The Scientific Death of Jesus, the Christ

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to death. At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, for unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion Jesus was held to the cross by His hands and feet with spikes, rather than tied ... each spike was 6 to 8 inches long.

The spikes were driven into His wrists, not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the spikes were being hammered into the wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself, so that He could breathe.

Both of His feet were spiked together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single spike that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs for long because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His back and using his legs just to continue to breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side... but do we remember the many wounds made to his body. A hammer driving large spikes through the wrists, the feet overlapped, and a spike hammered through His arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. 

Before the spikes and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and pieces of his beard were ripped from His face. The crown of thorns (two to three inch Judean thorns) cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water from his wounds.

Jesus was made to endure all this for 3 hours. He had no more blood to bleed. The human adult body contains about 5 liters (just over a gallon) of blood.  Jesus poured out all 5 liters of his blood; He had three spikes hammered into His body; a crown of thorns was beaten down upon His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier stabbed a spear into His side ... all these without mentioning the humiliation He suffered after carrying His own cross for nearly 1-1/4 miles, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross beam was somewhere between 75 & 125 lbs). Jesus had to endure this experience, so that you may have free access to God.  So that your sins can be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception!   JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Why is it called 'Good' Friday?

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. This Christian holiday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy

Friday, and Black Friday.

In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the death blow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions take this approach: in German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, the origin of the term “Good” is debated: some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.”Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource:  www.gotquestions.com

 

Think On These Things

Is there a reason why some only call on the Lord when there’s no one else to call? Is there a reason that we only seek Him when things don’t go our way? Why do we declare that God has failed us; that He is no longer there? Don’t we realize that we are only sleeping in the bed we’ve made?

Is there a reason why we enjoy our own free will, yet cry and moan at the consequences? Is there a reason that we ignore all the warnings that the Lord has laid before us, then get angry when we reap what we’ve sown? 

So WE BLAME GOD because our world isn’t coming out the way we want it to! And all the while the devil is masquerading as an angel of light. Just imagine all the pride, arrogance and gall we exhibit when we ask where God has been, when in reality we haven’t involved Him in our lives at all. Think about that... Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Note: The ideas expressed in this post are inspired by the lyrics from a song by the Christian Rock Group Theocracy called “As the World Bleeds”.

5 Things God Cannot Do

 

1 - He Cannot Fail – Luke 1:37... "For no word from God will ever fail." ^(NIV)

The Word is God & God is the Word... John 1:1 ... “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God and the Word was God.”

I mention this verse to show that God and His Word are one in the same; therefore, if His Word will never fail, then God also will never fail. They are interchangeable in scripture.

 

2 - He Has No Fear – 1 John 4:18 ... “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.”

1 John 4:16 ... “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

            Here again we find that loves casts out our fear. We then see that “God is love”, so love conquers fear and love is equal to God than God must not have any fear.

 

3 - He Cannot forsake His Children – Deuteronomy 31:6 ... “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

This statement is part of God’s covenant with man. He is always with you in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is strong enough to protect you. God is 

 

4 - He Cannot Lie – Numbers 23:19 ... “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

            Now there’s an indictment if I ever heard one. “God is not a man, so He does not lie”; insinuating that those created by God LIE. It would seem that men lie when it benefits them. It’s my hope that true followers of Christ DO NOT LIE. I’d like to think that is the case. The father of lies, Satan, controls much of what the unsaved think, say, and do, although they no doubt are unaware of this.

 

5 - He Cannot Make Mistakes – Romans 8:28 ... “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

            The Lord has a prescribed plan set forth at the beginning of time, so there are no mistakes or regrets. Since He is perfect the Lord knows in perfect chronology of events that are to take place throughout time. And since He is perfect in every way He cannot make mistakes. 

 

            I hope you enjoyed this brief look at the things our perfect and Almighty God simply cannot do. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but rather those things that appear to me to be most important. Knowing these truths can bring hope, peace, and contentment to one’s soul. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

A Spirit of Gratitude

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” ^{[James 2:19]}

            Believing in Jesus but not obeying Him is exactly what Satan does. Consider what has been done for you to pay for your entire life’s worth of misdeeds and iniquities. Now expand that view to cover all the iniquities of the entire human race since the beginning of time. Now we’re only responsible for our sin but that’s still a considerable debt that we had no way of paying off. Not to mention the fact that our inability branches out to Christ and our being unable to REPAY Him for the kindness of His substitutional death. Why would a person NOT want to follow Christ and earnestly obey His statutes as revealed in scripture? That’s the point, out of extreme gratitude one should have a strong desire to do that which is biblically asked of us. 

