*3 John 1:2 ~ Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.* Today as you go out, may the beauty and glory of heaven come upon you and turn your hope into reality. May the LORD cloth your day with favour and divine upliftment. May the mighty hand of GOD rest upon you and establish you. You shall not be uprooted or frustrated. Everything you lay your hands on shall work for your good and prosper in the name of Jesus. Amen. Good morning. Have a lovely New Week and stay blessed. Shalom🙏🏼

Good morning, brethren. 1. Morning devotion for today. MD.i. 😀🌹🎀🎁💝🌺MORNING TEA THE WORD FOR TODAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12, 2O26. "WORKING IN THE KINGDOM (3)" ‘The father [or mother] of a righteous man has great joy...’ Proverbs 23:24 NIV. THE HARDEST work is sometimes the most overlooked work. A husband came home from work one day and the house was an absolute mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, washing up filled the sink, the kids were crying, the beds were unmade, the bathroom smelled badly and the TV set was blaring. When he asked his wife what was going on, she replied, ‘You know how you ask me every night what I did all day? Well, today I didn’t do it.’ If you’re a stay-at-home mum or dad, God considers your work to be important. It’s more important to the future than just about any other profession—because you’re determining the quality of the next generation. Martin Luther said, ‘What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord.’ One day God will say, ‘Well done,’ to parents who cared for children—bathing them, feeding them, cleaning up after them—when they were tired and thought nobody was looking. Somebody is looking. Somebody is keeping track. It is worth it! You are the one who makes your work significant—not the other way round. When you discover the gifts God has given you and the passions He has placed within you, and put them to work in the service of values you deeply believe in—you are ‘working for God’ in the truest sense. So each day ask God to make your work go well. And try to identify the larger picture in your work that makes it a ‘calling.’ Bible In A Year: Judg 7:1 – 9:33, Matt 16:13-28, Ps 119:65-72, Pro 17:23-26. Courtesy: Grace So Amazing Foundation 💝🎀 *To partner with us, kindly refer to page 9 of the hard copy edition or simply send us a WhatsApp message/call on +2348128000068.*🌹🌷🎀💝. MD.ii. [11/08, 9:24 pm] Pastor Attah: *MEDITATIONS ON DAILY ⓂANNA* WEDNESDAY, 12TH AUGUST, 2026. *HEAVEN: THE PERMANENT RESIDENCE OF THE BELIEVERS* *TEXT:* JOHN 14:1-6. 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me *Timeless Truth:*_"But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city"_ (Hebrews 11:16). *INTRODUCTION* Jim Reeves, in one of his classics, composed an all time beautiful and inspired song about heaven. "I have heard of a land; On a faraway strand 'Tis a beautiful home of the soul; Built by Jesus on high There we never shall die 'Tis the land where we never grow old. When our work here is done; And the life crown is won; And our troubles and trials are o'er; All our sorrow will end And our voices will blend With the loved ones who've gone on before". The children of Israel ate manna in the wilderness and not one of them fell sick for 40 years and neither did their cloth fade according to the Scriptures. The food of heaven and the environment of heaven will be such that the inhabitants will never grow old, but remain young, healthy and fresh throughout eternity. Every attempt by any mortal to describe heaven is like a blind man describing the colour of a beautiful house. It is easier to think and plan for what you see than what you don't see no matter how real. Hence, there is need for constant reminder, refocusing and reconsecration to make heaven, less our vision of the invisible and eternal things give way to the vision of visible temporary things. *"For truly, if they (the heroes of faith) had been mindful of that country (the world) from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned"* (Hebrews 11:15). *1. The Admonition on Faith* a. Man is consciously or unconsciously a slave to what he believes whether true or false. The person who does good or evil believes that it will pay him. The person who serves God or does otherwise believes that is the best thing to do, all things being equal. The only person who could experientially and authoritatively speak about heaven is the person who lived there for an innumerable number of years and had visited the earth. Jesus Christ challenged the faith of His disciples to fully and truly believe, not only in the reality of heaven, but what heaven offers. The thought of Jesus Christ leaving them for heaven was disturbing and troublesome. However, the