Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he [Pilate] said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” John 19: 14, 15, NKJV.
Merciful God, as we come into Your presence, we ask that You give us the willingness to crown You King of our lives, and allow You to rule over us. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King we pray. Amen.
Today, as we conclude our series, and I meditate on our Scripture, I think of the moment of decision that will come to each of us. One of these days, each of us will have the opportunity to choose the Savior as the king of our lives, or to crucify Him anew. The decision we make then, will depend to a great extent on the decision we make today. Therefore, we are advised, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3: 15).
Let us consider some of the reasons why it is a good idea to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, and allow Him to rule over us: Now, as then, Jesus is still seeking the lost to save them (Luke 19: 10). When the Savior left the glories of heaven, to come to a planet that had been steeped in sin for approximately four thousand years, He did not leave with any guarantee that he would win this battle against evil and return in victory to his Father. But He and the Father “so loved” us, that they decided to give Their all, in an effort to find the lost sheep and bring them back to the safety of the fold of salvation. Bringing us back was done at the incomparable cost of the life of God (2 Corinthians 5: 19). Today, He is saying to us, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10: 11). And He did!
Many of us, for the greater part of our existence, have lived on the very basic things of life. Some have merely existed, until they had an encounter with the Savior. Jesus knowing the destructive nature of sin and how it robs men, women, and children, of the finest things, not only of life, but of our very nature, came determined to do the following: “ So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust . . . You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame” (Joel 2: 25-27). This was a literal promise made to Israel of old. Today, it still applies to the locust-effect sin has had on humanity. Yes, my friends, when the curse of sin has been forever erased, we will experience, in full, Jesus’ promise, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10: 10b). By the grace of God, you can begin to experience it today!
If I should conduct a survey on how many people suffer from feelings of guilt and remorse, because they feel condemed by something from their past, we would all be surprised to see that the majority of people fall into this category – including Christians. We read about God’s forgiveness. We say we accept it. But how many people are really living the joy of sins forgiven? We condemn ourselves for the mistakes we made while raising our children; when the truth be told, many of us were not even aware of these mistakes! We did not know then, what we know now, but we live under the terrible load of self-condemnation. Some are sorry for things we said. We have asked forgiveness of the people we offended, they have forgiven us. We have asked God’s forgiveness and He has forgiven us, but we do not forgive ourselves.
Perhaps you caused pain to someone who is now dead. You never had an opportunity to ask their forgiveness; so you suffer the dreadful pain of remorse over something you cannot change. I agree it is unfortunate, but I also know that Jesus came to take care of all of these unfortunate situations. So go and talk to Him. Tell Him how sorry you are that you were not able to ask the person to forgive you. Ask His forgiveness for the wrong you did to that person. Then rest assured, that you have been forgiven. Ultimately, all sin is committed against God. So when He forgives you, you are completely forgiven! Then lay down your load of self-condemnation, and walk away, a free soul. Listen to the Words of the Savior and take hope: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3: 17).
There are really only two rulers in the world – Christ or Satan. There is no in-between. Everything, or everyone, else, is under the influence of one of these two rulers. To reject Christ is to accept Satan. I have shared with you today, only three reasons why we are blessed by allowing Jesus to rule over us. There are infinite more reasons! Now I ask you the question: Who rules over you? Only you can answer for yourself. May God help you to make the best decision, and choose Jesus as your Ruler!