BIBLE PASSAGE:
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said,
“It is finished;” and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.
(John 19:30)
MEDITATION:
Have you watched a movie and enjoyed it so much that you hated
to see it end? Or maybe you watched a game when your favorite
team was playing so well that you hated to hear the final horn.
Perhaps you were watching a child, or a friend who performed
their routine so well that you wanted it to last much longer.
But what about those times when things aren’t going so well?
When the movie is bad, or your favorite team is getting trounced,
or your child is messing up a lot on a routine that they know well.
During those times, you just want it to be over, don’t you? We can
enjoy watching good things, but we hate to see bad things happen,
and when they do, we just want them to hurry up and end.
Sin and death are two things that people would classify as bad.
However, Jesus came to earth in human form to cover sin with
His blood, and to defeat death through His resurrection. For
Jesus to defeat sin and death, it required Him to have a destiny
with the cross. He had the option of avoiding the cross, but He
was obedient to the plan of His (and our) Father.
His ministry up until that time was to spread the good news. Then
it was time for Him to make an unselfish sacrifice for the good of
mankind. We can read and see that He dreaded His own death, but
He knew there would be no victory over sin and death if He was
disobedient.
Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the
ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible,
may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will,
but as You will.”
(Matthew 26:39)
As He felt death approaching, He knew His mission was complete, and
so, His last words were, “It is finished”. When Jesus took His final breath,
God’s plan of redemption for mankind was completed. That finished work
has given us an opportunity to experience an unmatched joy, and a chance
to look forward to the good things available for us.
As we see the world deteriorating before our eyes, rather than wringing
our hands and immersing ourselves in a state of continual worry, we need
to remember that, in the end, Jesus and His followers are victorious over
evil.
Satan wants to bombard us with as much evil as he can because his time
is growing shorter by the day. In our world today, we are witnessing the
kinds of evil that we never thought was possible and it’s not hidden any
more, but shown for all to see. It has become so demented that some are
smearing it in God’s face as they glorify the sins they are committing.
During previous generations, there were guardrails that limited the
amount of evil, but many elected officials and judicial systems have
sought to remove those barriers so evil can prosper and increase. As
followers of Jesus, we shouldn’t be surprised or dismayed by the way
our world is changing from good to evil. Why? Because it is fulfilling
what we have been told in God’s Word.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell
in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because
the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
(Revelation 12:12)
We are told that as ‘heaven bound’ followers of Jesus, we should rejoice
in our faith and hope, because we know the return of Jesus to receive is
nearing. And when He returns, we will experience the ultimate defeat
of Satan and his evilness; God will prove the power and excellence of
His reign.
ACTION:
So, what should believers be doing as evil increases in our world? We
should be busy contributing to God’s redemption of the lost by praying
and using our spiritual gifts to point others toward Jesus. We have the
capacity to do that, because when we received salvation from the Lord,
it included the presence of the Holy Spirit to encourage, protect, help
and guide us.
In addition, we received at least one spiritual gift to use in serving the
Lord. And, lastly, at salvation, God began a sanctification process in
us to increase our godliness as He purges us of all unrighteousness.
….being confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 1:6)
God’s desire is for all who belong to His family to participate in His
mission to save the lost. We can’t do that if unrighteousness remains
in us. As God ‘sanctifies’ us, we can expect dramatic changes in our
habits, thoughts, attitudes, focus, desires and actions.
It will require us to release some things which displease the Lord that
we have held onto for way too long. But we will find a new level of
fellowshipping with God, so it will be worth it! The more we can
‘connect’ with Him now, the less we will worry about evilness in
the world, and the more we will look forward to spending eternity
with our Creator and Savior.
Questions to consider:
– Have I happily received the gift of salvation that is offered by God?
– If I haven’t, then why not? What obstacle is preventing me from
humbly asking the Lord to give me His salvation, and responding
with a commitment to surrender my life to His will, and become a
follower of Jesus?
The death of Jesus for our sins is evidence that He has great love for
us, and His desire is for us to be victorious over evil in our own lives.
It is our responsibility to receive God’s gift of salvation, and to change
our life from following anything of this world, to following Him. That
means we will submit to His will for our lives, instead of following and
relying on our own will. We must be willing to say as Jesus did,
“Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, what an awesome and unfathomable sacrifice Your
Son, Jesus, made for me! Through Your plan and His death, sin can be
defeated in my life, and I can look forward to a blissful life on the other
side of death. From the depth of my heart, I thank You for what Jesus
did for me. Help me to turn from the things of this world and turn to a
new life controlled by the Holy Spirit. Show me how I can participate in
Your earthly ministry, and encourage me to make whatever sacrifices I
need to make to become more obedient to You and Your will for me.”
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