Whose Report Will We Believe

Whose Report Will We Believe?

"Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." "Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her Shearer's is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."
{Isaiah 53: 1-7.}

Our Lord was destined to suffer and die for us on Calvary's Hill. He who knew no sin willingly gave his life upon the cruel cross that we might go free. The Innocent one was given to redeem and buy back the guilty ones from the curse of sin. A price so high that none other could pay the sin debt owed was paid in full that day when darkness covered the earth and he said, "it is finished." All honor and glory is due to our Lord forevermore.

The crosses we see today do not adequately portray the sacrifice of our Savior at Calvary. The blood stained tree which held our Lord's body was not a beautiful sight. It was one of execution and death. The people knew this was a terrible form of death and those who hung upon a tree were said to be cursed, according to the law. They could not understand that Jesus willingly bore this curse which was to be upon our heads because of the "Fall of Man". He took the stripes, ridicule, and the pain that should have been ours.

Our Lord was the one perfect sacrifice who could bridge the way back to God from fallen man. In the likeness of man, He was God robed in flesh who walked among men. He touched the sinner, healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, loved the unlovely, brought hope to the hopeless, and fulfilled the promise of a Deliverer.

The report we believe is honest and true. He was bruised for our iniquities and wounded for our transgressions. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by his stripes we can be healed. His shed blood was the only righteous blood which could atone and cover sin. Not only did he cover our sins, he took them away as far as the East is from the West. There is no other report which could ever take the place of the 'report of the Lord'.

It does not matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done. God sent Jesus to save and set you free. Those in institutions reading this today who may not have freedom to come and go at will can still be free in spirit. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are free indeed.. If you are in need of a Savior this day, reach out and touch the Lord by faith. He will not turn you away. There is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus. All one must do is admit their need for a Savior, confess their sins, believe on Jesus and receive Him in their heart by faith in his finished work.
Those who are confined in health facilities can still feel and know the freedom of the Lord. The inner man of the spirit has been set free and cannot be confined by sickness, pain, or other trials and sufferings of life. Even when one does not feel good in their physical body, they can experience the joy of the Lord and feel good within their soul. Only Jesus can do this for a person and his love is one that will never fail.

One day these earthly bodies will release the spirit within to the hands of the Father. There will be no more pain or suffering, no more heartache or sorrow. As Jesus was resurrected, so shall the dead in Christ arise and those that are alive at his coming will be caught up to be with Him forever. Until that day we rejoice in the report of the Lord and await the redemption of the body in anticipation of "our blessed hope". Not only did he die, but he arose from the dead and lives forevermore. Not only does he live on high, but He promised He would come again to receive his own. We can take hope in the promise that because He lives, we too can live and never die but shall have eternal life. He will keep us safe in Him until that day.

Our cross which we are to take up daily is one of surrender unto Him and letting him be Lord of all. He will take the heavy burdens and give us his burden for souls, his compassion for the hurting, and his yoke which is easy. True rest can be found when we come to Jesus who waits with open arms. There is no other that will stick closer than a brother. He is a friend who will be with you until the end. He arose in victory to give victory to "whosoever will" follow Him. O what a Savior! We will believe the report of the Lord.

Blessings in Christ,
Jo Ann
J. P.'s Inspirations (c) 2002

He Who Died

Shepherd of all Shepherds,
King of all Kings,
He who died on Calvary's Cross,
Is the reason our heart sings.

The perfect 'Lamb of God',
Who would save and set us free,
Willingly gave his life for all,
That day on dark Calvary.

For God loved us so very much,
He gave his Son to set us free,
His love was the greatest of all,
Jesus died for us upon the tree.

A Shepherd and a Savior,
Sovereign Lord of all,
We will praise you forever,
As upon your holy name we call.

Jesus is "Lord of All"
Jo Ann Kelly
J. P.'s Inspirations (c) 2002