thought of heaven is comforting above all troubles on earth. *"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me"*. b. Jesus Christ said He came from heaven. Moses claimed He saw God come from heaven on the mount of Sinai. At the mount of transfiguration, three apostles said they saw the glory of heaven on Jesus, Elijah and Moses. John the Apostle emphatically said *"I John saw heaven open"*. Revelation also said that as God alone created the universe without any assistance from the angels, God Himself created heaven. *"Whose Builder and the Maker is God"*. When there is faith in God and consequently in heaven, all earthly glory and sorrows fade into insignificance. *Question* Is heaven and its glory real to you? Are you focused on making it by all means? *2. The Assurance for the Faithful* There is a Revelation about heaven that no other prophet could give except an eye witness. There is an abundance of accommodation for all the saints of God. *"In my Father's house are many mansions"*. Jesus invoked His undeniable truthfulness and integrity to give us a solid assurance. *"If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you"*. Jesus is saying that there is no need to deceive His disciples. Part of the present preoccupation of Christ is building a beautiful and eternally durable unimproveable mansion for each of God's people. The cosmos is roughly 7 x10 to power 23 times larger than our planet, rendering Earth an invisible speck in the vast cosmic ocean. This is different from the part of the cosmos that humans' lenses cannot observe so far. John said *"there was no more seas"*. So the space for building mansions is inexhaustible by all the saints that ever lived. b. Every saint should therefore, be assured that there is an unfading and most beautiful accommodation ever, designed and built by God awaiting him for eternal dwelling. Which one is more real to you? Dream or what you see in the physical. As what you see on earth is more real than what is dreamt, much more, the life of heaven is incomparably more real than what is experienced on the planet earth. Everything in heaven is perfect that no man on earth and creature in heaven would be able to improve on it. *Question* Are you excited about heaven? *3. The Advent of the Forerunner* a. Jesus came from heaven and He is the firstborn from among the dead. He is the first to die, buried, resurrected and gone to heaven with a resurrected body. He also promised to come back to the earth with His resurrected glorified body. *"And if I go and prepare a place for you"*. Did He truly go as promised? Since He fulfilled the promise to go to heaven He will no doubt fulfill other promises attached. *"I will come again"*. He did not say He "may come again". He was very definite and certain. When He comes again for the Church, represented by the disciples He was speaking to, what will He do? *"And receive you unto myself"*. He did not say he would come and take them, but rather come and receive them. This is Rapture being referred to in which Jesus in the sky will receive the saints to heaven as a host comes out of his chamber to receive His special guest or visitors to his house. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). *"That where I am, there ye may be also"*. *Question* Are you always watchful to make sure you are ever ready? *4. The Answer to the Forgetful* You will be surprised at the kind of question the once doubting Thomas was asking. *"Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?"*. He was there when Nicodemus was lectured by Christ on how to get to heaven. He was there when Jesus preached the longest sermon on the Mount as to the qualification for heaven. He was there when Jesus said *"No man has seen God at all times"*. Preachers should not assume that their followers fully understand the spiritual things they are teaching. Spiritual truth must be repeatedly read and taught over and over until it turns to conviction. Jesus is the only true way to heaven. *Question* What makes someone qualified for heaven? *Prayer Points* 1.Lord, I praise You for the best alternative to this earth You have provided for me. Help me never to miss it 🙏. 2.Refocus my desire and affection on heaven and heavenly things afresh and help me that it will be my primary pursuit and vision 🙏. 3.Keep me from being deceived and distracted from heavenly things by the glamour of this world 🙏. 4.Search out Your people and remove all things in our lives that will make entering heaven impossible 🙏. *HYMN:* Where We Never Get Old. *BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:* JOB 13-15. [11/08, 9:24 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DAILY Ⓜ️ANNA - (A DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR ADULTS) WEDNESDAY 12TH AUGUST, 2026``` *HEAVEN: PREPARED FOR THE PREPARED* 📓📖🎚️🫵🏽🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♀️🧎🏽🧎🏽‍♀️🙏🏽🙌🏽 📜📜```TEXT:JOHN 14:1-6```📜📜 🔑📖```KEY VERSE:``` _*"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (JOHN 14:2).