CrossReads Weekly Devotional: What’s So Good About Good Friday? 4/11/2022

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by Rebekah Beene

Well for some employees it’s good because this is a holiday. For the rest who work on this day it’s good as well because Friday is the end of their work away from home week. They turn their attention to more personal things for a couple of days.

For Jesus it was anything but good. For His followers it was awful – black, somber and silent. They were struck ill by the very thing Jesus had tried to share with them. He was busy being the Only Sin Bearer for the world. Good here meant anything but good. Yet it was all going to work together for the good of those that loved Jesus. It just couldn’t be seen at the time.

Oh beloved, I don’t know what your week looks like. I know mine is full of opportunities to experience great joy and if I let it opportunities to reside in a funk. Life isn’t always good and it isn’t always fair.

But listen beloved, Jesus has taken care of it all. He took the bitter cup so your bitterness isn’t your everyday drink. He took the lashing so that you could be healed. He wore the crown of thorns so you could become more than an everyday, worn out, slave of the world. He walked up the hill carrying your cross so that you could go free. And He died for you to live. And He rose again for you to walk in newness of life.

God wants you to know that all this happened for you. For God so loved (you) that He gave His only Son, so that (you) would not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 isn’t a sweet little Sunday School verse to recite by memory – it’s the power of God for you to live by!

You aren’t bound to the regrets of the past, the sorrows of this season or the emotional baggage that the world says is your right. You are, by divine design, free! In your worst Fridays there is always the Truth of your position in Christ. In your deepest funks there is always Christ lifting you up in prayer. The Savior who prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane is still interceding for you at the Throne of the Father! It’s personal! And even when the world, your pastor, your friends, your co-workers don’t know what you are going through, it is you and Jesus living life together by the power of Holy Spirit who is your Comforter, Provider, and oh so much more!

God loves you and He’s for you. How much more does He have to prove it? How much more do you need to know to release yourself from the bondage that is simply not yours to bear? Your life is not just about surviving until heaven – it’s about thriving in the Power of the Resurrection! Run to the Lord this morning, pour out your heart and ask Him to revive you to believe and receive fresh insight for living. And then walk, dance and sing for joy in the Light of what has been given to you!

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.

Luke 23:33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.

Hebrews 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood.

1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

About the Author:

 

Rebekah BeeneIn a Christian Women’s meeting in 1983, Rebekah was given a prophetic message that she would write books. Several years ago she began writing stories about special holiday memories and travels, sharing God’s love and care through each story. God has gifted Rebekah with the ability to look at the natural and see the supernatural. Both Rebekah and her husband Danny have a heart to share the Gospel and the riches of life in Christ to everyone they meet. They have served in the local church and in ministry to motorcyclists. Danny is an ordained minister and they both have been Bible study teachers for many years. Rebekah also speaks at women’s retreats and conferences. Her tag line says it all “God loves you and He’s for you”.

My website is http://rebekahbeene.wordpress.com

My first book in print is Oh Beloved! Live in the Light of His Word.
Link to buying the book via paypal is on the website.
As well a link to purchasing the ebook on Amazon is there too.
I’m also on twitter @rebekahbeene, tumblr http://rebekah-beene.tumblr.com/
and of course facebook as Rebekah Beene (Warren) I included my maiden name for old friends.
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