DEATH ROW

Luke 23:43  "Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

The Lord has been dealing with me for several days now on this.  I have said that this is the hardest time, or should be, in the life of one that loves the Lord with all their heart.  Forgiveness, mercy, grace, all given so freely to us, but nothing can erase the mind that remembers the sins that Jesus died for.  Nothing erases the memories from our minds, God has thrown them far from Him, but our minds remember those times we rejected our Lord, the times we denied our Lord with our actions, with our words.  This is very difficult for me, this week, and now this blog.  But I know the Father intends it for my cleansing, for my growth, to bring me past this week and into the glory of the resurrection.  So we begin....

There was no real trial.  Can you imagine being brought up in front of a judge, no lawyer looking after your rights, you have none, but shoved up in front of this bored man, who is concerned about what people are going to say if he makes the wrong decision. So finding that he could legally pass him on, he did just that.  Now he stands before another judge, so curious about this Jesus, that he is excited beyond words.  He also could find no real crime commited, but as he had vengence again Jesus, he allowed Him to be beaten, horribly beaten.  Then to mock Him, they dressed Him in a beautiful robe and continued to ridicule Him.  Deciding not to make any unfavorable decisions, he sent Him back to the first judge.  The decision was to give the choice to the people, we might consider them peers, but Jesus had no peers, no one that was truly His equal.  The same people that were His praisers earlier, had turned on Him and cried "crucify Him".  That was it.  Sentence declared.

There was no chance for appeal.  There was no stay of execution as had there been, it would have taken place in the garden when Jesus asked His Father, if there was any other way.  But no, there was only one way for the redemption of the children of God, us...sinners, all.

Jesus was beaten.  He was blindfolded and spit upon, and mockedly asked "who did this to you".  Can you imagine the men that were doing this.  Have you ever just mocked someone that was innocent and weakened by repeated verbal beatings, much less physical ones?  Just because it was fun.  If so, this is one of the things Jesus died for....one of the sins.

The cross.  It was heavy.  Jesus was weakened from the beatings.  But He lifted it up, the burden.  The Father is telling me that it resembles our burden that He lifts from us now, lifts it up and carries the load no matter how heavy, so we might be free.  But Jesus carried that cross, on the road they call Via Dolorosa, which means the way of suffering, the way of grief.  It was Jesus that suffered.  It was those that loved Him that grieved, those that truly loved Him. 

Mary.  Can you imagine what Mary thought when she saw her beloved son, so beaten she could hardly recognize Him.  Do you feel the heartbreak she felt.  This child, born of her, being put to death.  This precious, sweet boy that grew into a man she was so proud of, quietly going to His death.

So many people lining the streets.  What a difference now.  A few days before they were rejoicing over His coming and now, watching with curious eyes to see what He would do.  Wondering if He would save Himself, could He, really;  just bystanders with no insight into the real purpose, the magnitude of what was taking place before their very eyes.  The Son of God going to take their place in death so they might live.

Nails were drove deep into His hands and into His feet.  The cross was dropped into the ground and Jesus' body took such a blow as the weight of it pulled on the nails in His flesh.  The final rejection, that moment when all the sins of the world filled Him, taking on all our sins, past, present, future, and doing so turned the Father from Him.  The Father could not look on sin and turned away.  Did you ever have a parent that you loved so and you knew that loved you turn from you for something you did that was really bad, just told you they could not look at you right then. Or leave their sight for a while?  And this was something of our own doing...  Jesus took sins that were not His.  He was perfect without sin and was made sin for us.  He suffered the rejection of His Father for us.  And I truly feel that at that point, His heart just broke.  I know there is nothing that says this, but I feel it must have been heartbreaking for Him to know that He was rejected, scorned, beaten and mocked for nothing He did.  Where was the love returned for all the love He had given others.  His last words, "It Is Finished".  Done, complete.  What He had come for, His real purpose on this earth, accomplished in death.

I have had such a time the last few days, weeks, leading up to this week, knowing the songs, the plays, everything done to honor the sacrifice of Jesus.  I know I am forgiven, I know I am loved, I know I am the Lord's beloved.   But tell my heart not to grieve over what Jesus did for me.  I try and cannot succeed. Even the Fathers love and comforting me still does not stop the grieving I feel over what my blessed Savior did for me.

Do you think some of them even knew in their hearts that this was the Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the precious Son of God.....our Savior?  Even a few, did they really know who He really was?

Can you understand now why I worship.  Why I live to worship my Lord.  There is nothing else I can do.  Nothing else I want to do.  I have trouble working some days as I want to just spend that time worshiping the Savior who gave everything for me, so I could have a life to be lived in the freedom of the Lord.  To be free from the chains of sin that satan would constantly try to bind me with, to keep me shackled, tortured and ashamed.  Freedom from sin.  Righteously adorned in white, cleansed and made ready to be the Bride of Christ.  And there is no doubt in my mind as I sit here typing this, that I will be in that remnant group of worshipers that are to be the Bride of Christ.  No doubt what so ever, that one day, my Lord and Savior, will come riding in through the breaking of the clouds and claim His Bride, me and you, and take us to Glory to be with Him forever.

Thank You, Father.  Yes, I feel it.  I feel the peace penetrating my soul now, I feel the lifting of this from my heart.  You are right, my God.  The only way to freeing myself from this burden or any burden I am grieving over is to let it out, give it all to You.  I can feel the weight of it gone.  Thank You my Lord for now I can begin to rejoice over the victory won, rejoice in the knowledge that I will live in You for eternity as You gave all for me, and I will give my all for You.  I am free in You.  I love You, my Lord.

Jesus, my precious Savior, I love You.  I thank You for what You have given for me.  You are so worthy of all my worship.  All my praise.  Your Name is the most beautiful name ever spoken.  Your Name brings salvation to those who call on You; Your Name heals the broken, the lame, the very spirits of those who You died for.  You are to be exalted, my Lord.  I exalt You, I exalt You above all the earth, into the heavens.  You, my Lord, my everything.

This 19th day of April, 2011, just a few days until that beautiful Resurrection Day, I can now rejoice and live in this moment....in Your presence... in paradise....forever with joy in my heart.