Count It All Joy

James 1:2-3 My Brethren,count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 knowing this,that the trying of your faith worketh patience. God's Word is to build us up Spiritually and to help us live in Christ. It's God's instructions on how we are to live in His love and grace. We are His children, and He wants nothing more than for us to live in His best. But what is His best? And what is the meat of His daily instructions to live righteous and obedient lives pleasing to Him? My goal in the next several months is to break down in Greek word for word certain scriptures that are given to me by the Holy Spirit and hopefully we will gain some wisdom and knowledge from The Lord and our teacher The Holy Spirit. Let me begin by giving you a little back ground on the person who penned this particular book, It is James the brother of Jesus. He was not a follower of Christ until after Christ was crucified and rose from the dead. Christ appeared to him, and it was then that he became a believer. At Pentecost he received the Holy Spirit. James later led the church in Jerusalem. He was known as" James The Just". He teaches the importance of dealing with stresses and afflictions from the stand point of faith. And the crucial relationship between faith and active works of obedience to the will of God. He was martyred in 62 A.D. Eight years later Jerusalem was destroyed. James starts by calling us his BRETHREN, Brethren in Greek is Adelphotes from Adelphos = (Brotherhood) But Adelphotes is derived from a copulative prefix (one that joins together words and expresses additions of their meaning) "a" and delphus "the womb" which gives the meaning of "one born from the same womb". Brotherhood is the quality of being brothers, sharing a common bond, and in this context a common "birth" the New Birth, all of one family ( Children Of God). John 1:12 Brethren, COUNT it all joy. Count in Greek is Logizomai from Logo = (The Word + Jesus) It refers to a process of careful study or reasoning which results in arriving at a conclusion. It means to continually count the facts or conclusions you come to.Thus standing firm in your convictions or truth. Therefore if we continually stay rooted in the Word, stay firm in Christ's truth,then the arriving conclusion will always be joy. So what is this Joy we are to expect? The Greek word for Joy is Chara (and rejoice) it is a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. Joy in the New Testament is virtually always used to signify a feeling of happiness that is based on Spiritual realities (and independent of what happens).Joy is not an experience that comes from favorable circumstances, but is God's gift to believers.Joy is a part of Gods very essence , and His Spirit manifests this super natural joy in His children. Gal 5:22 It is given to God's children through faith and obedience. Brethren,count it all joy,when ye FALL, What did James mean when he said "when we fall?" Lets dig a bit deeper.The Greek word for fall is Peripipto from Peri = around + pipto = to fall into, to fall down. Means literally to fall around and so to fall in with or among trails. To be surrounded. This verb can also convey the sense of falling into something suddenly or unexpectedly. So now that we know what the literal break down of "fall" means, lets continue on with the verse. Brethren,count it all joy, when ye fall into DIVERS temptations. Lets study the word Divers. Poikilos is the Greek word which means existence in various kinds of modes, diversified, manifold, many colors. Poikilos was used to describe the skin of a leopard or a robe embroidered with many different colors.Thus stresses not the number of trials, but the great variety of the trials.(" Multi Colored " Like Joseph's coat of many colors) Various trails would include those common to all men as well as those related to the fact that they are believers in Christ. Temptations: Greek word Peirasmos- To make trial of, tempt, prove in either a good or bad sense. Refers to a test or pressures that comes in order to discover a persons nature. Pressures bring out what is really on the inside of a person. So we see temptations can not only be something tempting us, but can be an affliction, a trial or even a test of our faith. My brethren, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations. James is telling us: Children of God, Continually abide in Christ and in His Word, and by doing so His Joy will abide in you, Spiritual joy, not worldly joy. But lasting joy. Because not if, but when various storms, problems, afflictions, temptations or testing of your faith come, you being established and grounded in Truth, you will, by obedience be able to endure with joy. James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Lets continue to break down the second verse, KNOWING- Greek word is Eido = a verb for describing absolute, positive, beyond a chance of a doubt type of knowing.The perfect tense speaks of the performance of the knowing.Thus their knowledge of the truth which follows. Now lets look into the word TRYING TRYING-Greek word Dokimion meaning proved, tried as metals by fire and thus purified, in turn from = Dechomai = to expect deliberately and readily, receives.) describes both the process of determining the genuineness of something. ( In this case our Faith ) as the result of testing. A trial or test is not only to approve, but to improve! In John 15:2, Jesus says in order for us to grow, we must be pruned that we may bring forth more fruit. We must go through tests and trials to strengthen us, in order for us to be useful to the vine. Jesus says if we abide in Him, He will abide in us and in doing so, He gives us HIS Joy, and that it might be full. We must trust Him enough to know that when we step into the furnace, we will not get burned, for He is with us. Knowing this that the trying of your FAITH worketh patience. Now this word FAITH is the meat of his subject. Lets see what the Greek meaning of Faith stands for. FAITH- Greek = Pistis- a believers personal confidence in God, Christ, His word and His promises. A conviction that only by Jesus Christ do you gain salvation. Faith is the hand that grasps. It is the means of communication between us and Christ. It is the open door by which the Angel of God comes in with His gifts. Faith is the determining factor weather we walk on water or we sink. Our last word is PATIENCE The Greek word for Patience is Hupomone from Hupo = under + Meno = stay, remain, abide, endure. The root idea is to remain under some discipline, subjecting one's self to something which demands the submission of one's will. It has in it a forward look, the ability to focus on what is beyond the current pressures. The submission of one's will by which one would naturally rebel. Hupomone has in it a forward look, the ability to focus on what is beyond the current pressures or circumstances. And thus " triumphant faith finds power to persevere by looking steadfastly on Jesus,the leader and completer of faith who, in view of the joy lying before Him, endured ( verb - Hupomeno ) the cross". Heb 12:2 And so Hupomone does not describe a grin and bear it attitude, but a triumphant facing of difficult circumstances, knowing that even out of hardship, God guarantees good. It is the courageous which accepts suffering and turns them into grace and glory. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Now we've already established that if we abide in Christ daily and stay rooted in His word, God's gift to us is Joy. Spiritual joy, lasting joy. James goes on to tell us as believers we are going to go through all kinds of trials, afflictions, temptations and tests of our faith, but through every temptation, trial or test lean on Jesus, draw closer to Him. Put your faith in the one who has already over come. Put your faith in our Father, because when you do this, He is molding us into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. We are to endure by faith and submit to the will of God. Jesus endured the cross and submitted His will to the glory of the Father. And because of that obedience, we as believers have been given grace through Christ, and eternal life. You can not expect to receive a crown in heaven, if you don't endure a cross on earth. James 1:12 You can't win a race if you don't run it. And you can't be Christ like if you don't endure trials and storms of this life and come out of them over comers by Christs' redeeming blood. God has given us all that we need, He gave us His beloved Son, which in Him is our mediator to the Father. We have prayer, praise and worship which lifts God up and in the process edifies the Holy Spirit in us. He gave us His word, which is a two edged sword, and God gave us a part of Him, His Holy Spirit. Who guides us and strengthens us during our battles. So you see, James is telling us "BE JOYFUL" cause when you go through trials, God is working on you, He's purifying you, He's molding you into the image of His first born Son. And He's given you everything you need to make it through to the other side victoriously. Therefore, Be Joyful my Brethren, through the testing of your faith for God is molding you into a vessel of glory. 1 Peter 1:6-7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Profession or Possession

