Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 363

December 29;   Luke 9:51;   53/260(I);   ‘Determined’

Luke 9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,

The Lord Jesus knew why He came to earth.  Redemption had to be accomplished and Jesus was the only One who could set humanity free.  While He was here, the Lord Jesus’ life and ministry were an Example for us to follow. Now, the time had come for the Lord to do, ultimately what God the Father’s will was for Him to do.  Jesus, ‘steadfastly set His face.’  Nothing would stop the Lord Jesus from redeeming us.  The hatred, cruelty, humiliation and finally the cross were all just ahead.  We were eternally worth it to the Father and to Jesus.  Think of that, the Lord Jesus came and allowed a part His creation to brutalize Him, so that all of His prize creation, mankind, could be with Him in heaven.  This is love on a level beyond human comprehension. We too were created to fulfill the Lord’s will for our lives.  Some of God’s plan for us may not be easy.  Not everyone will gratefully accept the Lord Jesus and we will feel their anger and displeasure with us.  That never stopped the Lord Jesus in what He did for us and may it never stop what we need to do in our ministries for the Lord.  The Apostle Paul in Galatians 6 tells us he proudly bore his scars, which he received as he did the Lord’s work.  Peter and John in Acts 5 being beaten, rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for Jesus’ Name.  With the Lord’s help and determination, we can and will fulfill His will for our lives too.  I would rather endure the ‘wrath’ of a few individuals than know that I never even tried to share to gospel with them.  We can be and must be determined too.