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HE TOOK THE LASHES

Cliff Barrows tells of the time his two young children did something wrong. Although they were gently warned, they repeated the offense and needed to be disciplined. Cliff's tender heart was pained at the thought of having to punish the ones he loved.

So he called Bobby and Bettie into his room, removed his belt bare back he knelt by his bed. He told each child to whip him ten times. Oh, how they cried! But the penalty had to be paid. The children sobbed as they lashed their daddy's back. Then Cliff hugged and kissed them, and they prayed together. "It hurt," he recalls, "but I never had to spank them again."

Are you haunted by the memory of some cowardly, selfish, or shameful acts? Jesus took the lashes for all our sins. Now He invites us to accept His forgiveness and devote the rest of our lives to Him. He wants us to know the greatness of His Father's love. That's why He died! God the Judge not only declared us guilty, but also paid our penalty (1 Pet. 2:24).

(Source: from a sermon by Dennis Davidson, "Punished for You and Me" 7/14/08, SermonCentral.com)

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