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Morning Devotional...



My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?                       Psalm 22:1


Crucifixion was the terrifying death of the Roman and far worse than the flaming stake, the shining sword, the awful ax, the poisonous hemlock or the swinging rope.

At Calvary our Saviour met the cross and when He did, He took our place. The sharp clear ring of steel to steel was heard and the suffering substitute died, but not before His cry of abandonment rose to the heavens: "My God, My God, why?"

Greater than His physical suffering was that of being forsaken of God.

Today may we adore, praise, and worship by faith at the nail-pierced feet of our beloved Saviour.
                                                           --Arnot P. McIntee


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Ruth Ann~that is such a cute story about your son. I don't think we will ever forget this storm.

I think we have a lot of damage.  Janet~my flowers got hit and beat up pretty bad.  

The good thing about all this is there was a tornado that was suppose to be coming right to us and we got the hail instead.  Praise God!!! We can live with this minor damage but to live with no house at all would be pretty scarey.

Thanks all for your concern.

Praise God indeed, Sonja!  What a scary time you've had!  I'm so glad that you didn't get the tornado!

I'm posting this again in case our new member didn't see it in yesterday's thread...

God id good . . . All the time!
Praise God Sonya that you avoided the tornado! ! !

Just a quick note of humour for everyone.

As I was reading the NEM posts this morning my husband asked what I was doing.  I explained that I was getting caught up on the Christian Photography news.  He then asked why there were no pictures, and "I thought Christian Photography was about photography".   I laughed at the comment then took him to see all the beautiful photo's so many of you have left.  He was duly impressed.

Thankyou all for the company at night when I sit at the puter alone at night.

Blessings
Judy

Welcome Pinkie!

2Timothy 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Nevertheless,  It doesn't matter if the earth shakes, if tornado's touch down, there is sickness, or death, The foundation of God stands firm.  It doesn't move, he doesn't sleep, he sees and hears our cry.  NEVERTHELESS.

Thank you, Pat, for today's devotional.  I was just telling my pastor about that this evening (when God had to turn His face away from His Son--our Savior).  We often reflect on the fact that Jesus took ALL our sins and ALL our sickness upon His own body when He went to the cross in our place, so we could claim "by His stripes we were healed" and "through His death and resurrection we have eternal life' ... But He also bore something else so we will never have to: God's rejection.  How horrible to not only bear the sins of the world, and the sickness of the world but, more painful than all that was being forsaken by God.
That is something we will never have to know because He paid for that, too.  He cried "my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and then says to us "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  This is a truth that so amazes me ... I'm sure there are times when we have felt maybe God had left us ... but He never will turn away from us in rejection as He did from His Son that day.  

Amazing Love!

  He cried "my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

I am SO puzzle by this?

Did Jesus not wish to die on the cross for us?

Did God make him do it? and it was not Gods wish and Jesus did not wish to die?  

  Hi Ms Pinkie, I am mieka.

Ms Sonifo, I do not know how you are so strong. I know I would just cry. I pray that you will soon find your way around these many stones in your path. I will pray for you and your family this week.  

Ms Karmat, I miss you.  

I'm not very qualified to answer, Mieka, but in my opinion, since Jesus was living here on earth as a human, in human flesh, he was faced with an overwhelming knowledge of what was ahead of him. He knew the pain and agony he would endure. There are very few individuals who like dealing with pain and suffering.

He, as part of God, hated sin. Yet, He was willing to serve as the sacrifice for ALL our sins. Essentially he was willing to become the worst sinner of all time. I can only imagine how terrible a situation He must have felt Himself in.

As He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, I think he was nearly overwhelmed by the situation. For, He even asked his Father that if possible, could "this cup" (this situation) be taken from Him.

Yet, He remained true to His purpose - He went through the torture and pain and the terrible suffering both mental and physical because of His great love for each one of us.

And, of course, God the Father hates sin so much, that Jesus felt abandoned when he assumed this role as the worst sinner of all time. I think it was the human child of God who was crying out, "Daddy, Daddy, don't turn your back on me!"

Yet, once the suffering and agony were over, we must look to the rest of the story - the resurrection, where He showed His triumph over sin and the grave and that He is now our loving Saviour.

After He went through what He did for us, it's so VERY comforting to me to know that I have a Brother who is in Heaven with our Father (the Bible mentions He sits at the Father's right hand) and that He prays for us. How good to know that He hears our every prayer, he knows our sufferings and our painful situations, and He prays to the Father on our behalf. What a wonderful Brother!

Ruth Ann

PINKIE!!!

  What wonderful words Ms Bice. I will take these with me this morning as I go for my run. I thank you that you give these to me. I feel these are from your heart.

Oh MY, i did not see you are all here. Hi Papa
John and Ms Mercychild and Ms Etta Sue.

and a hello to ms Pinkie. I like the pictures you share of the bottomup. I hope to see many others too.  

Good morning.

Janice Janet ~ But that was my first mistake ever!!!!

Sonja ~ I am so glad that the tornado didn't come through there.  You are sure having a lot of problems lately.  I think it is time you gave up your turn...

Mieka ~ I see you are back in full force with thought provoking questions.  I love it.

Ruth Ann ~ You answer for Mieka was great.  We all learn when we ask questions and are told the answers.  

Pat ~ Great devotion.

Marilyn ~ I loved 'The Resume of Jesus'.  

Jane ~ Glad to see you posting.  Your little sermonette is great.  Even though Jesus knew what was happening, he still was awestruck that God went on with his plans.  Maybe he thought God would change his mind like Abraham sacrificing Isaac.

I am all ready for church.  Will be leaving in a few minutes.  Bright and sunny today.  Love the sunshine!!!

May all of you have a wonderful God's Day.

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'The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes.'

Good Morning everyone.  It is another just beautiful day here in Georgia and we will soon be headed for church.

Sonja, sorry to hear of the hail damage but sure glad you didn't get the tornado.  That is always a relief when the all clear is given.

Ruth Ann, that was a very good answer to the question posed by Mieka.  

Welcome Pinkie, I will be looking forward to your postings.  Please feel free to join right in.  

In the "Our Daily Bread" reading for today it had the following which I thought was so good:

QuoteAll Christians have the same employer—they just have different jobs.

Jeanne Lee, I was going to post this in the Prayer section but couldn't locate your posting.  How is your Mother doing with the shingles?  

Sonja, how is Mike's brother doing in his throat cancer situation?

Good Morning: This is the daythe Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Praise the Lord for his goodness, Sonja, How much damage was there to your van?

I pray that each one of you will thoroughly enjoy your church meeting this morning, I pray that the Lord will meet your every need.

I have let Bebe off her chain to go for a run this morning so I also pray that the Lord will bring her back quickly. She needs the excersize.

TTYL

Mieka - Jesus truly did cry out on the Cross.  First of all, of course, the Cross was the cruelest form of death known to man - it was unutterably horrible, even if only its physical torture is considered.  But, far more horrible was the spiritual torture He had to endure - in His perfect manhood.  He was on the Cross for our sins - as though He had committed them Himself.  Now of course He knew no sin - He was not rebellious against His Father, but loved His Father as no other could.  But, as our Sponsor, He became guilty of our sins as though He Himself were the rebel.  So, while on that awful instrument of torture, He cried out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani!"  Literally translated from the Hebrew, that says, "My God!  My God!  For what have You left Me utterly desolate?!!!"  In other words, God the Father, at that moment, was accepting Him as the Sponsor, as the Substitute, for us, and, as a result, in some way we cannot ever fully understand, He turned away from Him in His Manhood and counted Him guilty of all our sins, all our rebellion against His beloved Father.  "He became sin for us - He Who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  
It was not that He did not want to give Himself for us, but it was the sheer awfulness of being cut off from the love of His beloved Father that forced those words out of Him.  Knowing this should move us to desire to overcome sin, should it not?  
God bless you with understanding, though none of us will ever fully understand it.

Good morning EVERYONE   (That's my way of avoiding an 'accidental mistake' with names) BUT I will loudly and clearly echo a hearty
[size=+4][/size] I have observed with much pleasure your photos already residing here at CP ... great work!

Just to add a thought to what Ruth Ann and AL have said so eloquently:  God cannot look on sin.  He had to expell Adam and Eve from the garden because of sin.  When Jesus came to earth, took upon himself the form of man, he lived a sinless life in total submission to his Father's will.  He even said "I can of my own self do nothing" (John 5:19)      [He also said "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)]     Jesus became sin for all of us ... but God had to turn away at that moment.  Jesus, as God, knew the purpose for His coming to earth for us.  Adam had been created as a perfect man but since he sinned everyone after him has been born in sin.  God's own Son was the only pure sacrifice that would rectify that.  He knew from the beginning that he would be crucified ... if He had not gone to the cross and been resurrected there would be no salvation for us ... no hope of eternal life in Him. I'm so glad He "followed through" so I can follow Him!

Larry you asked about my brother in law, Mark.
He is not doing to well, but still has faith the God will cure him.  He is trying this mud drink. I guess it has 90 some minerals in it.  It is supposed to take over and kill the cancer.  

We got most of the hail mess cleaned up.  Now we just need to get the insurance adjusters over here.  It might be awhile since we weren't the only ones with hail damage.  Every one on the north side of town was hit pretty hard.  

Mieka and Ruth Ann~I like your profile picture.

I hope you all have a fun day today.

Sonja, I hope the damage will be fully covered by your insurance.  I heard that if you let a vehicle set out in the hot sun, lots of the hail dents will pop back out.

Also, I was listening to a Christian  doctor on TBN this week, and he was talking about cancer.  He said if you have cancer, and eat sugar, that you are feeding the cancer; that cancers grow much faster if you have sugar in your diet.  Just a thought, in hopes it will help Mark.  We must continue to pray for this dear man!

Mieka, you asked a great question and have received great answers.  I am late getting here, as my grandkids slept late, then I cooked them a huge breakfast.  We are just enjoying having them here.  I need to take a photo or two!

Talk to you all later!

Well, how nice to read everyone's messages today.  I can't say "Good Morning" now as it's after lunch time here in Guelph.

But I guess it's still morning where our west coast people are.

Mieka, that was something that I couldn't understand either as a young Christian and as Al says in his post to you, there are many things we will never understand as humans.  It is difficult.  Thanks to everyone, Al and Jane and Ruth Ann,   for helping out here.    Keep on asking those questions.  They sure help us to dig into God's Word for answers.

Mieka, were you going for a run at 5 am?  I hope you are careful out there!

Sonja, what a terrible thing to go through.  Yes, it may take the insurance adjusters awhile to get to you if many had damage.  Did you put some of the hail into your freezer?  Our kids used to love to do that when they were young--especially the large ones.

Thanks Larry, for bringing up about Jeanne's mother's shingles.  It's so easy sometimes to forget to pray for some of these requests and it's good to be reminded.  The other day, while I was in the kitchen doing some dishes, I was wondering about Mike's brother and then I forgot to ask so thanks, too, for bringing up in here about Sonja's brother-in-law.  

Not many days left, Marilyn, till you're up north with your son.  What a happy day that will be.  Now, what about that other project, Marilyn?  How's it going?  I've been praying about that.  You know, the one that involves tobacco?  LOL  Are you doing alright in that department?

Hi Janet!  I'll look forward to seeing the photos you take!  Praying for you too.

Now, it will be so nice to see Pinkie posting in here, won't it?

WELCOME, PINKIE!!

Make sure you all see Sonja's photos of the hail storm!  They are awesome!

Let's sing...

Larry ~ I read the 'Daily Bread' every morning also.  I liked that quote also.  We can't all be executives...someone has to take out the garbage.  Glad you got to go to church.

Marilyn ~ Not very many Sundays left for you in the desert.  I know you will miss your friends but are looking forward to making new friends after you move.

Al ~ This thinking about how Christ felt while dying on the cross gave me new thoughts as I was praying during communion this morning.  I do believe that Christ was right beside me with his loving arms around me.

Jane ~ Thank you for your addition to what Ruth Ann and Al has said.  I always did like to 'follow the leader' and I pray that each day I am following Jesus.  WWJD?

Sonja ~ Did you take pictures BEFORE you cleaned things up?  Don't fix up too much.  That is why you carry insurance!!

Janet ~ Good day, Janet....I know you are enjoying your grandkids.  What did you have for breakfast?

Pat ~ Good afternoon, Pat!  Is it sunny up there?  The sky is beautiful here.  Not a cloud in it and so blue.  Looks like you could reach up and cut a piece out of it.  

Our sermon today was about 'Great Imaginations'.  Can you imagine how Jesus felt while dying on the cross for our sins?  Can you imagine how the people thought when viewing, first hand, the miracles that Jesus performed?  If you went to bed and died from an unknown disease, can you imagine entering heaven and Jesus greeting you?  It was a very thoughtful sermon.  Jerry said it even kept him awake...

Now I am off to see Sonja's pictures!!!

Pat what a beautiful hymn.  I am sure I have sung it before but I don't remember it.  Do you have any history on it?  Sonja's family were kept safe till the storm passed by that is for sure.

Well, good afternoon everyone.  It is good to see so many who have come in this Lord's day.  I opened up in here this morning and read the posts but didn't really have time to write anything.

This morning at our worship I presided at the Lord's table.  I thought I would share what I said before the taking of the bread.

When Jesus was with his disciples in the upper room at the Passover Feast shortly before he died on the cross for our sins he took the bread and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Often when we gather together I think of the fact that we have brothers and sisters all over the world who are gathered for worship and they are reading this same passage.

In France they are reading that Jesus said,  " Ceci est mon corps, qui est rompu pour vous; faites ceci en mémoire de moi. "

In Papua New Guinea they are reading that Jesus said, "Dispela em i bodi  bilong me, mi givim bilong helpim yupela.  Yupela i mas mekim olsem bilong tingting long mi."

In Honduras where  some of our brothers and sisters have gone to work they are reading that Jesus said,  "Esto es mi cuerpo que es para ustedes;  hagan esto en memoria de mi."

But whether in French or  Melanesian  Pigeon,  or Spanish or English, in whatever language it is the same thing.  Years ago in Brussels Belgium we had converted a man named Edward Moreau.  He only knew the forty or so Christians who were members of that congregation.  Then we went to Rheims, France, for a kind of lectureship and there were Christians from Switzerland, France, and Belgium, quite a crowd.  I asked him what his impressions of the meetings were.  He said, I know now that we are not alone.

We are not alone today because people all over the world in different languages are remembering that Jesus died for us on the cross.
--- Papa John              <)))><<
 

Very good, Papa John.  It truly is wonderful to know we are not alone, that all over the world, we have brothers and sisters who love the same Lord, and are striving to serve Him here and join Him in heaven after death.

Etta Sue, we had bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast, and huge burgers for lunch.  The boys just left to go home, but Abby begged to stay "one more day" so we hope that is okay with Mom and Dad.  They went to Amarillo this weekend to celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary.  We tried to call them on Jeff's cell, but got no answer.

Curtis is leaving tomorrow for California to "shadow an officer" for three days, something he is doing for ROTC.  He will fly out of Garden City, and doesn't feel comfortable leaving his car there at the airport for the week, so his dad will drive him, then he can stop by and pick up Abby.  I love having him, Mark and Abby around, and the boys are so busy now we seldom get time with them.  So this has been a real treat for us.  Darrel really enjoys them, too.  Plus, Curtis showed me how to get to my photos!!!!  Yea, Curtis!

Abby wants me to watch a movie with her, so see you later!

How refreshing, Papa John, just to think of the many, many thousands of languages in the world and the folks are all worshipping the Lord and Saviour with these words.  

Thanks for sharing that with us.  It sure hits home!

Janet, I'll be looking forward to seeing photos of Curtis!