A Prayer of Thanksgiving, for Your Love is Everlasting

Isaiah 53:5 (New International Version)

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

I learnt something new today about Jesus' death on the cross...

John 19:34 (New International Version)

³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

Many theories are floating about concerning how Jesus died, but when I heard one theory, it really struck me...

He could've died of a ruptured heart... Apparently blood and water oozing out from a dead man's body is one of the symptoms of a ruptured heart...

But to me it's more than just that, more than just how He died, it tells me another thing...

He literally died - of a broken heart... So that I don't have to...

John 19:2 (New International Version)

²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe

Thorns... Piercing His scalp? That must've hurt...

And I never did think about the purple robe... I always considered it as nothing... But as I read something today, it struck me...

He went through the Roman scourging at the time, which (if people are familiar with it), is the "cat o' nine tails", a method with not only whips, but tears of shreds of the skin every time it is done...

To put a robe around such a body...

"Thank You Jesus for that hurt You bore, even though You didn't need to... At any point You could've called out, and You wouldn't have needed to endure such suffering, on my behalf... I thank You for love so ridiculous that it's just amazing... Thank You that by Your stripes, I am HEALED, of every sickness, every pain, every form of suffering, every hatred, every hurt... Thank You for becoming one of us so that I could say that You've gone through it all before, and thank You for experiencing it all before me... When the world around me shatters, when darkness, when silence falls upon the land, I'm still glad Lord... Let me continue to be glad, because You are still there for me, and You will always be... Thank You for showing me that Your heart broke, so that mine can always be whole... And finally Lord, thank You for friends, thank You for family, thank You for other people I know, and thank You, that You speak through them as well... Thanks for comfort, thanks for appreciation, and thanks for understanding...

I love you Abba, You know that... Help me to never forget that =)"

MAL

:-P