Your Daily Devotional for September 22, 2006

 

September 22, 2006

 

 

It Is Finished

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

 

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

 

 

John 19:28-30

 

 

I have noticed that, as the wars in which our country has fought are moving further into history, a younger generation is coming up who don’t appreciate all that some men and women have gone through. It used to be that people banded together to fight a common enemy, but today, it seems as if Americans are trying to fight each other. Not only have we forgotten all that our veterans have gone through but we often forget all that our Lord went through.

 

This is the greatest victory of any battle ever fought on our behalf. This battle did not end with the explosion of an atomic bomb or the signing of a treaty, but with the discovery of an empty tomb. You see, Jesus Christ came to this earth on a mission. That mission is found in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

The Bible teaches that mankind was lost in sin and needed to be rescued. This sinful state preceded the establishment of Judaism, Islam, and even Christianity as we know it. It dates all the way back to the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The minute Adam and Eve sinned against God, we all inherited a sin nature as we see in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

 

The only way we could be forgiven of that sin nature was by the sacrifice of a spotless lamb. Jesus Christ, knowing the price, willingly offered Himself as our sacrifice. He realized the pain, agony, heartache, and rejection He was to face, yet He came. As He went to the Cross that day, He was thinking of you and me. He could have decided that the pain was too much or that the shame was too great to bear, but His love for you and me surpassed any pain He felt.

 

Aren’t you glad that Christ loved you enough to finish what He set out to do? Have you taken time lately to think about what He went through for you? I challenge you to take time in the next few days to read John 19. Put yourself in Christ’s place; that is where we should all be anyway! Don’t ever lose a heart of thankfulness to God for dying in your stead so that you might be saved.

 

Not only should we be thankful to Christ but we need to let others know of this great gift! Don’t you want others to be in Heaven with you? Just think, if the person who told you of Christ’s gift had not taken time to talk to you, where would you be today? Whose life could you completely change by telling them of Christ? Who is waiting for someone to tell them of Christ today?

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