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. The Greek meaning for Word is Logos (derived from Legos-to speak with words) but Logos means a word uttered by a living voice which embodies an underling concept or idea. When someone has spoken the entirety of their thoughts concerning something, they have given to their listener the total concept of that thing. Thus Logos means the word or outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and made known. Let me give you an example, I may have a wonderful idea in my mind, have several different thoughts about it and it be impressed upon my heart, but unless there was some way, some means by which I could relate them to others, they would not know them. This is where words derive their value. Words are instruments for conveying thoughts to others. Jesus Christ is the Word, the conveyor to men not only of the thoughts of God and the wisdom of God, but the conveyor of who God is. John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared Him. Jesus who is the Word was made flesh. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus' Word was the will of the Father. John 8:29-30 Then Jesus said to them; when you lift up the Son of man than you will know I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father taught me, I speak these things. And He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do the things that please him. As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. They believed because Jesus' Words are Life. Written or Spoken, they lead to eternal life with Christ. The next couple verses are packed full of power and promise for a believer, it goes on to say in verses 31 and 32, And Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in My Word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Jesus said if we abide in His Word, His Word has the power to set us free. The Greek word for Abide is Meno meaning to remain, to stay or form a relation. In John 15:4-7 Jesus says, Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, And I in him, bears much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. Jesus is saying: We must remain in Him continually. And to remain in Him is to Abide in His Word daily. For without Him we are like the branch that is separated from the vine. There is no sustaining life being fed to it. We are dead. But when we are " In Christ" we are forming an intimate relationship with Christ and our Father. When we are Abiding in Christ daily, His Spirit is dwelling inside us, and as such we are in bodied with His ever lasting super abounding life. Jesus is our mediator to the Father. His Word translated to God from man. The Word is our Advocate to the Father. And if you are not in Him ( In Christ), In His Word daily, we fool ourselves into thinking we have any knowledge of who our Lord and Savior really is. You see Jesus conveys the thoughts and intents of the hearts of men. But if you are not Abiding in His Word , Then Christ has no words to convey to the father on your behalf. To know Christ, is to be intimate and personal with His Word. searching His scriptures and meditating on His commands, which are life giving. When we are doing this daily, Jesus assures us that while we are in Him, He is in us and we are in the Father. Therefore as we are in Christ and in His Spirit, Jesus says in John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live. And whosever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? So I ask you today, Do you profess Christ or do you possess Christ? Do you believe on Christ or do you believe in Christ? In the words of our Lord Jesus Himself: BELIEVETH THOU THIS?

