Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 2: Scripture Verse, Challenge and Video

Welcome to week 2 of our study. This week we're going to look at why the crucifixion matters. Our scripture for Sunday (4/6/14) is Luke 23:26-49.It is the heart breaking story of the crucifixion. I have seen several movies about the crucifixion and I always find those scenes the hardest to watch. But Jesus did it for us! He knew what would become of Him and why. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Keep that in mind while you are reading this.

This is from the GMG Blog, but I thought it needed to be shared here. Some important things to keep in mind.

1. We are ALL sinners

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way…”- Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)

We are all in need of forgiveness, mercy and grace. No matter how hard we try, we can NOT earn our way to heaven. Our “good works” are like filthy rags compared to God’s holiness. (Isaiah 64:6)

2. We can have peace with God because of Christ’s shed blood on the cross

Jesus died in my place….in your place. I NEVER want that truth to ever be taken for granted. My sins put Him on the cross and I want that realization to daily rock my world. I want to love, forgive and extend grace extravagantly because of the price my sweet Jesus paid on my behalf.  Jesus suffered what was meant for me.

By shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and offered us His righteousness. When we trust Christ for our salvation, essentially we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and its accompanying death penalty for His righteousness and life.- Chuck Swindoll

3. We are loved
I know we’ve all heard the saying,

“It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus on the cross, but His love.”

As women, I know we love watching movies where the hero of the story rescues the girl and saves the day from the evil villain and if we’re honest,  as we watch these movies our hearts secretly wish we had someone in our lives who would love us like that. What we don’t realize is that we already do, Jesus. He has already fought the mighty battle for our souls by going to the cross and dying in our place.

Honestly, I don’t think our minds can comprehend what Christ truly went through on the cross, not just physically but spiritually as well. We don’t know what it feels like to be separated from God and bearing the weight of the world’s sins for all time. Past. Present. Future.

For those of us who have accepted God’s free gift of salvation and have asked Jesus to take control of our lives and come into our hearts….our eternities were forever changed by what Christ did on that old rugged cross. Instead of a future of hell, Jesus laid down His life and now we have a future of heaven to look forward to. No matter how hard life gets, because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have a glorious future to look forward to.

Week 2: Challenge:
Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, we are no longer slaves to the sins in our lives that so easily entangle us. We now can have God’s forgiveness of our sins, embrace the grace He extends and look forward to our hope of heaven. Despite what is going on around us in this world, we have a bright future to look forward to when we get to heaven. This week focus on what Christ’s crucifixion means to you and how you are going to honor Jesus with the new life, the second chance,  you have been given. Write it out and share it with your group or a friend.

Week 2: Memory Verse

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