--JESUS CAME TO REDEEM ALL OF US!
-Life Lessons/ By: Max Lucado
-Psalms 53:1-55-23
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-Situation:
People who denied God were foolish, for they denied the One who could save them. David prayed for salvation to reach his people. He praised God for giving favor to an unworthy nation.

-Observation:
Denying God doesn't detract from His majesty, but it does separate you from your divine Father. Avoid this tragedy!

-Inspiration:
The road out of Bethlehem was steep and dangerous. It led him through a lizard-laced desert, an angry Jerusalem, conflict, and peril. Leaders resolved to kill him. His people sought to stone him. His own family chose to mock him.

Some people lifted him up as King; others cast him down. Jerusalem gates saw him enter as Sovereign and leave like a fugitive. He eventually died a lonely death in the Hebrew capital.

But He is far from dead!

His words still speak. His legacy still lives. Love or hate him, society keeps turning to him, reading his thoughts, pondering his deeds, imagining his face. Scripture gives only scant sentences about his looks, so sculptors and artists have filled galleries with their speculations. Michelangelo. Rembrandt. Da Vinci. Canvas. Stone. Painting. Sculpting.

And books. Oh the Books! More pages have been devoted to Bethlehem's prodigy than any other figure in history. We can't stop talking about Him. Sand has filled his Judean footprints thousands of times over thousands of years--but still we gather to reflect on His life.

You know whom I'm describing.

You do, don't you? The pasture. The anointing. The childhood call. The lifelong enemies. Wilderness. Jerusalem. Judea. The lonely death. The endless legacy. Who is this boy from Bethlehem?

Jesus, of course. Jesus understands you. He understands small-town anonymity and big-city pressure. He's walked pastures of sheep and palaces of Kings. He's faced hunger, sorrow, and death and wants to face them with you.
Jesus "Was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15,16).
He,[Jesus], became one of us. And He did so to redeem all of us.

--From: Facing Your Giants/ML

-Application:
Humanity has built tall buildings, gone to the moon, and transplanted organs. But we haven't overcome the penalty of sin. Such a challenge escapes us. Who has the cure for sin or for death? Open your heart to God today. Watch God accomplish changes in areas you have not been able to change.

-Exploration:Denying God--Exodus 11:9,10; Matthew 10:32, 33; 2 Timothy 2:12.~~~


--Redeemed by: Big Daddy Weave