many in number and beyond remarkable. Taking time to think about what surrounded Jesus’ final hours makes one realize that this moment in history was like no other. It was certainly an experience that would cause us all to join with the Roman soldier and exclaim, ‘truly this was the Son of God.’

  It was noon when the darkness came. The darkness then stayed until sometime around three o’clock; a three hour disappearance of the sun in the middle of the day. Many scholars and scientists explain this event by saying it was a solar eclipse. If so, this would have been the most fascinating and miraculous solar eclipse in history. We know the events of that day occurred during Passover, which always took place during the full moon. This time of the month is one in which a natural solar eclipse cannot occur. Consider also that the longest eclipse astronomically possible is somewhere around seven and a half minutes in length. If the explanation for the ‘darkness over the land’ was an eclipse, it was nearly three hours longer than any other in history.

  During the darkness, ‘the earth shook, and the rocks were split,’ (Matthew 27:51). Phlegon, a Roman historian and contemporary of Jesus, noted the earthquake at the time of Jesus’ death, as well as an extraordinary and unexplainable mid-day eclipse, where the stars in heaven were seen. Earthquakes are not uncommon in the region, but Matthew writes that the “tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead,” (27:52). Though the ground might have occasionally shook, the rising of the dead was no common occurrence.

  As if this wasn’t enough, amidst the ground shaking, the sky turning black, and dead people walking, another massive and meaningful event took place. Skillfully made of fine twisted linen, a veil of blue and purple and scarlet separated the holy of holies from the rest of the world (Exodus 26:31-33). It sat in the temple, never crossed save once a year when the High Priest would enter into the presence of God (Hebrews 9:7). Some sixty feet high, thirty feet wide, and four inches thick, the Jewish historian Josephus records that two horses tied to either side could not pull it apart.

  Yet at the moment Jesus took his last breathe, this massive man-made curtain was torn. The Gospel writers note that it was torn from top to bottom, highlighting that this was a task completed from above. It was an unaccessible height, and a feat too remarkable to be completed by any man’s hand. The separation from God was over - literally and figuratively destroyed.

  But despite all of these wonders, witnessed by many, shocking and sensational, the most important miracle was that which went unseen. The events in the physical world assuredly revealed that this was no ordinary man being crucified, and testified to Jesus’ dominion. But much like the unmeasured weight of the cross, the work being done behind the curtain of the visual was a far greater phenomenon.

  God the Father put upon his Son Jesus all the wrath and guilt we deserved. Jesus satisfied this wrath perfectly and completely. Jesus completed the task no sinful man could handle. He had no help. He was fully alone. All so the Father could demonstrate his love for us. For we were lost, unworthy sinners, and Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus was tortured and raised on a cross for us. He breathed his last for us. He was ‘forsaken’ by his glorious Father for us (Matthew 27:46). And none of this could be ‘seen’ by the Roman soldier or any other bystanders.

  It is safe to say that when the centurion exclaims that Jesus is the ‘Son of God,’ he did not have the full ‘Christian’ understanding of what his words meant. He spoke out of awe, fear, and terror (Matthew 27:54). He has just seen the sky turn dark and the earth shake violently upon the death of what he now knows is no ordinary man. He had read the inscription above Jesus’ head. He most likely had heard rumors about who Jesus claimed to be. And in that moment, as the world is seemingly crumbling around him, this Roman soldier knows Jesus was the man others said he was. The miracles in the physical world were enough to convince him of that. But had this common centurion seen the weight of his very own sin being placed upon Jesus’ body (1 Peter 2:24), how much more would he have exclaimed! Had this man fully seen God’s cup of wrath being poured out on Jesus for his own sake, how much more remorse and regret would he have had? And simultaneously, how much praise, adoration, and thankfulness would have filled his heart?

  The suffering of Jesus was beyond compare. A debt paid, that just as the centurion, we will never fully comprehend or understand. But the current age has seen the full story. We know Jesus did not stay on the cross, nor was he bound by the chains of death. And we know that he will come again on the clouds with glory (Mark 13:26).

Written by Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper golgothamusic.com // poorbishophooper.com // Second edition ©2022 Jesse Braswell Roberts / Poor Bishop Hooper

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Take some time to meditate on this moment in history. Ground shaken. Tombs opened. The curtain torn. Darkness.

Think about Jesus’ words when he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Ask the Lord for a better understanding of the miracle that went unseen that day.

Praise and thank Jesus for drinking the cup of his Father’s fury! For carrying your burden and paying your debt.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Lust. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Perfect Provision. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mark 15:33-39: “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah.’

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”. Further Reading: Matthew 27:45-54; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30; Psalm 22:1-31.

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