{"id":6312,"date":"2015-03-20T23:13:56","date_gmt":"2015-03-21T03:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=6312"},"modified":"2015-04-14T17:42:33","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T21:42:33","slug":"word-4-god-where-are-you-31515","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=6312","title":{"rendered":"Word 4:  God, Where Are You?!? (3\/15\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Pastor Jim continued his Lenten series on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the cross by looking at the statement: &#8220;My God, my God!\u00a0 Why have You forsaken me?&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Click the &#8220;play&#8221; button below to start the recording, then scroll down and follow along&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6312-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sermon-2015-03-15a-God-Where-Are-You-_JHB.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sermon-2015-03-15a-God-Where-Are-You-_JHB.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sermon-2015-03-15a-God-Where-Are-You-_JHB.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The scripture was from Isaiah 41:10 and Matthew 27:45-49.\u00a0 Open the following drop down box to follow along&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Scripture<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><p><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Isaiah 41:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>10 Fear not, for I am with you;\u00a0 Be not dismayed, for I am your God.\nI will strengthen you,\u00a0 Yes, I will help you,\nI will uphold you with My righteous right hand.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Matthew 27:45-49<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.<\/p>\n<p>46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, &#8220;Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?&#8221; that is, &#8220;My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, &#8220;This Man is calling for Elijah!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.<\/p>\n<p>49 The rest said, &#8220;Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>NKJV<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Have You Ever Been Lonely???<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Have you ever felt totally alone, wondering if God even knows you exist? Did you feel so helpless and hopeless that you asked &#8220;Where are You God?&#8221;\u00a0 A Nazarene preacher has said, &#8220;<strong><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">If we don&#8217;t see the anguish of sin, we can&#8217;t appreciate the awe of salvation.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=john+1%3A6-13&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">John 1:11<\/a> tells us that Jesus came into the world for all of us, but all of us put Him on the cross.\u00a0 We rejected Him.\u00a0 We pulled Him away from all human dignity&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When He spoke these words, He had been hanging on the cross for 3 hours.<\/li>\n<li>He had been awake for possibly more than 24 hours.<\/li>\n<li>He hadn&#8217;t had any food or water that we know of for at least 15 hours.<\/li>\n<li>He endured a series of &#8220;trials&#8221; which were totally a sham.<\/li>\n<li>He had been flogged.<\/li>\n<li>He was forced to carry His own cross.<\/li>\n<li>He endured the public humiliation of being too weak to carry the cross.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Throughout all of this, the verbal and emotional abuse continued, and Jesus felt rejected by His Father.\u00a0 Can we blame Him?<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">God, Where Are You???<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Have you ever felt that way?\u00a0 Jesus has too.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Jesus Became Sin&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>What&#8217;s going on here?\u00a0 How could the Son of God- who was with God at the beginning of time- How could HE feel rejected?\u00a0 Here&#8217;s how Eugene Peterson paraphrases <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A12-21&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">2 Corinthians 5:21<\/a><\/span> in The Message&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;.God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This verse literally translates as &#8220;He became Sin.&#8221;\u00a0 Jesus- the perfect Son of God- BECAME\u00a0 Sin.\u00a0 God then, turns His back NOT on the Son He loved,\u00a0 but on the sin that he had become. THIS is\u00a0 what left Jesus hanging in &#8220;the great alone.&#8221;\u00a0 In other words, God did forsake Jesus judicially because He was bearing all\u00a0 the sins of all men for all time and God cannot look on sin. God didn&#8217;t turn His back on His Son, He turned His back on the sin that He was bearing.\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-container et_sliderfx_fade et_sliderauto_false et_sliderauto_speed_5000 et_slidertype_top_tabs'>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class='et-tabs-control'>\n\t\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t1\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t2\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t3\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t4\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t5\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t6\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t7\n\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul> <!-- .et-tabs-control --> \n\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-main-wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Habakkuk 1:13<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours person more righteous than he?\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Psalm 34:15-16<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">John 9:31<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Deuteronomy 1:45<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Job 35:13<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Psalm 66:18<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Proverbs 28:9<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law. Even his prayer is an abomination.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- .et-tabs-container --><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;My God, My God!\u00a0 Why Have You Forsaken Me?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jesus&#8217; words echo the question penned by David in Psalm 22&#8230; a psalm which parallels the suffering of David with that of Christ.\u00a0 The psalm begins with despair\u00a0 but ends its closing verses with renewed trust in God.<\/p>\n<p>By using these words, Jesus was pointing to the reality that even though He sensed judicial separation from the Father, He knew\u00a0 it was temporary and that His relationship with the Father was strong and it would be restored.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Martin Luther: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;God forsaking God? Who can understand that!