Why Did Jesus Have to Die for Our Sins?

                 To say, “Jesus died for our sins,” is really to say, “Jesus died because of our sins.”.  Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” According to scripture we were all sinners committed to a sentence of death with no way to stop sinning and no way to remove the sin. By His immeasurable grace (undeserved favor) Jesus willingly and willfully chose to die in our place. Jesus took the full punishment that was due us on Himself. His was a substitutionary death, in that He substituted Himself for us. As if all that wasn’t enough, He prayed that we would be forgiven. Since Jesus paid the debt we owed, God forgave all who have placed complete and unwavering trust in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 2:1-10)

                  Christ’s death and resurrection means that whoever places their faith in Him will have total access to the Father. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is “… the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except thru me.” Sin created a chasm between man and God … Christ bridged that chasm.  Upon Christ’s death all the OT sacrifices were made null and void. Those sacrifices were temporary anyway, having to be repeated annually for the forgiveness of sin. Hebrews 10:10 makes it clear: “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” Christ was the remedy for annual atonement.

               Christ’s death and resurrection means we’re guaranteed forgiveness when we accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Galatians 3:22 says, “the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” 1 Peter 3:18 proclaims: “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” May God’s grace and mercy be yours this day and may your faith in Him never falter. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries                 

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            This is the 2nd time in the last few weeks that I felt the Lord telling me about 'inconsequential conversations'. This means being involved in trivial chatter. Perhaps this is just for me or perhaps it is for the church at large. At this time I don't know. I was very quiet today and a few folks at church noticed. I was being introspective ... trying to monitor my speech, to see where I go verbally when I talk to someone. This is not an effort to restrict what I or anyone else says privately or publicly. Not at all. I feel the Holy Spirit may be leading me to another spiritual place in my walk. I suppose I'm mentioning it in this public setting to my readers because being no respecter of persons as God is, what applies to me could potentially apply to any one or all of you. 

            I have felt warned by the Lord to be very careful who I listen to and/or speak with and even more importantly be careful what I say.  False biblical info is being presented, false prophesies abound, false declarations regarding God Himself are being made ... what the future holds for believers and nonbelievers I cannot say for I do not know at this time.

            Now, more than ever before we, as believers in and followers of Christ must seek wisdom and divine discernment. God will reveal to us what is from Him and what is from the enemy if we truly seek to know. It should go without saying that we are not only God's ambassadors to a sin sick and dying world, but also the army of God armed with His word and the Spirit. Always remember, we learn nothing new when we are speaking. It is only when we not just listen but truly HEAR that we gain Godly knowledge.

            We just celebrated Christ's resurrection Sunday. Jesus didn't go thru all He did for us to sit by the roadside as a spectator. If nothing else we can pray. Lift up the Lord and worship Him. Enter into the fray with your spiritual armor on (Ephesians 6:10-18). Be mindful of your surroundings and speak truth to those around you. We are currently at war with the enemy of our souls. We have been for a long time, but he has stepped up his game because the time is rapidly coming when he will no longer be able to avoid his judgment, which is most assuredly coming. Stay true to your faith. Do not buckle under the pressure for the Lord Himself resides in you in the person of the Holy Spirit. We have nothing to fear. Rest in the Lord and trust Him, for it is only thru Almighty God that any resolution can come.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

http://www.minidevos.blogspot.com

Cell: (848) 240-1293

Thoughts from a Random Mind

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’.” — Luke 23:34 KJV 

Good Friday is past. The day of infamy. The day when pain was inflicted on Jesus. Let’s look at two of the important elements that were part of the day. The crown of thorns and the spikes themselves.

The crown of thorns was made from a bush that was prevalent in that region. The branches were soft and pliable, thus making them easy to weave into a circular crown-like item. The thorns on this bush were numerous, roughly 1.2 inches long and very, very sharp. When the Roman soldiers placed it on the head of Jesus it was not intended to be an instrument of pain, even though it says in scripture that He was hit on the head with a reed stick multitude times (Mark 15:19). The crown was meant to mock Jesus as the King of the Jews, for Pilate had asked Him if He were in fact their King (Matthew 27:11). Jesus’ reply (“You have said it.”) apparently led Pilate to accept that as an affirmation.  The sharp thorns were bound to draw a certain amount of blood upon Jesus’ forehead, whether intended or not. 

               Once at the place where the crucifixion would actually take place, they laid Jesus’ shoulders down on the crossbeam and stretched out both His arms. The spikes they used to attach His body to the crossbeam were roughly 9 inches long and square, coming to a point on one end.  A wooden disc was placed over the body part to be spiked in insure it didn’t come off the spike due to the person’s bod weight. The spikes were driven through the flesh where the Ulna and Radius bones meet. This would make sure the spike didn’t rip thru the flesh on the hand which would have happened if the spike was nailed thru the palm of the hand as is shown in cinematic versions of the crucifixion. 

The act of crucifixion was a horrible way to die. In Jesus’ case, in His weakened state, it would have been nearly impossible for Him to push Himself up with His spiked feet to catch His breath. Normally, the soldiers would hasten a victim’s death by asphyxiation breaking their legs so they would die quicker. In Jesus case, when they came to Him, He had already passed away so there was no need to break his legs.

It is said that crucifixion was the most ghastly, horrific form of torture used to kill someone. Jesus volunteered to endure this most egregious form of death so we wouldn’t have to suffer the tortures of hell for all eternity. Never forget what was done for you to free you from your sin. If you haven’t yet sought forgiveness from your sinful life, now is the best time to pray to God for the gift of forgiveness. Let God change your life forever so you can live with Him for all eternity. 

