1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4-Given

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The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” just received a 5 star review from Reader’s Favorite Books, website. You can check it out by going to http://www.readersfavorite.com/review/5735. You will need to scan down just a little. 

This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

This book is on a special sale right now. In the retail stores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping has been cut in half as well.

Click on the “bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to read more about the book.

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I have another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It talks about the many people who wear crosses around their necks and never really know the meaning behind them.

Chapter 48

1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4-Given

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever  believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

 

Have you ever thought about the cross? It was just a piece of wood. It came from an everyday tree. It was shaped for one purpose: death! Think about the cross you may be wearing, or the one you see during your church service. Have you ever really thought about the pain this one piece of wood caused?

History knows about the cross, and some people have despised it. The cross is worn by millions of people. It is often gold-plated and worn as jewelry—usually not to symbolize what it really means, or to show our faith. But the cross really means dying. A cross was used to punish the guilty. It displayed the offender in front of others so they would “learn a lesson” and not do the same thing. Bottom line: It was a torture device to show the power of the leaders during their time.

People try to ignore the significance of the cross, but they can’t. It is the piece of lumber that makes the biggest claim in the history of man. After all, when Jesus was here on earth, He hung on that cross, claiming to be the Savior for all mankind. He even had the nerve to claim He was God Himself!

Jesus was a carpenter and knew how hard it was to toil each day with his hands and a hammer. He had calluses on His hands even though those hands touched a blind man’s eyes and caused him to see. He used those same calloused hands when He touched a leper and he was healed. He knew what hard work was, and yet He had a tender touch that healed hundreds of people.

This is the God of love brought down to earth in the form of a man—a person with flesh and blood like you and me. Full of hurts. Full of sadness. Full of fear. Didn’t He cry out to God to “take this cup from Me”? Wasn’t He whipped, slapped and spat upon? Didn’t He slowly and painfully walk with that cross on His shoulders knowing that He would soon be hung on it and go through tremendous hurt and suffering? From the cross, didn’t He ask God why He had forsaken Him? Wouldn’t you have a little fear?

So we have the cross ready for the crucifixion. How about those nails? They weren’t tiny nails you’d use to build a birdhouse in the backyard. These were spikes—large nails about five inches long. They crushed the bones and caused pain that was beyond description.

Imagine your fear as they placed your left hand on that cross and get ready to pound that nail through your hand. The mallet comes down, and you scream in pain. But before you can catch your breath, they are nailing your right hand down.

Now that they have you securely part of the cross, they put your feet together, one on top of the other and slam another spike through both of them at once.

Do you feel the pain? Do you get the picture? Can you now relate to the sacrifice that Jesus had to go through so that you wouldn’t have to?

He was hurting, He was in great pain, and He cried out to God, just like you and I would, but He knew what He was doing had to be done for you and me.

He even had to look down and see the soldiers gambling for His clothes. That must have made Him feel even worse. They were at His feet, but they didn’t even know He was the Savior. He didn’t scold them. He didn’t cry out in anguish. He wanted them to know the One whose clothes they were throwing the dice for would come back to give them another chance.

Think of His arms spread out across the cross. Open arms. Arms that will hold you and show you love when we are in heaven.

Think even deeper about a mother watching her son die. Having Mary watch Him die had to cause Jesus another level of pain—perhaps even worse than any whippings or the nails driven through His hands and feet. He gave her one final look and then He said good-bye, handing her over to John’s care. Think of what Mary went through right at the moment He said, “It is finished.” Her son was dead, and she had to watch Him slowly fade away from her.

One final gesture. One more time of showing us how much He loved us. One last effort to tell us to seek Him so we can be with Him in heaven. After all, He died for us so we wouldn’t have to feel the pain. It is that simple. He went through all the torture, pain, aloneness, fear, for each one of us.

The next time you see a cross around someone’s neck or see one on top of a church, think of what Jesus went through so you can have eternal life. Try to see Him on that cross, with the crown of thorns on his head and the crimson blood flowing down His face. He is looking at you, and wants you to know that it is OK. He wants you to know that He did this for you, so that you will have eternal life. It should give you a much stronger feeling of what the cross stands for.

 

This is love: not that we loved God, but the he loves us and  sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

 

Further Adventures

Take time each day to thank God for sending His only Son to die for you on the cross. Start out every prayer time, or devotional time, praising God for what He has done for you. The whole meaning of Christianity started with the cross. Think about how the love Jesus flowed out for you through His blood on the cross.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how some people wear the cross and never know what it means?

 

Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

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 We have a book in our bookstore that is been featured each day on this site. It is my first book called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This books has special pricing right now. It is not too early to start thinking about Easter, and this book is a great gift that fits the season.

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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Chapter 45

 

Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

 

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things

[food and clothing] will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

 

There once was a famous painter whose paintings were much in demand. He was doing really well selling them.

One day his son became ill and the father took care of him as best he could. The painter eventually carried him to the doctor, but on the way the son died. The painter later died, and his paintings became very valuable.

Everyone showed up to bid on the painter’s work at the auction to sell off his paintings. Some of them were now worth many thousands of dollars. The first painting—a portrait of the painter’s son—was put up for auction. “What do I hear for this fine painting?” asked the auctioneer. No one said a thing.

Again the auctioneer said,” We need a bid on this wonderful painting.” Still no one spoke.

A person in the back said, “Why would we want a painting of the painter’s son? Let us bid on his real paintings!”

The auctioneer gave the bidding one more try: “Do I hear $10 for this painting?”

An old man near the front raised his hand and said, “I bid $10, but that is all I have. I knew the boy and I would like to have a picture of him.”

