What Does the Cross Mean to You?

I got to thinking the other evening during my personal devotions about what the cross means. I have been guilty of just seeing "the cross" and not what the cross really meant to Jesus, and therefore to all humanity.

The Pain of the Cross:

Betrayed by one of the inner circle...

Denied three times by another in the inner circle...

Spit on....

Slapped and mocked...

Beard pulled out...

Crown of thorns driven into His head...

Beaten beyond recognition by a whip (flesh torn out at each lash,

yanked across the flesh -- not just the skin)...

Ridiculed by participants, taunted to see if He could tell who

was doing the taunting...

Murderer chosen to be released over Him...

Sentenced to death by crucifixion...

Made to carry the cross beam of His cross, until exhaustion forced

soldiers to make another carry it for Him...

Nailed to the cross through His hands and feet...

Mocked while on the cross...

Took the sins of the world on Himself...

Forsaken by God!

It is finished!

Death...Darkness...Veil in the temple torn in two...

Isaiah 53:1-12 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 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. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people he was stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Cotton - The Fields are White

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on he fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35

I pass this cotton field every day on my way to/from work, and since the cotton has been maturing, the Bible verse from John 4:35 keeps playing through my mind. Yesterday afternoon I stopped and went out to the field to take pictures.





The cotton was bursting from the pods, but the cotton stalks were brown and dying.







There were also weeds growing up through the cotton plants. Some were pretty, and others were tall grasses. That reminds me of Matthew 13:26 and 30, "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also...Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

Prayer Can Result In Change

What is happening in our country today? Crime is rampant, government is out of control, people are living for themselves... How can things change for our country?

II Chronicles 7:14 says "If My people, which are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Genesis 18 shows Abraham arguing with the Lord. Beginning in verse 15 the Lord decides to tell Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham's nephew Lot and his family lived there. In verse 22 Abraham stood before the Lord and began asking if there were fifty righteous people in the city, would the Lord destroy it? The Lord said no. Abraham went further and asked if there were forty-five, then if there were twenty, and finally, if there were only ten, and the Lord said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." God heard the pleas of Abraham and responded in a positive manner.

In the gospel of Mark a man brought his son to Jesus to cast out a demon. The man told Jesus that Jesus' disciples had not been able to cast out the demon. Jesus cast out the demon, and once he had done so, His disciples wanted to know why they had been unsuccessful. Jesus answered them in verse 29 of the 9th chapter, "And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Sometimes God moves only when we pray and fast.

Can our country change? I believe so! September 20 through October 30 has been set aside as a time of prayer and fasting on behalf of our nation. Check out the website www.prayandact.org and join fellow Christians in prayer and fasting for our country.

It is well with my soul

This morning on the way to work I was remembering a song I have known all my life, "It is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford (look it up on Wikipedia -- fascinating story on this song!).

I remembered how several years ago I was going through my divorce and it was a month before our hearing date. I was depressed and worried about the outcome and what would happen to me and to our two sons. During this time I played the piano for my church, and I needed something special for a Sunday offertory. I found a beautiful arrangement by Marilyn Ham for "It is Well with My Soul." Although the piece was difficult for me, I learned the song. Even though I learned the song specifically for a Sunday special, the song meant a great deal to me during my divorce and I played it quite frequently and with a lot of passion, even if lacking in skill. The song helped me keep my problems in perspective.

Over the past several years this has become my favorite piece of music to play, and still every time I play it I remember that whatever comes my way, no matter how bad I think it is, God's peace is there for me!

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford

Penalty for Broken Laws

What's the penalty for breaking the law? Depends on what law was broken. What if you were caught speeding? What if you stole something? You might have to pay a fine or go to jail if you can't pay that fine. What if someone offered to pay your fine for you? You could choose to refuse that payment, or accept.

The laws of man were based on the laws of God. So what are God's laws? Honor God, serve no other god than Him, don't steal, don't commit adultery, don't kill, don't covet (or want) what someone else has, don't take the name of God in vain, keep the sabbath day holy, honor your parents, don't lie. Wait, don't lie? Yep, that's a sin, too. So, what's the penalty for breaking God's laws? DEATH! Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That's a pretty stiff penalty for LYING! We all know that we are going to die one day. But the death spoken of here is separation from God for all eternity. Ever hear of heaven and hell? Well, this death is eternal torment in hell. Without hope of ever escaping. Romans 3:10 says "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one." This verse points out what we all know, we have all committed at least one sin, and more than likely we have committed a great many. So what do we have to do to have that penalty removed? Is there anything you can personally do to pay the fine God requires? Or has Someone else paid that fine for you?

Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." While we were still sinning, or better yet, before we ever committed that first sin, Christ died for us. We don't have to clean up our act first.

John 3:16-17 says "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." The world, or the people in the world, have already been condemned. Romans 5:12 says "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." That one man was Adam, the very first man. Listen to verses 18 and 19 "Therefore, as by the offense (sin, wrongdoing) of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Who was that One? God's only Son, Jesus.

God's grace sent His Son to die for us "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Grace is defined as mercy, pardon, clemency, freely given unearned favor and love of God. So how do you accept that gift of grace? How do you accept the payment of your sin by Another? Well, how do you accept a gift? You reach out and you take it. You don't work for it or it's not a gift.

So what do you do to accept the gift of forgiveness for your sins? Romans 10:9-13 says "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed...For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It doesn't say that you might be saved, it says that you WILL be saved!

God sent His perfect Son to die for our sins. When we accept His grace, His free gift of salvation, as payment for the laws of God that we have broken, Christ's blood is what God sees. When it's our turn to enter eternity we are with God, not eternally separated from Him in a lake of fire and brimstone, a place of great darkness and torment. God did not want anyone to suffer that fate. II Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

As someone who has accepted God's gift of grace for me, it is my job to try to convince you of your need for Him. It is your job to choose, and only you can make that decision, whether or not you will accept God's gift of grace. Why not ask Him to forgive you of the laws you have broken, and to come into your heart and life and be the payment for those broken laws? He'll accept you. He's been waiting for you!

If you need more information, please send a comment!

Sealed by the Spirit

II Cor. 1:21 & 22 says "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." It's so good to know that as a believer in Christ, my salvation has been sealed by God with the Holy Spirit! He is the earnest money, the down payment, the security of my salvation.