I wish to say to you A very "Warm Welcome" to this new Bible study,

      I pray that it is really a blessing to you as you grow in the Lord's Word. I would like you to reread these few paragraphs below  again, then go on and enjoy your bible study.  May the Lord Bless you richly in your spiritual walk with Him, and may you feel His love.

     When you do this kind of Bible Study you will begin to awaken and greatly increase your spiritual growth.  You see, I don't want you to just achieve head knowledge, but more importantly, that your "spiritual knowledge and spiritual growth" develop.  Wherever  you are spiritually, I desire to draw and move that part of you to  be challenged to a higher level.

     Never study the Word of God without reaching within yourself to be challenged to a "deeper spiritual level."  Always push  and prod yourself to grow more and more spiritually.  Never let  yourself be complacent and satisfied with where you are at in your spiritual walk with the Lord. Read and study your Bible like a hungry person who hasn't had a meal in a long time.

   Try to remember this saying, "If you are not spiritually growing, you are spiritually dying." That includes every area of your life!

     Have you ever just sat and thought about what Jesus did for you? Dying on the cross, I mean. By now you probably heard several sermons dealing with the Salvation message, but have you ever seriously sat back and thought about it?  What really happened  to Jesus that fateful day?  The dark and lonely day, that Jesus died on a horrible cross for our sins? What did it feel like, to die like that?

     Have you ever really sat back and wondered deep down inside of you, what was Jesus feeling?  What was he really thinking and  feeling? How would it feel to die like that, on a splintered rough  cross? What was it like to die like that? What would it really feel
like? We can think and rationalize what it would be like, but what would it really feel like to experience it? What would it really feel like to have your body and hands hurt like that? Think about it!

    Heavenly Father, we love so much.  You are Lord of everything  and no one is worthy to be praised but you.  Reach out dear Lord, and help our understanding to grow into a deeper spiritual way. Help us Lord not to just gain head knowledge alone, but that our spiritual faith walk deepens as we grow steadily in your Word.

     May Your Word not go back void, but that it go out where you intend it to go.  May we be blessed as we learn your Holy Word, drawing it into our hearts and souls. We thank you now Holy Lord. In Your precious name, Jesus Christ.  Amen

     John 20:24-29 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus,  was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.  But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

     And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you, Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.

     And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou  hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

     Let’s talk about what they did to the "Jesus' head" for a minute. The Bible reads,

     Mark 15:16-20 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.  And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

    And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

     Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

     These Roman soldiers were terribly awful!  The things that they did to Jesus were indescribably cruel, and inhuman. To violate another human being in such a violent way, (let alone God's Son) was the depth of humiliation. (There are other bible passages about their cruelties.) Jesus represented everything that was kind and good in the world. They couldn’t bear that kind of goodness without trying to destroy it.

     To try to understand just what I mean, think of the odd person at work or school. You know the one who "won’t fight back" and gets picked on all of the time.  Maybe they have a gentle nature. People seem to find them an easy target for hateful actions and cruelties. That’s what Jesus was like in the soldiers’ presence, He wouldn’t fight back and they hated him for it!

     The people who beat Jesus up, hated Him tremendously.  They did their best to try to destroy his face without killing Him.  Jesus was beaten up so badly, that His face was severely marred, more than any other man at that time.  His face was swollen, and  His eyes must have been almost shut with puffiness. Physically, He looked horrible to all those who saw Him. Yet we see Him only as being "beautiful," because we love Him and what He did for us. Dying on the cross for our sins. ---BUT--- We are "not" going to stay talking about His head!  Let’s go on…. Now we could talk about Jesus’ "side" for a moment.  The Bible reads,

     John 19:34  But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

     Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

     Soldiers stuck His side with a spear to see if Jesus was dead on that sad, horrible day. They wanted to hurry up the dying process so they could go home to a warm meal.  They didn’t care about the pain they had just inflicted on someone dying on the cross. People’s lives were of little value to them.

