**Prayer Updates!** 
Let's pray for 
Let's keep 
And let's remember 
Urgent lift for Bongani to Witbank (
Mom's health (
Visa approval & car sale (
Pregnancy health & housing needs (
Freedom from temptation (Anonymous)
Mail service improvements (
against spiritual attacks. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Praying for strength and protection in Jesus' name! 
**Prayer Updates!** 
The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders were also there. These men teased Jesus the same as the other people. They said, "He saved other people. But he can't save himself! People say he is the king of Israel (the Jews). If he is the king, then he should come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. He trusted God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And in the same way, the robbers that were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.
—Matthew 27:41-44
Key Thought
Where do you go when everyone ... mocks you? ... hates you? ... ridicules you?
There was no place Jesus could run. There was no place to hide. He bore our sins under a flood of mockery and insults with no place to hide. He hung there, exposed before a sadistic and mocking mob in agony while his enemies hurled insults at him.
Why? Why was this necessary? Why did he withhold his power? Why did God allow it to happen? Why have the precious birth stories of a Messiah from heaven end in such agony and disgrace? Why?
Three very clear reasons:
1—he loves us and wants to save us;
2—he is obedient to his Father's will;
3—his blood is the only thing that can cover our sins.
In other words, he did it for you and me!
Today's Prayer
Father, I confess that I find it hard to believe that in the incredible expanse of the universe with all the billions of stars and people, that you know me and care about me enough to have Jesus die for my sins. I know that at times my love and dedication have been inconsistent and my faithfulness has been spotty and full of holes. But Father, I confess that every time I look closely at the Cross, at all Jesus had to face and all the grief he bore, I am drawn again to love you more and want to serve you more faithfully. Please forgive me for my sin and create in me a new and right heart made clean and pure by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
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—Matthew 27:41-44
Key Thought
Where do you go when everyone ... mocks you? ... hates you? ... ridicules you?
There was no place Jesus could run. There was no place to hide. He bore our sins under a flood of mockery and insults with no place to hide. He hung there, exposed before a sadistic and mocking mob in agony while his enemies hurled insults at him.
Why? Why was this necessary? Why did he withhold his power? Why did God allow it to happen? Why have the precious birth stories of a Messiah from heaven end in such agony and disgrace? Why?
Three very clear reasons:
1—he loves us and wants to save us;
2—he is obedient to his Father's will;
3—his blood is the only thing that can cover our sins.
In other words, he did it for you and me!
Today's Prayer
Father, I confess that I find it hard to believe that in the incredible expanse of the universe with all the billions of stars and people, that you know me and care about me enough to have Jesus die for my sins. I know that at times my love and dedication have been inconsistent and my faithfulness has been spotty and full of holes. But Father, I confess that every time I look closely at the Cross, at all Jesus had to face and all the grief he bore, I am drawn again to love you more and want to serve you more faithfully. Please forgive me for my sin and create in me a new and right heart made clean and pure by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
