CROWN OF THORNS
1st of 7 devotions in Labor Day Rest series
John 19:2
“The soldiers twisted together a crown of
thorns and put it on His head.”
How quickly this summer is
ending! The sun’s heat bears down like a
lion’s jaw. Let us enjoy these last fun
days of summer doing things that make us happy.
Laugh at that lion! We’ll get
back to hard work soon enough.
Hard work makes us feel pretty good when
it brings satisfaction for a job well-done. Finished tasks lift heavy loads from our backs. “Whew!”
Sip a glass of iced tea. Dive in
the cool water of a swimming pool.
This series hopes to change reader’s
thinking about labor. Labor Day is a
holiday in the United States that celebrates hard work. Prosperity and success is promised to those
who work hard: A mantra for the “good
life” in the United States.
If hard work is the equation that
sums up prosperity, then why doesn’t everyone who works hard prosper? Why are people who work tons of overtime more
stressed out than prosperous?
Consider Genesis 3:17-19: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through
painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the pants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food...” Hard work wasn’t God’s original plan for people…until
Adam disobeyed one command.
Today, people who toil by the “sweat of
their brow” probably still work cursed ground!
They struggle working long hours, but have little to show for their
efforts. Let’s get out from under the
curse. Before Adam sinned, God gave him
work to tend the Garden. The cursed land
made Adam toil for food.
When the soldiers made a crown of thorns
and placed it on Jesus’ head, He bore that curse in our place. Everyone who believes in Jesus as Lord has
been redeemed from that curse! Praise
God!
Take Home Nugget
Jesus
wore that crown of thorns so that believers can enjoy stress-free lives. Workers needn’t worry day and night how to
make ends meet. Our heavenly Father provides
for our needs without all that hard work, worry and stress! See the lesson linked below.
Every curse that people were meant to endure fell on Jesus’
head with that crown of thorns. He bled
from those thorns so that believers can have peace-of-mind. He wore that crown of thorns, bearing that
curse, when He died on the cross.
Believers can now wear the crown of
glory clothed in His righteousness!
Thank
You, Jesus, for wearing and bleeding from that crown of thorns. Thank You for lifting that curse from me!
Adapted from a
”Daily Grace Ministries” devotion by Joseph Prince. www.josephprinceministries@josephprince.org.
June 2015.
J.D. Griffith
Written
for http://www.Biblestudyforkids.com
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