*_ *D. L. Moody, the famous evangelist, once said before his death, "Someday you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment, I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal, a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body." Moody understood the truth that heaven is not a vague idea but a real, prepared place for those who belong to Christ. He had no fear of death because he knew that Jesus had already secured for him an eternal home.* *In today's text, Jesus gives the same assurance to His disciples: He has gone ahead to prepare a place for them, and He will return to take them there. He speaks words of comfort to His troubled disciples. He tells them not to be afraid because His Father's house is big enough to accommodate all those who are qualified, and that He is going to prepare the place for them. More than that, He promises to return and bring them to be with Him forever. When Thomas questions the way to this place, Jesus makes a life-changing declaration: "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).* *Heaven is not an accidental destination. It is a prepared place for prepared people. Jesus makes it clear that He is the only Way to this eternal home. Today, many believe that all roads lead to heaven, but Christ's words leave no room for confusion. Only those who accept Him and live for Him will enter the place He has prepared.* *This truth should give us confidence and peace as believers in Christ's return. Just as a traveller finds joy knowing a home awaits at the end of his journey, we too should endure life's trials knowing that heaven is real and waiting for us. However, this is also a call for readiness, as only those who are prepared in Christ will enter there. Heaven is not for the undecided or the uncommitted; it is for those who know and follow Christ. It is for those who have let go of the world, let in Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour and live for Him consistently.* ✍🏽```THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:``` _*If your aim is heaven, look beyond this world.*_ 📜📜```THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:``` *JOB 13-15*📜📜 Heaven: Prepared For The Prepared https://dailymanna.app// *RECOMMENDED GOSPEL HYMNS AND SONGS - GHS 137: HOW BEAUTIFUL HEAVEN MUST BE; GHS 138: WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN; GHS 139: BEAUTIFUL HOME!; AND GHS 20: THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE* *TXD [THEXDEVOTIONALS] on Twitter* *#DailyManna12thAugust2026* *#GCK* *#WorshipNuggets* *#BibleNuggets* *#LeadershipNuggets* *#RevivalNuggets* *#CrusadeNuggets* https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS] [11/08, 9:24 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY``` _*HIGHER EVERYD🅰️Y: (A DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR YOUTHS)*_ ✍🏽👩🏻‍💼🌻 🍇🙏🏽🛰🚀🔬📚 ```WEDNESDAY 12TH AUGUST, 2026``` *THE PRAYER OF FAITH* 🎚️📓📖🫵🏽🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♀️🗣️🧎🏽🧎🏽‍♀️🙏🏽🙌🏽 📜📜```TEXT:JAMES 5:13-18```📜📜 📖``` MEMORY VERSE:``` _*"And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (JAMES 5:15).*_ *Faith is the conduit between man and God. It is important in the life of a praying believer as the scripture confirms that without it, it is impossible to please God.* *"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase," submitted Martin Luther King Jr. A prayer of faith means a prayer you offer believing in His promises firmly, even when you have not seen the physical manifestation of the promise yet.* *The centurion, a soldier, had a sick servant and met Jesus for the healing of the man. This man had faith in the prayer of our Lord to a point that he told Him not to bother following him to his house to pray for the sick.* *He believed when Jesus prays anywhere at any time, the sick will be healed, and distance is never a barrier to His miracles. His servant was healed according to his great faith.* *You may be going through some challenges now, but your prayer of faith can turn the situation around for you and move your mountain away.* 💬 ```QUOTE:``` _*Distance is never a barrier.*_ 🏆 ```CHALLENGE:``` _*Your prayer of faith can move mountains.*_ 🙏🏽🙏🏽 ```PRAYER:``` _*Lord, increase my faith.