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"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:" (Acts 1:1-3 KJV)

Bishop Jakes begins this wonderful chapter with the revelation that the cross that we see a the pain and suffering of Christ, is altogether seen different from Christ and Gods' perspective. For Christ saw the cross as HIS passion for us. Deep huh?

His passionate love for us was so overwhelmingly shown with HIM giving HIS life for us on that Cross. All the while, and as years go by, we wear our Crosses on our chest, as jewelry, and reminder of that day when Christ gave HIS life for us. We touch it with reverence to a day of sorrow, but of thanks as well. But do we even think that as Christ lived and then died for us, that as he was nailed there, that it was HIS passion for us while on the Cross, that sustained HIM while HE died?

THE SHEER HORROR OF THE CROSS

Often I've heard discussions around the actual beatings and murder of Christ; and again here the Bishop also speaks of the reality of Christs' slaying that day, relating it to Mel Gibsons' movie "The Passion".

In trying to understand the statements of the Bishop about Christs' passion, while on the Cross, you have to understand the brutality and murder of Christ. And in that epic movie rendition, we get some idea of that brutality. We come to understand how HIS skin was ripped by instruments of torture. And in this section the Bishop shocks the reader by clearly stating that Christs' body was savagely beaten ..."savage beating of HIS flesh, the stripping away of His privacy, the raw nudity of the Cross"--- is almost uncomprehenable to the average person.

All of the nice paintings depicting Christ on the Cross are just nice paintings, but none truly capture the severity of what Christ endured on the Cross. Surely, by todays' standards, we would consider such a beating and murder as being done by massacre standards. Only a crazied, demented person could do such a horrible thing. A homicide by simple terms, in my own eyes. Murder One. Premedidated, calculated, and committed in no simple terms, but in terms of only compared to the must gruesome of movies on the wide screen.

And yet, Christ endure all of this and some other unmentionable or comprehensable crimes of violence to HIS person, for the sake of saving you and I. Unbelievable huh? But it happened.

LOVE HURTS

Tell me one relationship in your life that 'hurt' doesn't come into play. Just one.... Can't ... Every love in your life has had hurt at some point or another. That is a fact. And in that hurt there is 'pain'.

It is that inevitable trap of love that somehow, and somewhere in that relationship, that the pain of 'hurt' will enter. It might be something minor that time, prayer and compromise will help to heal. Or it is that deep down pain that never seems to go away.

Have you ever heard of a man or a woman; who has been hurt in love and has a hard time ever loving again? Well .. there you go! That child that you loved and brought into the world, that hurt you beyond any pain you've ever experienced..That parent that robbed you of the love that you've lived for... the pain... That best friend that betrayed your trust and did you wrong, and then tried to put the blame on you.... the pain.

All of the love that you've ever given and received, had some pain in it at one time or another. And generally, we get over the pain and move on, but in many cases, some people never recover from the hurt.

KNOWING LOVE THAT IS BEYOND KNOWING

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19 KJV)

We cannot, as human beings even comprehend the passion and the love of Christ to endure what HE endured for us! There is no known explanation of the love that GOD feels for us. Its' just indescribable! If it were possible to truly understand the power of Gods' love and how brilliant it is, I truly believe that we would  be like David as he wrote these words...

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."(Psalm 16:11 KJV)

CREATED TO LOVE

"When God created man from the dust of the earth, He wanted something in HIS likeness, something in HIS image, something HE could relate to, and something that could relate to HIM ....."And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27 KJV).....HE also created man in HIS likeness because we like something that is like us. We want someone to love. And then we can have "koinonia", or fellowship and communion, when we connect with others. There's intimacy, there's sharing in common, and there's love."(TD Jakes)

"Koinonia" is the anglicisation of a Greek word that means communion by intimate participation. The word is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe the relationship within the early Christian church as well as the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal [John 6:48-69, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:24]. As a result the word is used within the Christian Church to participate, as Paul says, in the Communion of - in this manner it identifies the idealised state of fellowship and community that should exist - Communion.

THE PLACE OF GODS' PASSION

This is a lengthy passage that shares two stories. One of Abraham and the other of Hosea...

The first relates in comparision to the understanding of GODs' passion, when he instructed Abraham to take his only son and bring him to the alter as a sacrifice. How poignant an example of the compassion and love the must be given in order to do such a thing! And without any doubt in my mind, I'm sure that only Abraham could possibly come close to what GOD felt when HE gave up HIS only SON for our salvation!

Genesis 22:2-14 (King James Version)

 "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."

That place was later known as "Calvary". It is in that passion; that love that there was 'pain'....

And then there was Hosea. A prophet who devotion to GOD was strong and unrelenting. He was a saved man in all respects, who wanted a wife to share his life with. He was seeking love and family. And he had saved himself for that purpose.

But GOD wanted this man to understand HIS love for Isreal, so that he would comprehend how GOD's love is eternal and forgiving. That no matter who you are, that HE would love you unconditionally. But HE also wanted Hosea to understand that passion also involved pain.

Hosea 1 (King James Version)

"The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel. And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel."

Was GOD trying to bind the two? Did HE want us to understand that because of our differences, that we are capable of love? Was there an intent to share with us that through all  love, there is pain? I would think so.

The everday and sometimes extraordinary differences between people who attempt to love one another are constant. And I'm drawn to this particular passage from Bishop Jakes ....

