Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 40). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Yes, he does.   Steven says, “Like one of the criminals who occupied a cross beside Jesus, we can remain hostile toward God to the end. Or like the other criminal, we can turn to Jesus for mercy. The difference in the outcomes between those two possible choices is as extreme as it could possibly be.” He goes on, “Despite Jesus’s incredibly merciful prayer for the Father to forgive those responsible for his murder, there was a strange outbreak of malice shortly after he was crucified. It was as if God had taken the leash off the wild dogs, and now the devil had set them barking around the cross. That’s the thanks Jesus got for understanding these people’s ignorance and asking the Father to forgive them. “Jesus faced a lot of moc

A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 29). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know that so many don’t understand that to be true.  Steven earlier said, “Don’t even think about trying to make yourself spiritually pure. It’s nonsensical to imagine you could do so, yet that’s the way a lot of people think. If I go to church every week, read my Bible every day, put money in the offering, stop swearing, avoid gluten, and have more patience with my kids, God will like me. Nothing we could do will ever be enough to get rid of our sin. We just have to receive the forgiveness Jesus offers. We repent, confess, and ask to have our sins washed away. He does the work of purifying us.” Steven then says, “There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s forgiveness. But when we have received his forgiveness, we do have a responsi

A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 17). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever thought about that?   Those around him did everything they could to trip Jesus up, but they couldn’t. Steven in this book is highlighting the last seven statements that Jesus made while on the cross getting ready to die.   Steven says, “Jesus seems to have made his first statement almost immediately after being lifted up on the cross, and it couldn’t have been what anyone was expecting. “Starting the evening before, he had been… • betrayed by one of his own disciples for money • arrested by temple soldiers • interrogated by the high priest Annas • tried with falsified evidence by the Jewish ruling council • denied by his most vocal supporter, Peter • beaten by some temple soldiers • questioned by the Rom