*_ The Prayer Of Faith https://dailymanna.app// *TXD [THEXDEVOTIONALS] on Twitter* *#HigherEveryday12thAugust2026* *#GCK* *#WorshipNuggets* *#BibleNuggets* *#LeadershipNuggets* *#RevivalNuggets* *#CrusadeNuggets* https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS] [11/08, 9:24 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY``` _*(SINCERE MILK: Children Daily Devotional Guide 2⃣0⃣2⃣6️⃣)*_ 🙇🏼🙇🏼🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇🏼🙇‍♀️🙇🏼🙇‍♀️🙇🏼‍♂️ ```WEDNESDAY 12TH AUGUST, 2026``` *AVOID THE DANGER AHEAD!* 📓📖🎚️🫵🏽🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♀️⚠️‼️🛑❌🫷🏽🧎🏽🧎🏽‍♀️🙏🏽 📜📜```1 KINGS 11:9-14```📜📜 🕔📚🖋️🚻😁🎼🏆🍉🪴🌈💻 🔑📖 ```Key Verse:``` _*"And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice" (1 Kings 11:9).*_ 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 It is not all things that glitters that is gold. God is loving, He has great plans for His children. However, no parent toils on a child who decides to disobey instructions. Solomon was a beloved child of God. He found favour with God because David his father obeyed God. Your Christian parents, pastors, teachers and elders are sent to correct you. Don't despise their correction. Though God is merciful, yet the salvation of your parents doesn't guarantee your protection from the wiles of the devil. Solomon allowed his great wisdom to control him. He forgot God and embraced popularity and riches. God was angry with him and punished him severely. God is not a respecter of persons. He punishes every sinner or backslider. *Avoid the danger ahead! Sin leads to heavy consequences. Such consequences could come in the form of sickness, failure in examination, oppression or death (physical and eternal). Return to God your Maker, He loves you. Don't allow your worldly wisdom, pride or riches of your parents to take you to hell. Let the blood of Jesus wash you now.* 🍥🍥🍥🍥🍥🍥🍥🍥 ```🅿️rayer:``` _*Dear God, give me the grace to humble myself under Your mighty hand.*_ 🙏🏽 ```📖 Further Reading:``` *Proverbs 1:7-14* Avoid The Danger Ahead! https://dailymanna.app// *TXD [THEXDEVOTIONALS] on Twitter* *#SincereMilk12thAugust2026* *#GCK* *#WorshipNuggets* *#BibleNuggets* *#LeadershipNuggets* *#RevivalNuggets* *#CrusadeNuggets* https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS]. 2. Morning Prayer for today. MP.i. Morning Prayer [It is of] the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness. ⏤ Lamentations 3:22-23 The Christian life is one of gratitude. A heart that is constantly overflowing with thankfulness is a heart close to God. ⏤ A.W. Tozer O God, giver of all good and fountain of all mercy, we thank You for Your grace and the many ways You show Your care for us. Your faithfulness never fails. Your mercies are new every morning, fresh every moment, more than we can count. What can we give You in return for all Your goodness to us? We have nothing to offer but the poor love of our hearts, and we give that to You. Grant us more and more the spirit of praise and thanksgiving. Teach us to sing even when tears choke our songs. Give us songs in the night. Teach us how to rejoice, even in care and sorrow. We thank You for our home and all it means to us. You have filled our lives with countless blessings through the love that unites us as a family. Our home is a little bit of Your love poured into our hearts. We thank You for the shelter our home provides and for the gentle affections that bind us together. May our home grow sweeter as the days pass. Make our home life more loving, patient, and kind. May our love be less selfish and more like the love of Jesus. We ask for special blessings for this day. We will face dangers we are unaware of; protect us from them. We are vulnerable to accidents wherever we go; defend us from them. Grant us the grace to walk through the moral challenges around us without being harmed by them. Give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all Your ways. Lead us wherever we go so that we may not stumble. Make us strong for holy service. Let Your protection be over us all day, and give us strength for every duty. We ask all this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. https://www.youdevotion.com/daily-prayer/miller/38/morning #taptapstudio #youdevotion.

There are “three that bear witness in heaven” (1 John 5:7) of our salvation. But it is not just there. There are “three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (v. 8. The Spirit who was sent as our “helper” bears witness not only to our salvation but also to His enduring love for us. The waters of baptism bear witness to the death of our selves and to the new life we have been given in Christ. The blood on the ark bears witness to Jesus’s suffering and sacrificial perfection, and the blood on the shroud bears witness to His triumph over the grave! On a face cloth in Oviedo, Spain, and on a shroud in Turin, Italy, there is blood evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord of Hosts!

