Ever been burdened by something? I guess another good way to phrase that is...Ever been broken?
Marly and I were talking a while back about how suddenly after having my kids and placing them, I didn't want other young ladies to go through what I had been through. That feeling had become and continues to be so strong that I want to do anything and everything in my power to reach out to these young women. At night I would be home watching Teen Mom and begin crying. It wasn't because Farrah's boyfriend didn't know she was pregnant before he died. It wasn't because it broke my heart Amber was abusive to Gary in front of Leah. It wasn't because Maci was impacting Bentley's life by moving to Nashville to be with Kyle. It was because I've been in Catelynn and Tyler's shoes. I've been in all of their shoes. My first boyfriend didn't know I was pregnant. I've been abused while pregnant. I've made life altering decisions without thinking about my kids. But the hardest of all was giving them up.
I never want any girl to be in my shoes. I know its going to happen. It happens daily. But if my story will change any ones life, I'm willing to try. But instead of doing anything I was just sitting on my couch bawling my eyes out, wondering, why is this breaking my heart so much? That's when Marly told me I was burdened, broken for the lives of the unborn.
Think about this in Christ's life. He was so BURDENED for our lives...for my life, for my kids lives, for their parents lives, for my family and friends' lives...and He said, Father, if there is anything I can do to possibly save just one [I'm sorry, but did you catch that...JUST ONE] life from hell, I will do it. And God said, give me your life. Okay, um WOW! Just wondering, but are you reading what I am???
God said to Jesus (his son), I want you to DIE [not only just die, but the most excruciating, painful death imaginable] so that even just one person can have the OPPORTUNITY (meaning, you can choose to or not) to live with Us forever. In theory, Jesus could have died for no reason at all. Cause I mean, everyone makes the conscious decision to follow Him or not. Thankfully, Christ didn't die in vain, but He would have just to give us the chance to live eternally. Gosh that is freakin powerful stuff right there!Here is what the Word says about having this same kind of burden...
Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
— Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
Note: this says...carry out EACH OTHER'S burden. Sometimes, we can get so wrapped up in the stuff in our lives that we forget what other people have going on. We tend to forget the world doesn't revolve around us. When Marly told me God had placed a burden on my heart and wanted me to carry that burden, my exact words were..."I don't want to be weighed down by other peoples stuff". It was like as soon as I got to the end of that sentence I had already regretted saying it. I'm sure there were times when Christ was ready to throw up His hands and say..."YOU DEAL WITH IT!" But He didn't. And being a Christ follower I'm supposed to do everything I can do mimic Him.
So today, my question is...what are you burdened with?
Is there something I can do to help you carry that burden?
What do you need prayer for?
Comment on my facebook page or send me a message!
I will come before My Father on your behalf.
I'm ready to carry this, what has now become my burden...whatever it may be.
Holy Father,
Thank you so much for what your Son did for me that day. Words seriously aren't even enough to express my gratitude. I think about the song "Arise, My Love" and the words..."Could it be that His Father had forsaken Him? Turned His back on His Son, despising our sin." ring out in my head. Sin disgusts you so much that you had to turn your back on your only son. That sacrafice is something I honestly don't believe I could ever do, which is why I thank you so much that you have provided my sons the opportunity to be Yours. Father, help me remember that I am not alone in this world, and that other people are out there hurting. Burden my heart, O God. Break me. I cry out to you now where the entire world can see...I want to be burdened for the lost. You lit a fire underneath me a few months ago and I pray that you will continue to keep it burning bright. I cast Satan out of my life. I want nothing of him or of this world. Be with those unborn children, God. Be with the young mothers who are sitting in that abortion clinic right now, struggling, knowing they don't want to be there. Father, reach down and touch those girls, touch those children, they all deserve a voice. Help me be the witness I need to be. Lead me and guide me, Lord. Burden me, again, I pray. Be with all of those who read this blog. Touch their lives in some way today, God. Make yourself evident in each one of their lives. In Your Son's holy and precious name, Amen.
This is from Wikipedia and is pretty decently accurate...you don't have to read it, but if you would like it explains what happens during a crucifixion, including what about it that kills you. I suggest that you read it and try to understand that Christ went through this for YOU!