“Do I hear higher?” Silence. “Going once … going twice … sold!” The auctioneer banged his gavel.

“Good, now we can bid on the real paintings!” the crowd shouted.

“I’m sorry—the bidding is closed,” the auctioneer announced.

A man shouted, “How could that be! There are several more paintings that are worth thousands of dollars.”

“The painter said that whoever bids the highest on his son’s painting would get all of the paintings!” the auctioneer responded.

There are people who live their lives like that! They are greedy and want the real prize—the riches. Look at this story as if it were God who had lost His Son. He has planned for us to have all kinds of riches in Him but first we must accept His Son.

Too many wait to get in a bid on the “good stuff” and overlook the invitation to accept the Son. Which one should we bid on? Are we going to be greedy and end up with nothing in the end?

We all would like to have many things for our families. It would be nice to have all the toys—for the big boys (and girls), as well as for the little boys (and girls). But what good are they in eternity? We can’t take them with us! 

We can’t begin to imagine the beauty of heaven and all that is there for us. The streets of gold. The music of a thousand angels. No pain. No suffering. New bodies. Loved ones to see.

That is what we should be working for—not the pleasures of this earth. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to what is in heaven. There is a prize above all prizes waiting for all that believe in God.

 

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Proverbs 21:21

 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians3:14(emphasis mine)

 

Further Adventures

What are your priorities in life? Sit down and list them. Is it security? Is it happiness? After you have written your list, notice how many of those you can have by knowing God and depending on Him.

Everything in life was created by God. No matter what you see and what you do, God had His hand in it. Your job? Your happiness? God helped you get your job, and He orchestrated the things that bring you happiness.

I have learned that with God in charge of my life, nothing that has happened to me or will happen to me is or will be “by accident.” God is in charge of everything I do.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that atheism is a “non-prophet” organization?

 

If God Brings you to it, He Will Bring you Through it.

A special thank you to those who have taken the time to sign-up for our RSS feed. It has helped us climb up in the Google Search Rankings. Please sign-up today if you haven’t already to help us climb even higher. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

________________________________________________________

We have a special going on right now in our bookstore. The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly world,” is on sale for $15.99. In the retail stores it is $19.99. There is a special price cut in shipping as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

___________________________________________________________

I have another excerpt from the book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This is one of my favorite chapters in that it shows us the way to be strong when the storms and trials hit.

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Chapter 43

 

If God Brings You to It, He Will

Bring You Through It

 

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Psalm 91:4–6

 

Sometimes God allows things to happen to us to let us know He is there for us. I have known people who have had things happen to them that caused them to turn to God for help—for the first time in their lives. 

September 11, 2001changed many lives. Events of this proportion seem to change lives every time. He uses situations to make people stronger and to send them a message. These are the close encounters that help us grow.

If the steps we take seem to come to a wall we can’t climb over, we need to consider whether or not God might have another plan in mind. We need to pray to Him and seek His will. That kind of prayer will be answered faster if we ask for the wall to be moved!

We’ve all been through personal crises—health issues, loss of a job, separation from a family member, the death of a dear friend or other things that have thrown us for a loss. At those times we wondered if we’d make it through the situation. It was devastating at the time.

God knows everything about us, and knows what will happen to us even before we face hardship and fear. The most important thing to understand is that God prepares us for this kind of hard times.

I told you about how close I came to committing suicide and how I thought I had nowhere to turn. In reality, I had a source that was there for me all the time. It just took me that frightful moment to realize I could turn to God for help. God let me come to that point. He brought me through it, and He will bring each one of us through any pain and tragedy we face.

We need to stay close to God, and always rely on Him for comfort. We can do this by reading the Bible each day and praying. There is never a time I read the Bible without finding something new that gives me peace and strength. The same verse in the Bible can have a different impact depending on what I’m going through at that time.

I have a friend who puts the date next to a verse that stands out to her and notes what it means to her at the time. When she looks back years later, she can recall the circumstances that made that particular verse stand out to her.

God does allow sorrow, sadness and danger in our lives, but we will be able to cope with it much better with the knowledge that He is there for us when we need Him.

Second Corinthians 1:9 says: “In our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Another version says that Paul thought it was good that they thought they were doomed! How amazing to see that his faith let Paul know that he and those traveling with him would be killed if it weren’t that God was there to save them. Do we have that level of trust? We should. The same God who saved Paul is the same God that is with us today.

I would like to suggest a book for you to read. It is an amazing book about a man who was declared legally dead for 90 minutes and lived to have a huge impact on people’s lives. The book is 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. It was published in 2004 by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group,Grand Rapids,Michigan.

Don Piper was in a horrible car accident and was pronounced dead by the medics. He was stuck in his car for 90 minutes, and the first part of the book is about what happened to him while he was supposed to be dead.

A friend “just happened” to be going by the accident scene that day and refused to agree with the medics that Don was dead. He prayed over Don the whole time he was supposed to be dead. That part of the book is amazing enough, but then when Don began to recover, many wonderful things began to happen. It is a story of lost hope, and how God brought him through the hard times and made him a stronger person than he could have ever dreamed.

 

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13

 

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24

 

Further Adventures

  1. Spend time praying each day. This will help you know ahead of time what God has for your future. Often through prayer God sends a message for you to understand. We shouldn’t wait for a crisis to start seeking God’s help.
  2. If you know of someone who is troubled by a trial God is allowing, be there for them and help them to know that He will help them through it. Let them know they don’t have to fear, because God is with them.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that the more we depend on God, the safer we are?