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   PID: Synchronet 3.19c-Win32 master/a7f6b8549 Apr  7 2022 MSC 1929   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.15-Win32 master/a7f6b8549 Apr  7 2022 MSC 1929   
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   Shaun,   
      
    SB> I really appreciate the personal sermons, Daryl. It is difficult for me   
    SB> to go to church, even as the pandemic restrictions begin to relax. And   
    SB> it has been a *very* long time since I've heard the Word directly. I   
    SB> cannot thank you enough for your time.   
      
     You're more than welcome, sir. :)   
      
     As Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ (can't leave out the ladies    
   ), we are to uplift and edify each other. Even after we're saved (doing    
   the one thing God requires, believing on The One He has sent, in the person    
   of His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ), we are still going to have to deal with    
   our sin nature until we die, or are raptured. As Gospel artist Amy Grant    
   noted years ago, "we still wake up with body odor and bad breath"...and you    
   might as well note "the call of nature" as well. And, with my being on Lasix   
   for congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation, I know that well.    
   I am supposed to have cardiac ablation surgery soon, which should resolve   
   both of those issues.   
      
     Anyway, if one was truly sincere and contrite when we made the decision    
   for Christ, ALL of one's sins...past, present, and future, were FORGIVEN.   
   While Satan keeps trying to dredge those up against us, as far as God is    
   concerned, He sees those who've accepted Christ as righteous as He is. As    
   Romans 8:1 notes "there is NO CONDEMNATION to those in Christ Jesus"...and    
   John 3:18 notes "He that believes on Christ is NOT CONDEMNED". While His    
   Grace is a License To Serve, and NOT a License To Sin...as noted, we're    
   still going to have that sin nature. Every Christian has one area where    
   they're particularly vulnerable...and all of us have one skeleton in our    
   closet (some have a whole graveyard full!!).   
      
     The Devil (Satan) is a created being with LIMITED power, but Jesus    
   Christ is God Almighty with UNLIMITED power. The one thing Satan and    
   his demonic hordes can't cross is The Blood Line...the Precious Blood    
   that Jesus Christ shed for all mankind on that old rugged cross nearly    
   2000 years ago. Since I'm entering this just before Easter Weekend,   
   the following commentary may help.   
      
     While Christ was hanging on The Cross to pay for the sins of mankind,   
   the sign up above his head here in the physical realm on Earth, noted   
   His "crime" (according to the Pharisees, Saducees, and the Romans), as   
   "Jesus Of Nazareth, King Of The Jews"...but that was in Truth.    
      
     The Jewish leaders didn't like or want Jesus, because He exposed their   
   hypocrisy and other things...and they didn't want Him "muscling in on   
   their operation". And, the Romans felt that Caesar was their king.   
   Indeed, when Pontious Pilate said "Behold, Your King!", the crowd   
   shouted "We have no king but Caesar"...likely prodded by both the   
   Pharisees and Saducees. Pilate acquitted Jesus 4 times, but 18 Jewish   
   laws were broken (through numerous illegal trials) to railroad Jesus    
   to His Death...even though He had come to Earth to die for the sins    
   of mankind.   
      
     Meanwhile, in the spiritual realm, the "crimes" that were noted were    
   NONE of Jesus' (He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might    
   become the righteousness of God in Him)...but the sins that everyone    
   who ever lived on Earth, would commit, in thought, word, or deed. It   
   was because of Him becoming the embodiment of sin, that God The Father   
   could NOT look upon His Son...so, He turned away, taking the sunlight   
   from the Earth as He did. Christ was on the Cross for only 6 hours,   
   but crucifixion (originally devised by the Phonecians, then refined   
   by the Romans) was originally meant to have the condemned criminals   
   nude on the cross for several days. That made them even more vulnerable   
   to the birds and insects...besides the pain, scorn, and humiliation.   
      
     However, the scourging before the crucifixion was so brutal, that    
   most died from the beatings. Crucifixion itself is essentially a    
   death by suffocation, and likely the most excruciating death one    
   could endure. Exhaustion, shock, paralysis, and suffocation finally    
   destroy the victim.   
      
     Satan thought he had all mankind in his clutches, but when Jesus    
   uttered "Tetelestai!" ("it is finished!"), Satan realized too late    
   that "the joke was on him" (he'd been hoodwinked). Those words meant    
   that the work Jesus came to do...to shed His Blood and die for the    
   sins of everyone...was completed. And, that anyone would put their   
   faith in Christ alone for their salvation, could go to Heaven. The   
   resurrection of Christ on what we know as "Easter" (but it's named   
   after the fertility goddess, Ishtar), was God's Seal Of Approval   
   on what Christ did on the Cross.    
      
     Had one sin not been paid for, Christ would still be in the grave,    
   His Death would be like any other man, and all of us would be heading    
   for Hell and the Lake Of Fire, with Satan and his demons (who hate    
   our guts, and want us to burn with them).    
      
     The one sin God won't forgive is "blasphemy against The Holy Spirit"...   
   basically rejecting God's Free Love Gift in the person of His Son. By    
   that free will and choice, they choose to go to Hell...God doesn't send    
   anyone there. The Lord's Will is that NO ONE die in their sin (rejecting    
   Christ), but that all should come to repentance.    
      
     When someone accepts Christ, it's a slap in Satan's face. By the    
   same token, all who choose to reject The Lord (there will tragically    
   be far more in this category), it's a slap in God's Face (Jesus    
   Christ is God In The Flesh).   
      
     Back to the crucifixion, the thief being crucified on Jesus' right    
   originally mocked him, as the thief being crucified on Jesus' left did.    
   Yet, while the thief on the left kept railing on Jesus, the thief on    
   the right had a change of heart, seeing Jesus who He really was. The    
   thief on the right told the other one "We're getting what we deserve...   
   but this man is innocent!!". Then, he said to Jesus "Lord, remember me,    
   when you come into your Kingdom". The Lord told him "Truly, I say to    
   you; today, you'll be with me in Paradise". A condemned criminal was    
   the first one saved. If there was such a thing as a spiritual lottery,    
   the thief on Jesus' right "hit the jackpot".   
      
     For those of us who've come to Christ, we know that it should have   
   been US getting scourged, and then crucified on that Cross, instead    
   of Christ. As Romans 5:8 notes, "But God commanded His Love for us,    
   in that while we were yet sinners (His enemies), Christ died for us".   
      
   Daryl   
      
   ... What is the sound of one hand clapping??   
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