Archives for April 2015

Good morning,

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Simply put, he died to pay the sin debt for mankind. Romans 3:10 states, “¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”. Romans 3:23 states, “²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”.  Romans 6:23 states, “²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We needed someone who could pay our sin debt. Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of God, was the only one who could do it.

CONSIDER Hebrews 9:11-15

“¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;¹² Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.¹³ For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:¹⁴ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?¹⁵ And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

JESUS GOES TO THE CROSS Matthew 27:26-35a

²⁶ Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.²⁸ And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.²⁹ And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!³⁰ And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.³¹ And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.³² And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.³³ And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,³⁴ They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.³⁵ And they crucified him,”

After they crucified him, he was taken off the cross by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, prepared for burial, and then laid him in the tomb.

If this was the end of the story, we could not be saved. There was more than just the death of Jesus. We serve a …….

Tomorrow the triumphal conclusion.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

People are born every day.  There is nothing remarkable about this. Jesus birth was very remarkable. It was miraculous. Consider the following.

VIRGIN BIRTH Matthew 1:20-23

 ^“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. ²² Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ²³ Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

We see Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, that he would save his people from their sins, that Mary was a virgin at the time of Jesus’ birth, and his name would be called Emmanuel, God with us.

BETHLEHEM BIRTH Luke 2:4-7

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Micah 5:2 prophesies the birth of Jesus is Bethlehem. The Son of God, second person of the trinity, the coming Messiah, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, was born in Bethlehem, in a birthing cave for lambs, and laid in a manger.

MINISTRY OF JESUS Luke 19:10

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jesus performed miracles, healing the sick, making the blind to see, healing leprosy, and raising the dead. But ultimately he came to lead sinners to their Savior, Jesus himself.

Tomorrow we will look at the death of Jesus on the cruel cross at Calvary.  Why did he have to suffer for you and me?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001