Good Friday - Jesus Christ is Crucified on The Cross

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ,

I pray you and yours are doing well. I am blessed, praise be to God! Today marks Good Friday, the day which our Lord Jesus Christ carried the cross, was crucified, and died for us. Throughout this day, I have been reflecting on how powerful and symbolic it is for what our Savior did for us. How Jesus was persecuted but yet showed mercy, wore the crown of thorns and mocked on our behalf. The Son of Man was holy and blameless, yet He was persecuted and treated like a sinner and criminal. God sent His Son to this world because He thought we were to die for. Just take a moment to think about that and let that sink in. Even though we were sinners, Christ Jesus still died for us and said "it is finished." He bore our pain and sufferings on that cross. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

Last night I was talking with my little brother about how Jesus waited 30 years to start His ministry and did His ministry work for 3 years, and took 3 hours to complete His purpose on this earth when He was on that cross to die for our sins. How great is our God? How blessed are we? It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:44-46). In society, folks loosely say they would die for someone but rarely does that happen. Well guess what? There's someone that already did that! He is Jesus Christ! We can comprehend what Christ endured during the time of His crucifixion when we read The Word but I also love when we can visualize this, and this is why I love the movie, "The Passion of the Christ;" this movie is the best depiction of the persecution and crucifixion endured by Emmanuel (God with us). I recommend you see it if you haven't, this movie is available on Netflix, and has been played a lot on Christian channels (TBN, Daystar) this week and probably will be on till Resurrection Sunday.

If you don't know how much God loves you or have lost sight of this, the image of Jesus on the cross should be your reminder. Christ dying for our sins is a manifestation of God's everlasting love for us. Be reminded of what it says in one of the most popular verses in the Holy Bible that For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Over the years, I have always focused so much on the first part of the scripture that talks about God coming into the earth in flesh form to die for our sins, but didn't fully comprehend the second part of it: as believers, we have everlasting life. As I grow in my faith, I am beginning to understand that this eternal life talked about in the gospel of John does not start in Heaven but here on earth as well. When we become born again Christians, we receive God's peace, joy, and love. What more does one need to have a fulfilled life? Don't get me wrong, we will have struggles but what sets us apart is that we are fighting these struggles from a position of victory because we are in Christ! Hallelujah! As the spring season commences and the flowers bloom outside, I pray you grow in faith and faithfulness. I pray that you blossom in boldness, and that you allow God to build you up to be the men and women of God the Creator designed you to be. In Christ Name, Amen.

God bless you.

Jesus loves you.

Restored woman living for God's Glory,
Ruby B. Johnson.

Have you gotten right with the Lord? Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste anymore time and receive salvation now.