BLESSED PAINS.

      " He poured out His soul unto death."

He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors,
and He bore the sin of many. —Isaiah 53:12

Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin.

Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably.

At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down —

someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.

Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed.

Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused

your family, your church, your neighborhood.

Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, state, nation, and the world.

Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation.

Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night

He was called to bear it? (Matt. 26:36-44).

The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him.

No other suffering can compare.

Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test.

But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it.

Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.

  Is God aloof from human pain That ravages our mortal frame?
Oh, no, Christ felt our agony When sin and death He overcame !
—D. De Haan 

  " Christ’s empty tomb guarantees
        our victory over sin and death "
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" There is no success without hardship "

 
The world is so constructed that
If you wish to enjoy its pleasures,
You must also endure its pains.
Like it or not,
You cannot have one without the other.

Success is not measured by what you accomplish.
It's measured by the opposition you encounter,
And the courage with which you maintain
Your struggle against the odds.

You'll find all things are difficult
Before they are easy.

The greater your obstacles,
The more glory in overcoming them.
So, make up your mind before you start
That sacrifice is part of the package.

 

No pain, no gain;
No thorns, no throne;

 

You've got to go through the negative
Before you get to the positive.

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Matthew

Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound

Mark

Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead

Luke

Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John

Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was
miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic
Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter

He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he
felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James

Just The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple
when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

James the Great

Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader
of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew

Also known as Nathaniel Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew

Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to
the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these
words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

Thomas

Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

Jude

Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias

The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas

One of the group of seventy disciples, wrote the Epistle of Barnabas. He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus. Barnabas
was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul

Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which
allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many
of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 10:22