Crucifixion was often performed to terrorize and dissuade the onlookers from perpetrating the crimes punishable by it. Victims were left on display after death as warnings. Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period.
The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, from impaling on a stake, to affixing to a tree, to an upright pole (a crux simplex) or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum).[5] In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam on his shoulders to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 300 pounds, but the crossbeam would weigh only 75–125 pounds.[6] The Roman historian Tacitus records that the city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate,[7] and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion.[8] Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post. The person executed may have been attached to the cross by rope, though nails are mentioned in a passage by the Judean historian Josephus, where he states that at the Siege of Jerusalem (70), "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest."[9] Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities.[10] While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals, writings by Seneca the Younger suggest that victims were crucified completely nude.[11] When the criminal had to urinate or defecate, they had to do so in the open, in view of passers-by, resulting in discomfort and the attraction of insects. Despite its frequent use by the Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape mention by some of their eminent orators. Cicero for example, in a speech that appears to have been an early bid for its abolition,[12] described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears."[12] Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club, an act called crurifragium, which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves.[13] This act hastened the death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses.[13]
Nail placement
In popular depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus (possibly because in translations of John 20:25 the wounds are described as being "in his hands"), Jesus is shown with nails in his hands. But in Greek the word "χείρ", usually translated as "hand", referred to arm and hand together,[19] and to denote the hand as distinct from the arm some other word was added, as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded the end of the χείρ, i.e., he wounded her hand).[20] A possibility that does not require tying is that the nails were inserted just above the wrist, between the two bones of the forearm (the radius and the ulna).[21] An experiment that was the subject of a documentary on the National Geographic Channel's Quest For Truth: The Crucifixion,[22] showed that a person can be suspended by the palm of the hand. Nailing the feet to the side of the cross relieves strain on the wrists by placing most of the weight on the lower body. Another possibility, suggested by Frederick Zugibe, is that the nails may have been driven in at an angle, entering in the palm in the crease that delineates the bulky region at the base of the thumb, and exiting in the wrist, passing through the carpal tunnel. A foot-rest (suppedaneum) attached to the cross, perhaps for the purpose of taking the person's weight off the wrists, is sometimes included in representations of the crucifixion of Jesus, but is not discussed in ancient sources. Some scholars interpret the Alexamenos graffito, the earliest surviving depiction of the Crucifixion, as including such a foot-rest.[23] Ancient sources also mention the sedile, a small seat attached to the front of the cross, about halfway down,[24][25][26] which could have served a similar purpose. A short upright spike or cornu might also be attached to the sedile, forcing the victim to rest his or her perineum on the point of the device, or allow it to insert into the anus or vagina.[11] These devices were not an attempt to relieve suffering, but would prolong the process of death. The cornu would also add considerably to the pain and humiliation of crucifixion. In 1968, archaeologists discovered at Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northeast Jerusalem the remains of one Jehohanan, who had been crucified in the 1st century. The remains included a heel bone with a nail driven through it from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, perhaps because of striking a knot in the upright beam, which prevented it being extracted from the foot. A first inaccurate account of the length of the nail led some to believe that it had been driven through both heels, suggesting that the man had been placed in a sort of sidesaddle position, but the true length of the nail, 11.5 centimetres (4.53 inches), suggests instead that in this case of crucifixion the heels were nailed to opposite sides of the upright.[27][28][29]
Cause of death
The length of time required to reach death could range from a matter of hours to a number of days, depending on exact methods, the prior health of the condemned, and environmental circumstances. Death could result from any combination of causes, including blood loss, hypovolemic shock, or sepsis following infection, caused by the scourging that sometimes preceded the crucifixion, or by the process of being nailed itself, or eventual dehydration.[30][31] A theory attributed to Pierre Barbet holds that, when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the typical cause of death was asphyxiation.[32] He conjectured that the condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by his arms, leading to exhaustion, or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block. When no longer able to lift himself, the condemned would die within a few minutes. Experiments by Frederick Zugibe have, however, revealed that, when suspended with arms at 60° to 70° from the vertical, test subjects had no difficulty breathing, only rapidly increasing discomfort and pain.[33][34] This would correspond to the Roman use of crucifixion as a prolonged, agonizing, humiliating death. Legs were often broken to hasten death through severe traumatic shock and fat embolism.
