Meditations on Christ's Death

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

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Isaiah 53:7-10 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

Satisfied

Wrath, of all the wraths most fierce,
Most dreadful and most strong;
God did not spare the smallest drop,
But poured it on His Son!

Judgment, just and well deserved,
Holy beyond compare;
Was turned to mercy at the cross,
For all who seek it there.

Righteousness that could not let,
The least of sinners in;
Was satisfied by God's own blood,
Which covers every sin.

Grace, mercy and redemption
Have met our Lord's demands;
Heaven's door to us is open wide,
And there our Surety stands.

The mercy seat is overspread
With Christ's eternal blood,
God looked upon His finished work,
And saw that it was good!

by Mary Van Nattan Stephens
2003

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

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Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

1 John 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

Colossians 1:12-14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 

You Can't Hurry Through Grief - A Short Thought

One of the weird things about grief is how it ebbs and flows. It ebbs and we think that it's lessening and now things will be better and we can move forward. Then something happens and it flows freely again. Sometimes the oddest things will set this off. It can be discouraging and exhausting. We may be in a hurry to get past this painful point, and then feel guilty for wanting to feel better. 

The thing is, God doesn't hurry. Neither does He stay always in one place. It is ok to feel and then to move on as well. Let's rest in the knowledge that the Lord knows exactly where we are in our process and He knows what will affect us deeply and what will not. He allows these things to touch us for reasons we don't always understand. Let's leave our grief timeline with Him knowing that He will in any eventuality give us the comfort that we need when we need it.

Psalm 31:15 My times are in thy hand...

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation...

Like A River Glorious

Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious in its bright increase,
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day;
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,
Finding as He promised
Perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand;
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care;
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do,
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

- By Frances Ridley Havergal

From Mom's Collection - Behold Your King Cometh...

Here is a selection that is appropriate to this day. This comes from my mom's collection of bits and pieces and I have added some thoughts of my own.
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Matthew 21:5-11 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Characteristic of many of the mighty rulers of history have been their pride and arrogance, their ostentatious display of power and riches. As a consequence they were generally more feared than loved by the rank and file of their subjects.

In sharp contrast to such sovereigns of the world stands the Ruler of them all, the King of kings and Lord of lords...

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