Inspirational Article From Joanne Lowe Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web

NOT JUST OUR COUNTRY

“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him with their hands. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

John 19: 1, 2, 16-19, 29, 30 King James Version

As we remember the brave men and women who have died for our country, let us not forget Jesus who died, not just for our country, but also for every person in the world. Our hearts are sad and we hurt because many of us have lost family members and loved ones in wars or they have been injured. It hurts us to see our loved ones hurting because they have been wounded in battles. However, there is another kind of injury beside the physical injury; it is the emotional trauma of having witnessed all the horrors of war.

When I worked in the nursing home back in Texas, I remember two of the patients telling me stories of the wars they fought in and all the horrors they saw. As they were telling me, they had tears running down their cheeks. What terrible things they must have endured and seen! One of the patients told me that he saw his buddy who he had known since they were in high school killed. He told me “I have had nightmares every night since that day and that was twenty five years ago”. How my heart went out to that dear man who had been injured the same day that his friend was killed.

There is someone else who had a family member killed. God’s Son, Jesus, was crucified and killed for us on a cross of horror. How the heart of our Heavenly Father must have hurt on that tragic day! His Son was being crucified and He had never done anything wrong. What had to be even harder for our Heavenly Father was that He couldn’t even look at His Son while He was hanging on that cross because Jesus had taken on Him our sins. God is holy and can’t look on sin so He had to turn away from His Son. There is no greater love than the Love of our Heavenly Father and our precious Saviour.

We have heard sermons of the crucifixion many times and read about it in the Bible but I don’t think any of us have grasped even a fingernail of the horror, excruciating pain, loneliness, terror and heartache that our Saviour endured that dark horrible day when He took our place. He, who knew no sin, willingly took on Him our sins so that we may be forgiven, cleansed in His precious atoning blood and saved for eternity. What amazing compassionate love flowed from the heart of our dear Saviour on that day when He died for us!

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Saviour, I urge you; I plead with you to open your heart to the one who gave His life for you on a cruel cross. Don’t let His sacrificial death for you be in vain. Say “yes” to Jesus before it is too late. Jesus can come back for us even as you are reading this. You may not have another hour to live. Don’t put it off. This is urgent and a decision that must be made now! Your family and loved ones would love to make it for you but they can’t do it. You must have a personal relationship with Jesus. Run into His waiting arms and let Him give you His peace, the peace that passes all understanding.

Joanne Lowe

May 25, 2007

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