SOMETHING TO SHARE...


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

"The Power of the Cross"

Last time, I wrote of an unspeakable scene, too majestic for words, the soon coming event that Scripture calls The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We, the Bride, await and anticipate with delight the day and imagine in our minds and hearts just how wonderful it will be!  Today, I want to look back instead of forward to the event that was necessary for us to ever enjoy the future one. I have contemplated this one much lately also. While reading through, again, a work called Pilgrim's Progress, the main character being a man called Christian, on his way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, I was captured by a scene as he begins his pilgrimage.

He is carrying a heavy burden on his back as he starts out and no one seems to be able to relieve him of it but he comes to a place and I will let him speak the words: "He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. ....as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders and fell from his back, and began to tumble and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more."  Here, Christian leaps for joy and bursts into this song..."Thus far did I come laden with my sin, nor could aught ease the grief that I was in, Till I came hither.  What a place is this! Must here be the beginning of my bliss? Must here the burden fall from off my back? Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?   Blest cross! Blest sepulchre! Blest rather be the Man that there was put to shame for me!"  Written by John Bunyan in the 1600's while imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Christ, this book for years was , after the Bible, the most deeply cherished book in households and I love how he describes the heavy burden falling from his back at the cross. Just today, I read my preacher boy's blog concerning his spiritual birthday, Aug. 4, 1994 and his rejoicing over the breaking of his will and heart and submission to the Savior's plan which so far exceeds our own that they are not even comparable. That burden fell off just as mine did in 1961, when God called me to the realization of my sinfulness and His salvation!

I fear that the message of and the absolute necessity for the cross is being left out in many assemblies today. We like wearing them around our necks, the shiny gold ones but we shriek back from gazing at the awful bloody scene of the one just outside the gates of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. May I suggest one reason for that? This generation is such an arrogant one that we can't see how desperately we need One to die for us. We want to replace the words "wretch" and "worm" in our old hymns because we just don't like to hear that truth about ourselves. I don't know about you but when I sing Amazing Grace, I thankfully use the word "wretch" because I know me and outside of what Christ has done and His work in and through my life, there is nothing I can offer. Along with Paul, I realize that no good thing resides in my flesh.  I saw the words the other day before a new "Gospel" song came up that said "You were worthy to die for." NO, we aren't! This culture has taken the self-esteem message to the extreme so much that our hearts are deceived into thinking that we deserve something from God and that He is getting a jewel when we sign up. No, HE is the JEWEL! The Apostle Paul, in 1 Tim.1:15, says this: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: of whom I am chief." In verse 16, he says that he received mercy and that is our story too and if we are not realizing that fact, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith or not. Mercy, dear one, mercy is what we needed and like Paul, God offered it when we knelt in repentance at the cross.

Two of my favorite song writers and singers today are the Getty's and they write about the cross with these words. "Oh, to see the pain written on Your face, bearing the awesome weight of sin. Every bitter thought, every evil deed crowning Your bloodstained brow. This, the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us. took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross"  I wept on Sunday as we sang these words- mine and your bitter thoughts, mine and your evil deeds. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor.5:21. Dear Reader, do you believe that or do you think that you just really aren't that bad? We are all hell-deserving sinners and Jesus paying our sin debt at that cross was and is our only hope.

We ought to go back from time to time and read Matt. 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 and see His agony and His forgiveness and , yes, His triumph over death, hell and the grave. HALLELUJAH!! Our pastor has been preaching through Philippians and in chapter 2, as we are being exhorted to serve others, to lay down our selfish ambitions, our conceits, Paul reminds us that we are to have the mind of Christ and note in verse 8, he references the cross. " And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."   "Even death on a cross", meaning it was the most torturous, humiliating execution that wicked men could devise. That's your Savior, my Savior that we see hanging there and in most sermons and lessons, there will always be a phrase or thought that stays with me and in closing , Pastor Scott said on Sunday.."Coming to the cross will knock you off your high horse."  Yes, it will!  We will quit looking down our noses at others when we keep the cross in view! We will cease from our petty, trivial, preferences when we keep the cross in sight! We will seek no"vainglory with the cross in our vision but glory only in the cross, as Paul reminded us. We, no longer, will rejoice over others' misfortunes when we linger at the cross!  Just in the past week, I have been asked to pray for families that are in sad crises and asked to just talk with GOD , which I assured them I would do because here is what I have learned in my life thus far. But for the grace of GOD, it could and would be my kids and my family and the same mercy, benefit of doubt, and kindness that I would ask for , is what I want to extend. I can do that when I look at the cross of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Let me leave you with the triumphant words from the referenced song. Christ did not stay there- praise His Name!  "Now the daylight flees; now the ground beneath, quakes as its Maker bows His head. Curtain torn into, dead are raised to life; "Finished", the victory cry. This the power of the cross, SON of GOD, slain for us. What a love! What a cost! We stand forgiven at the cross!"  Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the finished work and the power of the cross! Thank YOU that that sight will knock me off my high horse because that is good for me!

Looking up, Deborah

No comments:

Post a Comment