It’s Christmas Eve—Tuesday, December 24, 2024! If you’re nearby, join us for our final two services today at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. (Click the link for more details.)
We’ve come full circle. At New Hope West, we celebrate His birth, and in John 19, we remember His death and the sacrifice He made on the cross to give us the greatest gift of all: eternal life! Read on...
Today's Reading:
John 19,20,21
Scripture
“Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30)
Observation
It’s a banker’s term—a stamp often found on an accountant’s desk when there are accounts to settle. The stamp, typically red, reads: “PAID IN FULL.”
“Tetelestai” … “It is finished.”
That’s what Jesus cried from the cross. Through His sacrifice, He settled our accounts once and for all, stamping them: PAID IN FULL.
Application
Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross placed the stamp on the indictments of sin that were registered against me.
- My rap sheet? Settled.
- My police record? Expunged.
- My criminal history? Erased.
That is… unless I think I can handle it myself. But that would be a cosmic mistake!
When I opened my heart to Jesus, He paid the debt I could never repay. He stamped my account “PAID IN FULL.” And the color of His stamp?
Blood red.
Prayer
On this Christmas Eve, I pause to say, “Thank You” for Christmas and Calvary. What You began on that Bethlehem morning, You completed on Golgotha’s hill.
When You cried, “It is finished,” You cleared my record, and the battle was won.
My Christmas tree is the cross.
My gift is eternal life.
There is nothing greater.
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