The Robe Of Righteousness

Sometimes in my walk with the Lord I get overwhelmed with the things of this world. Worries and stress tend to pull me down. Most of the time my faith sustains me, along with the Word of God. But last month I let satan win the battle in my mind. I let him condemn me for my sins. I let him make me think God could not love me because of my sin. I so much as stopped reading his Word for awhile. I cannot tell you how desperately lonely I was in that week or so. Lonely for my Fathers love and companionship. His council, His company, His peace, and His Joy.
                                                                            I have walked with the Lord since I was 5 years old. He is my Father and my best friend. And yet at the age of 44, I allowed satan to convince me, God could not forgive me of my sin and love me. I knew, at least the Holy Spirit in me kept telling me other wise, but I guess I let condemnation take hold of me, and that's all satan needs is a strong hold to start pulling you down. I had lost all hope, all of my joy. I just felt LOST!!
                                                                           But the good news is I have a shepherd and He came looking for me. You see, I was lost and He found me. He found me and whispered in my ear " You are my beloved, you belong to me." " I died for your sins and you no longer wear a coat of sin and shame, I have paid with my blood to give to you to wear a Robe of Righteousness." For when you wear this Robe I give you, satan can find NO unrighteousness in it, for there is none. I am spotless." " My Father and I love you, for Our Father only sees my Robe you wear, not your sin."
                                                                      Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
                                                                       Everything satan tried to take from me, my joy, my peace, my blessings, my companionship and ultimately my relationship with my Father in heaven, Jesus saw to it that it was all returned 100 fold.
                                                                       When I finally grabbed hold of the Word of God and let it transform me into the image of Christ with the mind of Christ, I told the devil where to go and how to get there. The devil had taken enough of  my time. It was time for him to flee and in a hurry!!
                                                                        I felt as if I was the prodigal son returning home. And my Father although I messed up badly was cooking a feast for me and putting rings on my fingers and fancy shoes on my feet. He may not have been doing those things but He sure did bless me back home.
                                                                        That next week He blessed me with 3 new accounts for my business, making enough money in that week to go get all the teeth I needed worked on that I was stressing so bad thinking I was going to loose. That one week I made enough money to do EVERYTHING I needed to do to catch up on my bills. That one week He showed me no matter what, He loves me!  He welcomed me Home with opened arms. Now you see, That's the God we serve!
                                                                         So I ask you, are you letting satan beat you down with condemnation today? Are you allowing him to take away your joy, your peace and your closeness with your Father in heaven because you've sinned?   Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None of us are perfect, But our Jesus is. He is our mediator to the Father.  Luke 5:35  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. We are made Righteous thru Christ Jesus. If it were on us to meet those requirements, none, not one, would live up to the perfectness of Christ. But thru Him we can! Stop letting satan beat you down for your sins, if you are in Christ Jesus and He calls you one of His own, then you too are given His Robe of Righteousness to wear. And our Father does not look to you or your sins, He looks at the Robe you are wearing proudly of His Son's.
He only sees His sons righteousness in you.
                                                                     Don't let the devil continue to rob from you, what your Father has so lovingly and freely given you, FORGIVENESS.
                                                                     I read this quote to myself every morning so I wont forget who I am, who I belong to and how to dress for the day.

                              I know everything your saying , I am not perfect. But I look to Jesus, not to myself. I don't count on my own ability to measure up. I count on Christ and God imputes to me Jesus' perfect righteousness. Satan before you can slay me with despair and fear, you will have to find something unrighteous in Jesus,  for His imputed righteousness is my Robe.

                                                                  I pray this helps someone beat the chains of condemnation. We are a chosen people.  1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light .
                               
