Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

March 18
Tuesday

*Rapture
SO OTHERS
MAY LIVE

READ:
Romans 9:1-5
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I could wish that I
myself were accursed
from christ for
my brethren, my
countrymen according
to the flesh.
__Romans 9:3
_____________________________________________

In the film The Guardian, the viewer is taken into the world of United States Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Eighteen weeks of intense training prepares these courageous men and women for the task of jumping from helicopters to rescue those in danger at sea. The challenges they face include hypothermia and death by drowning. Why would people risk so much for strangers? The answer isf found in the rescue swimmer's motto, "So Others May live."

In Foxe's Book of Martyrs, we read of a different kind of rescue that demanded extreme commitment and sacrifice. John Foxe records the stories of believers who suffered and died because they proclaimed the love of Jesus. Knowing it could cost them their lives, these believers made the Savior known to a world in desperate need of Him.

The apostle Paul, himself a martyr for Christ, expressed that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh" (Rom.9:3). Paul so longed for his fellow Jews to come to Christ that he was willing to sacrifice all, "so others may live."

May we likewise embrace this passion for the eternal souls of men and women. __Bill Crowder
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`````````````Rescue the perishing, duty demands it--```````````````
````````````Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;`````````````
````````````Back to the narrow way patiently win them.`````````````
``````````Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died. __Cindy`````````
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The cross reveals God's heart for the lost.

*************Today's Bible Reading __ Romans 9:1-5**************

1 I tell the truth in
Christ, I am not lying, my
conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Spirit,

2 that I have great sorrow
and continual grief in my
heart. 3 For I could wish
that I myself were accursed
from Christ for my
brethren, my countrymen
according to the flesh,

4 who are Israelites, to
whom pertain the adoption,
the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the
service of God, and the
promises; 5 of whom are
the fathers and from whom,
Christ came, who is over
all, the eternally blessed
God. Amen.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Although Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (1 Tim. 2:7), he was
deeply concerned for the salvation of his countrymen, the Jews
(Rom. 9:1-3). Yet, though they had the benefit of the law and the
prophets, they refused to see the truth. Those who have not trusted
Christ--Jew and Gentile alike--have a veil of spiritual blindness that
prevents their perception of spiritual realities (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor.
4:3). When they turn to Christ, the veil is removed and they are
able to see the glory of the Lord. "But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the
Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18). __HDF


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March 19
Wednesday


A FRAGILE LAMB

READ:
1 COR. 11:23-26
_________________________________________

He was wounded for
our transgressions,
He was brusied for
our iniquities.
__Isaiah 53:5
__________________________________________

After the easter eggs were located and the Easter baskets had been opened, Uncle Jay felt compelled to find out whether the white chocolate lamb was hollow or solid. Without thinking of the potential consequences, he squeezed the lamb. Suddenly Jay's whole body stiffened, as if he'd ingested some paralyzing poison. finally his eyes moved to see if anyone had witnessed the deed. His thumb, however, remained stuck in the side of the lamb.

We waited for the reaction. A wail. A howl. A cry of anguish over the crushed chocolate candy. As the adults in the room scrambled for words that would soothe the sorrow of 3-year-old Jenna, she calmly spoke words that soothed us. "That's okay, Uncle Jay. The lamb would have been broken when I ate him anyway."

While we adults tried to make sacred memories out of easter traditions, a 3-year-old made a sacred moment for us. She reminded us that Easter is about the perfect Lamb of God, broken so that we can be whole. Her youthful wisdom reminds me of the words we recall at communion: "This is MY Body which is broken for you." May we taste and see that the life He offers is sweeter than anything we concoct for ourselves.
__Julie Ackerman Link
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```````````See, from His head, His hands, His feet,`````````````````
`````````````Sorrow and love flow mingled down;``````````````````
``````````````Did e'er such love and sorrow meet``````````````````
```````````Or thorns compose so rich a crown? __Watts`````````````
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Nothing speaks more clearly of God's love
than the cross.

*************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Corinthians 11:23-26********

23 For I received from the
Lord that which I also
delivered to you: that the
Lord Jesus on the same
night in which He was
betreyed took bread; 24 and
when He had given thanks,
He broke it and said, "Take,
eat; this is My body which
is broken for you; do this in
remembrance of Me." 25 In
the same manner He also
took the cup after supper,
saying, "This cup is the
new covenant in My blood.
This do, as often as you
drink it, in remembrance
of Me."

26 for as often as you eat
this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death till He comes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

When we partake of "communion," or the Lord's Supper, we are
commemorating the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 53:5 pictures the suffering Savior. The word wounded literally
means "pierced." Christ's hands, feet, and side were pierced on the
cross (Ps. 22:16; John 19:18,34). Bruised means "crushing inward
and outward suffering." Chastisement means "a parent's rightful
correction of a disobedient child." God the Father punished His
Son as an innocent substitute for our misdeeds. "For [God] made
[Christ] righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). __HDF