the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too (Galatians 2:20).
Biblical faith is centered on two great truths. The first is that God will fulfill his ultimate purpose for the creation and man's destiny in it. The second is that the tzlav (cross) is the key to that fulfillment.
The sinful nature of man will not thwart God's purpose. Human evil is characterized by selfishness. In selfishness we wound one another. Wounded people wound others. God's Torah is violated. We experience guilt, bitterness over our wounds, and develop a victim mentality. We feel guilty about the things we have done, and angry over the things others have done against us, including every kind of injustice, betrayal, and abandonment.
God's solution to our guilt is identification with our crucified and risen Messiah. God's solution to our pain from injustice is to identify with Yeshua. When we meditate on his crucifixion in the context of addressing our own pain, he replaces our bitterness and guilt with his compassion and forgiveness.
Identification with our crucified and risen Lord transforms us and restores the image of HaShem (God; literally, the Name). When we are filled with love and walk in his ways, we know that nothing can happen to us outside of his will. There is no victim mentality for the true believer.
...live the crucified and risen life through identification with Yeshua.
DJ
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
