It Is Finished!

28 "Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”[a] 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit."~John19:28-30

Some of the sweetest words you can say or hear are these 3..It is finished! During this time of reflection of the cross and what it represents for us these are inspiring words to meditate upon.  How exciting it is to hear that it is finished. It is complete! It is done! Whatever you are facing be reminded that it will not last forever. There is a beginning and an ending for everything. 3 "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven."~Ecclesiastes3:1(NLT) Rejoice in the promise that the king of kings gave us. It is finished!

There are 3 more words that serve as awesome reminders of God's power and sovereignty. These words are It is written! 3 "The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]”~Matthew4:3-4(NIV) When we get tempted by doubt and unbelief tries to creep in, declare these words..It is written! The only way we can grab a hold of the promises of God is if we know them. The words it is written are powerful because even when we get tempted and when the enemy comes in with lies and plots and schemes, we just have to be reminded of what is written in God's holy word. It is written that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us! It is written that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”~1Corinthians2:9(NLT) 

The next time you are faced with a decision to believe God's unfailing word or believe lives remind yourself that when you are redeemed by Christ you have an expected end! 11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."~Jeremiah29:11(KJV) You have been redeemed and your redeemer lives! 23 "Oh, that the words I now speak were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book [carved on a tablet of stone]! 24 That with an iron pen and [molten] lead they were graven in the rock forever! 25 For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, and at last He [the Last One] will stand upon the earth."~Job19:23-25(AMP)

I would love to touch and agree with you today in prayer. Father God, I thank you for your unchanging word. I praise you that you are your word and your word is you. I ask that you would touch the people that read this prayer on today and remind them of your promises. Remind us on today that your word never changes and that every promise that is written is for each of us. Give us a desire to not only know your word but to become your word. Etch your words on our hearts Lord. Thank your for the ultimate sacrifice which was the offering of your son for our sins. Show each of us our expected end. Ignite a passion in us to continue to speak what you have written, It is finished and It is written! When we get weary, when we feel defeated, when we feel like giving up, and when we feel like giving in, let us meditate on the words it is finished and it is written. Father God, I thank you. In Jesus name, Amen. If you do not know the Lord Jesus as your personal savior, won't you accept the best gift of all? The gift of eternal life.

Praise God today for your Victories that were Clothed in Defeat!

It can be easy to look at a closed door as a bad thing. It is easy to think that a closed door is a sign of defeat. When we are really wanting what is on the other side of a door and we do not have access to it, we can get discouraged. In my time of reflecting on God's greatness today I ran across a journal entry from April 2009 and when I say it blessed me that is what I mean. I wrote it before corporate morning prayer and it spoke to me today 3 years after God deposited it in me. I wrote, "I thank you for every victory and for the victories that were clothed in defeat! For I know because I am in you I am made victorious in everything I do." Now that right there makes me want to stop typing and go back to praising God for His faithfulness! In order to praise God for what we see in the natural as defeat we have to be confident in who God is in our lives.

We have to remember that God is responsible for the open doors as well as the closed doors! His word declares that He will open a door that no man can shut and He will also close doors that no man can open! This lets us know that it is God alone that is responsible for those closed doors. It could mean that it is not time to go through that door or this could mean that what is behind this door is not for you my friend. We have to get to a place in Him where we can rejoice over what we see as set backs. Rejoice over what you see as a denial! Rejoice over what you see as a failure! Rejoice over what you see as a detour! Rejoice over your victory that is clothed in defeat!

Thank God for the plans that did not come to pass! Thank God for the rejection that you faced that brought you to the place that you are in Him now! Thank God for the friends that He moved out of your life! Thank God for the job that you did not get! Thank God for the house that you did not qualify for! Thank God for the promotion that you did not get! Thank God for the heartache you had to endure! Thank God for every "no" that you have received! Thank God for your victory that was clothed in defeat! Again think it not strange that certain things or people were removed from your life. Also think it not strange that certain things or people were not placed in your life at certain times.

I am going to leave you with one of my favorite scriptures. We know this scripture but now we have to stand on this scripture! "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."~Jeremiah29:11 We each have an expected end! We can live off of that promise for the remainder of the year! We can get so caught up in the beginning portion of this scripture that we do not take God at His promise that we each have an expected end! We serve a faithful God! So I encourage you today my friend to praise God for your victories that were clothed in defeat!