"When you love like a ten and fall in love with someone who loves like a two, then comes the pain. The pain is the emptiness you feel from the lack of response, because there is nothing as deflating as a poor response. Let's say that you are a detailed person and want everything to be just right, and you have so much love and care to give the other person and know how to express it creatively, but you have fallen in love with someone who is noncommunicative and unexpressive and not thoughtful. At first, you don't notice it, because you're so in love; but after a while, even you have to open your eyes enough to see that there is an inequity in the relationship." (TD Jakes)

WHEN LOVE IS NOT RECIPROCATED

There is not one of us living that hasn't been in a relationship, where we know that the love we are giving to the person we're in love with, is not equal to the love given to us. How many times have we been in love with someone who hasn't loved us in the same way? I can say for me, there have been at least 3 men in lifetime that fit that bill. And with each of them, I can remember the hurt and pain when I had to walk away from them....

So I can now, with the help of the Bishop, understand a little, how GOD must feel when we don't honor HIM and praise HIM as we should. Hey...HE's giving you all of HIS love, and we're not reciprocating that love back to HIM by being faithful!

So the love that Hosea gave Gomer, which was unreciprocated, gave Homer a kinship type of relationship to GOD, that not only brought him closer to GOD, but helped him to understand GOD in a more intimate way.

Unlike GOD and even Hosea, I've never known myself to be able to continue to endure the pain that they did, for the sake of love. I'm still not that strong, and I'm also set in my ways as well. For all that I believe I already given to many, I find it hard to give to much of anything else...perhaps that is where my ministry has benefitted the most. For it is in my ministry that I give so much of my love. And in doing so, I feel the strong pulse of GOD's love. I liken it to a relationship, for as much as I give, I do not equally receieve that love. But it is that love for my Savior that redeems me and my spirit to continue on.

I guess what my mother used to say was true..."If it doesn't kill you, then it'll make you stronger"...Love can kill the spirit of many...and has. But love also can be a redeemer of sorts as well...

LOVE REDEEMS

"My point is to express the passion that GOD has for Israel, even after Israel has repeatedly played the harlot with HIM. This is how HE expressed it within the context of the story of Hosea and Gomer in Hosea 2:14-23 KJV....(TD Jakes)

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God."

I can honestly say to you, that if you cannot feel the passion of GOD for us in this, then something is definitely wrong! And it is GOD that can make it right. And if you're not understanding all of this, then either you've been secluded from the world, or you've never known love. So my plea is that you simply open yourself up to GOD's word. There is comfort there. There is an understanding of love and the expected pain and sorrow that is a part of that love. And once you share your pain with GOD, you'll understand HIS pain as well.

"Do you hear the passion in GOD's voice? Do you see the love of GOD who 'so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only begotten SON'? It's not that HE loved --- HE 'SO' loved that HE paid for something that should have been HIS in the first place, and in leaving HIM had been horribly defiled. We get outselves into the same forsaken place --- sold as slaves to sin! HE has to go get us from that place." (TD Jakes)

THE PASSION OF THE CROSS

The Bishop brings to the table that Calvary was more than just pain. It was true passion. Only GOD's passionate love for you could allow and predestin HIS own SON, to die for you.

"Jesus said, 'Sit here. I'm going to restore you. I'm going to fill you. I'm going to love you. I'm going to give you MY name. I'm not going to just be your 'Baali' or 'master', but I'm going to be 'Ishi', for I'm going to be your husband!' And HE says, "Because I love you, I'm going to open doors for you. You know that job you got? That was ME! And when your credit was messed up, I was the one who opened the doors so you got that car anyway. And when they set a trap for you and tried to destroy you, but someone intervened and helped you just in thenick of time --- that was ME! Because I fiht battles for you; I open doors for you. I made a way for you. When youy didn't even have a job, I fed you! I knew you were sleeping around, and I knew you were messing around. I knew, but I loved you!" (TD Jakes)

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."(Isaiah 53:5 KJV)

"So next time you see a Cross, see the passion of the divine Lver. The next time you see blood, see the price that HE paid for your redemption. HE died for your deliverance."(TD Jakes)

GOD HAS A PLACE FOR YOU

If someone would have told me at age 30, that at this age, my main concern was to become closer to GOD, knowing that only HE could help me endure the madness of this life, I would not have believed them. But at 32, when cancer took over my life, and I was forced to see life, love, family and friends for what they truly were; I found that my faith was the most important thing to me. And as each year comes and goes, I'm thankful that GOD had a purpose for me, and that I made the choice to follow HIM. Some days are harder than others, but I'm focused on keeping my promise to HIM as he has already shown me what HE has done for me.

And I believe all about HIS love, because no matter what has come my way; HIS love and HIS purpose has sustained me, blessed me, and guided me through many a day. HIS love has kept my spirits high and my drive strong. HIS love can change night into day, and whatever was in the dark, bring it to the light. HIS love can will be with you in everything that you do, think, pray for and endure. There is nothing that GOD can't do. And there is no one that can love you more. HIS passion for you is beyond  your comprehension!

HE has a place for you as well.

"If all you have ever experienced is RELIGION, the Cross is merely a religious symbol. I say to you that the Cross is the place of relationship. You say it was pain; Jesus called it passion. If you enter into HIS passion, HE will deliver you from your mess.... God has a place for you. You can go to church till you are blue in the face, but if you do not open yourheart, you are going to miss it!" (TD Jakes)

IF your mouth is dry for JEsus,
if there is a thirst in your soul
for HIS love,
if there is a longing in your spirit
for HIS grace,
if you don't care
what other people think or say,
if your heart aches for HIM,
and you want HIM,
you want HIM,
you want HIM,
you really want HIM,

Come to Jesus.
He is waiting for you!
(TD Jakes)

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NEXT CHAPTER IS DUE ON AUGUST 1ST, BUT WILL BE POSTED ON JULY 30TH INSTEAD. I'LL BE CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY AND WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR THE WEEKEND.

CHAPTER FIVE
"THE PLOT OF THE PRIEST"