Jean Oathout wants us to better understand the real purpose of
Christ’s Cross, and why it should
be important to us today.
Please take the time to read the following information, that will hopefully help our Heavenly Father's message become clearer to you.
First of all, we need to know and understand that God is Love. Because His desire is for our fellowship, He needed to provide a way, so we could enjoy Him.
He is pure and Holy, so in order for us to even get into His presence, there needed to be a drastic change in either Him, or us. His Word says He “changes not”, so then, we’ll need to change.
But, we’ve tried down through the ages to change, but any change doesn’t seem to “hold”.
Our best intentions just don’t help us become perfect in any way like God. Many folks have tried various ways and means to make themselves better persons, with failure becoming evident on a daily basis.
Scripture, (God’s Word), relates what God had planned from the beginning of time (Gen 3:15). He doesn’t live in what we know as “time”, as it is a reality only here on earth.
He knew how to make a way into His presence, even before the first man and woman were created and placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden.
He had told Adam that he could eat of everything in the garden, except the tree of “The Knowledge of Good and Evil”.
It appears that God wanted to shield them from knowing evil, as they were created in perfection.
Unfortunately, Eve yielded to the temptation of eating the forbidden fruit on the specific tree they’d been warned about eating from.
Adam didn’t stop her. He also ate it.
That started the separation between them and God, because they’d disobeyed His instructions.
This brought what is called “sin” into their blood, as they were no longer perfect before God because of their disobedience. They were expelled from the garden, and the rest you can read in Genesis, the first book in the Bible.
God told them of His plan to overcome Satan, the one who tempted them, thus causing them to lose their perfection.
There would be Someone Who would be born of a virgin one day Who would live a sinless life, and would triumph over Satan.
This made every woman after Eve hope she would be the one God would choose to have that special baby.
We read in the New Testament of a young Hebrew virgin, named Mary. (You can read about her in Matthew 2).
She became pregnant with God's Son.
The child’s name was to be “Jesus”, and He would become the One Who would live sinlessly. Because of His not having any sin, He would take our sins on His Own body, to receive the punishment that we all deserved for the sins we’d commit.
When we realize the love of God, and His plan for our salvation through His Son, we need to understand that it was His Love in Christ that enabled Christ to go through the pain and sufferings of Calvary.
We can be thankful for the Love of God in and throughout the process of the regeneration that’s offered us today, for it is the power of His Love that enables us to do His will.
Because He loves us, He calls to us to listen to His message of Salvation: repentance, forgiveness of our sins, and our restoration to the Father, offered to everyone through Christ's sacrifice on that Cross, some 2,00 years ago.
We are to understand what Christ has done for us by going to the cross. It was His obedience to God, His Father, that we, today, have the opportunity to receive the change that’s needed for us to come into the Holy Father’s presence.
This “plan of salvation” is freely offered to us all, regardless of who we are, where we are, or what we’ve done, or not done in life.
This makes it “equal opportunity” for us all!
In T. D. Jakes’ book, WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED!,
(pg.133), he says: “Faith is the only thing in this world where
there is true equal opportunity. Everyone can come to Jesus.”
God asks that we simply believe in Christ’s provision, repent for our sins, ask for forgiveness, and welcome His Spirit into our lives to take control, and to change us into His image.
Christ came to us in the image of the perfect Father, so we would realize He loved us so much, that He provided a way for us to be rid of sin, so we could have fellowship with Him.
Romans 3:23 English Standard Version - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
When we surrender our lives and hearts to God, His peace comes to dwell within our spirits.
We are then challenged to read His Word, and to receive His instructions for our minds to be changed through it, and in attending a gospel-believing church.
Over time, this will make a big difference in how we think, speak, and act. Others will take note, and may question what has happened to us, that we’re different.
“God does not want anyone to perish" Peter 3:9.
"His offer of salvation is open to anyone, regardless of age, health, race, or stage in life.
His offer is open to you.
Don’t delay receiving Jesus as Savior 2 Cor. 6:2. Resolve this important, unfinished business, and you’ll look forward to eternity with Him." Jennifer Benson Schuldt
"Time after time, He has waited before,
And now He is waiting again
To see if you’re willing to open the door;
Oh, how He wants to come in! –Carmichael
To be saved here means to be safe hereafter.”
Our Daily Bread 6/12/13
At the Cross
“Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
~Chorus~
“Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
~Chorus~
"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!
Was it for crimes that I have done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin.
But drops of grief can ne’re repay
The debt of love I owe’
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do!”
My friend, If you’ve never heard this message, or have ignored it in the past, please know that God, the Holy, perfect Father, loves you beyond any measure we have. It is His desire to cause you to sense His presence where you are right now.
Please repent of your sins, and invite Christ’s Spirit into your heart, and allow Him to give you the peace you’ve been looking for all your life.
Ask Him to lead you to a church nearby, where you will be welcomed, and where you will receive instruction in this New Life you now have.
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