                                                                   God loves His children. John 3:17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

                                                                  This world judges, but God loves us and forgives His own.
Are you His? Are you apart of the Family of God? Do you long for a relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you want to know what real love is? What His Grace feels like?  To belong to the Body of Christ? Well if you believe Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and rose from the grave, 3 days later in victory. And that he loves you and you truly believe that to be the absolute truth in your heart?, Then all you have to do is ask him to forgive you of your sins, and ask him to come live in your heart. John 3:16 Says Whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  Jesus died for you. He knew you before you were born and loved you. You are His creation. How can He not love you, when you but put your life in His hands, He can mold you into what He destined you to be.
                                                                  Psalms 139 :1-3 and 13-15..

1	O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2	Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3	Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
13	For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
14	I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;
15	my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.                                                        He created you for a purpose. We are born in sin, but God made a way for us to have a relationship with Him. He sent His Son to die for our sins. Now we have  Jesus as our mediator to the Father. We have been given a choice. Life with Christ and Eternity with Him, or Death and Hell.                                                                                                                                                                                                  Yes, I sinned, but God's word says, Christ died to forgive me of my sins. I just needed to stand on the Word of God.   Colossians 2:13-15 says,  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

I will no longer let satan condemn me over my sins, I will stand on the word of God which says I am forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ and In His Robe of Righteousness I will stand!!
 
                                                                      

Daughters of Sara: The Cost Of Forgiveness

Daughters of Sara: The Cost Of Forgiveness:                                                 We don't think twice when we walk in a store and buy groceries, or go to a gas ...

The Cost Of Forgiveness

                                           



   We don't think twice when we walk in a store and buy groceries, or go to a gas station and purchase gas. When we pay a babysitter to watch our children for a couple hours. Or when we pay our bills. We know what we are paying for and what we are receiving in return.

                                                       But What Is The Cost Of Forgiveness?


I borrowed my sister's automatic lawn mower this past weekend. It's the only one she has, but she went ahead and let me borrow it anyway. I was mowing my grass and it got caught up on my rose bushes and broke the line on the mower, rendering it useless. I had broke her mower, on accident, mind you, but I had broke it. She had left for the weekend out of town, so I had a day or two to worry about it till she got home. I was so upset I barely got any sleep that night, worried, knowing how much I was putting her in a bind because her yard was so much bigger than mine and worried about her forgiving me for braking something she not only needed, but she trusted me to take care of.
                                                                          I was so upset I started praying and reading God's word. And this is what God gave me...  Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
                                                                           No, I hadn't talked to my sister yet but the great councilor had given me peace, and His peace passes all understanding. So I waited for my sister.

                                                                            She had every right to be angry, to hold a grudge. But I told her what happened and waited for her response.....And if Christ was speaking thru her, she said " I love you sister, it's just a lawn mower. It can be replaced, our relationship can't." Just like that she forgave me!
The tears came streaming down my face, knowing she had every right to be angry, she had every right not to forgive me, The day I had spent worrying, the night I had stayed up crying, In all my worrying I hadn't once thought of the cost of her forgiveness.
                                                                            Love is "forgiveness" whatever the cost. Jesus was our example for that.  Collisions 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

                                                                               What makes something expensive, is the quality in which it is made.  When you are in Christ, you are made of Righteousness, Grace, Kindness, Goodness, Mercy and the Love of God.   1 Corinthians 13:4-8  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

                                                                              Forgiveness always costs something, but what we are purchasing is far better. Forgiveness brings us closer to our Father in heaven. And It allows Christ to shine thru us.  Matthew 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

                                                                             My sister forgave me without a moments thought, she truly acted as an Ambassador of Christ. I don't know what all it cost her to forgive me, but I do know the price she paid, showed me just how much Christ loves me. For In that moment of forgiveness I saw Christ in her.

                                                      It cost God His Son because He loved us......  It cost Christ the cross, for our sins to be forgiven. God paid the ultimate price, He counted the cost and deemed us worthy. What a wonderful God we serve.
       
                                                                           Remember when you forgive as Christ commands, you are purchasing blessings this world cannot take away. You are allowing  Christ to shine thru you, and letting people see the love of Christ in you.

                                  Don't let the cost, rob you of your blessing! Just Forgive!
 

Daughters of Sara: The Measure Of Christ's Love!

Daughters of Sara: The Measure Of Christ's Love!:    When someone asks you the question " How much do you love me?" This reply comes easy to most people, " I love you...

The Measure Of Christ's Love!

 



When someone asks you the question " How much do you love me?" This reply comes easy to most people, " I love you a lot." But tell me, How far do words go? With their words can you feel their love?   The situation changes when someone shows you their Love in Action, That's when you see their Love. That's when you know they love you. Words are empty, if they're not backed up with  action.  Once they've shown you their Love, You've tasted of it, you know it's real, you know,  how good it feels, you've seen what they've done  and given up, to Love you. So when you ask:

                                                     " How much do you Love Me?"              
                                          
                                                                  
                                                        Matthew 27:26-31
                                   Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
          Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

                                                              Isaiah 53:4-12

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.      

