The Romans putting sponges dipped in vinegar and put on the ends of sticks to clean 'themselves' after the lavatory means it is no accident they put a sponge on a stick and raised it up for Christ on the cross to drink and no accident John recorded it in his crucifixion account (the one disciple to be there at the cross and see it). The raising of that embarrassing cleaning sponge paralleled what God had had His Son become then be put on a pole or stick, the cross, so our embarrassing dirtiness could be cleansed and healed. A while ago I kept getting a message in spirit 'the state of the toilets' which I took to mean God is concerned with the state of filthiness in our lives and now I recognise this is true that The Spirit does say this - that the cleaning of us needed is like the cleaning of lavatories or our bodies after visiting lavatories (rest rooms) and Jesus had to become like that cleaning brush on that awful cross to cleanse us in real dirtiness we have. He has done the dirty job. Now He can help us be clean and deal with living real lives with His Mastery over us. So Christ Jesus became a depiction of a body cleanser for the dirtiest parts and disinfector like the vinegar raised on such an object to His pure lips made dirty for us. Now we owe Him our lives. Now He is Master over us by rights as well as by true nature. Such love that did this for us. Becoming like that sponge on that stick. Dying. But of course it had to be that God would raise from the dead the Son He loves once this work for love of us was completed to perfection.
Just as reporting for a royal family doesn't make one part of it, so reporting this doesn't make me part of it. Faithfulness to it makes me part of it. We hold to it and then have to remain ever faithful to it, or if like Peter we fall we have to be restored and continue to be faithful after that.
You and I have to choose. Either the eternity that you get from what you hsve done till now and will do before you die, or the eternity Lord Jesus the Christ has bought you by dying on a cross whereby He rose from the dead to the new life of resurrection He has now. You choose for yourself. I choose the latter even though it was bought for me by another and not my own doing. I hope He gives you grace to choose the same. God bless you either way but blessings can be yours that last forever if you choose right.
Just as reporting for a royal family doesn't make one part of it, so reporting this doesn't make me part of it. Faithfulness to it makes me part of it. We hold to it and then have to remain ever faithful to it, or if like Peter we fall we have to be restored and continue to be faithful after that.
You and I have to choose. Either the eternity that you get from what you hsve done till now and will do before you die, or the eternity Lord Jesus the Christ has bought you by dying on a cross whereby He rose from the dead to the new life of resurrection He has now. You choose for yourself. I choose the latter even though it was bought for me by another and not my own doing. I hope He gives you grace to choose the same. God bless you either way but blessings can be yours that last forever if you choose right.