&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Charles Spurgeon:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;I think I can understand the words &#8216;My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?&#8217; as they are spoken by David in Psalm 22. But how they came to be uttered by Christ on the cross I will never comprehend.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Perhaps it might help if we remember the dual nature of Jesus.\u00a0 He is true God.\u00a0 Through Him all things were made (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=john+1%3A1-3&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">John\u00a01:3<\/a><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Colossians+1%3A15-18&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">Colossians\u00a01:15-16<\/a><\/span>, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=hebrews+1%3A1-3&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">Hebrews\u00a01:3<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 But as we recall each Christmas, God in Jesus took on human nature.<\/p>\n<p>Of course Jesus knew why He was on the cross.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew all along that this was His Father&#8217;s will.\u00a0 he had been prepping His disciples for months, telling them that &#8220;<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law,\u00a0 and that He must\u00a0 be killed\u00a0 and on the third day be raised to life.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>&#8221; (Matthew 16:21).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus understood the purpose for His death:\u00a0 &#8220;<em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His\u00a0 life as a ransom for many.<\/span><\/strong><\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 20:28).<\/p>\n<p>But- What does this mean for you and me?<\/p>\n<p>In expressing His anguish with these words,\u00a0 Jesus is teaching us two things&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000080;\">1:\u00a0 Even when it doesn&#8217;t seem like it, God is Near&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In times of trial, we want answers right away.\u00a0 We want God to answer our prayers before we say &#8220;amen.&#8221; And yet, Jesus hung on the cross- suspended between earth and eternity- for six long hours; even after praying, &#8220;if it&#8217;s possible take this cup away from me.&#8221; But six hours paled in comparison to the salvation of all who will ever turn to Him.\u00a0 When we suffer for a while, we start wondering why God hasn\u2019t intervened.\u00a0 We begin questioning ourselves.\u00a0 What Have I done to deserve this and then we begin to question whether or not God even cared.\u00a0 We feel as though God has abandoned us and that He is nowhere to be found.\u00a0 We feel alone and isolated from God.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">We\u2019re not the first ones in history to feel that way\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>David, in Psalm 13:1 cried out and said, \u201c<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">How long O Lord?\u00a0 Will You forget me forever?\u00a0 How long will you hide Your face from me?<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Job lost everything in his life; home, family, wealth, and health.\u00a0 He felt alone and isolated from God.\u00a0 Even his wife advised him to \u201c<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">curse God and die.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 But he trusted in God&#8217;s promises instead of his feelings.\u00a0 It reminds us that we need to be committed to the scriptures and to being devoted to God.<\/p>\n<p>And so Jesus is showing us a real-life human experience that we all can relate to.<\/p>\n<p>David remained faithful.\u00a0 Job continued to seek God (see <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Job+23%3A1-9&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\">Job 23:1-9<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 Jesus remained and continues to remain faithful to the Father.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible tells us that God is present even when He seems far away!\u00a0 Even when God seems 1000 miles away and uninterested in our affairs, He is with us step-by-step during difficult times.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s just like the two disciples on that first Easter morning who were walking to the village of Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35.\u00a0 They had just come from Jerusalem and were undoubtedly very upset and depressed because they witnessed the crucifixion of their Lord Jesus.\u00a0 They were not only discouraged because Jesus was dead, but also because it was the third day and they had hoped that Jesus would have been raised from the dead, as their Lord had promised. They must have given up hope Jesus\u2019 resurrection and decided to head home, back to their old way of life. But as they were walking, something marvelous happened.\u00a0 In verses 15-16 the Bible said,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cAs they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These men, who were most certainly experiencing emotional and spiritual pain because of Jesus\u2019 death, did not know that Jesus was walking right along with them the whole time.\u00a0 During their time of anguish, Jesus was next to their side.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p>If we are faithful, God is walking right along with us especially during our times of suffering, even when we feel isolated from Him.\u00a0 He has not abandoned us, just like God didn\u2019t abandon Jesus relationally on the cross.\u00a0 We are His children and He loves us and cares for us.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\">1 Peter 5:6-7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.\u00a0 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Psalm 55:22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we suffer, we may feel isolated from God, but the reality is that God is with us step by step and many times He is carrying us through our difficult times.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u00a02:\u00a0 Even during times of Challenge, Remain Faithful&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Although on the cross, Jesus felt isolation and abandonment from God, He didn\u2019t give up on\u00a0 His faith or on His mission to save mankind from their sins.\u00a0 Jesus didn\u2019t give up.\u00a0 He could have called legions of angels to free Him from the cross.\u00a0 But He didn&#8217;t; He loves us that much!\u00a0 He didn\u2019t curse God and blame Him for His circumstances.\u00a0 Instead, Jesus trusted in \u00a0God and remained faithful to Him.<\/p>\n<p>He certainly didn\u2019t follow \u201cMrs.\u00a0 Job\u2019s\u201d advice and \u201ccurse God and die\u201d\u00a0 Instead He followed Job\u2019s example by holding on to His faith in God even though his life was full of pain and agony.<\/p>\n<p>Faith is important to God.