WHO DOES GOD LOVE?

Who does God love? 

He loves His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus said:

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. John 3:35 (NKJV) 

God loves the world and every human being on earth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV) 

God loves people who do not believe in Him.

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NKJV) 

"I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' Isaiah 65:1 (NIV) 

A young Jewish man in Romania did not believe in God but he had an empty place in his soul. 

He was fascinated by the faith of people who believed in a Divine Being. One day he saw a church service and he went in and stood at the back. 
Then he spoke to God and said:
“Oh God, if you exist and I am sure you do not ... but if you do exist, I hold that it is not my duty to believe but it is your duty to show yourself to me.”
One day this young man was on a long journey in the countryside. He stopped in a village to ask for a place to sleep. An old Christian man had been praying for many years for the privilege of leading a Jew to faith in Jesus Messiah. When he recognised this young traveller as a Jew, he eagerly offered him hospitality and treated him like royalty. He gave him a Bible to read, a Bible which he had prayed over fervently. 
The young atheist read the Bible and Jesus came alive to him as he read. He began to weep and became a believer as he perceived the living truth and felt the living presence of the risen Jesus Christ, Messiah of Israel.
He began to share his faith and was persecuted by the Nazi German occupation. Then the Soviet Red Army came and the persecution was worse. But Richard Wurmbrand continued to fearlessly reach out even to the officers of the Red Army. 
The preacher asked a Communist officer if he believed in God and the soldier replied he had no orders to believe in such a Being. Then the preacher challenged him. “But you pray, don’t you.” The atheist looked like a naughty child caught raiding the kitchen in the night. His defences were down and he freely confessed:
When the Germans surrounded us at Stalingrad, we all prayed. We prayed: “Oh God and Spirit of Mother, save us!” 
The preacher said that was a very good prayer, the cry of the heart.

God loves the Jews for ever because He swore to be faithful to the offspring of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Matthew 22:32 (NKJV)

The survival of the Jewish people as a distinct people group through two thousand years of dispersion is a miraculous work of God. No other people has been dispersed as widely for so long without losing their identity. 

God’s love is unconditional and for everyone. Does that mean everyone will enjoy God’s love forever? God has given you and me a choice. We can choose to love Him and enjoy His presence and favour in eternal loving friendship or we can persist in ignoring or rejecting Him. 

If you choose to live without God in this world, then you will continue forever without Him, without His goodness, without His love, without His favour, without His life.

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 (ESV) 

Jesus sent them out Two by Two.

In the OT, the focus was on The Man of God. In the OT, the Man Of God spoke to the nation of Israel and often had a disciple: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. 

In the NT the focus shifted to The Son of God. The Son of God did not have one disciple but a Team of disciples who became a Team of Leaders. Jesus did not raise up His leaders one by one but sent them out Two By Two.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven, 

for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:19-20 (ESV)  

Why have we Pentecostals gone back to OT thinking by looking up to this or that Man of God but neglecting the principle of Teams of Disciples? 

Why do we put anointed preachers and pastors on a pedestal but we do not do what Jesus taught and did? He sent them out two by two, not only the 12 but also the 70.

At the Last Supper we see Jesus preparing His chosen team of leaders for His departure at the cross. They argue about who would be “the greatest.” 

Clearly they were confused because Jesus had not appointed One Supreme Leader who would take over after the Son of God returned to Heaven. 

Jesus never did because Jesus pioneered a new model of leadership which most of us have still not understood very well.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.  

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Matthew 23:8-9 (ESV) 

Then in Acts we see Peter emerging as the front man but not like Moses in the OT. Peter was the first among equals, the leader of a team of leaders. 

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:1 (NKJV) 

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 (NKJV) 

Paul is often seen as the supreme stand-alone Man of God like the OT heroes but this is a dangerous half truth.

Paul travelled from town to town and planted churches wherever he went but in one major city he only won a few individual converts. 

What was different about Athens? 

