*DAILY DEW 18TH/SEPTEMBER/2021* *THE WAY OF THE CROSS* (IV) _Key Bible Text:_ *He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.* (1 Peter 2:24 (AMP)) _Bible Insight:_ *2. Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from the power of sin.* “... that having died to sins, we might live to righteousness; for by His wound you were healed.” Some have applied the word “healing” to physical healing alone. But that is not in the only appropriate context (neither here nor in Isa. 53:5). The “for” (2:25) is explanatory; Peter is explaining further what he means by the healing effected by Christ’s death: Rather than straying like sheep, as we formerly lived, we now have been turned (passive verb in Greek) to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. In other words, Christ’s death delivers us from the ongoing power of sin. There are three facts about the power of sin which we must grasp from these verses: A. THE POWER OF SIN CAUSED US TO STRAY CONTINUALLY AS SHEEP. “For you were continually straying like sheep” (2:25). Peter uses a verb construction that emphasizes the continual past action of straying. Before we turned to Jesus Christ as our sin bearer, we were characterized by straying from the Good Shepherd, going our own way. We were lost even though we may not have known it. We were in danger of harm and even death, although perhaps we were oblivious to it. *Sheep aren’t even smart enough to know that they’re lost or to find their own way back to the shepherd if they wanted to. The only way they come back to him is if he takes the initiative in going out looking for them. This is implied in Peter’s use of the passive verb, “have been turned to the Shepherd.”* *MEDITATION* *If we have turned to Him, it’s because He came looking for us. If you have not yet come to Him, you cannot save yourself. But the Shepherd is seeking you, even today. He wants to deliver you from the power of sin that causes you to stray from His loving care and protection.* Culled from Steven J. Cole's "Lesson 13: The Meaning Of The Cross (1 Peter 2:24-25)" *#David_Joshua_Egbochuo* *#Saturday_wisdomforliving* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Supernatural_Release* *#Hello_September* ❤ Links To Visit: *Podcast:* anchor.fm/daily-dew-devotional/episodes/TROUBLED-elli7h *FB Pages* www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *DDDblog* dailydewdevotion.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-way-of-cross-iv.html *Telegram Group:* t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you. ..

*DAILY DEW 17TH/SEPTEMBER/2021* *THE WAY OF THE CROSS* (III) _Key Bible Text:_ *Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.* (1 Peter 2:24 (GNB)) _Bible Insight:_ During the Napoleonic Wars, men were conscripted into the French army by a lottery system. If your name was drawn, you had to go off to battle. But in the rare case that you could get someone else to take your place, you were exempt. On one occasion the authorities came to a certain man and told him that his name had been drawn. But he refused to go, saying, “I was killed two years ago.” At first they questioned his sanity, but he insisted that this was in fact the case. He claimed that the records would show that he had been conscripted two years previously and that he had been killed in action. “How can that be?” they questioned. “You are alive now.” He explained that when his name came up, a close friend said to him, “You have a large family, but I’m not married and nobody is dependent on me. I’ll take your name and address and go in your place.” The records upheld the man’s claim. The case was referred to Napoleon himself, who decided that the country had no legal claim on that man. He was free because another man had died in his place. (In “Our Daily Bread,” Fall, 1980.) Jesus Christ bore your sin on the cross, but you must take Him up on the offer. If you turn to Him, you will be delivered from the penalty of sin which God justly must impose. That’s what Peter means when he says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” *MEDITATION* *But that’s not the end of the matter. Peter goes on to show that Christ’s death not only delivers us from the penalty of sin, but also from its power:* Culled from Steven J. Cole's "Lesson 13: The Meaning Of The Cross (1 Peter 2:24-25)" *#David_Joshua_Egbochuo* *#Friday_wisdomforliving* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Supernatural_Release* *#Hello_September* ❤ Links To Visit: *Podcast:* anchor.fm/daily-dew-devotional/episodes/TROUBLED-elli7h *FB Pages* www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *DDDblog* dailydewdevotion.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-way-of-cross-iii.html *Telegram Group:* t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you. ..

*DAILY DEW 16TH/SEPTEMBER/2021* *THE WAY OF THE CROSS* (II) _Key Bible Text:_ *Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.* (1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)) _Bible Insight:_ *Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from both the penalty and the power of sin.* (1 Peter 2:24 New American Standard Bible) What are the benefits that accrue to us from following the cross, or carrying the cross to follow Jesus? In answering this, we need to understand that it is the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross that gives the cross its power. "1. Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from the penalty of sin." This is clearly the meaning of the words, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree.” By using the word “tree” rather than “cross,” Peter no doubt had in mind Deuteronomy 21:22-23, where it prescribes the penalty for a condemned criminal, that his body be hanged on a tree: “For he who is hanged is accursed of God.” The apostle Paul refers to the same text in Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Both apostles are saying that Christ took on Himself as our substitute the condemnation which we deserved. The holiness and justice of God demand that a penalty be paid for sin; Christ took that penalty on Himself on the cross. By mentioning Christ’s body, Peter calls attention to the fact of His humanity. Since the human race sinned, a member of the race had to pay the just penalty God demands. But only one who was sinless Himself could pay such a penalty, since others would have to pay for their own sin. Jesus Christ, who alone among the human race committed no sin (1 Pet. 2:22; Isa. 53:9), is the only one capable of bearing the sins of the human race. This bearing of sins was a legal transaction in which God the Father transferred to God the Son the penalty we deserve. That God sent Christ to bear our sins means that God does not just shrug off our sin. We live in a day of loose justice at best. People commit horrible crimes and get off with a slap on the wrist. *MEDITATION* *Yet I talk to people all the time, many of them Christians, who think that God’s justice is like that. They shrug off sin as if it’s no big deal to God. They think He will just overlook it. But the Bible is very clear: All sin must be judged! Either your sin is on you and you will bear the penalty; or your sin is on Christ who bore the penalty. Either way, God does not take sin lightly! The just penalty must be paid.* Culled from Steven J. Cole's "Lesson 13: The Meaning Of The Cross (1 Peter 2:24-25)" *#David_Joshua_Egbochuo* *#Thursday_wisdomforliving* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Supernatural_Release* *#Hello_September* ❤ Links To Visit: *Podcast:* anchor.fm/daily-dew-devotional/episodes/TROUBLED-elli7h *FB Pages* www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *DDDblog* dailydewdevotion.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-way-of-cross-ii.html *Telegram Group:* t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you. ..