     Jesus was despised and rejected of men! Think about how many  people despise and reject Him "today."  There are people who stand against everything good and kind in Jesus today.  They stand against the Christian faith because of their hatred of  Jesus. Some people ignore and rebuke hearing the Biblical  Word preached because of their disregard, and disrespect of Jesus, the Son of God. Yet some people accept Him as their Savior and look forward to a Heavenly reward.  They love Him and rejoice in that love, knowing that He loves them.

     Where do you stand on this issue? Rejecting Jesus and all that He stands, ignore hearing the Word of God preached to you, or do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  Where is your heart? BUT, We are "not" going to stay talking about His side! Let’s go on….We can now  talk about His "feet!" Here is what the Bible says:

     Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

     Soldiers nailed His feet, one over the other to a rough splintered cross. Foot joints where the nerves are, were severed as jagged nails entered in.  Severe pain was inflicted, as huge rough nails were hammered into tender flesh.  Think about how badly it hurts when you bang your shin bone. Not only did it hurt, but  now He had to push himself up by His wounded feet or His lungs would collapse and He would suffocate. That’s real pain!--BUT--- We are "not" going to stay talking about His "feet!"

     We are going to talk about the "hands of Jesus." I want you to feel with me the pain to His hands.   Just the two hands of Jesus. Maybe if you can start to feel with Jesus the pain in His hands, then you might be able to have a real understanding of what it feels to die on the cross.

     Let’s look at scripture to try to understand for a minute, what Jesus was feeling at the time of His death on that awful cross. Try to feel His heart, His very real pain.

     Psalms 69:16:20  Hear me, O Lord; for thy loving kindness is good:  turn unto me according to the Multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from they servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

     Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor: mine adversaries are all before thee.  Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

     Here is a story about a little "six year old girl," that may help you feel the pain that Jesus felt on the cross.  You see I was the little girl that I’m going to tell you about.  I’ll try to share with you that painful part of my life long ago.

     My father was in the Air force at the time, stationed in Hawaii as part of his job. I was a skinny little six year old girl, very fragile, anemic and bruised easily.  Bleeding was a real problem with me because  I had a condition called "Von Wilibrandt" bleeding disorder. It’s a relative condition to Hemophilia. That is a hereditary condition in which even minor cuts are a serious matter.  Bad bleeding episodes and hemorrhages can result in death. Life was very risky and it was hard.

     One day I brought my mother a "large glass apple juice jug," and asked her if I could have it.  "No," she said, "You take it right back where you found it! But mom-ma please, I want it. Can’t I have it, please?" My mother said, "No, now take it back!"

     So I took it back and fell down four cement steps to land on top of jagged broken glass.  I had broken glass all under me and the jagged edge of the lid at my throat.

     My parents heard me scream as I fell and came running. Crying hard I tried to push myself up with my right hand, which was a mistake. I just about completely severed my right hand from my wrist.  Oh, did I bleed and hemorrhage badly! My parents were
frantic with fear as they rushed me to the hospital.  Dad put a tight clamp on the rest of my arm and tried valiantly to save my life.  Have you ever heard a little six year old girl scream?  I had a loud high pitched voice that could send a chill down most backs!

     The hemorrhage was very serious and even with several blood transfusions, I almost died.  They sewed my poor little wrist back together. Muscles, tissue, veins and nerves were all severed, not to mention tendons. I was a bad bleeder!  I almost lost my right hand.  In those days that kind of surgery with all of it's detailed involvement was difficult at best.

     Because of my anemic condition, and "Von Wilibrandt" bleeding  disorder, my hand would "not" heal.  The heat of Hawaii didn’t help either!  I had been cut deeply at the wrist, sewed up, but  "no healing for six long months."  Not one sign of any healing.

     The pain that I felt, as my mother would work my hand in warm  water to keep it moving, was horrible. (My hand's muscles and  tissue turned in towards my body as I began to cripple up. Muscles and tendons pulled in tightly and I was loosing the use of my right hand.)  I screamed and screamed with pain yet she still had to do it. Move an unhealed sore hand in that warm water.

