Category Archives: God Loves You

See How Much Jesus Christ Loves You

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!!!

Giving Thanks, God Loves You,

Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas with our family and close friends, I cannot help but remember the greatest gift who is so often forgotten.  Jesus Christ is the reason that we celebrate every December 25th, not because that was his actual birthday, but because God sent Him as a redemptive gift that we can received for free.

I love the lyrics “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” from the very popular Christmas favorite “O Come All Ye Faithful.” I absolutely love hearing these word because it sets my soul on fire; encouraging me to stop everything (all of the craziness or this world) and go worship Christ Jesus.  At the end of the day that is all that really matters.

In Matthew, three Wise Men also called Magi (Magi were men who were the advisors to kings in some countries; often asked to interpret the kings’ dreams and gained much of their wisdom by studying the stars) dropped everything they were doing in order to go and worship the coming “King of Jerusalem” (Somehow, when a very special star appeared in the sky, they knew they should follow it).

These Magi were chosen by God to seek out and bless His only begotten Son.  We have been given by God, the indescribable gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior, Redeemer and Friend.  We have the privilege of relationship with Christ, and the opportunity to receive His unfailing love.  Oh Come Let Us Adore Him; the word adore, according to Webster’s is 1) to love and respect (someone) deeply;  2) to worship or revere.  Oh Come Let Us Love, Respect, Worship and Revere Jesus Christ our Lord:

-We Love Him because He first Loved us, giving His life on the Cross for ours.
-We Respect Him because He didn’t come to earth to be served (He deserves it) but to serve each of us.
-We Worship Him because He is the Great “I AM,” King of Kings, & the Messiah; who deserves worship.
-We Revere Him because everything about Him is all together lovely & as He is so are we in this world.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him Jesus Christ our Lord!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus

Don’t Fear Destiny…Check Your Receipt

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Numbers 14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

Who said these words? Was the leadership so bad that an immediate change at the top was needed? What was so bad that a return trip to Egypt was imminent?

This was a quote from the children of Israel, after a select group of 12 leaders were sent into the Promised Land. They were sent to prepare an assessment of an unfamiliar place they were destined to occupy; a promised gift from their leader. Oh did I mention that the leader they so anxiously wanted to replace was Jehovah God, the very God who’d created them. Yes, Moses was the human put in charge, but the people knew he was merely a figurehead as all of his direction came straight from the mouth of God.

Don’t be so quick to judge; how many times have we latched on to someone else’s leadership (especially our own) and gone in the opposite direction of God’s leading? Yeah, we’ve been there….each and every one of us. Even though God’s not speaking to us like He did with Moses, in a cloud during the day and fire at night, we’ve chosen our ways as better than God’s.

Well why they were so opposed to God’s plan, that they would even consider going back to the enslaved life of bondage and despair they’d recently been delivered from?????   They were PETRIFIED of their destiny and could not believe that God loved them enough to keep His promise. Fear will challenge faith and distort reality. The devil knows that fear hinders faith; which is why God’s perfect love casts out all fear. The Israelites felt they we’re a mess, a failure, weak and insignificant. There is no way they could go up against the Giants of this new land and win. There is no way this unbelievable land, new homes and gorgeous resort style country could be for them. God could not possibly love them enough to keep that promise he made back when they left Egypt. After all, they’d broken His commandments and complained. He would never follow-through on His promise because they did not deserve it.

That was their mindset, it was what they believed about God. Oh, it’s hitting home now isn’t it?? You’ve felt like this before, maybe even right now. I’ve been there. With all of the wrong that I’ve done in my life, how could God possibly want to see me “living the dream?” The dream that is salvation, freedom, blessings, health and prosperity….you know the blessed life. I do not deserve it…..but God loves me so much (John 3:16).

You know what we have that the Children of Israel didn’t? A receipt for God’s promise. Jesus Christ is our blood stained receipt for God’s love and destiny for our lives. God has paid for our future, one of eternal life with Him, by giving His Son as a sacrifice for all of our sin, past and future. So God knew our future before we started our past and just like us He knew the promise for the Children of Israel. They did not see God as Joshua and Caleb did (we’ll dig into that a different time).   It’s time for us to check our receipt and know that because of Jesus’ work on the Cross, the destiny God has given us is paid for. Although there are giants occupying that place now, they will fall because Our God is Greater, Stronger and More Loving than anything that will ever stand in our way.