Can anyone really “close the case” on the missing centuries of the Shroud of Turin? 🕵️‍♂️ In this third episode on the Shroud of Turin, cold case homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace follows the trail of competing relics—sudariums, veils, and other claimed “shrouds of Jesus”—to see whether any of them can actually bridge the gap and give the Turin cloth a credible chain of custody back to the first century. 🧵📜 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAVgd6epnNM

How do you investigate the “missing centuries” of the Shroud of Turin like a real cold-case detective? In this third episode on the Shroud of Turin, J. Warner Wallace walks through the most popular claims about pre‑Turin relics—sudariums, veils, and rival “shrouds”—and explains why none of them close the chain‑of‑custody gap needed to treat the Turin cloth as first‑century evidence for Jesus. https://coldcasechristianity.com/podcasts/podcasts-about-christianity/can-anyone-close-the-missing-centuries-of-the-shroud-of-turin-podcast/ #EvidentialFaith #ChristianApologetics #ReasonableFaith #ColdCaseChristianity #JWarnerWallace #ForensicFaith #ChristianWorldview #InvestigateChristianity #EvidenceForGod #FaithAndReason

OPEN HEAVEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: TUESDAY JULY 14TH 2026 THEME: DELIVERANCE FROM PHYSICAL BURDENS MEMORISE: And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35 READ: Isaiah 61:1-4 1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. MESSAGE In John 19:16-17, some Roman soldiers were leading Jesus to Golgotha to be crucified, and they made Him carry a heavy cross. He had been thoroughly beaten earlier and must have been very weak, yet they made Him carry this heavy burden by Himself. On the way, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and I believe that God prompted them to compel him to assist Jesus in carrying the cross to the place He was to be crucified (Matthew 27:32). Simon is an example of a burden bearer; he helped Jesus to lift His heavy burden. Beloved, Jesus Christ wants to help you carry every burden that might be weighing you down. This is why He said that you should come to Him with whatever burdens you may be carrying so that He can relieve you of them and give you rest (Matthew 11:28). It is important to note that there are different categories of burdens. Today, I will discuss physical burdens. For example, Naaman had a physical burden, which was in the form of an incurable disease (2 Kings 5:1), Likewise, Luke 13:10-17 tells us about a woman with a spirit of infirmity who was bent double. Everywhere she went, people could see the visible manifestation of the burden she was carrying no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stand up straight. Also, in John 5:2-9, the Bible tells the story of a man who had been by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years. He had a long-standing physical burden, and l imagine that his family and friends had abandoned him because of his infirmity. By God's mercies, however, Jesus, the Burden Bearer, approached him and lifted his long-standing burden instantly. Mark 3:1-6 also tells the story of a man who had a physical deformity. One of his hands was withered, meaning that it was dead and was no longer useful. He was limited because he could only use one of his hands. However, when the Burden Bearer met him at the synagogue, He had mercy on him and made the withered hand whole like the other. I pray for you that in every area you may be experiencing limitations due to a physical ailment, the Almighty God will step into your case and restore you completely. Beloved, are you feeling overwhelmed by any physical burden? Do not despair; rather, approach God's throne of grace and cast it upon Him. He will carry your burdens for you and remove every limitation in your life. PRAYER POINT Lord Jesus, I bring all my physical burdens to You today Please help me carry them. BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Song of Solomon 5-8 AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE HYMN 19: ROCK OF AGES CLEFT FOR ME 1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power. 2 Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All could never sin erase, Thou must save, and save by grace. 3 Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress, Helpless, look to Thee for grace: Foul, I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die. 4 While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY, 14TH JULY, 2026 *DELIVERANCE FROM PHYSICAL BURDENS* ‎ ‎✓Father, I worship You for being my burden bearer. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to help me while I was brokenhearted, and for setting me at liberty from the captivity of sin and death. ✓Father, thank You for the opening of the prison to them that are bound; proclaiming the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn. ✓Father, thank You for filling my heart with joy and turning my mourning into dancing. Please give me beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for my mourning, in Jesus' name. ✓Father, please cloth me with the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Lord Jesus, please help me carry every burden that may be weighing me down, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎✓Father, I come before You today with all the burdens in my heart so You can relieve me of them and give me rest, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎✓Father, please terminate every visible manifestation of the burdens I am carrying. Deliver me from every burden that I had been identified with, in Jesus' name. ✓Jesus the Burden Bearer, please have mercy on me and lift every long-standing burden in my life, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎✓Father, please in every area I may be experiencing limitations due to physical ailment, step into my case and restore me completely, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎✓Father, I refuse to be despair, and because I have You as my Burden Bearer, no burden will be able to limit me again, in Jesus' name. ✓Lord Jesus, I bring all my physical burdens to You today. Please help me carry them. ✓Father, thank You for the life of Your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. ‎ Carry all his physical burdens in his today, and always, in Jesus' name. Bless his children (biological and spiritual). Help him to continue to produce sons and daughters to Your glory, in Jesus name ‎ ‎✓Father, please bless Your son that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measure, and all those who have been broadcasting them, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎✓Father, please let every challenge, hindrance and obstacles of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name. ‎ ‎✓Your personal petitions. ‎(Philippians 4:6) ‎ ‎✓In Jesus name I pray. ‎(John 14:13-14; 15:16) ‎ #GodBlessOurNation *These prayers have no expiry date! Please join us in prayer, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus’ name.

Wednesday, 1st July, 2026 TITLE: "God's Purpose Will Prevail" ANCHOR SCRIPTURE(S) Psalm 138:8 (KJV) "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands." Ephesians 1:11 (KJV) "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:" QUOTE TO REFLECT ON "When your life is surrendered to God, His purpose becomes stronger than your obstacles." DAY'S REFLECTION Every new month reminds us that God is still writing our story. There are moments when life seems uncertain, plans are interrupted, and expectations remain unfulfilled. Yet the believer's confidence is not built on changing circumstances but on the unchanging purpose of God. David declared with assurance that the Lord would perfect everything that concerned him. He knew that God's mercy would not abandon the work of His hands. This is a comforting reminder that God does not leave His children halfway through the journey. What He begins, He faithfully brings to completion. Paul reinforces this truth by teaching that we have obtained an inheritance according to God's purpose. Our lives are not directed by coincidence or luck but by the counsel of God's perfect will. Even situations that seem confusing can become part of His greater plan when we remain faithful to Him. Think of a master weaver creating a beautiful fabric. Looking only at the back of the cloth reveals knots, loose threads, and seemingly random patterns. But when the fabric is turned over, a beautiful design appears. Likewise, we often see only the unfinished side of our lives, while God sees the completed masterpiece. As you begin this new month, walk with confidence. Trust God's timing, obey His Word, and remain faithful in your daily responsibilities. His purpose for your life will prevail over every delay, disappointment, and opposition. MEDITATION SCRIPTURE(S) WITH FULL VERSES Romans 8:28 (KJV) "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV) "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." LIFE LESSONS (IMPLICATIONS) 1. God's purpose is greater than life's uncertainties. 2. The Lord completes what He starts. 3. Divine mercy sustains God's work in our lives. 4. Trusting God's plan brings peace and confidence. 5. Every believer has a God-ordained purpose. EVERYDAY ACTION Begin the month with prayer and thanksgiving. Commit your plans to the Lord. Obey God's Word in every decision. Trust God even when you cannot see the full picture. PRAYER Heavenly Father, perfect everything that concerns me according to Your purpose. Help me to trust Your will and walk faithfully throughout this new month. In Jesus' name, Amen. DECLARATION God is perfecting all that concerns me. His purpose for my life shall prevail. I walk confidently in His divine plan. Nothing will stop God's will for my life. This month, I will see His faithfulness and favour. Devotion by Rev. Frank Fabian Aidoo 📞 +233 544 295 158 Follow us on WhatsApp 👇👇👇 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6EpEqHbFV78wOHgv2P

THE DEATH Of JESUS. A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died. By Dr. C. Truman Davis* A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion. From New Wine Magazine, April 1982. Originally published in Arizona Medicine, March 1965, Arizona Medical Association. Several years ago I became interested in the physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ, when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop's book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years - that I had grown callous to its horror by a too-easy familiarity with the grim details. It finally occurred to me that, as a physician, I did not even know the actual immediate cause of Christ's death. The gospel writers do not help much on this point. Since crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetimes, they undoubtedly considered a detailed description superfluous. For that reason we have only the concise words of the evangelists: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified ... and they crucified Him." Despite the gospel accounts silence on the details of Christ's crucifixion, many have looked into this subject in the past. In my personal study of the event from a medical viewpoint, I am indebted especially to Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did exhaustive historical and experimental research and wrote extensively on the topic. An attempt to examine the infinite psychical and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God in atonement for the sins of fallen man is beyond the scope of this article. However, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion we can examine in some detail. What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture? Gethsemane. The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, "And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44 KJV). Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock. Although Jesus' betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face. Before Pilate. In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. Preparations for Jesus' scourging were carried out at Caesar's orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum, or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back, and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped. Mockery . The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plaited into the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed. Golgotha In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route which we know today as the Via Dolorosa. In spite of Jesus' efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loin cloth which was allowed by the Jews. The crucifixion began. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes, and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was nailed into place. The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified. On the Cross. As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of this feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided. The Last Words Spasmodically. He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded. The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." The second - to the penitent thief: "Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise." The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: "Woman, behold your son." Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John , the beloved apostle, He said: "Behold your mother." The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart. The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: "I thirst." Again we read in the prophetic psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 KJV). A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus' lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: "It is finished." His mission of atonement had been completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Death. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary. Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium. Resurrection. In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward his fellow man and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed. But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man--the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning. *Dr. C. Truman Davis is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He is a practicing ophthalmologist, a pastor, and author of a book about medicine and the Bible.

Do Not Fear Or Be Afraid 1 Samuel 12:19-2 Kings 4:7 NKJV 1 Samuel 12:19-21 And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves." Then Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear, You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. "And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which can not profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 1 Samuel 21:9-15 So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." and David said, "There is none like it; give it to me." Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?" Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? "Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house? 1 Samuel 22:23 "Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe." 1 Samuel 23:17 And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that." 1 Samuel 23:26-29 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul, and his men were encircling David and his men to take them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!" Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape. Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at EnGedi. 2 Samuel 9:7 So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." 2 Samuel 13:28-29 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, "Watch now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, 'Strike Amnon!' then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant." So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled. 1 Kings 17:10-16 So he arose and went to Zarephath, And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. "For thus says the LORD God of Israel; 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. 2 Kings 4:1-7 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves." So Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil." Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors--empty vessels; do not gather just a few "And when you have come in you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones." So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and your sons live on the rest."

THE DEATH Of JESUS. A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died. By Dr. C. Truman Davis* A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion. From New Wine Magazine, April 1982. Originally published in Arizona Medicine, March 1965, Arizona Medical Association. Several years ago I became interested in the physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ, when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop's book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years - that I had grown callous to its horror by a too-easy familiarity with the grim details. It finally occurred to me that, as a physician, I did not even know the actual immediate cause of Christ's death. The gospel writers do not help much on this point. Since crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetimes, they undoubtedly considered a detailed description superfluous. For that reason we have only the concise words of the evangelists: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified ... and they crucified Him." Despite the gospel accounts silence on the details of Christ's crucifixion, many have looked into this subject in the past. In my personal study of the event from a medical viewpoint, I am indebted especially to Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did exhaustive historical and experimental research and wrote extensively on the topic. An attempt to examine the infinite psychical and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God in atonement for the sins of fallen man is beyond the scope of this article. However, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion we can examine in some detail. What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture? Gethsemane. The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, "And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44 KJV). Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock. Although Jesus' betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face. Before Pilate. In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. Preparations for Jesus' scourging were carried out at Caesar's orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum, or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back, and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped. Mockery . The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plaited into the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed. Golgotha In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route which we know today as the Via Dolorosa. In spite of Jesus' efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loin cloth which was allowed by the Jews. The crucifixion began. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes, and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was nailed into place. The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified. On the Cross. As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of this feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided. The Last Words Spasmodically. He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded. The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." The second - to the penitent thief: "Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise." The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: "Woman, behold your son." Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John , the beloved apostle, He said: "Behold your mother." The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart. The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: "I thirst." Again we read in the prophetic psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 KJV). A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus' lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: "It is finished." His mission of atonement had been completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Death. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary. Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium. Resurrection. In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward his fellow man and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed. But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man--the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning. *Dr. C. Truman Davis is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He is a practicing ophthalmologist, a pastor, and author of a book about medicine and the Bible.