Don’t be like 9 of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus ^{[Luke 17:11-19].} The 10 lepers were healed but only 1 went back to express their thanks to the Lord. While the distance the one had to travel to return to Jesus is not mentioned, the main thing is that he DID return. And on top of all that we find that the one who returned happened to be of all things a Samaritan. Jews HATED Samaritans mainly because as Jews they married Gentiles, so the Jews considered them half-breeds. So only the hated half-breed in need a healing took the time to give Jesus thanks. The magnitude of what had been done for him did not escape him. In like manner the magnitude of what has been done for us should be enough to drive us to our knees in pronounced appreciation. 

Don’t be a dupe for the devil. If you’re willing to have your sins cleansed you should be willing to follow Christ wherever He leads you. It isn’t and should not be all about you. And if you think it either is or should be then you are making a tragic mistake. Selfless living gets you the prize. Selfish living gets you NOTHING. Don’t be a couch potato Christian. Put feet to your faith and serve the Lord with a spirit of gratitude. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessed.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Jesus’ Ministry

3 Main Aspects: Teaching / Preaching / Healing

            His teaching showed His concern for peoples understanding. His preaching showed His concern for commitment. His healing showed His concern for wholeness. His miraculous healings validated His teaching & preaching. That was to prove that He was truly sent by God.

            The Lord gives us the ability to understand that which He wishes us to understand. There are many things we may never understand completely but if we are diligent in our pursuit of God we will understand that which we will need to understand. That may sound like double talk, but God’s ways are simply incomprehensible at times. That’s okay, because our salvation doesn’t hinge on our understanding, but rather our acceptance of Almighty God, and His Word. 

            Healing was an integral part of Jesus’ ministry. He isn’t a genie in a bottle granting wishes. He heals who He heals for His own purposes and reasons. I don’t understand that entirely, but I trust God to do that which is best for those who are seeking a touch from Him. Healing still takes place in this day and age, though there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the healings. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the size of your faith and trust, because Jesus Himself said that all you need is a thimble full of faith to move a mountain. Now I think that was said metaphorically, because there is no historical record of a mountain being cast in the sea from just speaking a word in faith. God does that which is necessary to fulfill His own purposes. Just as He is the great and mighty “I AM THAT I AM”, God knows His own mind and that which needs to be done to bring His will to its prophesied conclusion. The world is much bigger than our, by comparison, infinitesimal problems. Looking back at our life retrospectively, we MAY see how God has orchestrated things to prevent wholesale pandemonium in our lives. *

            Remember, faith and trust is what make your faith machine run. Without it you would be floating aimlessly like a rudderless boat. Don’t discount God just because you don’t understand something (deconstruction). Worship Him with joy and peace in your heart. His ministry is still alive and well. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Check it out. In the middle of the word pandemonium is the word DEMON. How incredibly interesting.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

A “Reckoning” is a biblical term that is significant for understanding the believer's righteous standing before God. To reckon is to acknowledge that something is true on the basis of established facts. God reckons people righteous on the basis of his grace and their faith.

A “Dead-Reckoning” to me is when someone trades in their old life for a new one thru salvation. It’s when a person learns to die to self daily so that the new life can shine thru. We have nothing at all to lose; however, it is incumbent upon us to choose to respond affirmatively when the Spirit calls. A “dead-reckoning” is all about DYING to the world and becoming ALIVE in God.

The world calls us many negative, derogatory things, but they can call us whatever they want, they cannot take our soul from us. Funny how as children we learn this little ditty: “Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But it happens to be true. Words in the form of profanity laced insults can no doubt sting, and even cut right to the quick, but the most important thing in all that is that words can truly do nothing to us. Dying to the world makes us its enemy and places somewhat of a target on our back. God may allow our enemies to do any number of things to us physically, but no matter what, they cannot make God stop loving us. They cannot rob our salvation from us. AND they cannot void out our ticket to our eternal home with the Lord. You see? What can they really do to us. Nothing. Even if they took our very life, we would be in heaven, which would be a fair exchange; this sin filled world in exchange for an eternity of peace, joy, hope, mercy, and love with our Heavenly Father. All because we had a “dead-reckoning”. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries