Do Not Fear

Meditate. Jesus was in the grave…the tomb.

But I called on your name, LORD, from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, "Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!" Yes, you came when I called; you told me, "Do not fear." Lamentations 3:55-57

So what was happening in that depth of the pit…the tomb?

The Apostles Creed speaks to our belief in God. It tells us that Jesus descended to the dead. He went into the grave…but only for three days.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Is this your cross?

Is this your cross?

Is this your cross?

Is this your cross?

Is this your cross?

Is this your cross?

Afraid of dying? Do not fear.  Jesus was in the tomb three days…dead. He wasn’t afraid of dying. Was there any fear? Certainly on the part of the disciples, since they were afraid that they would end up on a cross, too. Jesus had told them that they needed to pick up their cross…

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24

What does it mean to take up your cross? The cross was a symbol of death. In “taking up  their cross” Jesus was telling His disciples and others…even us…that we needed to die to ourselves as Paul taught in Romans.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. Romans 6:4-8

Have your sins been crucified? Or are you calling to the Lord from the depths of the pit? What do you fear?

Prayer ~ Lord God, Well then, should we keep on sinning so that You can show us more and more of Your  wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? We have not forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death. Romans 6:1-3 NLT

© 2020 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - https://www.blb.org 

Follow And Like "Banquet With The King" on Facebook. 👍