Paul went to Athens alone. Everywhere else Paul had at least one travelling companion and spiritual partner according to the spiritual principle of the Two by Two.

Why do so many pastors leave the ministry? Why do so many newly planted churches only last for a limited time? 

We have based our churches on a wrong understanding of the Bible, the Old Testament idea of one man leadership. 

Pastors have been taught in Bible college not to make friends with members of the congregation, to be like the lonely captain of a ship, accountable only to God and not to his brothers and sisters, except fellow pastors, who are wrongly understood to be a separate and higher class of Christians. 

So many pastors crack and burn out under this unreasonable burden, never designed by God.

In Acts 3, we see how a crippled beggar was healed at the gate of the Temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.  

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at US.”  

And he fixed his attention on THEM, expecting to receive something from THEM. Acts 3:3-5 (ESV) 

If a fellow believer asks you if you have a pastor and you don’t have one, they think you are in rebellion. 

However, no one asks if you have a prayer partner or a spiritual co-worker. How have we developed this unbalanced understanding?

But God is doing a new thing. 

There are more and more husband and wife teams prominent in ministry. 

Youth With a Mission is the world’s largest missionary organisation and they emphasise team ministry.

WOMEN'S ROLE AND GOD'S PURPOSE

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV) 

There are some who teach authority and hierarchy is the most important principle of God’s dealing with us. 

But before hierarchy came PARTNERSHIP. MALE and FEMALE He created THEM.

God told Adam and Eve to SUBDUE and HAVE DOMINION but this was secondary. 

Before DOMINION comes the command to BE FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY. This is through PARTNERSHIP, COOPERATION and sexual procreation. Sexual procreation is a picture of equal partnership. 

The man is stronger and more assertive but the woman is the one who bears and produces the new life in her body and from her body. Each partner is stronger than the other in a different way. 

The false spirit of religion tries to make a men bosses and women their servants but this is not God’s purpose in creation.

Genesis 2:18 (ESV) Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 

The word HELPER is the Hebrew word AZAR which is most often used to refer to GOD Himself as the Helper of mankind.

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20 (NASB) 

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? Psalm 121:1 (NASB) 

Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8 (NASB) 

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Psalm 146:5 (NASB) 

The hierarchical relationship between man and woman was actually a consequence of the fall. When men are bossy masters over women, we should see this as a manifestation of the sinful nature.

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”Genesis 3:16 (ESV)  

The New Covenant was introduced by Jesus, who was born of a woman. When Jesus was presented in the Temple on the day of His circumcision, he was hailed by a woman who was a significant spiritual leader in the Temple in Jerusalem at a time when the official male priesthood was seriously corrupted.

Luke 2:36-38 (NKJV) Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;  and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 

Under the Law of Moses, a woman was not able to give evidence with the same authority as a man but the cross paid the penalty for the fall of mankind and women were restored to the position of equal dignity designed by God in the beginning. 

The first witness to the resurrection of Jesus was a woman and this was designed by God on purpose. 

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. Mark 16:9-11 (NKJV)

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Mark 16:14 (NKJV) 

CRISIS and BREAKTHROUGH WITH GOD

Are you under great pressure? You are not alone. Watch the news and you see your own experience is reflected and magnified around the world. 

Jesus said:

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NKJV) 

But doesn’t TRIBULATION only refer to earthquakes and persecution by torture and extreme horrors we read of and shudder? Certainly TRIBULATION includes all these things but the original Greek word has a more general meaning. THLIPSIS means simply being UNDER PRESSURE.

Job insecurity, workplace bullying, broken families and estranged children are all common experiences in our prosperous Western World. We are all UNDER PRESSURE and it is getting more intense. You are thanking God for miraculously bringing you through one crisis and the next day the spirits of darkness hit you again. It seems like you were run over by a truck and recovered and then another truck hits you.

