Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
1 Peter 2: 24
2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
A Bridge Over the Gulf—
By transgression man was severed from God, the communion between them was broken; but Jesus Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, bearing in His body the sins of the whole world, and the gulf between heaven and earth was bridged by that cross. Christ leads men to the gulf, and points to the bridge by which it is spanned, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Manuscript 21, 1895). {7BC 941.8}
Sin is what separates us from God. The wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ Jesus died on the cross at Calvary to bridge the separation created between heaven and earth when man sinned against God. Christ took our place on the cross that we may live unto righteousness and healed from the disease of sin. Christ Jesus is our intercessor that presents us faultless before the Father. This He did out of love for you and for me. The Bible says that if we love Him, we are to keep His commandments, repent and give up our life of sin, take up our cross and follow Him daily. Do this and find yourself on the path that leads to the heavenly kingdom where life eternal awaits. Do not wait until you feel you are good enough. God loves you just the way you are. If you come to Him humbly with a contrite heart, your sins will be forgiven and you will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. God will take your filthy rags and clothe you in the white robe of righteousness. Your heavenly crown awaits you if you keep your eyes on Jesus.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come to the foot of Your throne in thanksgiving and praise. We thank You and are eternally grateful for the sacrifice You made on our behalf. For saving us from our wicked and sinful ways. For giving us Your strength and courage to repent and overcome the adversary with the double-edged sword as our weapon. For being our great exemplar in giving us, an it is written to fend off Satan’s relentless attacks. Satan will not stop until his end comes. His work is to tempt us into sinning against You and separate us from You. Thank You for Your word that says if we submit ourselves to You and if we resist the devil he will flee from us. We thank You for healing us to receive Your righteousness as our righteousness is of You. Thank You for leading the way that keeps us on the narrow path to the heavenly kingdom where our reward awaits us. Thank You for Your word that tells us to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness for all things will be added unto us. We pray to remain in continual communion with You every day. We need You in our life at all times no matter the good or bad that we go through. Thank You for picking us up when we fall and carrying us when we cannot go forward. Thank You for helping us deny ourselves, and to carry our cross as You did. Thank You for being our shelter in the time of storm. Thank You for leaving the comforter with us, to comfort us when we need comforting. For watching over us and keeping us safe. We will fear no evil for Your rod and staff they comfort us. May all the glory be to You. We thank You and praise You, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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