Posts Tagged ‘ Cross ’
keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2, CSB
We find joy and peace by remaining focused on the joy Christ could see on the other side of the cross, knowing He took our shame and punishment on Himself to bring us into fellowship with God when we believe He saved us from the curse of sin and is always with us.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:9, CSB
Only God can save us from our sins, and He showed His love for us by sending His Son to take our sins through His death on the cross and giving us life.
One of the funniest moments of the 2003 film “Elf” was Buddy the Elf seeing a feral raccoon, spreading out his arms, and asking, “Does someone need a hug?” (It did not go well.)
Something I like to tell people is that on January 9, 2000, Jesus hugged me in welcome to His Family. On July 26, 2000, I finally returned the hug.
It is nice to think about receiving a comforting hug when life feels overwhelming, things are generally crazy, or having just gone through a horrible situation.
It is also nice to look back through the Bible and see how God has been there for His people:
In the Exodus, God said He rescued Israel with a mighty hand and outstretched arm (Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34, 5:15, 7:19; Psalm 136:12).
Within Israel and their Exile, God welcomes those who come to Him humbly and for His glory (1 Kings 8:41-43; 2 Chronicles 6:32-33; Ezekiel 20:34).
We can see how God has been taking care of His people, yes even under judgment at times.
What is the most comforting is that God came to us to take the punishment we deserve for disobedience. He promised to do this when He spoke with Abraham 4,000 years ago (Genesis 15), and there are so many places that it is laid out in the Hebrew Scriptures (such as Genesis 22, Psalm 22, and Daniel 9:26).
Good Friday is good, because we see the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who saw all the sinfulness of this world, come to us in the midst of our fear, pain, and anxiety. The one who stretched out His arm with His might hands came to comfort us with those strong arms and hands.
So, on that terrible Friday 2,000 years ago, Jesus opened His arms for us. We are the feral raccoons, rooting around in garbage and attacking the God who loves us. He took the punishment we deserved, holding back God’s wrath for those of us who will believe.
Yet this same God who took on His own wrath, with those same strong, mighty, scarred arms, reaches out to us to hold us and comfort us.
When we look at the cross, we see God opening His arms to us.
Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
John 9:37-38, CSB
“I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.
We are saved in Christ alone, so we must have faith in His work on the cross as the Son of God.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 33:14, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, and we can have peace knowing He is faithful to keep His promises. Trust in our faithful God.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13, ESV
Only God can redeem us and give us a new heart, and He calls to us through the cross by the Holy Spirit.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Psalm 95:6, ESV
We should bow down and worship our sovereign Creator, knowing He has saved us through the cross.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 9:1, ESV
We thank God, our great King who has showered us with love, compassion, mercy, and grace. May we give Him all honor, especially in light of the cross.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 5:24, ESV
Our God faced the justice we deserved through Christ on the cross, and now His righteousness flows to we who believe in that work.
May His righteousness flow through us to help others believe, too.
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:7-8, ESV
The answer to the hatred, hubris, and hedonism of the world is to be like Christ: deny ourselves for the sake of others that they may come to know the lover of our souls, Christ.
a simple man of God 