Forgive me, Jesus, but I just can’t look. As I read the gospel accounts of the last hours of your mortal life, I still can’t bring myself to “watch” some moments—those telling of the cruelest atrocities inflicted on your person and of the foulest indignities heaped upon your head. I dare not linger there. I must cut the scene short and hurry on. I cannot bear to witness the full panoply of agonies that You endured…for the sins of others, for the sake of others. I cannot even…
If you were to be asked whether ‘we all worship the same god’ (though this god may be known by different names), would you answer, “yes?” If so, why? Some people do not believe in God and so, do not worship at all. Some worship many deities, and others only one. Those who believe in one god ascribe very different descriptions, attributes and characteristics to the supreme being. Some hold that there is a force or power of some kind…
The word, “gospel” has long been part of everyday speech, as in “the gospel truth.” The idea behind this expression was, gospel = truth. It was based on the dependability of God’s word as given to us in the Bible. The reasoning is simple. God promised to send a savior to free us from death and hell by paying, on our behalf, the penalty that we deserve. God did that. He sent His own Son, Jesus, to be the sacrificial…
Why did God sacrifice His own Son, His only Son, Jesus, by sending Him to earth to die…for sinners? God’s word supplies the answer: He was compelled to do so by love. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). No external force can make God do anything. It was His own love for humanity that compelled Him…