THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
A redneck was stopped by a game warden in central Louisiana recently with two ice chests full of fish. He was leavin' a cove well-known for its fishing.
The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?"
"Naw, sir", replied the redneck. "I ain't got none of them there licenses. You must understand, these here are my pet fish."
"Pet fish?"
"Yeah. Every night, I take these here fish down to the lake and let 'em swim 'round for awhile. Then, when I whistle, they jump right back into these here ice chests and I take 'em home, 'cause they know I'm gonna feed 'em some good buttermilk cornbread."
"That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that."
The redneck looked at the warden for a moment and then said,
"It's the truth Mr. Government Man. I'll show ya. It really works."
"O.K." said the warden. "I've got to see this!"
The redneck poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited.
After several minutes, the warden says, "Well?"
"Well, what?", says the redneck.
The warden says, "When are you going to call them back?"
"Call who back?"
"The FISH!", replied the warden.
"What fish?", replied the redneck....
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________SCRIPTURE____________________________________________________________________
Isa 53:4-5
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
KJV
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_______THOUGHT______________________________________________________________________
The punishment of mankind upon God in the flesh was actually the punishment that God should have been imposed upon mankind!
Mankind, Hebrews and Gentiles alike, assumed that Jesus received punishment that was DUE Him! They considered that the events of beatings and crucifiction came upon Him because He said He was God in flesh, and was a liar!
But it was not what it seemed! MESSIAH, said Isaiah, "was wounded..." and "..bruised" for OUR sake! God took upon Himself the punishment that He had rightly judged for mankind.
THIS IS FORGIVENESS AT ITS PINNACLE!
Consider this example. When a person does something wrong to you, then comes and asks forgiveness, that person must accept HUMILITY in order to plead with you. He must pay a price to receive forgiveness -- that price is humility. But YOU are the one who must pay the price of the FORGIVENESS! It is YOU who must agree to set the incident aside and never bring it up again.
Therefore, God Himself came in flesh in order to PAY THAT PRICE for you and me!! What He received at our hands actually should have been received by us at His hands! But He paid the price of forgiveness FOR us! Thus God DEMONSTRATED His love and willingness to forgive.
"For God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
In order to receive "peace" with God, sinners must pay a PRICE. But we cannot pay a price that God will accept because nothing we can pay is OURS. It all belongs to God!
Therefore, the "peace" that we can receive with God MUST come through Christ's vicarious payment. The "healing" that mankind needs is the RESTORATION to a NON-sinful state of being. Only GOD can provide that "healing." Therefore, it is only through surrender to Christ as Lord that we can be CHANGED from our sinful selves to His likeness!
Remember today, dear Christian, to "forgive others" as YOU were forgiven!
Love ya,
Bruce