Always remember the truth of the Gospel. "The amazing news of the Gospel is not that we can receive Jesus into our lives but that He's already received us into His." *

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Taken from song THE GOSPEL by Ryan Stevenson.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                   It’s been beautiful weather in Jersey these last couple days. The kind of days you want to take a walk. Jesus took a walk on a day that was probably hot and dusty, since His walk was in Israel where the climate is different than here, as well as the terrain. His walk was life altering. His walk was historic. His walk would save all of mankind.

                  Scholars and theologians speculate that the cross Jesus was made to carry more than likely weighed around 300 lbs. The crossbar was estimated to weight somewhere between 70-110 lbs., depending on the length, width, and thickness of the piece. It has also been surmised that Jesus probably carried just the crossbeam, which would have been torture enough given His physical state at that time. Having lost a large amount of blood, He would have been significantly weakened, which is why a man named Simon from Cyrene was pulled from the crowd that had gathered to carry the crossbar the remaining way to the crest of Golgotha’s hill. The road Jesus travelled was later referred to as the “Via de la Rosa”, “the way of suffering”. 

                  Just how far did Jesus carry the crossbar before He collapsed under the weight of it? There is really no way of knowing for sure, but some took an educated guess and said He carried it 650 yards. If that’s true that would be the equivalent of walking the length of 6.5 football fields. That’s a pretty long distance, especially since Jesus had been beaten bloody and was barely able to stand let alone carry anything roughly 90 lbs. across His shoulders. I would like you to take a moment, close your eyes and try to get a mental image of that scene as a bloodied, physically exhausted Jesus struggled to make His way to the place where He would die. 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

       My definition of joy does not include being beaten to within an inch of my life, yet scripture tells us that “for the joy set before Him (willingly) endured the cross” ^{(Hebrews 12:2)}. I cannot even imagine what was going thru Jesus’ mind at that time. Seems to me that would have been an optimum time to have an out of body experience. 

                  My personal threshold of pain is very low, so the thought of enduring the pain Christ had to go thru boggles my mind and makes me cringe all at the same time. The thought of the scourge tearing chunks of flesh from His body, allowing blood to pour forth is painful in and of itself.  He went thru all that for you and me and while I am grateful, I am also sad that my sin, in part, caused that to be necessary. 

                  This week, Holy Week, is a somber reminder of what came before Christ’s glorious resurrection and while I know some believers recoil at the gory details I share, I feel it is very necessary to know in detail all that was required to expunge not just my sin, but the sins of all peoples for all time. The weight of that sin must have been incredible, yet “for the joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross”. May we never, ever forget the horrific price that was paid so that we could be set free from the sin that had entangled us. May the name of Jesus Christ be glorified forevermore, for He alone is our Lord and the Savior of the world. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing. 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  It's curious to me that while so many people ask how you are, most aren't interested in the receiving your answer. If we truly told people how we are they'd be looking for any reason to detach themselves from that particular situation very quickly.

                  As for me, I find myself saying HI to just about everyone at work.  I’m just a friendly guy. When I ask how someone is I really want to know. There have been countless times just asking how someone is can lead to a brief conversation that reveals the need for prayer. Sometimes I pray right then and there with the person, sometimes I send the request to my Prayer Posse so we can all pray or at times I do both. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way bragging or looking for the accolades of men. It’s just that God presents me with opportunities, and I try to represent Him as best I can with the Spirit’s help.

                  Because of my physical stature (6’5”, 320 lbs) and the fact that the Holy Spirit is within me, people seem to be drawn to me. From time to time I try a certain sociological experiment. I go thru the day NOT saying HI to people to see how many say HI to me without me saying anything. I find the results quite interesting. Many of the people pass by without saying a word. If I initiate the greeting they respond. If I don’t, they are silent. Curious, isn’t it. You can also tell a lot about a person when you begin to tell them how you really are … watch for their reaction. If it appears canned or mechanical, then perhaps they really don’t care all that much. I think most people don’t expect you to tell them how you’re really doing.  The people I like are the ones who, without you saying a thing, recognize that you might be in pain or some sort of mild distress and ask if you’re alright. Those folks show themselves to be legitimately caring for their fellow man/woman.

                  All this begs the question: Have we become too impersonal as a society? Maybe so. Only we can change that. We all (myself included) need to become more selfless and less selfish. Only God can bring about that change. Ask for it and you will receive it. It requires cultivation over time. We can do it. That will be one way the masses will see Jesus in us. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  Forgiveness is the key to the Christian faith. Without forgiveness there is no difference between Christianity and the other religions. Being the best version of yourself is meaningless without forgiveness, for we are still steeped in sin and sin cannot abide in God’s presence. Being the best version of yourself without a conversion event that takes you to a different path is without merit. Being forgiven must lead us to become more like our creator. The culmination of our walk down an appointed path is to become like Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions. 

                  But what if the forgiveness must come from another of God’s creations, namely a friend, family member or even your Pastor? How are they wired? Are they of a mind to readily forgive or do they want their pound of flesh, so to speak? Needing to be forgiven by someone other than God can be a shame filled endeavor. I’d like to think that there would exist some Holy Spirit conviction in the mix of emotions when seeking forgiveness as well.

                  God is ready to forgive at all times, man on the other hand, isn’t always so amenable. Especially if they are unsaved. However, some unsaved folks can be far more gracious regarding doling out forgiveness than those who are part of the family of God. They may judge you, which is totally inappropriate for a believer to do, but sadly it happens. He who has no skeletons in their closet may throw the first stone. 

                  Live in the light of forgiveness from a loving Savior who wishes all of us peace and prosperity even as our soul prospers. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries