Where's Jesus

My heart is heavy and I grieve with and for the families of the murdered students and teachers at Va. Tech. The killer is probably getting his reward in a devil's hell. I pray for his family as well. I wanted to post some words of my beloved bible teacher, Adrian Rodgers, who shares about the "storms of life."

These are dangerous days, indeed, and things can happen in the blink of an eye that can overwhelm us, but don't lose heart. Three hundred and sixty-five times in the Bible, one time for every day of the year, God has told us not to be afraid. In one way or another, He said "be not afraid," or "fear not." The devil is the sinister minister of fear, but our Lord tells us not to be afraid. Three hundred and sixty-five times He tells us not to be afraid!
We can also take comfort in the fact that we are graced by His prayers. In John 6:16 and 17, we read the account of the storm the disciples found themselves in on the Sea of Galilee. And what does Jesus do ... He leaves them! The verses explain, "And when even was now come, His disciples went down unto the sea, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them." They're saying, "Where's Jesus? Where is Jesus? It's dark and He hasn't come. Why hasn't He come?" Well, He's doing something else. What is He doing? He's praying. He's up on a mountaintop, praying (Matthew 14:22-23).
Don't think He has forsaken you just because you cannot see Him. When you're in the storm, He may not be with you in bodily form, but He is very much aware of you. I love that song that reminds us, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me."
Did you know that He sees you right now? You may say, "He doesn't know where I am. He doesn't know this difficulty. Why is He so far away? Why am I in the storm and He is on the shore?"
Friend, He is there praying for you. In the case of the disciples' storm, He went apart to a mountain to pray and He was up there on the mountain looking down. He sees right through the dark. You may not be able to see Him, but He sees you. And what's He doing? He's praying. You are on Jesus' prayer list!
Do you have any reason to doubt that He is praying for you in the midst of your storm? How would you feel if you knew, while you are going about your business, Jesus was right beside you on His knees praying for you? What a comfort to know He ever lives to make intercession for you.
-Adrian Rodgers

The Cross of Peace

"having made peace through the blood of His cross."
Colossians 1:20b (NKJV)

How can a cross bring peace if Jesus is the One hanging there? At the cross, wickedness was not appeased. Wickedness was confronted. At the cross, sin was not overlooked. At the cross, sin was atoned and paid for. God’s greatest righteousness confronted man’s greatest wickedness, and righteousness won; peace was attained through the blood of the cross. Thank God for the cross! Thank God for Jesus!

Adrian Rogers

Why the Cross?

"Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem" Luke 9:51

Why did Jesus have to die? Why the cross? Why couldn't God just say, "Look, I know you have sinned against Me. It's okay. Never mind. You are all forgiven." The answer is that it doesn't work with His nature and character. God is just. And the justice of God requires that our sins be paid. He could not accept us into fellowship with himself unless the penalty was paid.You see, the cross demonstrates the justice of God. At the cross of Calvary, the love and the justice of God met. Jesus had to go to the cross because humanity is sinful, and there was no other way to bridge the gap between a just and holy God and sinful humanity. The cross was His goal, and it was His destination from the very beginning. He spoke of it frequently.So don't think the cross was a mistake. Don't think that Jesus didn't know it was coming. Jesus, being God, had complete foreknowledge. He was braced for the cross. He knew the cruel and horrendous pain that awaited Him. In fact, Scripture tells us, "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). He would let nothing or no one deter Him from His course. God said, "My righteous requirements must be met. But I love humanity. And there is no way they can do it on their own. So I must assist them. I must help them." So He sent His only begotten Son to bridge the gap. Jesus came to this earth to purchase back what had been forfeited in the Garden of Eden.

Think about that. This was a daily devotion I received a few years back from Gregg Laurie of Harvest Ministries. Sign up for own daily emails from Harvest.