Change your mind and like Joshua and Caleb say, “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’   Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

Preach Jesus and let Him Move the Church

Church Leaders, God Loves You

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Today we began what we hope to be our final home church search, as we have settled in the Houston area for good. As far as we know what God’s plans are. We don’t always look forward to this because it has very often been a very long and arduous process for us, because Jesus Christ and His finished work is not the focus of many churches out here today.

We’ve been to plenty of churches to tell us what we need to work on and how we can be better. They focus on the person in the pew, but I cannot help but believe that the One who sits on the Thrown should be the topic of the sermon. Once we know and believe what He has done on the cross for us, everything we do will from then on will be based on the solid rock. Lets look at John 4…

This is the end of a very familiar bible story: The Woman @ The Well. This woman, known by all of the town as a sinner, was literally sneaking up to the well to get some water. Sneaking so that the other town women would not see, judge and embarrass her. Instead this day she ran into the one person who would truly love “the mess” out of her.

Jesus rested at this well, where he would meet this Samaritan woman. Jews did not deal with the Samaritans or “Half-breeds” so she was being shunned by the very people who were shunned by everyone else. She could not possibly feel that good about herself, which may explain much of her behavior. Ahh but now she would meet a man that, in her own words, would “tell her all the things she ever did.” Yet He still loved and adored her, He still gave His life for her. He still had a plan for her. She still meant something to Him.

You see this is why it has been difficult for us to find a place to call home. We may be picky, but we need a place that will remind us about this great love, because when we realize how loved we are. How regardless of the mess we’ve made of our lives, or the mistakes we still often make; that God will never forsake us. That we have a Lord and Savior who cares just as much about us as today as He did when He went to the cross and that God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus….We will do just what that Samaritan woman did, we will immediately get up and go tell everyone how wonderful He is and all that He’s done for us. We will serve, bless and feed others and we will be the church….the one so many of us head out to go find every week.

The sheep don’t need to know how bad they are and what to do to make themselves better or how we can protect ourselves and stay out of trouble. They just need to follow their shepherd and eat where and what He leads them; when they do that they live a successful, joyful and abundant life. Not because of what that have done, but because they trusted and followed the shepherd. (Psalm 23).

It’s Not My Past I’m Worried About…..What About My Present?

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Rom 8:1-2 “Free from Indwelling Sin” 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I was all set tonight, I got a lot of work done earlier in the day and evening so I could sit and watch the game unabated. Then I received a devotional with this text and was reminded about not being weighed down by my past. I thought that was pretty cool, but as I read more, I thought I’m good with my past, as a matter of fact I embrace that I was a mess and have been redeemed by Jesus’ blood. My concern and struggle at times is my present….I still mess up and fall. I know that I’m by myself because everyone else that is saved keep it all together. J But I will share why this text is so valuable to me.

Even the heading; “Free from Indwelling Sin” speaks volumes. Indwelling means to be permanently present in (someone’s soul or mind); possess spiritually. We are free from the indwelling of Sin, sin is no longer present in us when we are saved. Jesus died on the cross for all of our Sin, past…present… and future. This is the blessing, God provided a way for all of the guilt and regret of sin to be destroyed forever. On The Cross

We no longer have to deal with the guilt and regret of Sin because Jesus took it from us and placed it on His shoulders. God then destroyed them both and put them in their place….Hell with Satan. Which is why Satan always attempts to give it back to us. When we sin, Satan tells us we’re dirty, filthy and deserve to die for what you did. BUT GOD tells us to “look at the cross and remember what Jesus did,” He goes on to say “you’re Holy, Anointed and greatly loved.” When we know this to be true, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”

Be Blessed!!

When You’ve Finished Your Race

Giving Thanks, God Loves You, Spiritual Food,

2 Tim 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

On Friday, May 15th, 2015 I retired after 20 years of Active Duty service with the United States Coast Guard (the country’s premiere military/humanitarian service). What an unbelievable 24 total years it has been, when you include my time at the CG Academy. As I was preparing my final speech as an Active Duty Officer, I could not help but be drawn to Paul’s letter to his colleague and mentee Timothy, in preparation for his departure. I was able to use this text to highlight many very important things I’d experienced over my career both professionally and personally.