The world has a way of getting to you through the workplace, through your children and loved ones and there are dark powers operating behind the treachery and weaknesses of people around you.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) 

Notice the word WRESTLE. That means we are not just passive victims but we have power to fight even against dark spiritual beings that corrupt, threaten and attack families, churches, workplaces, cities and nations.

When a crisis hits, it often means you become aware of an attack that has been building for some time. The crisis is the breaking into the open of hidden forces of darkness. When the darkness become visible, you can shine the light of God directly into the dark places and the darkness must give way to light.

A crisis is an opportunity for turning a losing situation around and for winning a resounding victory with the power and love of God. 

When the Prodigal Son reached the bottom of his downhill slide, the grace of God was able to turn his heart towards home. 

When the savage oppression of Maoist China pushed the followers of Jesus into the most terrible suffering, a mighty underground church rose up and the Chinese Church became a mighty spiritual force in the world’s most populous nation.

A young man in Chile had been deceived and seduced by homosexuality and was dying of AIDS when a lady who loved Jesus visited him in hospital. Her powerful love and faith raised him up and the dying homosexual man was healed of AIDS, converted to Christ, raised up as a mighty evangelist and church planter and restored to normal manhood, so he became a fulfilled husband and father of children.

I knew a man who was a Hell’s Angel, a violent criminal and a heroin addict. He was suffering in prison when a chaplain reached him with the love and the message of Jesus. He became a powerful missionary evangelist on the streets of Melbourne, reaching out to armed gangsters with fearless love and faith. 

The whole world is shaking. Everything is shaking: economies, nations, religions, societies. There are storms, droughts, earthquakes and tsunamis. Much of this is the work of dark forces. We must not think God is violently attacking all the time. But God has created a world ruled by the law of sowing and reaping. What the human race sows must be reaped. 

Romans 8:22 (NKJV) For we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now. 

God will use the pain and chaos that human evil has released on the earth. God will use this pain and pressure to bring His Kingdom of Love and Goodness to birth and we are a part of this process now.

YOU ARE THE REVIVAL

Revival is happening! God is doing amazing stuff around the world!

Prophets of God have been speaking of the coming of Divine Glory and of wonderful manifestations of God’s presence increasing in our time. 
In South America God has been doing dental miracles for years, healing toothache with instant supernatural gold fillings and in other cases perfect white enamel. 

God has given Heidi Baker the such a gift of healing, that profoundly deaf Africans are routinely healed instantaneously. The dead have also been raised.

In Germany there are schoolchildren and teenagers healing incurable infirmities by ministering in the streets in the Name and the power of Jesus. 

I have been in a Glory retreat where people saw a thick white glory cloud fill the room and digital photographs proved it was no illusion. I know the people who saw the glory cloud and produced the photos and I felt the glorious presence myself. In that meeting there was a major healing in which a woman with mental illness experienced a dramatic turnaround. 

Revival is happening! God is doing amazing stuff around the world!

People have been flying across continents to see and experience the glory of God. That is good. God rewards the hungry ones.

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:9 (NLT) 

You may fly around the world to catch the fire of God or you may spend hours in your home drawing near to God in Holy intimacy. How ever you seek God with holy hunger, God will bless you.

But don’t be satisfied to just be blessed. God wants to bless you to make you a blessing. Our model and example is Abraham, the father of faith.

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.  Genesis 12:1-2 (NKJV) 

God can make you a world changer if you leave your country. You may fly to a great revival somewhere or go to serve God in a mission somewhere.

But it is also possible to leave your country without modern transportation. There are people to fly to different countries in dreams and they really travelled there in the Spirit! 

One missionary received a message from China with a photo of herself with a Chinese friend. But she had no memory of being in China at that time.

A missionary went to the nearest airport with no money and no ticket. He walked into the bathroom and when he walked out again, he was in China, the country where God was calling him to. 
But there are also those who don’t relocate geographically but they visit heavenly realms in the Spirit and take the glory of Heaven with them to their own city. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) 

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) 

When God reveals to you what no eye has seen nor ear heard and enter spiritual realms that are not explicitly described in the Bible, many believers will call you a false prophet but that is what every true spiritual adventurer must endure.

