DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT TUESDAY – WHAT HAS JESUS DONE FOR YOU? Part 2.

When the wife of missionary Adoniram Judson told him that a newspaper article likened him to some of the apostles, Judson replied, "I do not want to be like a Paul... or any mere man. I want to be like Christ... I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints... Oh, to be more like Christ!" - Source Unknown.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Gal. 2:20.

Meaning no disrespect to the religious convictions of others, I still can't help wondering how we can explain away what to me is the greatest miracle of all and which is recorded in history. No one denies there was such a man, that he lived and that he was put to death by crucifixion.

Where...is the miracle I spoke of? Well consider this and let your imagination translate the story into our own time -- possibly to your own home town.

A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father's shop. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father's shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside, walking from place to place, preaching all the while, even though he is not an ordained minister. He does this for three years.

Then he is arrested, tried and convicted. There is no court of appeal, so he is executed at age 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing -- the only possessions he has. His family cannot afford a burial place for him so he is interred in a borrowed tomb.

End of story? No, this uneducated, propertyless young man who...left no written word has, for 2000 years, had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors; all the conquerors, generals and admirals, all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived -- all of them put together. How do we explain that? Unless he really was who he said he was." - Ronald Reagan.

THIS IS WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU...

JESUS Gave His Back, To Be Ploughed, For You.
Ploughmen have ploughed my back and made their furrows long. - Psalm 129:3.

JESUS Gave His Hands And His Feet, To Be Pierced, For You.
Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. - Psalm 22:16.

JESUS Gave His Side, To Pour Out His Blood, For You.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. - John 19:34.

JESUS Gave His Blood, For The Cleansing, Of You.
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. - Heb 9:22; But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7.

JESUS Gave His Heart, To Be Broken, For You.
Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. - Psalm 69:20.

JESUS Gave His Soul, As An Offering For You.
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. - Isaiah 53:10-11.

WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR HIM?

Loving Father, help me by the power of the Holy Spirit, to realise what Jesus has done for me, and to remind myself that whatever I do, I do in His name, that I may bring Him glory. I ask this in the wonderful Name of Jesus. Amen.

Be encouraged!
GBYAY