I like this text because:

–Paul discerns that God is bringing him to the end of his mission. We often want clear direction of what our next step in life should be. Trust that the Lord knows and wants to direct you. “Trust Him with all of your heart… and he will direct you path,” which includes the closing of one chapter and opening of the next.

–Paul really appreciated his battle. God gave Paul a passion and led him through many obstacles. He also allowed Paul to win many to his side of the battle along the way. This ensured that many would be able to continue the battle after he left. We have the opportunity to touch many along our journey and there should be many left to keep the fight alive.

–Paul took some time to acknowledge his many accomplishments. His work was significant, much of which is still being realized even today. It is really easy to keep pressing and never acknowledge all that God has accomplished through us. God delights in using His Son/Daughters to carry out His work and we must acknowledge it and appreciate God’s hand is bringing it to pass.

–He held his faith in high regard. The text says that he “kept the faith,” the Greek word for kept means to attend to carefully, to take care of, observe and hold in very high regard. He took very good care of his faith, feeding it, exercising it, acknowledging its source and guarding it from outside influences. Paul understood that his faith was the most significant part of his journey. It’s what sparked his passion, strengthened his endurance and help to visualize the promise. Remember that what you believe will impact your actions in life.

–Lastly, Paul saw the big picture. He saw what his ultimate goal was. When we see the big picture the journey is just a little bit more tolerable. The Crown of Righteousness he knew was waiting on him, made the tough times seem a little bit better and the fun time that much more enjoyable. See what is at your finish line, it will help you press beyond your breaking point and look forward to your future.

Paul’s Valedictory letter to Timothy and the church is a perfect model for reflection on our life’s journey. A model that helped me articulate God’s greatness during my 24 years in the Coast Guard. I’m so grateful for His active role in my career and life……and I’ll tell it everywhere I go; including the next chapter….

When God Talks…We Should Listen!! (Part 2)

God Loves You,

For details or context necessary from Part 1; see the below post….

The second time God spoke audibly was at Mount Hermon, or the “mount of transfiguration,” when He said…   Matt 17:5…“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Again God expressed His unfailing and precious love for His Son as well as the pleasure enamored because of Him. Jesus was being transfigured or changed into another form. Some say Jesus’ appearance was changed to that of Christ and was resplendent with divine brightness. His immortal body was revealed in all of it’s splender. We will one day have bodies like this and I can’t wait. However, on this night, three disciples were fortunate enough to see it, but what exactly did they see?

Matt 17:3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” So check it out, they saw two men appear, talking with Jesus. Men that they’d only heard stories told about. Seeing Moses and Elijah for them would be like us seeing George Washington or the Apostle Paul (why did I choose these two; I have no idea) today having a conversation. We would immediately be smitten and we’d want to hear what they were saying as well as show them how appreciative we were for their contributions to our lives today. This is what I believe Peter was feeling in all of his excitement. He wanted to commemorate, what they were witnessing as he knew nobody would ever believe him when he’d tell. Peter failed to just sit and soak in the presence of Jesus and the miraculous event he was witnessing.

Check this out, Peter was in the midst of trying to do something good rather than receiving (remember Martha)… actions without direction…. God then cut Peter off and said this: Matt 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” The same thing He said before, even though the three disciples were there the first time. So why? Peter was distracted by all that was happening on mountain and had lost focus… Remember: Jesus is my Son and I am pleased with everything about Him. That was His message, but He went on to add something else… Hear Him!” God thought it was important to hear what His beloved Son had to say.

So what did Jesus have to say after God spoke… “Arise, and do not be afraid.” the Greek word Arise means to awaken from sleep, WAKE UP!!! (for my School Daze fans) Then He encouraged them to no longer be scared. Words we need to adhere to. The Church today needs to be reminded; Wake up from your deep sleep; stop being scared (we’ve got all the power and we know who wins). We often listen to smart, successful, humble and impressive people who are great leaders and have significant accomplishments. However, while it is great to get advice from these people, there is only one who God wants us to Hear from (listen too; comprehend) and that is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus continued to speak and continues to talk to us all of the time.

I believe the key is in verse 8. The text says that When they had lifted up their eyes, our focus is on our situation, circumstance which are often our problems…these are all typically in low places, so we have to look up. What we know from scripture is that Ps 121:1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. When we look up, we can Hear Him! As a matter of fact, when all of the dust had settled they saw no one but Jesus only…And He is all we need.