                                                    
                                                                Isaiah 54:14
                                            Just as many were astonished at you — so was he marred in his appearance, more than any human, and his form beyond that of human semblance.
 


 Love is knowing the excruciating pain that is to come, and going thru with it any way.   In the last few hours of Jesus's life, What did He endure and suffer on the cross for us, to show us His love?

                                                    EXCRUCIATE: to cause great agony, torment
                                  
                                                 Latin: ex: out of,  from cruciate, : cross

                                                                     " From the Cross" 

 The word excruciate, ( the root word excruciating) which refers to something that causes great agony or torment.  The Latin roots of the word are : " ex" meaning from or out of, and " cruciate", meaning cross. The word excruciate comes from the Latin for "from, or out of, the cross"

                         Love Personified is Christ on the Cross, for everyone!
 
Before He gave his Life on the cross, to bear our sins,  He did two things.



1)
 Luke 22:7-23
                        

 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.  And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”  After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.  For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Jesus gave us a New Covenant (promise) with the shedding of His blood. He replaced the law with His Grace.  Moses gave us the Law, The Old Covenant. With the blood of bulls and goats. Which could only cover a persons sins for a year.  But Jesus on the cross brought us Grace. His blood covers once for all. We are now covered in HIS righteousness. He writes His Laws on our hearts. and we become new creations in Christ, old things have past away, all things become new.
                                     
    Hebrews 10:10   It is through that divine will that we have been set free from sin, through the offering of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice once for all.

                                      In an act of the Greatest Love Ever,  In Jesus' death, God's redemptive  plan for all man is effected, the New Covenant promised and the Kingdom established.

2)
  Luke 22:39-44

   

 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation 

 
   And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

                          After His last supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, to pray.
                                                 Gethsemane means: oil press
                                                  Olive oil represents the Holy Spirit

In the garden Jesus decided to fully embrace the cross, but it was only when He told the Father " Not my will be done, but yours" that the victory over sin was won.

The sweating of drops of blood, gives us a hint of the stress and the agony Jesus was going thru and the cross that lay ahead.  It reminds us of the cost of God's Love for us.  The Father was willing to give His Son, and His Son was willing  to pay the complete price for our redemption.

 Jesus knew what it would cost Him,  being falsely accused, being slapped and punched, He was ridiculed, laughed at and falsely judged. He was flogged to the point that He had barely any skin left on His bones, much less any blood left in His body. He was made to walk to His death, all the while people spat on Him, calling Him vile names. He then was nailed to a cross for 6 hours, trying with all His might just to breathe. And in the mist of all His suffering, still the people tormented and taunted Him. And if ALL of that was not enough, His Father turned His face from Him. 
                                            Jesus took on the sins of the world and God cannot look at sin, so God looked away. Jesus cried out " Father, Father why hast thou forsaken me?"  For God did not forsake His Son, He could not look at the sin His Son was carrying for the world. For you and me.

                                                                      BUT.......
   The good news is: Jesus beat sin and death, because of His Love for us. He rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! His Love was the final say in the matter.
                      
                             

Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden and brought death to the world. ( Curse)    BUT,
Jesus, thru prayer and obedience, in the Garden of Gethsemane brought victory and life everlasting. ( Blessing)



                                            

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

                                    

                                       The word Love which is used so freely in English, has a very special meaning in Hebrew.
                                        The Hebrew word for Love is: Ahavah.  It's three parts to the word, The first letter is Alef = which is the symbol of a sacrifice, Christ on the Cross.  Then you put together the two letters and you get Av, the meaning of the two letter base is = To Give. The last of the three part word is Heh= which means God's Grace.  

                                                    When you put it all together. 

                                          LOVE is sacrificing your wants and desires and giving to others in the grace that Christ sacrificed and gave to us.

                                                LOVE IS GIVING,  LOVE IS BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS AND LOVE IS FORGIVENESS.

                                           Jesus said for us to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. He said this is the first, the second like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ( Mark 12:28-31)

                                      Loving God with all your heart, soul , mind and strength, fills you with a love that is over flowing. You can't help but go out and share that same kind of love with others. There is no other love that compares to the Love of our Savior.

                                                         So I'll say again,

                                       HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME?



                                                 Honor Christ by Loving Others!
                                                     
                                             IT WAS THE MEASURE OF CHRIST'S LOVE!