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LOVING KINDNESS - CHESED Better Than Life! Life is wonderful, but it’s not enough! We were made for something greater. Haven’t you felt it? Our sweetest joy and pleasures are never enough. We long for something that will break the bonds of time, for a fullness that will last forever. But where can we find such satisfaction? King David (Israel’s sweet singer) got it right: "We are thirsty for God." "O GOD, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:2) We were made to experience God’s Chesed. Chesed is a beautiful word, it means "goodness" or lovingkindness, or grace. It means God is personally loving and kind to you. King David valued God’s loving kindness more than life itself. "Because You loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you" Psalm 63:3 Why is it that most people do not experience God’s loving kindness? Man’s sin has hidden God from him. In the beginning, God met openly with man, walking through the garden with him in the cool of the day. But after they transgressed God’s command, Adam and Chavah (Eve) hid themselves from His face. (Bereshiet (Genesis) 3:8) The Bible says it our sin that separates us from God. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:2) Since we all sin, we are subject to death. The Bible says that the ultimate penalty for our sin is death. "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4) We cannot bridge sin’s gulf on our own. Even our best attempts at righteousness fall short of God’s perfection. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. (Yeshuayahu (Isaiah) 64:6). Even our best efforts are not enough! The price of our sin is too high for any of us to pay. "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him- For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever-that he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit" (Psalm 49:7-9) In His loving kindness, God made a way. In the Torah, God graciously provided blood atonement for sin. God’s way was to allow a ransom for our sin through the death of an innocent victim (such as a lamb) in the sinner’s place. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11) How can we have atonement today? Today there is no Temple in Jerusalem, no priesthood and no sacrifices. Has God left us without an atonement? God Himself has provided the blood of atonement for today! "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6) "..... He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken" (Isaiah 53:8) Isaiah identifies the Person spoken of here as His Servant and as Messiah (see Isaiah 52:13-15 and Isaiah 42:1) Can we identify Messiah? The Bible gives many detailed prophesies about Messiah’s life: *He would descend from the line of King David (Jeremiah 23:5-6) *Bethlehem would be the place of His birth. (Micah 5:2) *Men would reject and despise Him (Isaiah 53:3) *He would be executed by crucifixion (Psalm 22:15-18) *His clothing would be gambled for by casting lots (Psalm 22:19) *He would die for the sins of the Children of Israel (Isaiah 53:8) *He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10, 110:1, and Isaiah 53:10) And He must have come, and have been put to death, before the destruction of the second Temple (Herod’s Temple) and the city of Jerusalem in CE 70 (Daniel 9:26) Only one person fits the description. History records one who fulfilled these and many other prophecies. The Jewish Bible (Tenach) gives scores of prophecies about Messiah’s coming. The chances of one person fulfilling even eight of them coincidentally are one in 1,000,000,000,000,000. Yet every one of these predictions was fulfilled exactly by Yeshua the Nazarene. His name means "salvation". It was in God’s purpose to send His anointed one (Messiah) to make reconciliation for iniquity" (Daniel 9:24) When Yeshua the Messiah was hung on the tree, the Bible says He was "cut off (killed), but not for Himself" (Daniel 9:26). He died to make a blood atonement for you. He died that you might live. You must accept God’s Messiah by faith." God counts as righteous the person who believes God’s promises. God declared Abraham righteous, because he put his trust in what God said He would do, including the coming of Messiah. "And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6) Abraham was declared righteous because he believed what god would do. We are declared righteous by believing what He has already done. You say, "But I’m Jewish". That’s wonderful! And this is a Jewish message! Y’shua Ha Mashiach was a Jewish teacher. All his first followers were Jewish. He had a Jewish mother, and perfectly followed all the Jewish laws and feasts. He said His mission was to "the lost sheep of the House of Israel" (Matthew 15:24), and He loved Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). The coming of Messiah has always been the hope of Israel. How can accepting the fulfillment of Israel’s Messianic hope make a person less Jewish? It is the completion of al that God promised through the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. God calls you to accept His Chesed now. In His loving kindness (chesed), God provided you a way back to Him. "Come now, and let us reason together, " Says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) God’s atonement redeems all who trust in Him. "The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned." (Psalm 34:22)" Do you, like King David, hunger and thirst for God’s loving kindness? You can come to the Messiah by faith today. If you want to trust in Yeshua as your Messiah, you can pray (talk to God) something like this: Dear God, I know I have sinned against You. I believe that You provided Yeshua the Messiah as the blood atonement to cleanse me from my sins. I receive Him as my Messiah, and know that Yeshua has redeemed me according to Your Word. Thank You for forgiving my sins, removing the power of death, and giving me new and everlasting life as You promised. God promised that "... whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved..." (Joel 2:32). © 2007 by CJF Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by Permission. For additional information or to learn about other materials to help you in your new life, please contact: Other pages of interest: Bring me to ~God's Laws ~Names of God ~Holy is the Lord ~The Lord God Almighty ~The Atonement ~The Word of God ~Noah ~Messiah to be... ~Who is Christ? ~Christ's Foretold Death ~Christ's Foretold Resurrection and Return ~Salvation, Bible ~Who Made You? ~Who Creates? ~Everlasting Love ~Cast your Cares ~Broken Hearted ~The Big Picture ~Heaven -The Devil -Hell ~To BE with God -Rich Young Man For additional information or to learn about other materials to help you in your new life, please contact: MESSIANIC PERSPECTIVES = Messianicperspectives.com Toll-free Order Line: (800) 926-5397 Website: www.cjfm.org E-mail: info@billboardsforchrist.org English Scripture taken from The New King James Version Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bring me back to For the Jews. |
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Send Donations To: Billboards for Christ, Inc. P.O. Box 27 Chester, MD, 21619-0027, U.S.A. "Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." "Todo aquel que invoque el nombre del Señor sera salvo." - Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13, Romanos 10:13 Fair Use Permission is granted for all teachings on this website with one constraint: All printed or verbally read material must note "Copyright of Billboards for Christ, Inc. Found at www.BillboardsforChrist.org". For more extensive use, please contact us. All Bible verses are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. -- La Santa Biblia, Nueva Version Internacional®, NVI®. Copyright© 1999 by International Bible society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. -- Verses followed by TEV or CEV are from Today's or Contemporary English Version with copyright permission of the American Bible Society.. NKJV is by Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy(NBLH)©2005 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California All other writings are used with copyright permission of CSB. Have questions or comments about this web site? Write our webmaster at FEEDBACK Copyright © 2002 Need Hope. For Personal Faith Questions please contact us through our FEEDBACK page. Billboards for Christ, Inc. is not responsible for the content of the links on our website. See also www.NeedHope.net Have questions, comments or problems about this web site? Send e- mail through our FEEDBACK page. Copyright © 2000 Billboards for Christ, Inc. Last modified: October 13, 2007 |