Don’t just follow revivals, become the revival! What if you are not a preacher or a leader?

David was a shepherd boy delivering lunch when he challenged and killed Goliath. He, too, is our example, the under aged nobody who became a giant killer and then a king.

Perhaps you have experienced miracles in the past, but now your life has become more ordinary. Why not expect God to surprise you again?

Find why God put you here and then DO IT!

"Too many Christians allow what they cannot do to get in the way of what they can do. Life in the Spirit is all about taking the next step, no matter how small it may seem at the time. God does not stipulate what size the step is going to be; He just encourages us to keep on walking towards Him."

THIS IS A GREAT THOUGHT FROM GRAHAM COOKE. 

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well....Romans 12:6 (NLT)

If you are not a platform preacher, don't let that stop you teaching neighbours about Jesus in your home or their homes. 

Much of the preaching of Jesus Himself was not from a platform or a pulpit. The great sermons of Jesus in the Gospel of John are actually not formal sermons at all but extended spontaneous teaching arising out of interaction with His disciples, with His hearers and even with His persecutors and enemies. 

If you do not have the ability to administer, lead, manage and shepherd a congregation, you can still preach in many ways, including blogging and emailing, which is what I do. 

If you do not have the ability to sing on a stage in church, you can still sing to God in the shower or the car or in a park.

If you don’t have the confidence to minister to adults but you love children, you can be fruitful in a vitally important ministry to children. This is not second best as some people suppose but it is front line ministry of the most important kind. 

PLEASE never speak or even think of children as “the church of tomorrow.” The church of Jesus Christ is the community of all believers NOW, including believers of ALL ages. Children can often exercise active miracle working faith better than many adults who have been Christians for years.

I have a dear friend who does not seek a high position in a church but she takes humble jobs like looking after babies and young children. She once cast a demon out of a baby which was behaving violently. After that, the baby was quiet and normal and continued to be normally peaceful.

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:9-10 (NLT)

Find what you can do very well and then DO IT!

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can—as often as your faith is strong enough to receive a message from God. Romans 12:6 (TLB) 

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:8 (NLT)

The HOLY SPIRIT Can Change YOUR Life

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; Luke 4:18 (NKJV) 

Jesus grew up in Nazareth as an apparently ordinary Jewish boy. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from His mother’s womb but the Holy Spirit did not come upon Him and rest upon Him until He was baptised in the River Jordan.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11 (NKJV) 

This was the anointing of Jesus for the preaching ministry and this is what He was telling the people of His hometown in Nazareth. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Jesus made Him different, empowered and commissioned by the Father to change lives in a way the Nazarenes had not seen before Jesus became a preacher. 
This was not just to identify Jesus as the unique Son of God but also to set an example for us all to follow.

And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' John 1:32-33 (NKJV) 

When you trust in Jesus and you are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to make His home in you, just as He did in Jesus from before His birth. But when Jesus baptizes you in the Holy Spirit, His Spirit comes upon you and changes you for a purpose, to reach out and change lives around you with the power of God and the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17-18 (NKJV)

Are the Charismatic Gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for salvation? Yes and no. You can be saved without speaking in tongues but gifts like healing and prophecy can be the evidence which convinces many others of the reality of God and lead them to salvation.

If we use the divine gifts with a heart of love, we can continue the mission of Jesus which He described in these words.

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 

God's Dreams for You

The God of Israel is our God. 

He is the God of astonishing turnarounds. 

A nice innocent young English lady had a passion to serve God as a missionary but no church or missionary organisation would back her, so she went alone. She caught a ship in England and got off in Hong Kong. 

She found the darkest, most evil and miserable place and she started to try to help people there. Violent gangs ruled with drugs and prostitution rackets but she just loved people like Jesus did. 