\u00a0 Hebrews 11:6 reminds us\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.<\/span> NLT<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In Revelation 2:10, John writes\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don&#8217;t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.\u00a0<\/span> NLT<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God will not forsake us.\u00a0 Check out the following passages (all quotations are from the NLT):<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-container et_sliderfx_fade et_sliderauto_false et_sliderauto_speed_5000 et_slidertype_top_tabs'>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class='et-tabs-control'>\n\t\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t1\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t2\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t3\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t4\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\t5\n\t\t<\/a><\/li>\u00a0\n\t\t<\/ul> <!-- .et-tabs-control --> \n\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-main-wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tHebrews 12:2<\/p>\n<p>We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God&#8217;s throne.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tHebrews 13:5<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, &#8220;I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.&#8221;\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tPsalm 94:14<\/p>\n<p>The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tRomans 8:1<\/p>\n<p>So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\tRomans 8:39<\/p>\n<p>No power in the sky above or in the earth below\u2014indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- .et-tabs-container -->\n<p>We may never be able to understand the \u201chow\u201d of the miracle of God the Father forsaking God the Son.\u00a0 But let us never forget the \u201cwhy\u201d- Jesus was forsaken so that you and I and all those who repent and turn to the Lord in faith may never be forsaken by God, but kept safe in his loving arms forever.<\/p>\n<p>We were on His mind while He was on the cross.\u00a0 Psalm 22 begins with the words, &#8220;My God Why have You forsaken me?&#8221;\u00a0 But here&#8217;s how it ends:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A posterity shall serve Him.\u00a0 It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,\u00a0 t<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">hey will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,<\/span> t<span style=\"color: #000000;\">hat He has done this.\u00a0<\/span> NKJV<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And in verse 22 it says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> NKJV<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>David begins by foretelling God&#8217;s forsaking of the sin on His Son.\u00a0 David describes the horror of the crucifixion.\u00a0 But before it&#8217;s over, David lifts God&#8217;s praise.\u00a0 Yes the crucifixion was dark!\u00a0 But Jesus kept the focus on His mission to seek and save the lost.\u00a0 &#8220;I&#8217;m going to continue to praise Your name, so that they will never be forsaken.&#8221; Jesus went through this, thinking of us! When we turn to Him, <strong>We Will Never Be Forsaken!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just as in the popular poem, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.onlythebible.com\/Poems\/Footprints-in-the-Sand-Poem.html\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0Sand<\/a><\/span>, God remains with us even if we don\u2019t immediately see His presence.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 14pt; background-color: #00ff00;\">He was forsaken that we might be forgiven!<br \/>\nJesus was left alone on the cross so you and I can stand \u201cwhere no one stands alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a0Quiz Time!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">As you reflect on what you&#8217;ve just heard\/read, give this quiz a try.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the &#8220;correct&#8221; answer, post a comment)&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div id='quizArea'>\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\njQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n$( function($){\nvar quiz = {\nmultiList:\n[{ ques: 'Complete the quote: If we don&#8217;t see the anguish of ____ we can&#8217;t appreciate the awe of _____.',\nans: 'sin, salvation.',\nansSel: [ 'Pilate, water',  'death, resurrection' ] },\n{ ques: '2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that ___',\nans: 'Jesus became sin.',\nansSel: [ 'God helps those who help themselves.',  'Paul became a thorn in the side of Rome.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Who gave the advice Curse God and die?',\nans: 'Mrs Job',\nansSel: [ 'The thief on the cross',  'King Herod' ] },\n{ ques: 'Why did God forsake Jesus?',\nans: 'Jesus was wearing our sin and God cant look on sin.',\nansSel: [ 'To fulfill Psalm 22.',  'Jesus gave up hope in His Father.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Because Jesus was forsaken ___',\nans: 'We will never be forsaken by God.',\nansSel: [ 'We will never go through rough times.',  'We can make footprints in the sand.' ] }]\n};\nvar options = {\ntitle: 'My God, Where are You?',\nhelp: 'Select the correct answer and click Check.',\nshowAns: false,\nshowAnsInfo: false,\nallRandom: false,\nshowFeedback: false,\nrandom: false\n};\nvar lang = {\nquiz : { tfEqual:'' }\n};\n$( '#quizArea' ).jQuizMe( quiz, options, lang );\n$( \".q-innerArea\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EECCAA\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".quiz-el\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#776655\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-ques\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-ansSel\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-result\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n});\n}(jQuery))\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #003300;\"><strong>+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?cat=50\">Click Here<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to view other sermons.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pastor Jim continued his Lenten series on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the cross by looking at the statement: &#8220;My God, my God!\u00a0 Why have You forsaken me?&#8221; Click the &#8220;play&#8221; button below to start the recording, then scroll down and follow along&#8230; &nbsp; &nbsp; The scripture was from Isaiah 41:10 and Matthew [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[144,86],"class_list":["post-6312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","tag-godspresence","tag-salvation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6312"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6369,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6312\/revisions\/6369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}