Thursday's Thoughts

I'm overwhelmed. A song I heard on the radio.  Lyrics are in the link below.

http://www.bigdaddyweave.com/songs/overwhelmed

I've been memorizing Romans 8 and Isaiah 53.  What can I say but I am in awe of what the Savior has done for me?  "For the transgressions of My people, He was stricken."  Wow!  Never before was He in such a position.  He'd always had perfect unity and comminication with the Father.

And now, He chooses to obey the Father's will and redeem us.  It wasn't a simple thing.  Not at all.  He took on flesh - became a man - allowed Himself to be confined to those things that confine us, probably knowing that one day He would face the hardest thing of all.  His own Father turning away because the Father could not look upon the sin that was born by His Son. 

Amazing!  As I read and see how silent He is through all of the beatings and the spittings, the mockery and all that men (the people He Himself had created) were doing to Him.  It seems that the hardest thing, the thing He almost couldn't bear, was knowing that God had turned His face away. 

Then He cries out, "My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?" 

Redemption for us is such a simple thing.  Simply believe that He did the work to redeem us.  For Him though, it was the hardest thing.  He didn't do it because we are worth it, as some people say.  We never read that in the Bible.  In fact it's the opposite, "while we were His enemies" "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked."  Why do we feel we are justified in not being kind or loving our enemies and yet it's so right for God to be beyond kind to us when we were enemies of His?

So why would He do this hardest thing of all - because of "His great love which He lavished on us".  His love is the reason.  He wanted us to be able to be called "children of God".  Over and over again we see that it's because of His love for us. 

I think that we try our hardest to be the best moms, friends, wives etc.  What I see as I think of the cross is that we can't be?  Not at all.  Only by being in Christ and let Him "take the wheel" can we show love.  Otherwise it's just our flesh trying to look good.  And I'm sorry, but it never can look good.  It's self-seeking. 

One day the people were singing Hosanna and a week later they were yelling, "Crucify Him!"  Or maybe it wasn't even a week.  We, as people, are such fickle creatures.  We get caught up in the moment.  I desire a life change, even now.  I know that there are still things in my life that don't please this One who left heaven to come down to earth to be my Savior.  I want a heart change, to eradicate the things that are not like Him.

Romans 1:29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined  to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.


Crossway Bibles (2011-02-09). The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (with Cross-References) (Kindle Locations 180438-180442). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.   Making the most of today, Steph