Jesus Defeated . . .

Have you ever heard the unusual story about how the news of the battle of Waterloo reached England? In 1815, the Duke of Wellington faced the French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte in a climactic battle that would decide the future of Europe. The English townspeople nervously waited to hear news of the outcome.

The word was first carried by a sailing vessel to the southern coast of England, and signaled to a man who stood in the tower of Winchester Cathedral. From there it was to be relayed by signal flags from one place to another all the way to London and across the whole land.

The ship arrived and the signalman spelled the first word: “W e l l i n g t o n.” When he signaled the next word “d e f e a t e d,” a fog rolled in and ship could not be seen. The message “Wellington defeated” was relayed across England, and despair filled people’s hearts as the news spread throughout the countryside.

After two or three hours the fog lifted, and then the entire message was signaled, “Wellington defeated the enemy.” What looked like terrible news turned into great news, and the people rejoiced!

Imagine how shocked the followers of Jesus must have been when the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Their fearless leader, who had done so many astonishing miracles, now appeared to be totally helpless. If He was the Messiah, shouldn’t He be able to save himself? But He didn’t. Darkness covered the land for three hours and He died. Word spread from one person to another, “Jesus defeated,” and despair filled people’s hearts.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, the fog lifted, and the word spread, “Jesus defeated the enemy!” His resurrection replaced despair with hope—and the people rejoiced!

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

Why Did Jesus Sweat Blood in Gethsemane?

Jesus lived one day at a time, and managed His stress on an hourly basis. He stated many times that His hour had not come (John 2:4, 7:30, 8:20). 

The stress didn’t seem to affect Him until the time had arrived for Him to be betrayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, His stress level hit its peak because His hour had come. “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood” (Luke 22:4). Luke describes a condition called hematidrosis, where sweat and blood are mingled in extreme cases of stress.

Jesus always knew He would die for the sins of the world, but you don’t see Him sweating blood every day of His life. That’s because He handled each stressful situation as it came to Him. Stress comes from handling too many responsibilities at once. In our minds, we think about all the duties that we must accomplish, and the stress becomes overwhelming. The answer is to tackle one problem at a time.

Suppose 365 toothpicks represent responsibilities for every day in a year. If you bundle 365 toothpicks together, you won’t be able to break the bundle in half. If you put 30 toothpicks together, which represents one month’s responsibilities, you won’t be able to break them in half either. But if you unbundle the 365 toothpicks and deal with each toothpick one at a time, you’ll be able to break all 365 toothpicks. 

Jesus said, “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matt. 6:34). That’s how God wants us to live. One day at a time. One hour at a time. One toothpick at a time.

FASCINATING VIDEO: Shocking Evidence About Shroud of Turin

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

How Many Sins Were Placed in Jesus' Body?

Have you ever thought about how many sins were placed in Jesus’ body when He died on the cross?

First, we must establish that Jesus died for EVERY PERSON.  “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for everyone and make forgiveness available to all. “We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”  (1 Tim. 4:10). He is the savior of all men in the sense that He died for everyone, but He is especially the savior of believers because they have received His sacrifice.

Second, approximately 117 BILLION PEOPLE have lived on earth, and that doesn’t count all the PEOPLE BORN IN THE FUTURE.  Jesus died for the sins of everyone who has lived and who will live in the future. He was the one sacrifice “for all time” (Heb. 10:10-14).

Third, we need to estimate how many SINS THAT EACH PERSON COMMITS. That’s impossible for us to know, but if we sin (thought, word, deed) 40 times a day and live over 70 years, that’s over a million sins. Now multiply 1,000,000 x 117,000,000,000 = 117,000,000,000,000,000 sins. Only God knows, but this gives us a general idea of what Jesus did for us.

EVERY SIN of EVERY PERSON for ALL TIME were placed IN THE BODY of Jesus on the cross. “For He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet. 2:24). The worst part of the cross wasn’t the physical torment of being crucified, but when the sins of the world were placed in the sinless, holy body of Jesus. 

Even though Jesus died for your sins, you must receive Him into your life for your sins to be forgiven. The salvation is IN Jesus, so to be saved you must receive the Savior in your life.

FASCINATING VIDEO: Shocking Evidence About Shroud of Turin

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  NOTE: The subscription box will NOT usually appear on your smart phone, but it can be seen on your computer (or by opening the “desktop site” feature on your phone.)

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net   

Casting the First Stone

Some Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus and asked if she should be stoned to death. The Law stated both the woman and the man caught in adultery were to be stoned to death (Lev. 20:10, Dt. 22:22-24), but they only brought the woman. 

Two or three witnesses were required, and they would be the first to cast stones (Dt. 17:5-7). The rocks used in stoning were very large, and usually the first stone killed the person. Jesus said, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone” (John 8:7). Jesus was the only one without sin qualified to cast the first stone, but He didn’t do it.

After saying this, Jesus wrote in the dirt. The same finger that wrote on Moses’ tablets and Belshazzar’s wall wrote a message in the dirt. The Bible doesn’t record what He wrote, but He might have written individual messages to each, from oldest to youngest. Since He said “the one without sin,” He could have written their own specific sins, including adultery. Some scholars speculate He wrote the names of women with whom they had committed that sin. Could it be the Pharisees didn’t accuse the man caught in adultery because he was in their group?

It’s possible they were all guilty of adultery, which meant they would have to stone each other! They all left one by one, beginning with the older ones. The older ones had accumulated the most sins and had reputations to protect. Without an accuser, the woman was free under Jewish Law.

After her accusers left, she called Him “Lord” (8:11). Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.” Condemnation is not telling people they are sinners; it’s stoning them! Many people quote this verse saying “don’t cast stones at me” and “Jesus didn’t condemn her,” but they omit “Go and sin no more” (8:11). Jesus forgave her adultery, but He also told her to never do it again. He says the same to all who call Jesus their Lord, “I forgive you. Go and sin no more.”

WATCH THE LYRICS SONG: REBEL by Anne Wilson  (Good lyrics—makes you think)

Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  NOTE: The subscription box will NOT usually appear on your smart phone, but it can be seen on your computer (or by opening the “desktop site” feature on your phone.)

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net