When I die I want to go like my grandfather did, at peace and asleep, and not terrified and screaming like the three passengers in his car.

We can make jokes about the most serious things, and yet wouldn’t we all like to die at peace? But how is that possible? The last words that Jesus spoke from the cross were these

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)

Jesus died at peace. It shouldn’t really be a surprise to us because he never ever did anything that would anger his father in heaven. He lived a perfect life and so he can say “father into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Would you be able to say the same thing? How have you lived? When God the Father looks at what you have done will he be pleased with you? Will you be able to say “father into your hands I commit my spirit”?

Well you can die at peace just as Jesus did when you believe that Jesus lived for you. By faith God has transferred Jesus’ record to you. His perfect life is yours so you can look at Jesus and see that your sins are covered and when death comes you can pray the same prayer that Jesus did. Father into your hands I commit my spirit.

God the Father will take you, he will take your spirit to be with him in heaven forever. See you can die at peace because Jesus has lived and died for you. Amen.

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My wife is a list writer. Everyday she sits down and writes the things that she wants to get done for the day. During the day as she accomplishes those tasks she crosses them off the list. She has great satisfaction at the end of the day if she can cross the final thing off.

Are you a list writer? It’s possible Jesus was. On the cross he cried out “it is finished.” The last thing was crossed off his list. Everything that he had to do to save us from our sins was complete. He had lived a perfect life and he was about to die the death that our sins deserve but he wanted you to know that all of your sins were paid for.

It is finished.

Your sins are forgiven and Jesus has made that payment for you. As you go about your days, making your lists, wanting to achieve your tasks, make sure Jesus is on that list. Take time to sit at his feet and hear of how much he loves you and that he has forgiven all of your sins. Amen.

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In the last decade or so reality TV has been a hit. The thought is that people don’t want to see actors they want to see real life. But how real this reality TV? Reality is certainly twisted by the producers and what they want the people to see, but are they real people are still just actors?

Jesus suffering on the cross was real. Wasn’t acting. Wasn’t twisted by someone else’s perspective. It was real and we see it’s reality in the words that John recorded simply with this:

“I thirst.” (John 12:28)

Jesus was thirsty. His body had undergone real pain and suffering. He was offering a real payment for sin. We’re not surprised when we hear Jesus cry out “I’m thirsty” because his body had gone through an extreme ordeal: flogging and crucifixion, but the real suffering that Jesus underwent was for our sins.

When he cries out I am thirsty he is telling us that he has really paid what our sins deserve so that we can be forgiven. Why was Jesus willing to suffer that much for you and me? Because he thirsted. He thirsted for us to be saved. He longed for us to be with him in heaven.

I am thirsty.

He was telling you that he is human, and God, and that he loves you. Amen.

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You could just see it on her face. The little girl was standing in the aisle at the store, turning around, looking for her mom or dad. She didn’t find them. You could see the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She felt lost and forsaken. She had been separated from those that she loved most.

I wonder how Jesus felt on the cross on Good Friday when God the Father turned his back on him and he forsook him. He cried out from the cross “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus’ question is a valid one. What had Jesus ever done that God would turn his back on him? The answer is nothing. Jesus had lived a perfect life, so why did God the Father forsake him? It was because of you and me.

Jesus took our guilt.

Jesus took the things that we have done wrong and claimed them as his own.

He suffered and died in our place so that we are forgiven, but that required that God forsake him. The ultimate punishment of sin.

So when you hear these words from the cross “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Hear in them the payment for all of your sins. Be assured that Jesus really has offered the payment that your guilt deserves and therefore you are forgiven.

Because of Jesus God will not forsake you. In fact he loves you and there’s a place waiting for you in heaven. Yes these words from the cross are a great comfort for us because they assure us of our forgiveness. Amen.

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As a pastor for quite a few years I’ve had the chance to serve people who have suffered from chronic pain. Usually it’s been from arthritis.

I’ve noticed that as the disease develops and their pain increases that their personality can change some—they’re no longer as bright and happy as they used to be. They’re no longer as kind with their words as they used to be.

The pain, it changes them. Jesus was very different though. In the midst of his pain on the cross he still loved all people and he demonstrated this in his love for his mother Mary. She and the disciple John were standing at the foot of the cross. When Jesus saw her he said:

“Woman, here is your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” – John 19:26-27

Jesus wanted to care for Mary after his death so he gave her to John to be as a mother to him. John cared for Mary and loved Mary in Jesus place.

Jesus truly lived a perfect life, even in the midst of pain and misery, Jesus loved. His perfect life, his perfect love has covered all of your sins.

He loves you too. As you reflect on his pain and suffering see that love. See how much he cares for you. Amen.

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At this time of year many juniors and seniors in high school are getting ready for their prom. I don’t know about you, but it was a scary thought to think about asking someone to a dance.

The fear of rejection can be so restrictive. It can burden us and stop us from saying what we really want to say. Have you ever struggled with that thought “will someone like me?”

People struggle with that thought with regards to God. They look at their lives and they see the way that they’ve lived and they’re troubled. Will God reject me?

There was a man that was dying on the cross next to Jesus and he wrestled with those same thoughts. He had lived a sinful life as a criminal and he deserved the death penalty for what he had done, but he wondered “will Jesus reject me? Will he remember me when he comes into his kingdom?”

Jesus had wonderful words for that man and for you and me.

“Amen I tell you: Today you will be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43

No matter how great a criminal you have been. No matter how much you deserve for God to reject you in Jesus He loves you.

You are forgiven.

He wants you to be with him in paradise.

Maybe you know someone that needs to hear those words today. Share it. Share the love of Jesus with everyone that you can. Amen.

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My kids love to play Monopoly, but I’ve observed something about the way they play. When they land on someone’s property and have to pay, they often hold a grudge. They can’t wait for that same player to land on one of their properties and hopefully it costs them a lot more.

Well I know where my kids get that from. From me. You probably recognize the same thing about yourself, that it’s very easy for us to hold grudges.

We have a saying “don’t get even, get ahead.” We don’t want someone just to suffer as much as we have we want them to suffer worse.

Thankfully, Jesus didn’t take that attitude with us. He didn’t even take that attitude with those that nailed him to the cross. The first words that we hear recorded from Jesus from the cross are these

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Jesus had every reason to hold a grudge. He had been falsely tried, he was innocent, the only man to live a perfect life and yet they nailed him to the cross. Even there though, in love for us, he prayed for our forgiveness. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

Jesus loves you. That prayer includes his attitude for you. He has interceded before the Father and your behalf and the Father has heard. So your sins are forgiven. Take to heart the words that Jesus spoke from the cross and be assured that God loves you, amen.

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