It was about noon, but the whole area became dark until three o'clock in the afternoon. There was no sun! The curtain in the temple was torn into two pieces. Jesus shouted, "Father, I give you my life." After Jesus said this, he died. (ERV)
Full Text
Key Thought
These few words are filled with great richness. Jesus' death occurs in deep darkness; darkness has its way for a brief spell before its stranglehold on us is broken forever by Jesus' resurrection. The veil is torn in the Temple; Jesus opens up the way for us to enter the Holy of Holies with confidence and find grace at the Mercy Seat of God. In his final breath, Jesus entrusts everything to his Father in faith; in our worst of moments, we can know that no matter how forsaken we may feel, God will bring us to himself in glory. Jesus takes his last breath and dies; each of us must one day give up our last breath, but because of Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection, we can die with confidence. Which message do you need most today? Choose one and look to Jesus and trust in his grace.
Today's Prayer
Father, what can I say in response to the gift of your Son? All praise to you, the God Almighty, the Father of mercy, and the Sovereign God of grace. Jesus, thank you for your example and the price you paid to provide it for me. Now I finish this prayer with the request that you, O Holy Spirit, fill and empower me to have the same trust in my struggles as the Lord displayed as he faced his trials. In the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen.
And so, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place. We can do this without fear because of the blood (death) of Jesus. We can enter through a new way that Jesus opened for us. It is a living way. This new way leads through the curtain --Christ's body. And we have a great priest who rules the house (people) of God. We have been cleansed and made free from feelings of guilt. And our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere (true) heart, feeling sure because of our faith. We should hold strongly to the hope that we have. And we should never fail to tell people about our hope. We can trust God to do what he promised. We should think about each other and see how we can help each other to show love and do good things. We should not quit meeting together. That's what some people are doing. But we should {meet together and} encourage each other. You should do this more and more as you see the Day coming. Hebrews 10:19-25 (ERV)
Those children are people with physical bodies. So Jesus himself became like those people and had the same experiences people have. Jesus did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death. That one is the devil. Jesus became like those people and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps. Jesus helps the people who are from Abraham. For this reason Jesus had to be made like us his brothers and sisters in every way. Jesus became like people so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for the people's sins. And now Jesus can help those people who are tempted. Jesus is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted. Hebrews 2:14-18 (ERV)
We have a great high priest who has gone to live with God in heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us continue strongly in the faith we have. Jesus, the high priest that we have, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways that we are tempted, but he never sinned. With Jesus as our high priest we can feel free to come before God's throne where there is grace (forgiveness). There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:14-16 (ERV)
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