Christ suffered and died in the flesh once for sins, in order to reconcile lost sinners to God. His one sacrifice/offering is sufficient to take away all sins. There's no need for any more sacrifices. "God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) "He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself...We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 7:27b, 10:10) Although Christ was physically dead, His spirit was still alive. And He rose again in His glorified body. So we shall be. Peter uses the example of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection to encourage the persecuted Christians to find hope & comfort in these truths and to endure suffering for the sake of Christ & His kingdom with faith, patience/perseverance, and submission. Christ the righteous/the just suffered and died for the unrighteous/the unjust; shall it be too much for us to suffer and die for the cause of Christ. "If Christ be God and died for me, there is nothing too great that I can do for Him." (C.T. Studd)
Prayer: Lord, I am weak but You are strong! Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins so that I may live with you forever in Heaven! I love You and all that I am and have is Yours. But I know that I cannot endure trials and sufferings by my own strength. Please give me all the courage and strength that I need. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and empower me to always do Your will, whatever it may cost.
"If we are to suffer, let it be by the will of God and not by any of our own faults or follies. " How true ! We always repent having to suffer due to our own mistakes. If the suffering is due to God's will we would at least realize that is for our own good. Thanks for sharing ! :)
ReplyDeleteToday, I am thinking about Lauren Hill, who died of an of an inoperable brain tumor. She was nineteen years old. She never showed fear. She said that she was happy to speak for children who suffered from brain tumors. She raised something like a million dollars for the cause of pediatric brain tumors! For sure, she suffered and she still did so much good and showed so much heart. She is an inspiration, a real gift from God. She will be missed.
ReplyDelete"If Christ be God and died for me, there is nothing too great that I can do for Him." (C.T. Studd) - true! God can never be outdone in His Love for us! And there is not even anything that we can do to make Him love us less. Thanks for sharing this!
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