Showing posts with label Savior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savior. Show all posts

Friday, April 06, 2012

The Passion of The Christ




Psalm 22
Psalm 22[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!




Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Rapture and Jesus' Return to Earth

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

1. The Rapture and Jesus' Return to Earth

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man [Jesus] will come [again] at an hour when you do not expect him."1

When one of my nephews was only five, he heard me talking about Christmas being the time when we celebrate Jesus Christ's coming to earth. He wanted to know if Jesus would come back to earth again. I assured him that Jesus promised that he would come back again.2

According to Bible scholars the return of, or second coming of, Jesus Christ is called the Rapture which comes from the Latin word "Rapare" which means to take away or to snatch out.

Following Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, he was "snatched away" and taken up to heaven. While Jesus' disciples were standing there looking up in amazement, two angels appeared to them and said: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."3

Jesus' first coming to earth 2000 years ago is an undeniable fact of history. His second coming is just as certain. The critical issue is to be ready for Christ's return. According to God's Word here's what will take place at the rapture: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we [true followers of Jesus] who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."4

Jesus is coming again just as he went. It could be today. He said that he would come at an hour when we do not expect him.5

To be absolutely sure you are ready for the rapture be sure to accept God's invitation for forgiveness and his gift of eternal life. To do so click on the God's Invitation" button below or for further help click on the "Know God" button or on: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, again I thank you for the promise of Christ's return. Thank you for your great salvation and the promise of a home in Heaven for all who believe in and have accepted you as their Savior. Help me to be sure I am ready today for Christ's return by having repented of my sins, asked for and accepted your forgiveness and received Jesus as my Savior. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: For an interesting depiction of the Rapture click on: http://www.youtube.com/v/SmLhyPjHVes. We do not endorse any of the other links on this page.

1. Matthew 24:44 (NIV).
2. See John 14:3.
3. Acts 1: 11 (NIV).
4. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV).
5. See Matthew 24:44.

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