Daily Manna from Heaven

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” -2 Corinthians 5:21

“If our greatest need had been information,” read a Christmas card I received, “God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was for forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.”

When an angel appeared to Joseph, who was then engaged to be married to Mary, the message was, “And she [Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Today, though, it is the link between our sin and a Savior which has grown hazy and obscure.

Focusing on our greatest need, though, is the problem, because this forces us to admit that there is a need, and we would generally rather crawl on our hands and knees to Calcutta or roll in a bed of ground glass than to admit our human failure or wrong doing—yes, to admit our personal sin.

When Paul wrote to the Romans, he categorically said, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). His word all is completely inclusive. None is excluded. Today, however, you don’t hear much of that three letter word, sin. The attitude of the world is nobody’s perfect. So don’t worry. Be happy!”

Sin is the problem, and a Savior is the solution. Even those who refuse to call it what it is know what the problem is, but rather than accept the solution, they prefer to deny that the problem exists. Is this rational? It is about as rational as refusing to believe your doctor when he says you have cancer, or refusing to take you’re automobile into the shop when you have been notified by the manufacturer that it is defective, or ignoring the road signs which tell you the highway ahead is washed out and you must detour.

The worst kind of ignorance and rebellion is the refusal to recognize there is a solution to your problem and an answer to your need. Paul, the theologian of the New Testament, came to grips with this whole issue of man’s need and God’s solution. Almost all of his letters addressed this issue prominently. Writing to the Corinthians, he said, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). For a moment, ponder what Paul is saying: God—the creator of our universe, the one who breathed life into Adam—sent His Son into our world, and He paid the penalty for our sin that we might be accepted as righteous before God the Father.

A few years ago, I visited an inmate in prison who, in a fit of rage, had killed another man. Trying to explain how Christ, who knew no sin, paid the penalty of our sin so that we might have life, I just couldn’t get through. Finally, I put it like this: “Look, if I were willing to exchange clothes with you and take your place here in prison, and you put on my clothes and walked out the door as a free man, would you do it?” The light came on. A smile crossed his face as he said, “Sure, I would. A person would be a fool not to do that.” “Yes,” I responded, adding, “That is exactly what Christ did for you when He died.” But the consequences of ignoring what Jesus Christ did are even greater than refusing to let someone else take your place on death row. Think about it.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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by Max Lucado

You live one final breath from your own funeral.

Which, from God’s perspective, is nothing to grieve. He responds to these grave facts with this great news: “The day you die is better than the day you are born” (Eccles. 7:1). Now there is a twist. Heaven enjoys a maternity-ward reaction to funerals. Angels watch body burials the same way grandparents monitor delivery-room doors. “He’ll be coming through any minute!” They can’t wait to see the new arrival. While we’re driving hearses and wearing black, they’re hanging pink and blue streamers and passing out cigars. We don’t grieve when babies enter the world. The hosts of heaven don’t weep when we leave it.

Oh, but many of us weep at the thought of death. Do you? Do you dread your death? And is your dread of death robbing your joy of life?

Jesus came to “deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Heb. 2:15).

Your death may surprise you and sadden others, but heaven knows no untimely death: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Ps. 139:16).

Dread of death ends when you know heaven is your true home. In all my air travels I’ve never seen one passenger weep when the plane landed. Never. No one clings to the armrests and begs, “Don’t make me leave. Don’t make me leave. Let me stay and eat more peanuts.” We’re willing to exit because the plane has no permanent mailing address. Nor does this world. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Phil. 3:20).

Why don’t you do this: give God your death. Imagine your last breath, envision your final minutes, and offer them to him. Deliberately. Regularly. “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.” With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.

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“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” -Hebrews 2:9

Ahmed Ibrahim Awadh was supposed to have died. A corpse had washed up on the Mediterranean cost and was identified as his body. Of course, people mourned. He was only 30 years of age, and the best part of his life seemingly had been cut short.

As is the custom in Cairo, a funeral tent had been erected, and family sat there, misty eyed, honoring the dead man when suddenly things turned around. Ahmed—the man who was supposed to have died—walked into the tent, looking as healthy as he was when he was last seen.

No, he had not risen from the dead. It was a matter of mistaken identity. Actually, he had been at the beach, and while he was there, a thief had stolen his wallet, including his identification. Apparently it was the body of the thief which had washed ashore. Once the grief-stricken mourners recovered from their shock, the funeral turned into a celebration. Ahmed was not dead. He was alive.

As I heard of this bizarre turn of events, I couldn’t help thinking that in a sense Jesus Christ also came to His own funeral; but there was one massive difference between the funeral turned celebration of Ahmed Ibrahim Awadh and that Jesus Chirst. Ahmed had not died. People only thought he had. But there is absolutely no questioning the fact that when Jesus Christ reversed the mourning of his disciples, he had been absolutely dead.

On Good Friday, the world pauses and remembers what happened at the crucifixion. Is there any chance that Jesus might not have really died? That He might simply have been taken from the cross, weakened or even unconscious, and then recovered? Not a chance in the world. The Roman soldiers who put him on that cross were professional executioners—not Hollywood stunt men who bumbled the job. They were executioners to whom dying men were common. A thorough discussion of what crucifixion entailed would take much longer than time allows and isn’t really necessary. History speaks for itself.

John, an eyewitness to what took place, describes the soldiers, who, wanting to hasten death, broke the legs of the criminals who were executed with Christ. “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead,” says John, “they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:33,34).

Then the body of a lifeless Jesus was washed, anointed with spices and wrapped for burial. There was no life or breath in His body. When Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb of a wealthy friend, Joseph of Arimathea, he was dead—of that there was no question. But the story doesn’t end here. Three days later, Jesus turned mourning into rejoicing. He rose from the dead in a never-to-be-repeated drama that turned weeping into dancing.

Ahmed, the young man who came to his own funeral, will perhaps live for another 30 or 40 years, but then there will be a funeral again, and he will be the main feature. But because Jesus died and rose again, He will never see death. The writer of Hebrews says that He tasted death for all men (see Hebrews 2:9), and the word which the writer used means He experienced death for all men. That’s good news, friend. Yes, it is totally worthwhile to pause and reflect upon the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

But please remember, Easter Sunday follows Good Friday. The resurrection follows the crucifixion, and some day God will forever turn morning into rejoicing for His children. That’s what the Gospel is all about. Yes, thank God Jesus turned the tragedy of his death into the victory of His resurrection.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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