The Fifth Words
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (ended), said in fulfillment of the Scripture, I thirst. John 19:28 [AMP].
The fifth words, ‘I Thirst’, are words of distress. Jesus began His journey to Golgotha at say 9am in the morning, endured the whipping and carrying the cross, and the pain of the nails as they were being driven into His hands and feet. Through all of this, Jesus did not once think about Himself until Read the rest of this entry
Fourth Word
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Matt.27:46b
The fourth words Jesus spoke on the cross were words from the depth of agony – words of abandonment. Just after Jesus forgave His accusers, sorted out the thief on the right and sorted out Mary, He experienced abandonment. This scenario plays out at different seasons in our lives. You Read the rest of this entry
Talent
‘…Give as freely as you have received!’ Matt.10:8b
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. Prov.11:24
Whose life are you speaking into? Of the oil God is pouring into you, who are you pouring into? It’s a misnomer to have a Christian who knows the Lord, is walking with the Lord and is not discipling anybody. Every Christian that is walking with God must have at least one person they are discipling personally. Read the rest of this entry
Mary
But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart. Luke 2:19 [AMP]
Not much is said about Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not get to know details about her favourite colour or song. However in her responses to circumstances lies a depth of lessons. This was the woman who was at the beginning of Jesus’ life. She lost Him but gave herself no rest until Read the rest of this entry
Third Words
When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son. And He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” John 19:26-27a
The third words of Jesus are the words of Relationship. Jesus was on the cross, in pain and He still had compassion and a sense of responsibility towards His mother. Many times people use the pressures of life, work, or career as excuses to be nasty to their spouse, friends and even family. Some people go as far as Read the rest of this entry
Who do you need to ignore?
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. Prov.12:26
Notice that Jesus focused mainly on what was truly important in His final hours. He totally ignored the scoffing from the thief on the left. Jesus could have allowed Himself to be ruled by emotions and insulted the thief on the left. This no doubt would have altered His focus and perhaps changed the course of Read the rest of this entry
Second Words
And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Jesus’ second words on the cross were ‘today you will be with me in paradise’. Our Saviour’s first and second words on the cross were words of love. ‘I assure you…’, in other words you can be rest assured that salvation is yours the minute you ask for it. Jesus again saying not only forgiveness but salvation Read the rest of this entry
Bless Them
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matt.5:44
Jesus commands that you pronounce blessings especially on those who persecute you. And while He was being crucified Jesus embodied this teaching. Even love requires a deliberate effort; no doubt it would be difficult but love says be kind to the people that persecute you. Take it a Read the rest of this entry
Effective Forgiveness
‘Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them’ Rom.12:14.
Are you waiting to feel better before you forgive that person who has hurt you? Guess what, satan will make sure you don’t feel better and so you never forgive, that is his job. With forgiveness, you cannot rely on how you feel because chances are you have just been hurt and the memory is still fresh. At this point Read the rest of this entry
First Words
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”. Luke 23:34a
‘Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing’. We know that He was in excruciating pain but Jesus still had to say what was most important even in death. Forgiveness was important to Him, a twofold forgiveness. Firstly He had chosen to forgive His crucifiers, inspite of the ridicule, abuses, pain and punishment. Secondly, He went to God on their behalf asking for forgiveness Read the rest of this entry