Over time, the dark and evil place changed and became a haven for mercy and transformed lives. Her name is Jackie Pullinger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Pullinger

“Jackie Pullinger MBE (born 1944) is a British Protestant Christian charismatic missionary to Hong Kong and founder of the St Stephen's Society. She has been ministering in Hong Kong since 1966. Her work has resulted in at least 500 drug addicts being saved from their drug addictions.[1] The early years of her Hong Kong ministry are chronicled in the book Chasing the Dragon.”

What is your calling? If God is calling your heart, He will make a way where there seems to be no way. 

A few years ago, I met a wonderful Arab couple who had left Islam but had been entrapped and deceived by Mormonism. I added them to my emailing list and sent them Gospel messages once a week. Some time later they emailed me that they were disappointed with the Mormons. I encouraged them to pray and ask for God’s guidance. 
God brought an Arab follower of Jesus across their path and they went to an Arabic Pentecostal church where they were baptised. 

They became radiant followers of Jesus, leading Muslims to faith in Jesus, the true Son of God. Once an Arab gave my friend some food, which he ate. A week later the Muslim man saw my Christian friend again and was astonished because he was still alive. He had put enough poison in the food to kill a camel. 

My friend quoted the Bible promise.

Mark 16:18 (NKJV) ... if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them ...

The man who tried to kill the Christian became a believer in Jesus.
Are you a follower of Jesus?

Has God put impossible dreams in your heart? Why not dare to walk in the direction of your dreams?Do it now!

God Heals Broken Hearts

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (ESV) 

God is our loving heavenly Father. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (ESV) 

If you don’t love Jesus, He still loves you as His child but you are estranged from His love. Oil and water just don’t mix. God’s Holy love cannot mix with our selfish mistrustful nature. 

God sacrificed His only Son in heaven to win you back to Himself. When you and I live according to our faulty human nature, we get hurt and we hurt others without even trying. The world is full of broken hearted people. Our dear Father in heaven wants so much to heal our broken hearts but He is waiting for us to come to Him and trust Him.

If you really know Jesus, you cannot help but love Him. You have experienced His love and encouragement but He wants something from you. He wants you to look and see who is broken hearted. He wants to go with you to comfort and heal broken people.

THE WAY TO FREEDOM

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV) 

I cannot encourage you to believe by myself but only because the Spirit of Jesus is with me. 

I am not filled with the Holy Spirit because I was born different but because someone told me about Jesus and showed me that Jesus wanted to fill me with His Holy Spirit. He loves you just as much and He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit too.

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Acts 2:17 (NKJV) 

After Jesus died He returned from the grave and taught His disciples for 40 days. Then He returned to heaven and some days later He poured out the Spirit of God on all believers, all His followers, ALL FLESH. 

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you trust in the Son of God? Are you are a follower of Jesus Christ? You need no other qualification to be filled with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit from Heaven as the first believers were. 

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. Acts 2:17 (NKJV) 

Are you a son or daughter of a human mother and father? If you are, and if you have decided to follow Jesus, you too can see visions and receive revelations from heaven as you sleep. You too can receive wonderful encouraging messages from God to encourage you and to share with others.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) 

God wants to fill you with His Spirit not only to bless you but to equip and empower you to bless others, to make the truth of God real to them as it is to you.

He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted... 

If you are a believer, you must not distance yourselves from people around you who are broken and distressed. The Holy Spirit is THE COMFORTER and He wants to comfort you and enable you to comfort others.

...to proclaim liberty to the captives.. 

People are held captive by so many things, by shame and disappointment, by fear and anger, by trauma they cannot forget, by resentment because they have been betrayed and savagely abused. People have been broken by various forms of bullying and deceptions and then victims become abusers.

The punishment due to human cruelty and perversion is more than we can bear but God sent His only Son to die on the cross, to suffer the punishment we deserved, to take our place. Jesus suffered and died as a tormented prisoner so we could go free.

... and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

We cannot find eternal freedom by our own efforts but Jesus made a way by His suffering for us.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (TLB)