The Nails of Calvary * Dutch Sheets * GiveHIM15 * 12/29/2023

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December 29, 2023

 

We will be taking Communion at the end of today’s post. 

 

 

 

The Nails of Calvary

 

 

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross” (Colossians 2:14).

 

 

From Dad’s Devotional

 

“Calvary’s nails are God’s way of uniting suffering with love. Oh how He loves you and me! His love for us was shouted out with every hammer blow that drove the nails through His hands and feet. Those same blows swung open the gates of glory, and now we have an entrance. When we get to heaven, we will likely stand in awe for a long time, gazing at the nail scars of Jesus.

 

 

“There was another nailing at Calvary that I want you to rejoice in today. Jesus blotted out all the grievances filed against us, ‘nailing it to His Cross.’

 

 

“Oh, the price that was on our heads. The law screamed its curses at us as, one by one, our sins were listed. But Jesus took them all, and with His mighty hammer - the Word of His grace - He nailed them to His Cross. Glory to God!

 

 

“I love to go back to Calvary often, not to see the Savior mangled and mutilated, but to see all my sins fastened to the Cross with His own nail-scarred hand. And that makes it a secure fastening! All the blasts of hell can never shake my sins loose. Hallelujah!

 

 

“Praise God for Calvary’s nails - they are holding the old ship of Zion together. Look forward with me to the time when we will hang our old garments of the flesh on Calvary’s spikes and, as the old gospel song says, drop this robe of flesh ‘and rise to seize the everlasting prize.’”

 

 

 

Dutch Shares from The Pleasure of His Company

 

“At the end of Christ’s ministry, two of His followers had a revelatory encounter with Him. The meeting occurred just after the Cross and Resurrection; to say their world had turned topsy-turvy would be a gross understatement. To have discovered, lived with, and traveled with Jesus for three years, only to lose Him, would be life's cruelest injustice.

 

 

“These two men had heard earlier in the day that Christ had risen from the dead. But, really, who would believe two grief-stricken ladies claiming to have been visited by angels? That’s quite a stretch. And these supposed angels informed the women that Christ rose from the dead? As they walked the seven-mile journey to Emmaus, they were discussing this too-good-to-be-true report and all that had transpired over the past few days. To say that they were discouraged, confused, and disillusioned would be an understatement.

 

 

“That’s when He arrived. ‘And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him’ (Luke 24: 15-16).

 

 

“‘What are you discussing?’ He wanted to know.

 

 

“They gave Jesus a brief summary, expressing their surprise that He would even have to ask. ‘What else would we be discussing?’ was their inference. It seems everyone in Jerusalem could think of little else than what had transpired with Christ the last few days since so many of them had thought He might be the long-awaited Messiah. They spoke to Him of their devastation and also of the rumor that He had risen from the dead.

 

 

“Jesus, His identity still hidden from them, ‘explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures’ (v. 27), including the fact that He needed to suffer and die.

 

 

“Wouldn’t you like to hear that recording!

 

 

“Though they still didn’t know it was Jesus, His words began impacting their hearts. ‘Were not our hearts burning within us as He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’ they stated (v. 32).

 

 

“‘When they reached their destination, they pleaded with Jesus to spend the night. The Lord agreed to do so, and during dinner, ‘He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, he began giving it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him’ (v. 30-32). He disappeared from their sight at that moment, and they hurried back the seven miles to Jerusalem with the good news: Christ was indeed risen.!

 

 

“I find it more than a coincidence that after initially hiding from these men who He was, Jesus chose to release the revelation of Himself ‘in the breaking of the bread’ (v. 35). After all, He was the ‘bread of life’ that had been ‘broken’ for them (John 6:33, 35, 48-51), and they could now receive the revelation of His redemption. The timing was His way of saying to them, ‘The life you need is now available. Sup with me, and revelation will come; I will reveal to you the fullness of who I am and what I have done for you. I also believe it is saying the same to us. We can partake of the bread of life. One of the ways we do so is by hearing His words, just as these two men did (Matthew 4:4). Eat them. As you do, revelation will flow to you, as well. Christ will unveil Himself, just as He did for these two men. 

 

 

“Spend some time with Jesus.”(1)

 

 

 

Pray with me: 

 

Lord Jesus, You revealed Yourself to the two disciples in the breaking of the bread. As we break the bread of communion together today, sup with us. We want to know You more intimately. Reveal Yourself afresh and anew; let us see You more clearly and more completely. And we also ask You for a greater revelation of all that was provided for us through Your broken body. May we not waste anything You purchased for us. Open our eyes, just as You did for our two fellow believers that day long ago. (Eat the bread.)

 

 

And Lord, as we drink this that represents Your cleansing blood, we take into our very body, our cells, our blood, Your life and nature. We declare that our faith is sustained because of the blood, we have no condemnation because of the blood, we are made righteous because of the blood, we are in covenant with You because of the blood, and we are now part of Your family because of the blood. We are staking our claim to these things today by this sacred act of covenant. (Drink the cup.)

 

 

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Click on the link below to watch the full video.

 

 

 

 

 

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1. Dutch Sheets, The Pleasure of His Company, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group), pp. 178-180.