Bulletin Thought - April 2017

April 2, 2017

A Thought from Pastor Bryson,

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)

Once again we will soon be celebrating Easter or Resurrection Sunday. For those of us who profess faith in Jesus as Savior it is to be a time of celebration and thanksgiving.

The Old Testament book of Isaiah (Chapter 53) speaks a prophetic word about the suffering that the Lord would go through for us, and also the wonderful result His suffering would bring. As we approach Easter or Resurrection Sunday we would do well to reflect on the significance of why the day is observed and celebrated.

Isaiah states that He (The Lord) was wounded for our transgressions, He (The Lord) was bruised for our iniquities. It was because of sin that Jesus went to the cross. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a), that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), for this reason Jesus became our substitute, taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself. He died an agonizing death for us. He didn’t have to do it but He did it because He loves us. We must never forget the suffering that Jesus endured for us.

His suffering and sacrificial death resulted in a wonderful thing happening. Isaiah said, “By His stripes we are healed.” Sin that separated us from God has now been done way with and we are now in a right relationship with God, we are spiritually healed. Some take it also to mean that physical healing is also available to us as well. Keep in mind that the words transgressions and iniquities refer to sin which is a spiritual problem, through His death on the cross Jesus has fixed our spiritual problem. We are spiritually healed and now in a right relationship with God through faith in His work on the cross.

I also firmly believe that the Lord is a healer, but as people of faith we know that if He doesn’t heal us on this side, we will be healed ultimately when we see Him for ourselves in eternity. But let us not forget that we observe and celebrate Easter or Resurrection Sunday because we have a living Savior who has made us right with God. Our sins have been forgiven. The challenge for us is to live our lives in this present day giving witness to the fact that we believe in the living Savior and that He has indeed made a difference in our lives.

Help us Lord to live a life before others that they may come to know and understand the significance of Easter or Resurrection Sunday and for themselves profess you as Lord and Savior.