and still . . .

Luke 23:33 “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”

Beloved,

Praise the name of the Lord our God, forevermore.

It is in this moment that forever takes shape. Our hearts are set on a course that cannot be detoured. We are headed to eternity, and the life that comes with it. It is all in the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. That’s our story. Whether Jew or Gentile, our hearts were fashioned by God, and his DNA woven into our makeup, expressing Christ on earth. We were made in His image. Every reflection, we are reminded of who Christ is.

It is like a street sign pointing the way home. No matter where our earthly life takes us, we can always get home from there.

It was the break of dawn when heaven thundered and the son of God stepped out of hell’s dark place, resplendent in light expressing the hope and desires of God the Father. His son Jesus took the cross. When God spoke to Abraham, blessing Him with seed that would exceed the grains of sand on the shore, who could of fathomed such a moment.

No one can ever comprehend the depth of the Father’s love, to give His only begotten son as a sacrifice for our sins, our shame, our guilt, and our sickness. Look at the immense stone that covered the tomb’s opening. It lay yards away, cast there by Heaven’s march.

Heaven cannot be stopped, it advances even now, expanding its girth and width and length and depth. From the place called Calvary, to the empty tomb, to the depths of hell where the gates were destroyed and the keys taken back. Thousands upon thousands follow Jesus from prison.

Truly the prophetic words of the Old Testament expresses the train in full detail, covering half the sky in its transport of the captives to freedom. Our hearts are filled with these treasures, the testimonies of the saints, set free from their bondage.

And still, His train continues and the temple is filled with His presence. Always, legions of angels and the souls of the redeemed celebrate, dancing and singing in the presence of the Lamb of God. It was His love that made our hearts adore Him.

This son of God who became a man, born of a virgin, and grew into a man, then suffered and died for our sins, but still was without sin.

Imagine that, a man without sin, uncorrupt allowing himself to be savagely beaten, scourged, pierced for our transgressions and all the while, says, “Forgive them, they don’t know what they do.”

He spoke to the thief on his right and said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

What hope that must have brought into that young man’s life, knowing that he was dying for his own crime, but recognizing Jesus for who He is, a lamb without sin. It was a true bedside conversion.

“He shakes the whole earth with holy thunder.” IHOP