What Jesus Did...

Jesus sacrificed for us all...reach out your arms

and receive his love and joy!

Today's Scripture:

He was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds.

Isaiah 53:5

God often works in unexpected ways. What Isaiah was predicting didn't make sense from a human perspective. It sounded cruel and unjust. It did not seem possible that one person would take the punishment for what another person did wrong. There is no way injuring one person could heal another person. Isaiah's words finally made sense the day Jesus died on the cross nearly seven hundred years later.

Isaiah talked about a person who would come to lead and save people. In Isaiah's time, most leaders were strong individuals, physically, mentally, or both. The description in Isaiah 53:5 is of someone who was beaten and crushed - not the words you would typically associate with a leader, just the opposite, in fact. The key to understanding this verse is the realization that this leader would take the pain and suffering of others in order to spare them, in order to save them from having to endure it.

You are loved so much that God devised a plan that made it possible for Jesus to bear the pain and suffering that really belonged to you. Jesus took your place. His pain and his death made it possible for you to be healed. You are healed of hurt that comes from being separated from God. I thank God for this as we lost a great friend and leader in our community this week in Mr. Robert Grantham. As I am saddened by no longer being able to talk with him face-to-face I hold to the joy that because of our savior we will have that chance again in the future.

What Jesus did ensured that you and I will enjoy a permanent and unbreakable relationship with God and have the wonderful gift of everlasting life.

Selah people' and friends God is a leader who is willing to replace your pain with joy. He loves you so much that he made sure you could be with him forever.

"Peace and joy be ours thanks to our ultimate fighter and leader Jesus' and what he did for us all."

Your pastor,

Rev Muston (PreacherPatrick)