At The Cross

King James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Chapters: Mark 15-16 http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-293.html
Message Title: At The Cross

Hello My Friend,

“Alas and did Saviour bleed and did my Sovereign die, Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I.
At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day.” - First verse of At The Cross

There is no better feeling than to get saved, perhaps second to that is being baptized after you are saved as you are professing your faith and acceptance of Christ alone as your Saviour. Does getting saved mean that all our troubles will be over? No. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. However, if we are saved and walk with Christ they will be easier to endure. A Christians life should be devoted to Christ no matter what they are facing, showing their professed faith and love to Him and not our circumstances. While our salvation is not based on our works, the things we do after we are saved are. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” - John 5:28,29.

Crucify, to put to death by nailing the hands and feet to a cross. If you ever held you arms straight up for a long period of time you can get a bit of an idea of how weak Jesus was when He was nailed to the cross that He bared for the sins of all mankind. Many watched as Jesus was crucified, some with deep sorrow, some to see if He would do something miraculous, and yet others were pleased to see Him die. “And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.” - Mark 15:222-25,29-32.

“Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross,” At anytime Jesus could have come down from that cross, there were two reasons why He did not. One, He was there to finish the job He came here to do, and that was to be the sinless atonement sacrifice that would give permanent redemption to every soul who believes in Him. And two, they would not have believed anyway, these people saw Jesus producing miracles every day and they still did not believe in Him. As Christians we are going to be mocked for our faith, we are going to be tried, and even persecuted, but we cannot let them stop us from doing what God calls us to do. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:14-16.

Three days later Mary Magdalene, and several other woman went to the tomb to anoint Jesus, they arrived to find the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting in the tomb, telling them that Jesus had risen. “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” - Mark 16:1-6.

“Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen” Jesus could have just died for us and that would have been enough, but He wanted more than that, He wanted to break the curse that the devil caused upon man when he brought sin into the world. Jesus resurrecting proves that even death cannot separate a saved soul from God. One day, everyone will resurrect, those who are saved will be first, they will get their new eternal bodies and the rewards awaiting them, those who are not saved will be cast into lake of fire. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:7,8.

Jesus shows Himself first to many, but when the disciples heard that Jesus was alive, they did not believe it, Jesus shows up and fusses at them for their unbelief. “And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” - Mark 16:11-16.

“And upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart” When we are facing trials we can forget the promises that Jesus makes us. We can expect Him to fuss at us for our temporary unbelief and hardness of our heart. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” This does not mean that you must accept Christ and be baptized to be saved, it means you must believe to be saved. Being baptized is a public profession of your faith in Christ, declaring that you are trusting only Him to save you. He continues to say, “but he that believeth not shall be damned.” It does not say, he that believeth not and is not baptized will be damned, only he that believeth not shall be damned.

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 6:4,5,9-11.

Today's Prayer: Jesus, Thank You again for the great sacrifice that You made. You did not have to die, You could have chosen any other way to redeem me, or You could have chosen not to do anything at all and leave me trying to weigh my good and bad to see if I have a chance to be saved. You endured the cross, You took my place, You took the punishment that I deserved, You took all my sins to the cross with You. Now, I have my own cross to bare, and I know I can't do it alone, I need You or I will fall. Lord, I am alive through You, lead me and guide me, help me to walk with You. Let me not become blinded by my circumstances and harden my heart by any unbelief.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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