     Day after horrible day, pain and screaming. Sometimes they had to hold me down and still I would scream from the pain. Frightened,  being a little girl I didn't understand why she had to hurt me. What parent wouldn’t hurt for their little child, watching them go through that horrible ordeal. I was only a tiny six year old girl remember.

     Finally, after six long months, healing began. It took two years for complete healing.  Being that kind of bleeder, I just did not heal like other people.  My schooling was affected and later, I had to do the third grade over again.  When you can't write down your school work or even your own name, it hinders learning.  I had to work hard to regain the use of my hand, but praise the Lord, He healed me! My grades were affected and I had to fight my way all through school just to keep up with the rest of the kids. Life was hard and full of struggles but I made it!

     Today I play several musical instruments and am an artist and potter not to mention an Evangelist for the Lord.  "The Lord has completely healed me of anemia and Von Wilibrandt’s bleeding disorder."  If I get cut now, I bleed normally. Praise the Lord for "complete healing."  Jesus healed me totally. Even if you were to test me, you would find that there is no sign of sickness or a bleeding disorder. I am healed, totally and I walk in that healing faith.

     Now I didn’t tell you this story to make you feel bad for me. Good grief, that happened years ago.  What I do want you to feel for just a minute of time, is a little portion of what Jesus felt when he died on the cross.  I want you to understand and feel what He felt as they nailed His hands to the cross.  His agony and pain. Do you understand what I am trying to say here?  Do you feel that pain?  Can you share for a minute with Him, that pain and what it felt like dying on the cross?

     Jesus was a "real live man," a "real Holy being," God.  He "cried tender real tears," felt a "real man’s pain."  Jesus suffered in a "real flesh and blood body" and died a "real horrible death on the cross."  He did that for your sins and mine. He was and is "real!" With all of the feelings and emotions that you and I have.

     We can thank the Lord that He took our sins to the grave, dying horribly.  We know that on the third day He arose from the grave alive, and right now sits at the right side of our Father God in Heaven.

     Now look at your hands.  Just look at them!  Think and feel the pain of what Jesus did for you.  The next time that you reach out to someone with your hands, think about the hands of Jesus.

     Every time you drive a car, wash the dishes, work at your jobs or help someone in trouble, think about the hands of Jesus. Every time you do anything with your hands, think about Jesus.  He loved you that much to die on the cross for you.  His hands hurt so bad for "you." Your that special!  Yes you really are, and He loves you so much!

     Let me ask a question, Did you find yourself for just a minute feeling with me the pain in my hands as a little girl so long ago?  Can you now for a minute feel the pain that Jesus had felt in His hands?

     Does it hurt your heart and making you feel like crying? Does your heart now feel like praying this prayer?

     "Oh precious Jesus, how much you loved us Lord. To hurt like that for us? We don’t deserve it Lord, but you did it for me and others.  You loved me and all of us that much!  Thank you Lord from the  bottom of my heart!  Your pain was real, and you really did die a horrible death for us.  Words don’t even come close to the way that I feel for you and what you did for "all of us."

     Dear Lord I'm a sinner. I've been one all of my life.  Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and be my Savior, Lord of my life. I know that you died on the cross for my sins and that your now alive with the Father in Heaven.  I know that one day soon your coming back for us, your children to set up your kingdom on earth.

     Precious dear Savior----I love you with my whole heart.  I love you with everything that I have to give.  How wonderful you are to die on that painful cross for me. Thank you so much, in your Holy name Jesus Christ. Amen!"

    THIS STUDY WAS WRITTEN TO HELP GIVE YOU  BIBLE  KNOWLEDGE AND I SINCERELY PRAY THAT YOU EXPERIENCE "REAL SPIRITUAL GROWTH AS WELL. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT  THIS MINISTRY TOUCHES YOUR HEART WITH THE REAL LOVE OF JESUS.

     You might want to go back to our web site "Diana Gray Ministries," and check out all of the wonderful teachings about the Lord's Word, the Bible.  Here's one site that might be of  interest to you as an example.   This story will move your heart with it's shocking surprise ending. I hope that you do read it.  It was a very moving experience for me writing it.