"JESUS"
OUR LORD 
"PAID IN FULL FOR US"

Kathy Bernard -Publisher

 

HOW do we claim eternal life?  What makes us as sinners worthy to enter Eternity?

GOD having seen the wickedness of mankind, sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for us all, making us look, with
clarity at the sufferings of Jesus Who served a vital purpose in the fulfillment of His Law on our behalf.  God
accomplished this for our healing through the cruel sacrifice of His Precious Son.

OUR heavenly Father fulfilled for us what we could not do for ourselves. Without Jesus Christ, there would not
be an eternal life for us unworthy and sinful humans. Philippians 2: 7-8reads  "... He made himself nothing, taking
the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled himself and became obedient to death --  even death on a cross!"   For unworthy us! 

JESUS gave up His life willingly.  Found in the Gospel of St. John 19:29-30, the Scripture reads, "knowing that
everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,“ I am thirsty.”  A jar of
wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted
it to Jesus’ lips.   When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED.”  With that, He bowed His head
and gave up His spirit. 

WHEN Jesus uttered these words, He was declaring that the debt of sin owed to God was wiped away forever. 
Jesus had given up His earthly life so that mankind could receive the gift of eternity.  Jesus became the redemptive
power to bear the sins of the entire world.  We find these words in the Gospel of St. John19:30.  Through the
misery and insults He endured, He had accomplished the salvation for mankind and opened the door of God's
Kingdom for all to enter.    
 
IN Psalm 103:10-15 it reads: "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; as far as the east is
from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a Father has compassion on His children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we
are dust.   The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is
gone, and its place remembers it no more."  What a mighty God we serve!

BUT how can we wash away our sins? 

IT is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us,washing away our sins.  Without this sacrifice of cruel
death, we would not be able to enter God's perfect Heaven.   The sufferings of Christ on mankind's behalf is
because He loved us that much.  Romans 3:23-26 tells us "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and
all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a
sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate
His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.  "And again
in Romans 6:23:  "The wages of of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" 

BY the acceptance of the gift Jesus holds out to all who believe in Him we become a new person.  If we ask Him
to forgive us for our sins and  our trespasses, we become renewed.  Remember, our Heavenly Father, through His
love for us, did what we could not do for ourselves.  Romans 6:23 explains, "God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  Jesus took our
sins upon His shoulders and through His death, gives all of us the opportunity to believe in Him, have faith in Him,
and lay all our sins at the "foot of the cross" by asking for the forgiveness of our unrighteousness.  He will take
these sins you bring to Him and remember them no more, providing we repent of our sins.

THE things of this world are not eternal.  They only satisfy us for a short time, and many of us do not realize that
his earthly pursuit of sinful actions can only leave us hungry, for we have taken a few steps away from our Lord. 
This earthly pursuit that we try to embrace will leave us wanting and it is only when we stop and pray,  letting the
Holy Spirit remind us that all we need is Jesus and only He can fill our needs..  No matter what we embrace and
cling to here, we will not be able take it with us when we die.  

ASK yourselves, is your faith strong enough to turn away from sin?  Do you act on what you believe in? When
earthly temptations come to us, remember the cross and the price our Savior paid for you and for me.  

WITHOUT Jesus Christ, I am nothing. I am an unpolished stone along the sidewalk of life without luster or shine.
A half written song.  A book with no ending.  An unfinished person without hope of redemption or eternal life.  If He
were not in my life I would plod my way through endless circles seeking what I could not find on this earth such as
peace and solace, hope and comfort, help and identity.  A sad being with a seemingly disposable life.

BECAUSE I have Jesus in my life, I know He is always there through every facet of my stay on this earth. 
Through the sorrows human existence gives as well as the pleasures.  Through the barriers and obstacles faced
and the successes achieved, He is there to applaud every effort.  He is there when I worry about things happening
to me, my hope when I think I cannot get something I need, my friend when I am friendless, my confidante when I
want to confide, my protector when I am frightened.  He calms me, makes me understand when I am wrong, makes
me strong under adverse conditions and speaks to my soul when I need to hear His guidance.  He is my mighty
fortress against my enemies.  And He holds the key for the door to His Eternal Kingdom.  Yes, He is the center and
the joy of my life.

THERE is a scripture where Jesus speaks to John in Revelation1:18:   "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and,
behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

OUR Savior, Jesus Christ has broken the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.  As we shall when He
comes to take us home to the Father.

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved.”  - Acts 4:12
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

"WERE YOU THERE"