When God Talks…Hear Him!!

….Up Next When God Talks…We Should Listen!! (Part3)

When God Talks…We Should Listen!! (Part 1)

God Loves You

Matt 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

I preface this illustration as a kid born in the early 70’s. I recall a commercial for a brokerage company called EF Hutton, the company has since been bought and sold a few times and I believe is now a part of Citi Group. In the commercial, two business professionals would be engaged in conversation about advice given to them by their broker. The commercials always had the same ending with the professional who had EF Hutton as a broker was asked what his broker thought. Here take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6ua5xCOlhM (not responsible for any other media on youtube). So much weight was given to EF Hutton, that everyone would drop everything just to hear what valuable information was about to be revealed. The commercial was successful because it was very memorable and the company obviously lasted a long time.

So what does that have to do with the bible or with this verse??? Well, while everyone back in the 70’s really cared about what EF Hutton had to say, today very few seem to care about what God has to say. God speaks in many different ways to His children, but He spoke audibly on only 3 occasions in the New Testament. You would think that God would carry a lot more weight than a brokerage company and I want to share why we should be listening.

The first time God spoke audibly was at Jesus’ baptism; He wanted to world to know two things: Jesus was His beloved Son and everything about Jesus pleased Him. If you recall, John the Baptist was telling the world about the coming Lamb of God who would take away all the worlds sins. When Jesus showed up and was baptized by John, it was there that God spoke aloud about His Son. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

God loves Jesus; every bit of Him, every part of Him; every inward part and everything associated with Him. Why is that important? Because when you understand how much God loves Jesus, it will help you understand just how much He loves you and I. You see as much as God loves Jesus, He was not willing to spare Him from suffering in order to demonstrate the love He has for us… John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He SO loves us and He will never let us forget it!!!

He was also pleased with Jesus; the Hebrew word; (eujdokevw) actually means to take pleasure in, to be favorably inclined towards one. Layman’s terms…God takes great pleasure in His Son and He shows Him great favor. That sounds awesome don’t you wish God would feel the same way about you? Check this out, the Hebrew word “in” here in this text means in, by and with. So God is pleased with Jesus and everything in Jesus, everything done by Jesus and every one of us who are with Jesus. You should get with Jesus… back to God’s pleasure… Jesus and everything “in Him”

Nearly 90 times in the New Testament the words “in Him” (not in him) are used to express the things in Jesus Christ. Therefore, that which is in Christ also brings pleasure to God. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” If these verses are representative of your life then you are in great shape. However if not….let’s change that. NOW!!! Believe in Jesus and begin your new life “in Him.”

….Up Next When God Talks…We Should Listen!! (Part 2)

He’ll Make Your Enemy Your Ally!!!

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Prov 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

There was a time when I looked at this scripture as Solomon telling us that when we work to please the Lord, the Lord would then in turn make our enemies be at peace with us. However, now when I see the Hebrew definition of ways (Definition: road, distance, journey, way or path, a journey, course of life) I noticed something completely different. It is certainly not man’s efforts that the Lord is looking at. Because according to Isaiah 64:6, all He would see are filthy rags or used sanitary napkins (the actual reference of back then). At our very best, that is all we could possibly produce, so there is no way that “our ways” will ever please God.

But check this out: our way, our road, our journey, our course of life, where we’re headed can please God. You see we use to be on the direct train (fast tracking) to Hell/Death. Our sinful lives had us moving toward eternal damnation. BUT GOD, it was when we made a specific decision in our lives, our destiny changed forever. Our way was no longer downward, our road was now leading in the right direction, our journey would have an everlasting destination, our course of life leads us back to a loving and compassionate Father. You see our efforts are worth nothing, Christ did everything we would ever need, when He went to the Cross on our behalf. When we made the decision to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the Cross for our sins, our ways now forever please God. Not because of what we’ve done but because of what Jesus did. Praise God!!!

Now that our ways please God, He will make our Enemy become our Ally. This Proverb came to mind today as I had a meeting with a prominent leader in our organization. Now I would not personally consider him and enemy, but in this case, he was being sent in to oppose a decision I’d recently made and change my mind and declare it wrong. So he was technically an enemy to the major decision I made and I was not really looking forward to the meeting. However, by the time the meeting was over (without going into all of the details) he not only gave me his full support in the decision, he is now willing to do whatever he can to assist me in making the decision come to past. He has agreed to be my Ally!! The beauty of it all, I did not have to do anything, it was all finished long ago.

So the next time you have opposition, don’t sweat it, Jesus dealt with that on Calvary. If you come across those people that want to see you fail, Psalm 110 reminds us to just sit back and Jesus will “make your enemies your footstool.” Then will be able to use them to see over all the blessings He has provided us.

Believe in Jesus and watch your enemies become your allies!!!

DADDY’S PROUD OF YOU

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Matt 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, IN WHOM I am well pleased.” (NKJV)

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (NKJV)

Matthew demonstrates the greatest example of a Father’s unconditional love for a son. It is awesome to see, especially for some Father’s like myself, who would like to raise their kids in a Godly manner. Being a son that grew up trying to please my dad, I want to ensure that my kids know how pleased I am to be their Father. With that being said, let’s dig into what God said to Jesus and what He is saying to us now.

We’re In Jesus:

Following Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, all of the onlookers heard a loud audible voice from heaven. It was a proud papa, letting all know just how much he loved and was proud of his son. Imagine, how good that must feel to hear your father tell the world or his joy to be your dad. That is what Jesus would have felt if He was like you and me. So what does this have to do with us???? God said that Jesus was His beloved son and that He was well pleased with Him and everything about Jesus, including all that is IN HIM. Guess who is IN HIM??? Us, You and I if we’ve believed on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of Sin. Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (NKJV). Once we put our FAITH in Jesus Christ, we put ourselves in position to please God; without FAITH it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. Our faith in Jesus allows us to be IN HIM, where we are beloved Sons & Daughters who God is well pleased with. Are you IN HIM? If not you need to be.

 

God Is Pleased With Us:

We are IN Christ and well pleasing to God, because we “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” You see we are pleasing to God, not because of what we have done or what we do, but what Christ did. We can try as hard as we can to do everything right and perfect; it will never happen because even on our very best and perfect day “Isa 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (NKJV).” For you bible scholars, filthy rags actually refers to used sanitary napkins (yes that is what I said). Our best offering, without Jesus it is just filthy rags, nothing you would ever think about giving to God. So since our best is a mess, our worst is just that multiplied. We have to remember that Jesus went to the cross and all of our sin was placed on Him. God has to deal with Sin and for our sake God’s wrath was satisfied on the Cross.  So let me ask you this; “Why would God punish Jesus for our sin at the cross, if He was going to then turn around and punish us or hold the Sin (Christ died for) against us?? It is a question worth asking, I believe the bible gives us a clear answer, but If you don’t see that, I recommend asking the Lord for yourself and see what He says.

Say it with me “I am Righteous and Well Pleasing to God, because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.” 2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God IN HIM.

Remember we are well pleasing to God by the blood Jesus shed at the cross and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

It Is Finished

God Loves You

John 19:30  So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

I saw this and today was a perfect day to share:  Here are 6 things Jesus accomplished on the Cross and after it was done He said “IT IS FINISHED”

 

1. He Removed All Of Our Sin. The term is Expiation; Jesus took all of our Sin and the guilt of sin and placed it upon His shoulders while on the cross.

John 1:29…“the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
2. Propitiation. This refers to the removal of God’s wrath. All of God’s wrath fell upon Jesus to destroy the sin He bore for us. It was finished, God punished our sin and would never remember it again….After this was done, Jesus was still alive. God’s provision for our sin was/is/always will be greater than His wrath.

 

3. Reconciliation. Sin alienated us from God, but Jesus’ sacrifice reconciled us giving us the same relationship with God that Jesus has.

Romans 5:10-11: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

 

4. Redemption. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for us. We were redeemed from our sin debt owed to Satan.

Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.”

 

5. Defeated the Devil.   Christ’s death disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 3:15). Satan’s only weapon that can ultimately hurt people is unforgiven sin, Christ’s death disabled that weapon, therefore…

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper…….

 

6. He Took Our Place. Jesus died as our Substitute. Christ accomplished all of these benefits for us by dying in our place – that is, by dying instead of us. We deserved to die, and he took our sin upon him and paid the penalty himself.

Isaiah 53:5-6 “he was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities . . .