It Is Finished!

IT IS FINISHED!!!

I wrote this blog at Easter time last year and wanted to share it again - it always amazes me at just how incredible Good Friday is!  So full of so many prophecies being fulfilled - truly miraculous!!!

Hundreds of years ago, right back in the time of the Exodus the Jewish people were instructed to make sacrifices twice every day for the atonement of their sins.  God was very detailed about how the sacrifice was to be done; it was to be two male lambs without blemish and had to be done at a specific appointed time!  (Numbers 28:1-8)  For 1400 years the tradition of killing a lamb twice a day continued, a lamb was chosen and led out at dawn.  At the 3^rd hour that lamb was sacrificed.  At the 6^th hour a second male lamb, spotless and without blemish was chosen and led out to the altar where it was given a drink from a golden cup and tied to the altar!  At the 9^th hour that second lamb was sacrificed and the priest raised his shofar and blew it to signal to the people that there had been atonement for their sins. 

Now picture this – Good Friday.  Early in the morning.  In fact it was at dawn when the first lamb was being chosen by the priest, at this very same time Jesus is standing before the Sanhedrin who condemned him to die.  At the third hour they nailed my Saviour’s hands and feet to a cross and crucified him; the high priest killed the first sacrificial lamb at the third hour.  At the sixth hour darkness covered the land and the priest chose the 2^nd male lamb, without spot and blemish to be sacrificed for the people’s atonement. 

But get this, this is extraordinary.  “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”” Mark 15:34. “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last” Mark 15:37.  At precisely the 9^th hour the priest slaughtered the atonement lamb for the forgiveness of sins and raised his shofar to notify the people that they were forgiven.  At that very moment my Saviour, my Redeemer, the precious Lamb of God cried out “It is finished” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” John 19:30.   IT IS FINISHED!!!  As the priest raised his shofar to tell the people they were forgiven the veil of the temple was torn in two!  IT IS FINISHED!!!  No more did we have to make the daily sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus paid it all!

Do you think all these times are purely coincidence?  I think not!  It was all part of God’s perfectly orchestrated plan, planned for you from the beginning of time.  A plan to bring you back to Him, back to His heart and Jesus was the one who paid it all!

Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  John 1:29

Being Still...

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."   Psalm 46:10

I don't know if you are a little like me but I really struggle with this concept of 'being still'!  There are very few quiet spots in my life, very few peaceful times when someone or something is not trying to get my attention.....  but I have really felt the Lord drawing me back to this verse and saying "Be still and know"... and I have replied "how?"

I began to study the word "still" and what I found surprised and delighted me!  I can be still!  The hebrew for "still" is "rapha" which means : to let go, to release or to become weak, it is even used to mean the place of the dead (rephai'im)!

All I needed to do was to let go, surrender and release all my problems, fears and pain to the Lord, I could do that, all it required was action on my part and I am always better with action!  When we let go it is then that we will know that He is God!  When we lay it all at the foot of the cross then He will move on our behalf and we will see that He is God. While we are still trusting in ourselves, still trying to be the one in control of the situation, we cannot know His all consuming power! We need to die to ourselves and the idea that we can solve the turmoil that surrounds us, lay everything at the feet of Jesus and KNOW that He is God and He will be exalted among the nations and in your life.